Dawn crawled slowly across the horizon as the safehouse faded behind them, swallowed by the whispering pines and the quiet hush of mountain air. Natalia sat beside Dimitri in the backseat of the black SUV, her fingers laced with his, their hands resting between them on the seat. It was the first time she had seen him this quiet. Not tense, Dimitri's tension usually crackled like static but something softer and measured
He watched the road ahead as if Moscow itself were an enemy he needed to outsmart.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked softly.
Dimitri did not look away from the dark ribbon of highway stretched before them. "If we stay hidden, we lose everything, our power, our leverage, our people. And Specter's fall created a hole." His thumb brushed her knuckles. "If I don't claim control, someone else will."
"And they won't have your restraint," she murmured.
That earned her a brief, wry smirk. "You are the first person who has ever accused me of restraint."
