The dining room buzzed with quiet conversation, sunlight streaming through the windows and glinting off the polished wood of the table. I stirred my coffee idly, letting the chatter flow around me.

Nikolai was mid-story, his animated gestures contrasting with the lazy slouch of his chair. "And just when I thought the guy would bolt in the right direction, he runs straight toward the decoy vehicle. I swear, I've never seen someone trip over their own feet so dramatically."

Andrea snorted, shaking her head. "Better that than Colton's infamous run-in with the crates."

"Here we go again," Colton groaned, rolling his eyes. "That was one time!"

"Twice, actually," Igor corrected with a low chuckle, his voice rumbling like distant thunder.

Nikolai then leaned back, smirking. "To be fair, Colton, crates have done more damage to you than most enemies."

The laughter rippled around the table, easy and lighthearted. Even I found myself smirking behind my coffee mug. Colton shook his head in mock indignation, playing along as usual.

"You know who would've made a scene about all this?" Colton leaned forward, his grin mischievous. "Irina."

The room shifted slightly, the lightness dimming just enough to be noticeable. I didn't miss the subtle stiffening of shoulders or the flicker of tension in her otherwise impassive expression.

Irina, seated across from me, arched a brow but didn't miss a beat. "Oh, Colton," she said smoothly, cutting into her toast, "you've got such a sharp memory for the smallest things. Should I remind everyone of the time you got stuck in that closet during a mission?"

The table erupted into laughter, and Colton held up his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I was hiding, not stuck! There's a difference."

Irina rolled her eyes, her tone playful but firm. "Keep telling yourself that."

Colton chuckled yet again, my eyes oversaw him. "And besides, you would've made an argument like you always do."

She froze for a moment, everyone else did too but not in an obvious state. "And you would've started whining like you always do," Irina snickered, tying her blond hair in a ponytail while glaring at Colton.

"Yeah, yeah, as if everyone isn't already aware of your talent for lying," he said with a sly grin. Her laugh was brief, almost forced, and though she played along, it was evident they were touching on something far more significant.

The table's laughter slowly subsided, but the faint undercurrent of tension lingered like the faint scent of burnt coffee in the air. Irina brushed Colton's comment off with practiced ease, but I caught the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth—the kind of tell that most people would overlook.

She was good at masking her emotions, I'd give her that. Too good. It wasn't difficult to piece together the history here, which was tangled and messy.

A few moments passed and everyone started conversing normally. I sipped my coffee, my mind drifting towards Colton's comment and how Irina reacted. But nonetheless, it wasn't any of my business.

The dining room door opened, and Svetlana entered with a coffee in hand while she was holding her phone with her other hand as she was on a call with someone.

"Luchshe sdelay eto segodnya vecherom. Eto ochen' vazhno," she said with authority to the person, while everyone wondered what was going on. (You better do it tonight. This is very important.)

She finally hung up with this person before sitting down. "What happened?" I asked as I ate the egg on my plate.

"I was talking to Gabriella, she's supposed to meet with Viktor's baby mama who we know will be at his funeral tonight," she informed.

I wiped my hands with a handkerchief. "I thought he had no family."

Svetlana nodded while drinking her coffee. "He didn't but he was secretly living with his stripper girlfriend and his sister."

I hummed as I spoke. "You think she'll get something out?"

"I guess it's worth a try. Maybe she'll talk," Nikolai added, making me nod.

Svetlana finished her coffee and stood. "You should head to the training ground. Go and check in on the recruits and I'll be with Dimitri," she stated. "While you all can work on the cyber files."

Everyone nodded and started leaving to do their work.

....

The city streets blurred past as Marcus drove, his focus split between the road and our conversation.

"I don't know why Svetlana insists on micromanaging," I muttered, glancing out the window at the early morning bustle.

"She doesn't micromanage," Marcus countered, his tone neutral. "She manages. Big difference."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, if she'd trusted Gabriella to handle Viktor's girlfriend without ten phone calls, we wouldn't have been dragged out here this early."

Marcus smirked, a rare flicker of amusement breaking his usual composure. "Dragging you out of bed before noon is practically a national achievement."

"Ha ha," I deadpanned.

He took a sharp left, the tires squealing faintly against the pavement. "You could at least admit it's nice to get out of the safe house once in a while. Stretch your legs. See the city."

"Sure," I said, crossing my arms. "Nothing like visiting a training ground to really take in the sights."

Marcus shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips.

I noticed it before he did—the black SUV trailing us, picking up speed as it maneuvered through traffic.

"Marcus," I said sharply, nodding toward the rearview mirror.

His expression hardened instantly. "I see it."

The SUV behind us suddenly surged forward, ramming into our back bumper with enough force to jolt us in our seats.

"Hold on," Marcus muttered, gripping the wheel tightly. He swerved into another lane, the engine roaring as he sped up.

The first bullet shattered the rear window, spraying shards of glass across the backseat.

"Get down!" I shouted, ducking instinctively.

Marcus cursed under his breath, his hands steady on the wheel despite the chaos. "They're trying to force us off the road."

"They'll have to try harder than that," I retorted, reaching for the handgun tucked under my jacket.

The SUV rammed us again, harder this time, and Marcus swerved sharply to avoid a parked car. "You mind doing something about that?" he snapped.

"Working on it," I said, rolling down the window and leaning out just enough to take aim. My first shot hit their front tire, and the SUV veered slightly before regaining control. "Keep driving," I told him, firing again. This time, the bullet shattered their windshield.

For a brief moment, I thought we'd bought ourselves some time.

