LOGINAce's PovThe self-defense training started two days after the photo leak, I had demanded it because waiting around while the Morettis dismantled my life piece by piece was not something I was willing to keep doing.Nikolai was against it. He stood in the gym doorway with his arms crossed, he told me my body was not ready. My head was not ready and that training while emotionally compromised was dangerous and stupid."I disagree." I walked past him into the gym."Ace.""I disagree." I picked up the hand wraps from the bench. "So either help me or leave."Ivan was already inside. He looked at Nikolai and Nikolai looked at him and something passed between them in the silence."Fine." Nikolai came in and let the door close behind him. "We start from the basics and we do not rush anything.""Agreed."We started with defensive positioning. Nikolai had gone over the basics with me months ago but I had not taken it seriously then because I had not understood yet what serious looked like. I
Ivan's PovThe cyber attack hit at midnight, by the time we realized what was happening the images were already being distributed through the criminal networks across the entire city.Nikolai got the first alert from Rem and his face went through approximately four different expressions in the time it took him to look up from his phone and process what he was reading."What is it," I said."The Morettis," Rem said over the phone. His voice was very tight. "They have leaked private photos. Multiple photos, the entire criminal underworld is seeing them right now as we speak."The room got very still and very quiet."What kind of photos are we talking about," I said."The kind that are designed to expose and embarrass," Rem said. "Including several images of Ace with both of you in circumstances that are intimate and private an
Nikolai's PovAce did not come out of the bedroom for three hours.When he finally did his face was the steady face he wore when he had processed something difficult and decided what to do with it. Accepted the weight of that decision.He came into the main room, sat down across from me and Ivan. He was very calm, very controlled and that specific kind of control was more frightening than any anger would have been."I found the documents," he said. "Under the bed. In a book that was not mine."I did not respond immediately because there was no response that mattered anymore and I had known since we put them there that they would be found eventually."You both signed the order," he said. "You knew you were signing the order and you did it anyway.""Yes," I said. "We knew.""You told me you did not k
Ace's PovThe ring was gold and simple and there were marks on the inside that looked like initials, but I could not make them out because my hands were shaking. I was having difficulty focusing on anything except the fact that this was my mother's ring and the Morettis had it and they had sent it to me as a message."The Morettis found it in records from the night of the incident," Nikolai said carefully. "It was documented as a recovered item from the apartment along with other materials.""And they kept it all these years," I said. "Waiting for the exact moment to send it.""They kept it to use it exactly like this," Ivan said from beside me. His voice was very steady and controlled. "It is a weapon, nothing more than a weapon designed to hurt you in a specific way."I picked up the ring and held it in my palm and it was so small and so heavy at the same time and the weight of it in my hand did not match the physical weight at all."Read the note," I said. "Read it all the way thro
Ivan's PovThe physical therapy was supposed to be light, simple and controlled. I was supposed to do a few basic movements while Ace watched and made notes about what still hurt, what was moving properly and what needed more time.It did not go that way at all."Lift your arm to shoulder height," Ace said from beside me in the gym. "Slowly."I lifted my arm and the wound in my shoulder reminded me that lifting still existed as a concept. I kept it up anyway because giving in was not something I did."That is good," Ace said. "You have more range than yesterday.""It still pulls," I said."It is supposed to pull for another week at least," he said. "The tissue is still healing underneath and the muscle memory has to be rebuilt from nothing. You cannot rush that."We had been in the gym for fifteen minutes, I was already frustrated with the whole thing because my body was not doing what I wanted it to do and I did not like that feeling, especially did not like it in front of Ace."Aga
Ace's PovThe arms deal was supposed to be clean.Nikolai had been building the framework for three weeks and Ivan had vetted the broker twice and Rem had cleared the location four times and it was as clean as anything we had run since the Rossi situation closed.I was in the room because I had asked to be in the room and because Nikolai had looked at me for a long moment and said yes.The broker's name was Osei and he came in with two people and sat at the main table and looked at the three of us without any particular reaction and that was when I knew he was serious."The shipment is in transit," Osei said. "Twelve hours out. I need the final account number and the confirmation code before it crosses the port line."Nikolai slid the confirmation folder across the table. "Account information is on page three. Code is on page
Nikolai's PovAce was smarter than I had initially given him credit for and that was fine. Smart people were easier to manage than stupid ones because they understood consequences clearly. The stupid ones needed reminders.Ivan was still in bed. Ivan was never awake before ten unless someone was on
(Ivan’s POV)A surprised, strangled gasp falls out from his lips. He glanced at us, afraid again. I could see the battle in his eyes, against his own body’s desire.“I…”To be ours, Ace had to learn some things.First, we wouldn't hurt what was ours for speaking up. In fact I wanted him to speak u
Ace's PovMy room locked from the outside.I found that out at quarter past eleven that night when I tried the handle and it did not move.There was no click of a key turning and no sound of a guard on the other side. Just a lock built into the frame that had engaged on its own, quiet and clean and
Sergei's PovThe fifth contact happened on a Tuesday.Ace was on a supervised walk with one guard when I fell into step near him going the same direction. The guard was a few feet ahead, dealing with a call on his earpiece, which gave me abo







