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Orien searches my face. “When will you be back?”

Never, I think, the word a physical pain behind my ribs. But what comes out is, “Thursday.”

It’s a lie, and we both know it. I’ve never once shown up on Thursday.

Orien accepts it without pushing and steps back, giving me space to slide off the stool. “I’ll see you then.”

I turn and walk toward the door, each step taking me farther from the first thing I’ve ever wanted in my life.

The night air shivers through me as I step outside, and I suck in an icy breath as pain tears through my chest.

My phone sits heavy in my pocket, a single text away from ending this mission for good.

All I have to do is send it.

But as I stand at the crosswalk, watching the light change from red to green, I can’t bring myself to reach for it. When the light changes again, I’m still standing there, caught between duty and desire, between the family that raised me and the people who’ve started to feel like home.

Between being useful and being wanted.

And for the first time in eight years, I hesitate over which one matters more.

17

The council chamber sits at the center of the Vartanian compound, where the walls mute even the rumor of sound. The table is a slab of imported maple, polished to a perfect sheen and long enough to seat every branch head.

I stand at the far end of the table, not seated, because I wasn’t invited to be. A copy of my summary report sits on the table in front of me.

Three of my uncles have joined us. Mikhail sits at the left hand, nearest Alexei, while the other two sit back with identical posture and folded hands. At the head, Alexei surveys the room with a sense of resignation.

I read my statement the way I would any other information-gathering mission, as if the outcome means nothing to me.

“The Blue Note Crew,” I begin, “does not operate along traditional lines. Their operational structure is informal and favor-based. There is no evidence of explicit territory acquisition, and disputes are handled case-by-case, often without direct communication with their leader, Rowan Ward.”

What I haven’t done is explain the relief I felt when I confirmed that the Blue Note isn’t a threat, or the way my chest tightens when I think about what comes next.

I refer to my notes. “They are community forward, with a focus on their neighborhood and their friends and family. Favors are kept in a written ledger behind the bar at the Blue Note.”

I list the categories I noted in the ledger.

“Favors owed are never left to linger beyond a quarter’s span. Active exchanges are reciprocal, closed-loop, and rarely extended outside their immediate network. Settled accounts, once closed, are archived and never re-leveraged.”

I finish with, “There is no evidence they are preparing hostile action toward our organization, or have given us any thought since returning the stolen data leaked by one of our own people.”

The last bit pushes the line a bit, but I want to remind them that the Blue Note Crew was not the reason our finances were put at risk, and they were under no obligation to surrender the data they found. The only thing they asked when they returned it to us was to be left alone.

An agreement that we broke when I was sent in to investigate their crew.

Silence comes from the table, and the hush stretches long enough to get under my skin.

Mikhail taps the copy of my printed report, which sits in front of him. His focus remains on me, not the report. The movement is meant to draw the others’ attention, and it works.

He says, “A ledger can be cleaned. Patterns, too, if someone realizes they’re being watched.”

My mouth forms a reply before it closes, and I turn to my brother at the head of the table. Alexei gives nothing away as he weighs the information I provided.

Mikhail turns the page with one fingertip. “It is possible to run a silent campaign to reposition without the telltale signs of a move.”

My jaw tightens, then releases as I force my reaction back under control. “According to our contacts, the Blue Note’s territory has remained stable for eighteen months, and their operational focus has not expanded beyond the established boundaries I have verified in person.”