But I was wrong.

The SUV accelerated, slamming into our side with a bone-jarring force. The impact sent our car spinning, my body lurching sideways as Marcus struggled to keep control of the wheel.

I barely had time to register his voice shouting my name before the world flipped upside down.

When I came to, the first thing I noticed was the coppery tang of blood in my mouth. My head throbbed fiercely, and a dull ache spread across my shoulder. The world was tilted—no, not tilted. Upside down.

I blinked, trying to focus, and realized I was still strapped into my seat, the seat belt digging into my chest. The shattered remains of the windshield framed the chaotic scene outside—a street strewn with debris, the black SUV stopped a few feet away, its doors hanging open.

A groan beside me made my head snap to the side. Marcus.

He was slumped in his seat, his face pale, but his eyelids fluttered open as he let out another low groan.

"Marcus," I rasped, my voice barely above a whisper.

He turned toward me slowly, his brow furrowing as he took in our predicament. "What...?"

"The car flipped," I said, my words feeling sluggish as I reached up to unbuckle my seatbelt. My fingers fumbled at first, the pain in my head making it hard to concentrate.

As the buckle clicked free, I braced myself with one arm, easing down onto the crumpled roof beneath me. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I gritted my teeth and pushed through it.

Marcus followed suit, grunting as he managed to free himself and slide down. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Okay, I suppose," I muttered, wiping at the trickle of blood running down my temple. "You?"

"Alive. I'll take it."

Together, we crawled out through the shattered passenger window. The attackers were already retreating, disappearing down an alley with hurried steps. Their SUV had been abandoned, and the hood crumpled from the collision.

"They're running," Marcus observed, his tone tight with frustration.

"They think we're down," I said, looking at the flipped car. "Probably didn't expect us to survive."

My hands shook as I pulled my phone out of my pocket, the cracked screen making it harder to dial. Marcus crouched beside me, his gaze darting between me and the retreating figures.

The trembling of my hands and the blurriness in my eyes made it difficult to see who I was dialing. "Nora? What happened?" Dimitri's sharp, authoritative voice called out as he picked up after the first ring. Damn it, I called him.

"We were hit, an unknown car chased us down," I spoke quickly, the words tumbling out.

"Where are you?" He asked as I heard shuffling in the background and different people talking.

"Somewhere near the western district. It was deliberate, Dimitri. They tried to kill us."

A tense silence followed before his response came, laced with cold fury. "Stay where you are. I'm on my way."

The line went dead.

I exhaled shakily, slipping the phone back into my pocket. Marcus was already scanning the area, his jaw tight. "Think they'll come back?"

"They'd be stupid if they did," I replied, though the edge in my voice betrayed my uncertainty.

Minutes felt like hours as we waited, leaning against the wrecked car. My head hurt and my legs felt sore but I didn't have the luxury of falling apart—not yet.

When Dimitri's car finally arrived, screeching to a halt, the tension that had coiled tight in my chest loosened just slightly. He stepped out, his expression unreadable, but the fury in his eyes was unmistakable.

Irina and Nikolai followed close behind, their weapons drawn and their gazes sweeping the area for any lingering threats.

"What the hell happened?" Dimitri demanded, striding toward us.

"They came out of nowhere," Marcus said, straightening despite his obvious discomfort. "Followed us, rammed us, and took off after the crash."

Dimitri's gaze snapped to me, his eyes narrowing as he took in the blood on my face. "Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," I said quickly, waving him off. "Just a scratch."

"You look like you got hit by a brick," Nikolai said, his tone dry but his eyes concerned.

"It's not as bad as it looks," I insisted, though the pounding in my head said otherwise.

Dimitri's jaw tightened, and he turned to Irina. "Get someone to track the SUV. I want to know who sent them."

Irina nodded, already pulling out her phone.

"This was a direct hit," Dimitri said, his voice low and dangerous. "They knew what they were doing."

"And they almost succeeded," Marcus added grimly.

Dimitri's eyes darkened, and he glanced back at the wreckage. "We're not letting this slide. They'll pay for this."

For a moment, I thought I saw something else in his expression—a flicker of worry buried beneath the anger. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the cold, calculating demeanor I knew so well.

"Let's get you out of here," he said finally, his tone leaving no room for argument.

As I climbed into the backseat of Dimitri's car, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. Whoever had sent those attackers wasn't just trying to scare us—they were sending a message.

And it was one we couldn't ignore.

Back at the meeting hall, everyone sat quietly. The silence wasn't just quiet—it was invasive, a void that swallowed sound and left behind an uneasy hum in the ears.

After Marcus and I had tended to our wounds, we decided it was enough. Dimitri had told everyone that tonight would be different.

"Everyone knows that this was a definite assassination attempt and we think it was not supposed to be on Nora and Marcus," Svetlana spoke, her voice echoing in the large hall. "Dimitri says it was supposed to be me in the car."

"That's right," he stood up while speaking. "That is the exact reason why they ran. They thought it was Svetlana in the car and they wanted to kill her but when they found out it was you two, they ran off."

I glanced at Marcus with worry, while others started humming with surprise and uneasiness.

"So me and Dimitri have come up with a huge decision," Svetlana added, standing next to the man who was still brooding.

"And what's that?" I questioned in confusion.

"We want to align the clan and make Dimitri the official head." 

{Word Count- 2241}

A/N

Updating after two weeks but here we are. I didn't receive a lot of votes on the last chapter but I still wrote.

Please vote and comment. More drama to come from the next chapter onwards.

Anyway, see you on ephemeral hearts soon :)

xoxo

-lily