Page 127 of Sexting His Assistant

I almost laugh, then stop because the movement hurts. I sit.

Not because she wins.

Because my shoulder is burning, and I need both hands steady if I’m going to deal with what comes next.

My phone buzzes.

Pavel.

Pavel: Plate appears reassigned. Running through contacts. Driver not identified yet.

I type back immediately.

Me: Pull traffic cameras within ten blocks. Private feeds if public ones fail. Find where it came from before her building and where it went after.

Pavel: On it.

I send the stills from Alina’s Instagram next.

Me: Identify everyone in this clip. Focus on the man beside Alina Karelin. Confirm if it is Roman Karpov.

There is a pause before Pavel answers.

Pavel: Understood.

Something big is forming.

I can feel it the way I feel a storm before rain reaches the windows.

They made one mistake.

Nina found the thread.

And now I’m going to pull until something breaks.

15

NINA

The second Luka leaves, I become a crime scene cleaner.

Not literally, although with my life lately, I should probably never say things like that too confidently.

I strip the bed first.

That’s the priority.

Sheets, pillowcases, blanket, everything gets yanked off and shoved into the laundry basket so aggressively that the basket falls sideways and spills yesterday’s clothes all over the floor. I swear, pick it up, then swear again when I notice Luka’s tie under the chair.

His tie. On my floor.

I stare at it for half a second like it might explode.

Then I grab it and shove it into the back of my closet behind a box of winter clothes I haven’t opened in two years.

Fine. Normal.

Completely normal thing to do.