The fire cracked as the last of the logs caught flame. Outside, the blizzard thickened until the cabin seemed afloat in a white sea. Dimitri moved through the small space with the caution. Natalia sat near the stove, her boots steaming, the heat painting her cheeks with color that almost made her look alive again.
They had crossed the border in silence, the world a blur of snow and danger. Now, in the uneasy quiet, words pressed at both of them like choked breath.
"You should not have come back," she murmured without looking up.
Dimitri leaned against the rough wall, arms folded. "I know and I'm sorry."
"I mean it." She traced the rim of the coffee mug. "Every time you appear, things get worse and things tends to burn."
"Maybe that's because you keep walking into fire," he said. His tone was mild, but the corner of his mouth curved in the faintest smile.
The wind howled , rattling the windows. Natalia finally met his eyes,those grey eyes that had haunted her even when she believed he was dead. They were colder now, marked by loss, but the heat beneath them was still present.
"I saw you walk into the fire," she said quietly. "I stood there and watched as the door closed in on you during the explosion. "
He pushed off the wall and came closer. "I did not plan to survive, Natalia."
"Then why did you?" Her voice broke. "Why could not you stay dead like the others? Why do you keep dying and coming back to life?"
The words hung between them, sharp with grief. Dimitri stopped beside her chair, the firelight sliding over the scar along his jaw. "Because you were not done yet," he said. "And neither was I."
For a long time, she didn't move. The heat of him at her side was a weight she could feel through her coat. She wanted to strike him, to pull him close, to do both in the same breath. Instead, she stood and walked to the window. Outside was nothing but silence.
"We have to keep moving," she said. "They will track us here."
"Not until the storm breaks. We have hours." His voice softened. "You are safe, for now."
"Safe," she repeated, tasting the lie. "We are never safe."
When she turned back, he had taken off his coat and laid his weapons on the table: a pistol, a knife, a small black phone. The sight of them against the pale wood sent a shiver through her. Those were tools of survival.
"Yelena helped me to set this place up," he said. "She was supposed to send word if the Bratva made a move"
Natalia frowned. "Yelena? She was the one who warned me to run."
Dimitri's head lifted sharply. "When?"
"Two nights ago. She said someone had put a price on my head."
He stepped closer, searching her face. "And she told you to meet me?"
"No. I found you by accident."
The line between his brows deepened. "Then she is playing both sides."
Natalia shook her head. "You don't know that."
"I know betrayal," he said quietly. "I have a feeling she is still working with my father. "
The wind howled again, louder this time, and the sound seemed to crawl beneath the walls. Natalia's stomach tightened. "What are you saying?"
"That she sold us out," he answered. "And that someone is already coming."
She crossed the room to the table, snatching the phone. The screen was cracked but a single notification blinked. She tapped it open and a short message with coordinates and a time stamp. Sent from Yelena's number. The time was ten minutes ago.
"Dimitri..."
He was already moving, checking the gun, loading a clip with smooth precision. "She must have pinged the signal. They'll have drones sweeping the ridge."
Natalia felt the blood drain from her face. "Then we are trapped."
"Not yet." He caught her wrist, pulling her toward the back door. "There's a tunnel behind the stove. It leads to the river."
She hesitated. "We cannot just run again with no idea where we are running to."
He looked at her then, eyes filled with determination. "If you stay, you risk getting caught and probably not survive. If you come with me,maybe we both could live long enough to finish this."
Something in his voice,part command, part plea,broke the wall she had built since Moscow. She nodded once and together they shoved the stove aside, revealing a narrow hatch. Cold air poured up from the darkness below.
As she crouched to climb in, Dimitri stopped her. "Natalia."
She turned. His hand lifted, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. The touch was light, almost reverent.
"You still don't trust me," he said. "But you will."
Her heart thudded. "That sounds like a threat."
"It is not,it is a promise."
For a moment the world narrowed to the space between them,the crackle of fire, the pulse in her throat, the ghost of his breath near her skin. Then a sound split the air outside: the whine of an engine, faint but growing. Headlights flashed against the snow covered windows.
"They are here," she whispered.
Dimitri shoved the hatch fully open. "Go!"
Natalia dropped into the darkness, boots hitting frozen earth. He followed, sealing the hatch above them. The tunnel was barely wide enough for two with their shoulders brushing as they moved. The air was damp, filled with the scent of soil.Far behind them came the heavy crash.
