Page 24 of His Grip

The plans for his move against Alexei weren’t lining up. The details, the timing—none of it made sense. His thoughts drifted back to the previous night when Andrei had handed him the new set of intel. Viktor had always relied on him, trusted himimplicitly. Andrei had the access and knowledge of every player in this game. No one else in his circle had that kind of insight.

Yet here was the proof.

Viktor's blood roared as he read the lines again, his eyes narrowing. The report was riddled with errors, mismatched information, even faulty assumptions. Andrei was the only one with access to this level of intelligence. So how could the details be so wrong?

His gut churned. Was it sabotage? The thought gnawed at him, hard to entertain. He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to think that the one man he’d trusted most in his life was now actively undermining him. But the signs were there.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, a deep sigh escaped him. It wasn’t just that the intel was wrong; it was the nagging suspicion that something had shifted within his circle. A small fracture had begun to form, and Andrei, with his increasingly erratic behavior, was the only one Viktor could pinpoint.

It didn’t make sense, and Viktor hated the uncertainty gnawing at him. He couldn’t confront Andrei yet—not until he was sure. But the seed of doubt had been planted. His mind raced with scenarios, trying to piece together the subtle moments he’d missed, the things Andrei had said, the actions he’d taken that hadn’t sat right with him.

Viktor was used to being at the helm of affairs, to knowing every move he and those around him made. But now, for the first time in years, it felt like everything was slipping through his fingers. The unthinkable was possible: someone within his inner circle was betraying him.

The thought sent a chill through him, but he couldn’t let it consume him. Not yet. Not until he knew for sure.

Frustration bubbled inside him as he slammed the report down onto the desk. He couldn’t afford this—not now, not withAlexei’s looming threat. But there it was—this gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach, the unease he couldn’t shake.

He needed answers. Fast.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Kat’s head popped in first. She wore a smile that seemed rehearsed, but he could see in her eyes that she was genuinely happy to be back. How long had it been since they’d shared the same space? Viktor couldn’t remember, but he pushed away from his chair like a crazed man, reaching out for her.

“Kat! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming. Why didn’t anyone come to tell me?”

She wrapped her arms around him, basking in his warmth. “I bribed them all with glazed doughnuts. They love me.”

“Glazed doughnuts?” Viktor chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. “I would think they’d be able to resist that temptation.”

“Don’t be coy, brother.” She rolled her eyes. “No one is that evolved.”

He let her go and stumbled back to sit on the edge of his desk, discarding the file along with the gnawing feeling of betrayal that had taken root. He focused on his sister. “You know it isn’t safe for you to be back right now, Kat.”

She sat down in one of the empty chairs and crossed her legs. “You don’t have to tell me. I know about the dangers, brother, but I needed to see you. I can’t imagine you going through all of this alone.”

But he wasn’t really alone, was he? He had his men. Yet, he didn’t think he could trust anyone anymore. There was Sofia, right?

Maybe not.

He sighed and massaged his chin, then passed her the file, watching as she read through it. “I haven’t shown this to anyone except you.”

She glanced up at him briefly before returning her focus to the document. “What should I be looking for?”

“This is intel I got from Andrei. Something’s fucking wrong with it.”

She went through the file again and handed it back to him. He didn’t need to say more; Kat could read him like a book. The frustration etched on his features was all the explanation she needed.

Moving closer to the desk, her eyes flicked between the scattered papers and him. “You think Andrei is the leak, don’t you?”

Viktor’s breath hitched in his chest. There it was—the thought he hadn’t allowed himself to fully acknowledge. Now, the words hung in the air between them, making everything feel sharper, more real.

“I don’t know,” he muttered. “But no one else could have had access to this.” His hand lingered over the reports, fingers tracing the paper as if the answers would jump out at him.

Kat’s lips curled into something between a smile and a sneer. “You’ve been distracted, Viktor. The girl. She’s pulling you off course.”

He stiffened at her words, his jaw locking. There was something in the way she spoke about Sofia that made Viktor’s skin prickle with defensiveness.

“What are you saying?” Viktor asked, his tone cold, calculated. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear her opinion on this, but he knew he had no choice.

Kat paused, her eyes never leaving his. “Attachment makes you weak,” she said plainly. “You’ve allowed her to get too close, and now you’re losing your focus. She’s a liability. All of this”—she gestured to the reports—“could be because of her.”

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