The setting in Omsk was sharp, the cold biting through my coat as I stepped out of the SUV. Snow crunched beneath my boots, the sound swallowed by the eerie quiet of the street. The drive had been long, and exhaustion sat heavy in my bones, but I pushed it aside as I took in the house before us.

Boris's place loomed ahead, dark except for the glow of a single porch light. He wasn't here to greet us, just as Dimitri had said. He had left the city, offering us his home as a temporary base. It felt strange arriving like this like ghosts slipping into a house that wasn't ours.

Three men stood at the entrance, dressed in heavy coats and reeking of cheap vodka and arrogance. Their eyes flickered over us, assessing. Or more specifically, assessing me and Irina.

One of them, a bald man with a thick beard, let out a low whistle. "Boris didn't tell us such sexy women will be here tonight." His gaze dragged over me shamelessly before landing on Irina, who took a small, instinctive step back.

The second man smirked, elbowing the first. "Didn't know there'd be entertainment." His tone was laced with suggestion, making my stomach churn.

Irina stiffened beside me, and I saw the way her fingers curled around the edges of her coat. She wasn't used to men like this—the ones who thought power gave them permission to say whatever the hell they wanted.

Dimitri took a step forward, his jaw tightening. But before he could defend us, I didn't let him. Instead, I exhaled sharply and took a single step forward, making sure they saw exactly what I wanted them to see—not hesitation, not uncertainty. Just boredom.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. My tone was light, almost amused, as if their words had been nothing more than background noise. "Because I've heard better lines from men who actually lived to finish them."

The bald man's smirk just shifted slightly, but he recovered quickly. "It has impressed many actually," he grinned, showing me his yellow teeth, making me cringe.

I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "The only way a woman will ever touch you is with a taser so don't talk about impressing a woman dumbass," I said with a smile, but there was nothing warm about it.

The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.

The younger man cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly. The third, who had been silent the entire time, subtly stepped back.

Dimitri said nothing. He didn't have to. He was watching, waiting. But I saw a subtle expression in his eyes, like he wanted to smile but he never did.

"You can go in," the second guy muttered, suddenly very interested in the ground.

"Thought so." I walked past him without another word, noticing how he never looked up even when Irina walked by him.

The warmth inside was barely an improvement. The house smelled of old wood and stale cigar smoke, the kind of place that held more secrets than memories.

Dimitri shut the door behind us with a quiet click, his presence as heavy as ever. I expected him to move on and start giving orders in that cold, authoritative way. But instead, he turned to me, smirking.

"Well," he drawled, shrugging off his coat. "That was quite the performance, printsessa."

I knew why he had said that, to get under my skin which made my stomach tighten for half a second before I pushed the feeling away.

I folded my arms, arching a brow. "Excuse me?"

His smirk deepened. "You enjoy that a little too much."

I rolled my eyes. "I enjoy shutting up idiots. Which, come to think of it, means I do have a lot of practice."

Marcus let out a quiet chuckle, clearly entertained, while Nikolai, who had started inspecting the bookshelves, shook his head. "Do you two ever take a break?"

"No," Marcus answered before I could. "And honestly, I've just accepted it at this point."

Dimitri watched him for a moment, the amusement in his eyes turned dark before there was a knock at the door and we couldn't bicker for much longer.

The men who had greeted us earlier stepped in after knocking, their boots tracking faint dirt onto the wooden floors. One of them—a wiry man with a scar running down his cheek—gestured toward the main space with a grunt. "This is it."

The living room was surprisingly decent. A large couch sat near a small coffee table, a worn-out armchair beside it. A kitchen connected to the space, simple yet functional, with dark cabinets and an old fridge humming quietly. The only bathroom was large, positioned at the back of the house, as if it had been built for multiple people to use at once.

"There are two bedrooms," another man added, motioning toward the short hallway. "The third room's just storage. You'll have to make do."

I glanced at the others. Two bedrooms. Five of us.

The men didn't linger. With a nod, they left, the heavy door shutting behind them. A moment of silence settled in before Nikolai clapped his hands together. "Well, I think we all know how this is going to go."

Dimitri exhaled, rubbing his jaw. "Three of us will take one room. The girls can take the other."

I scoffed. "Oh? And what if I wanted my own room?"