"Keep moving," he said, his voice low but steady. "We are almost there."
They emerged at the edge of the frozen river, breath smoking in the night air. The storm had eased, revealing a sky full of sharp stars. On the far bank, a faint light flickered, another cabin, perhaps, or a trap.
Natalia turned to him. "If Yelena betrayed us, there's nowhere left to run."
"There is always somewhere," he said. "You just have to be willing to pay the price."
"What price, Dimitri?"
He met her gaze, something fierce and sorrowful in his expression. "Everything."
Before she could answer, a red flare burst in the sky behind them, painting the snow in blood-colored light. The cabin they'd left erupted in a dull roar, flames clawing upward through the storm.
Natalia's breath caught. "They found us."
Dimitri grabbed her hand. "Not yet."
They sprinted across the ice, boots slipping, lungs burning. The flare's light faded, swallowed by night, but the echo of the explosion chased them down the river. When they finally stumbled into the shadow of the trees, Natalia yanked free, spinning to face him.
"Where does this end?" she demanded. "How many more times do we run?"
He stepped close, close enough that she felt the heat of him through her coat. "Until we find the one who started this," he said. "And finish it."
"Together?"
His mouth curved in a grim smile. "If you will still have me."
The answer rose in her throat, uncertain and fragile,but before she could speak, a shot cracked through the night. Something slammed into the tree beside her head.
Dimitri pulled her down behind the roots. "It is a sniper."
"From where?"
"River bend." He scanned the dark ridge, eyes narrowing. "They are using night optics."
She drew her small pistol, hands steady despite the adrenaline. "Then we have to fight back."
He looked at her, a flicker of pride in his gaze. "That's my girl."
"Don't call me that."
Another bullet tore through the branches above. Snow rained down around them. Dimitri pressed a finger to his lips, motioning for silence, then slipped from cover, moving low across the frozen ground. Natalia counted to three and followed, each breath a cloud.
They reached the treeline just as another flare arced overhead, bathing the forest in red. In that instant, she saw him outlined against the snow, gun raised, expression calm and lethal. Then came the return shot one clean sound and the world tilted.
Dimitri staggered, a bloom of dark spreading across his shoulder. He didn't fall, but the sight tore a sound from her she didn't recognize. She ran to him, catching his arm.
"Don't you dare—"
"I'm fine," he ground out, though his knees buckled. "Just a graze."
Blood soaked through his sleeve. She tore a strip from her scarf and pressed it against the wound. "We have to move."
He nodded once. Together they pushed deeper into the woods, the gunfire fading behind them. The air grew colder and quieter, until only the crunch of snow marked their path. When they finally stopped, Dimitri leaned against a tree, breathing hard.
"Yelena's message wasn't the only signal," he said. "Someone else is feeding them information."
Natalia frowned. "Who?"
He looked up at her, pain shadowing his eyes. "Someone inside your agency."
The words hit like ice water. "That's impossible. I haven not been in touch with them since the first fire explosion."
"Check your drive," he said. "You will see."
She pulled the small data drive from her pocket, fingers trembling. Its indicator light blinked green, then red. Active transmission.
Her pulse froze. "They are tracking me."
Dimitri reached for her hand. "Then we have destroy it."
Before she could react, he snatched the drive and hurled it into the river. It vanished beneath the ice with a dull splash. Natalia stared at him, shock and fury warring in her chest.
"That was our only proof!" she cried.
"It was our beacon," he said. "Now they will lose us."
She turned away, shaking, the cold biting through her coat. "You don't get to decide that for me."
"Someone had to," he answered softly.
The wind picked up again, carrying the faint echo of engines in the distance. Natalia looked toward the horizon. Lights were moving along the ridge,dozens of them.
"They are still coming," she whispered.
Dimitri pushed off the tree, straightening despite the wound. "Then we run again."
She met his gaze, something fierce breaking loose inside her. "No," she said. "This time, we hunt."
His lips curved, the ghost of a smile. "That's the Natalia I remember."
Before he could say more, a shadow moved behind them quick, silent. A low voice spoke from the darkness, familiar and cold.
"You should have stayed dead, Volkov."
Natalia spun, gun raised, heart hammering as the figure stepped into the faint light. Snow glittered on the barrel of a pistol aimed straight at them.
It was Yelena.