Page 13 of The Devil's Thorn
“Natasha Orlova,” he says. His voice is smooth but detached, like he’s reading my name off a list of names he plans to forget.
“Yes,” I answer calmly.
He glances at the folder in front of him. “Twenty-five. Fluent in Russian, French, and English. Experience in high-profile service. No criminal record. No red flags.”
He looks up, and his eyes cut through me like glass. “Almost too clean.”
I hold his gaze. “I’ve had to be.”
He closes the folder and leans back. “This floor isn’t just for high rollers. It’s for people who have power. Money. Enemies. You’re expected to be invisible unless spoken to, fast without spilling, and smart enough to keep your mouth shut.”
“I understand.”
“If one of them touches you, what do you do?”
“Smile. And step away.”
“If one of them offers you a tip you didn’t earn?”
“Refuse it.”
“If one of them offers you a night in their suite?”
I meet his gaze. “Make sure it’s not mine.”
His lips twitch. It’s not a smile, but it’s something close.
“I’m Nikolai Kotov,” he says finally. “I answer only to Mr. Romanov. If he notices you, it’s because helet himselfnotice you. Understand?”
“Yes.”
He stands. “Shift starts tomorrow night. Black uniform. Hair tied. No jewelry except what we provide. Show up clean. Don’t be late.”
I rise slowly.
“Welcome to hell,” he adds, voice flat, almost amused.
I let myself smile, just faintly.
“Thanks for letting me in the fire.”
The moment the door to 15B closes behind me, my lungs tighten, but I don’t let it show.
Not in my walk. Not in the lift of my chin or the pace of my heels against the carpeted hallway. I walk like I belong here. Like I’ve done this before. Like I didn’t just look a killer in the eye and lie without flinching.
Nikolai Kotov.
I’ll remember that name.
He’s not just muscle. He’s more. He was reading me like a page in a book he’s read before—slow, careful, with a part of him already guessing how it ends.
But he bought it.
Or at least, he bought just enough.
Still… I felt it.
The shift in the air. The silence behind the glass walls of the casino. The weight in the corners of the room that didn’t belong to Nikolai.
