Page 20 of The Devil's Thorn
He raised a brow, but he didn’t push.
“I want every thread,” I added. “Even the ones that don’t lead anywhere.”
Because sometimes, the threads that don’t lead anywhere are the ones you should pull hardest.
Afew hours later,a slim black folder landed on my desk, and Nikolai stood in silence as I flipped it open.
Natasha Orlova. Twenty-five. Allegedly worked in private estates overseas. Russia. France. Discrete, high-profile clientele.
No photographs.No official records older than four years. Her last place of employment? A private resort in Marseille that no longer exists. Burned down two years ago. No witnesses. No employees found.
How convenient.
No immediate family. No listed address. Just a single apartment under her alias, leased six months ago and paid a year in advance in cash. Luxury building. Top floor.
Either she was backed by money…
Or she’d learned how to cover her tracks well.
Too well.
I closed the file.
“She’s not just hiding,” I said quietly. “She’s built an entire ghost.”
Nikolai shrugged. “There’s nothing illegal on her record. Whoever constructed the identity did it clean. No flags. No history.”
Exactly the problem.
She wastoo clean.
In this world, nobody is clean. Everyone bleeds somewhere.
Everyone except her.
“And her behavior?” I asked.
Nikolai’s mouth curved into something that was almost a smirk. “She didn’t really speak to anyone. Kept her eyes down. Didn’t linger. But when she walks… she knows she’s being watched.”
I tapped my fingers once against the edge of the folder.
“She’s waiting,” I murmured. “For something.”
Nikolai didn’t answer. He never liked to guess. That’s what made him useful.
“She starts tonight, yes?”
“Seven sharp.”
I nodded, letting the silence stretch.
The decision had already been made.
“She’s not to be approached,” I said finally. “Not unless she breaks a rule. Not unless I say otherwise.”
Nikolai raised an eyebrow. “That’s new.”
I didn’t answer.
