Page 70 of Marked By the Devil

Assess. Ascertain. And act.

The action would have to come later, and when the time came for it, I bet that Viktor would insist that I not get involved in any field exercises so I would be safe. But for now, I was assessing a multitude of documents. I was ascertaining what mattered and how.

In the back of my mind, I knew that I was stepping over a line that I once swore I would never cross. I was blurring the lines and I was marching into the territory of forsaking those morals I previously thought I could never change my mind on.

But things change.

I’ve changed.

Deep down, my commitment to wanting to make the world a better place hadn’t changed at all. Ending the power of those corrupt men in office would improve the lives of everyone. I couldn’t be sure if it was because of what Brayden said yesterday or if it had more to do with Viktor officially getting my acquiescence in bed, to verbally choose him over my past. But I knew that I was doing something good. The ends would justify the means.

Because with this newfound confidence in being right to help the Volkovs in the face of so much evidence that my agency had turned rotten, I could also get over the fact that I had never imagined letting a man convince me that love was real.

I wanted to believe it was.

Because I was surrounded by it. In all its gritty ways, I was surrounded by so much love. These married couples. Their children being born.

I glanced up and scanned the room, smiling at Elena, Carina, and Mila being with me.

All these strong women made my choice so much easier.

The Volkovs couldn’t be my enemies when they seemed so much like the family I’d always wished to have. A close one where I could know that we’d all have each other’s backs even when we could be conflicted over how our lives and responsibilities could be tested and changed.

25

VIKTOR

Nikolai came down the stairs at the mansion, shaking his head and laughing lightly.

Alexei and I had just arrived from yet another bust. We’d been tracking the Konstanov activity for a while now, since they weren’t on overly friendly terms with us. But so far, we weren’t able to pin any direct activity between them and the contractor who could’ve been there the night Adrik and Wren were almost shot.

“What?” Adrik asked from where we were meeting down in the study for a change. It linked to the larger open space of the morning room and with the doors open, we saw the staircase as he descended it.

“They are still at it up there, like a freaking women’s club.” He smirked as he sat. He’d gone up there to get a file from Elena, and it sounded like Wren and Elena were still hard at work, and Carina and Mila were visiting.

I smiled, pleased and unafraid to let them know it. The partnership that formed since I captured Wren was good for all of us. Adrik was impressed with how she’d pulled off sneaking up on Brayden. The others acknowledged her willingness to act as a double agent for us. Elena had already made it clear that she was starting to see Wren as her new BFF, or maybe her first BFF since she’d been sheltered for most of her life. Carina and Mila were opening up to her too.

If anyone asked me to compare my life now, with Wren in it, versus whatever it was before I’d stalked her down in that alley, I would be able to claim it was a night and day difference. I had her in my life, in my home, in my bed, and I’d never been happier. I saw her making an impact on our businesses, too.

Before, I’d been… just one more brother, lost and not really stuck on anything other than protecting them. The general worry about Gregori was there, but I had felt like a bystander to it all. Now with Wren’s information, I was that much more involved.

“Shit.” Alexei stood and grimaced. “Lev’s here with news about how it went spying on the Konstanovs at that property we’ve been talking about.”

Adrik and Nikolai stood too, clearly eager to discuss the matter with Lev.

“Sounds like it ended in a shootout,” Adrik said, looking down at his phone, which Alexei had probably been checking too.

“Anyone hurt?” I asked as they moved out of the room, likely going to the garages to check on Lev as he returned. I didn’t want to ask too casually if we’d lost anyone.

“Not enough to need to go to the hospital,” Alexei said over his shoulder.

Maksim stayed with me, sitting on the chair he’d been in for what seemed like hours. He was awake, but as he sighed heavily, he looked like he wished he weren’t.

“Rough going so far?”

He smiled sleepily. “Yeah, but it’s worth it. She’s… she’s the most important thing in my life.”

“Carina? Or Isabel?”