Marcus smirked, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Then I suppose one of us would have to sleep outside in the snow, and since I like all my fingers, I'll be taking a bed."

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue. It wasn't like I had a real issue with sharing with Irina—at least she wasn't the one who got on my nerves.

"Fine," I said, stretching out my arms. "Let's just hope this place doesn't have rats."

Irina visibly paled. "What? Please don't say that," she said, hugging her arms as if that was going to save her from the rats.

I shot her an amused glance. "You're acting like I invited them," I said, unable to hide the smirk tugging at the corners of my lips. "Relax. We're not in a haunted house, just a shitty one."

Irina gave me a dubious look, her fingers still clutching her arms as if she might fly into panic mode at any moment.

"Alright since Boris will probably meet us in the morning, we all should go rest and stretch our legs," Dimitri announced as he took his shoulder bag and headed down the hall along with Marcus and Nikolai following him.

Taking my bag, Irina and I walked up the stairs. "This is an interesting room," Irina mumbled as he opened the door with two beds in each corner.

"At least the beds aren't together," I said with an eye roll as she sighed and placed the bag on her side of the bed.

Irina stretched her arms and let out a small sigh. "I should change," she said, picking up a smaller bag. "I'll be back in a minute."

I nodded, watching as she slipped out of the room and down the hall toward the bathroom.

With the room to myself, I took a slow glance around. It was plain—four dull walls, a creaky wooden floor, and a dusty light fixture that flickered every now and then. The beds weren't anything special, but at least they were separated, positioned on opposite sides of the room.

I claimed the one near the window, dropping my bag onto the mattress before turning toward the curtain. The fabric was heavy, dark, meant to keep prying eyes out. But something tugged at me, an odd feeling settling in my stomach.

Instinct.

I moved the curtain just enough to peer outside.

Down near the entrance gate, two men stood in the dim glow of a nearby streetlamp. At first, nothing seemed out of place—they were just talking. But then I noticed it. The way their postures stiffened. The way one of them jerked his chin toward the very window I was standing at.

My fingers twitched against the curtain.

I couldn't hear their words, but I didn't need to. The way they kept gesturing, glancing toward the house—was enough to set me on edge.

Before they could notice I was watching, I let the curtain fall shut, stepping back with a slow breath.

A knock at the door made me tense.

I exhaled, shaking off the unease before heading over. When I opened it, Marcus stood there, hands in the pockets of his hoodie, a lazy grin on his face.

"Hey," he said, stepping inside before I could even invite him. "I couldn't sleep in this weird-ass house."

I shut the door behind him. "Is that so?"

"Yup." He plopped down onto my bed, stretching his legs out with zero hesitation. "Besides, Dimitri keeps moving in his sleep like he's wrestling a damn bear, and Nikolai won't shut up about how uncomfortable the mattress is. I figured I'd save myself from their whining and come bother you instead."

I raised a brow. "Lucky me."

Marcus chuckled, leaning back against the headboard. "You know, for once, you should be honored by my presence. I'm a delight to have around."

I crossed my arms, feigning thoughtfulness. "Hmm. I don't know. You are tolerable. But a delight? That's pushing it."

He clutched his chest like I'd wounded him. "Wow. That hurts, Nora. That really hurts."

I rolled my eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You'll survive."

Marcus smirked but let the silence settle between us for a moment. Then, tilting his head, he asked, "You alright?"

I hesitated. Briefly, I thought about mentioning what I'd seen outside, but I brushed it off. "Yeah. Just tired."

He didn't entirely look convinced but didn't push either. Instead, he grinned again. "Alright, well, since I'm here, let's talk about something important."

I gave him a suspicious look. "Like what?"

"Like who you think would win in a fight—me or a hundred duck-sized horses?"

I blinked. "Marcus."

"I'm serious," he said, biting back laughter. "A hundred of them, all tiny, all angry. You think I'd survive?"

I shook my head, unable to stop the small chuckle that escaped me. "I think you'd get your ass kicked."

He gasped, dramatically pressing a hand to his forehead. "Unbelievable. I thought we were friends."

"You thought wrong."

Marcus laughed, the sound warm, lighthearted, so him. It was a rare thing—to find someone who could make a place like this feel a little less suffocating.

But Marcus wasn't done yet.

