99

Asher

Winter has wrapped the world in its fist. Though no more storms have arrived, the weather has been stark. The kind of cold that steals the air from your lungs if you stand outside and take too deep of a breath. From the window of the back bedroom, I stare over the lake. Its ivory surface melds with the land. I only know it’s there because parts of the wooden dock are visible. The thick rope extends out before vanishing into the nothingness.

“I was patrolling one of the areas you gave me, pakhan,” Kostya says from my side. He arrived ten minutes ago with Mila. I wasted no time rushing them into this private place for some news. “We have a location on Yannick.”

I twist around to stare at him with interest. “Well?” I demand.

“He was moving Katinka and the boy, Roman, into a black vehicle. A Mercedes. They proceeded to drive west while I pursued. The place they stopped at is a house in another suburb, one that’s still under development, very secluded. Lightly defended too, at least