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“I have his laptop,” I called out from Dimitri’s office. “Let’s get out of here.”
We hurried out the side door and back to the car, depositing our stolen loot in the backseat to be dispersed later.
“Why did you do it?” Sasha asked as we headed for Sergei’s house, pulling one of the earplugs out.
“Do what?”
“Risk your life to help me. To help Roan. Sergei and Dimitri couldn’t have made it easy on you.”
I chewed on the inside corner of my mouth, trying to formulate an answer that would make sense to a man like him, one who operated in a world of black and white. He was a lot like Marek in that regard—anyone doing anything nice was automatically suspicious because it inevitably meant you were indebted to that person.
“Because,” I said with a gesture as vague and unhelpful as my answer. “This is America. You should be able to love who you love without men like Sergei and Dimitri telling you it’s unacceptable.”
“But you got me a new ID. Citizenship papers, for fuck’s sake. A whole new life.”
“What are you really asking?” I cut a quick glance at him as I drove.
“Did you really leave the military the way they say or are you still working for them?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “No, I am most certainly not working for anyone in Russia anymore.”
Sasha wasn’t amused, nor was he convinced. “You don’t get real papers like that without knowing someone in the government, someone high up who pulls strings and makes things happen. So if it’s not the Russians, it has to be the Americans.”
I purposely kept my mouth shut and my gaze on the road.
“It is,” Sasha concluded by my silence. “You defected. Didn’t you? All of that shit on the flash drive Sergei has, the one Viktor had us steal—that came fromyou. Didn’t it? I saw what was on it, Misha. That shit had nothing to do with the military.”
“It was easier to tell people I served in the GRU,” I admitted, feeling like I owed him some kernel of truth, though I refused to give him any more. The fewer people who knew I’d been a part of Zaslon, the better. It meant my former unit had less leverage, should they ever come calling.
“So who did you really work for? FSB?”
“It’s not safe for you to know.”
“SVR,” he said with a slow nod. “If you worked in foreign intelligence, why come work for Sergei, then? You don’t care about money. You don’t care about power. So, why? Unless… you had no choice.”
“It was part of the deal,” I replied tightly, the steering wheel creaking under my hand until I flexed my fingers, purposely relaxing them again. He’d already figured it out, there was no point in lying to him anymore. “In return, they keep the Kremlin from assassinating me. It’s all a chess game. As long as I have a hand in moving the pieces on the board, my safety is guaranteed.”
Sasha blew out a breath, staring out the windshield as he processed my biggest secret in silence. “And after Sergei is dead?” he asked after a moment.
I shrugged in spite of the grimace on my face. “Someone has to take over. They’d rather it be someone they have a working relationship with, someone with an understanding of how things are done here, as opposed to someone straight from Moscow. It’s not the first time it’s happened. Look at the FBI in Boston. The CIA and the cartels. Chicago’s no different. Power corrupts everyone, even when they say it doesn’t.”
“What does that mean for you and the boy?” Sasha asked quietly, treading as carefully with Marek as I used to with Roan.
“It means whatever he wants it to mean. If I’m in charge, there’s no reason we have to hide. He can keep working if he wants, or perhaps go to university and do something he’s actually passionate about. Or he can do none of those things and I’ll love him regardless. It’s his life. I’m happy to simply be a part of it.”
“You’re a curious man,” Sasha mused, a sly smirk on his lips. “Until now, I never pictured you as the domestic type. You seemed too complicated for that.”
“I’ve always been a simple man. It’s the world that’s complicated.”
“Well, I’m glad you’ve found happiness.”
“Thank you for helping me protect it.”
“You saved my life. Twice. It’s the least I could do.”
“I appreciate it all the same.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go kill Sergei.”