"You know, I think you just don't appreciate my strategic mind," he said, sitting up. "Think about it. The duck-sized horses would be fast, sure. But I'd have the advantage in reach. I'd just start kicking them away like—" he made a sweeping motion with his foot, "—bam, instant win."

"You sound very passionate about this."

He nodded, completely serious. "I am."

I fought back a smirk. "Okay, genius. What about one horse-sized duck?"

Marcus froze, considering. Then, finally, he exhaled. "See, now that's an issue."

I chuckled. "Because?"

"Because ducks are terrifying, Nora. They don't blink. They just stare. And imagine that, but big enough to swallow you whole."

I laughed, shaking my head. "So you're saying you'd rather fight a hundred tiny ones than one big one?"

He nodded without hesitation. "Absolutely."

"Coward."

Marcus smirked, pointing at me. "Mark my words, one day you'll see a giant duck and regret underestimating them."

"Right. I'll make sure to keep an eye out."

We sat there for a while, just talking—about things that didn't matter, things that did, things that made no sense at all.

Marcus let out a content sigh, shifting to sit cross-legged on the bed. "Man, I miss this."

I raised an eyebrow. "Miss what?"

He gestured between us. "Talking like this. Feels like it's been forever since we just sat down and talked without, you know—"

"Someone trying to kill us?"

He snapped his fingers. "Exactly."

I smirked, leaning back on my elbows. "Well, if it makes you feel better, we've still got the rest of the night for you to be a complete idiot."

Marcus grinned. "And I plan to make full use of it."

He glanced toward the window briefly before exhaling. "Remember that time we had that mission in that abandoned asylum?"

I groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Oh no, we're absolutely talking about it," he said, laughing. "You were so convinced something was watching us the whole time."

I crossed my arms. "That's because something was watching us. You saw the cameras."

"Yeah, but before we found the cameras, you were all jumpy and convinced the place was haunted."

I scoffed. "It felt haunted."

Marcus nodded dramatically. "Oh, of course. Because the great Nora Belova has feelings about things now."

I threw a pillow at him, which he barely dodged. "Shut up."

He was still laughing. "Okay, okay. But seriously, I'll admit... that place was creepy."

I smirked. "You screamed when that pigeon flew out of the ceiling."

His smile dropped. "I did not scream."

"Oh, you definitely did."

Marcus pointed at me. "That thing was possessed. No normal bird moves like that."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

Just as Marcus and I settled into a comfortable silence, the door swung open, and Irina stepped inside.

"There's a freaking cockroach in the—" She cut herself off mid-sentence, her gaze locking onto Marcus sitting on the bed.

Marcus and I both turned toward her at the same time.

Her eyes widened as if she had just processed the situation. She was wearing a silky nightdress—one that was definitely not meant for unexpected company. As the realization dawned on her, she immediately grabbed the thin cardigan draped over her arm and pulled it tightly around herself.

Marcus, ever the gentleman, looked away instantly, clearing his throat as he got to his feet. "Uh—sorry, I forgot you were coming back."

Irina, clearly flustered, muttered something under her breath before averting her gaze toward the floor.

Marcus rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I should go anyway. I was just keeping Nora company."

I shook my head with a smile. "Couldn't handle being alone with Dimitri and Nikolai, huh?"

"Something like that." He turned toward the door but not before casting a brief glance at Irina—one I barely caught before he quickly looked away, a faint blush creeping onto his face.

Huh.

I didn't think much of it, though, as he bid us both a good night and stepped out.

Irina exhaled and finally relaxed, shutting the door behind her before walking over to her bed. "That was... unexpected."

"You're telling me."

She huffed, throwing herself onto the mattress. "I can't believe there was a cockroach in the bathroom."

I chuckled as I pulled the blanket over me. "You'll be fine."

Darkness settled over the room.

I closed my eyes, listening to the faint rustling as Irina shifted under the blankets.

And for the first time in a day, I finally succumbed to a not-so-peaceful sleep. 

[Word Count- 2617]

A/N

Finally a chapter with Marcus! I mean this wasn't as interesting as you think though.

'Printsessa' means princess in Russian.

How was the chapter btw? Share your opinions.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please vote and comment.

Check out my other works too. If you haven't already, I've posted a new desi book named "Threads of fate" which is about arrange marraige.

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xoxo

-lily