Chapter 30

30

“Dr. Jonsdottir, it’s a pleasure.” Leo’s handshake was firm, his smile welcoming, but there was something in his eyes that made her pulse skip. A flicker of darkness lurked just beneath the surface, like a shadow ready to pounce.

On the drive over she’d skimmed through the profiles of Guardsmen Security, reading between the lines of what little information was available. Leo had been special forces just like Abe, but Leo exuded something far more lethal. A predator in plain sight, restrained by little more than circumstance. This was a man who had walked through the darkness and hadn’t fully come back.

“Just Freya, thank you.”

Leo inclined his head and smiled. “Freya, then. You’ve met my brother Zak Bychkov already.”

“I have.”

Zak flashed a boyish grin. “Good to see you again, Freya.”

The woman in the blue dress with the polite smile stepped forward, extending her hand. “Thank you for coming, Freya. I’m Kat Landon, MI6.” Her words were professional, but there was a glance exchanged between her and Leo—a quiet acknowledgment. “And of course, you know this gentleman.”

How had she missed him?

“Einar? What are you doing here?”

He clasped her in a hug of cologne. “The team was concerned for your safety. So, I came. Tinna sends her love.” Tinna . Tears pricked her eyes. Had it only been days since she’d last seen her?

“We appreciate the last few days have been challenging.” Kat cleared her throat. “Shall we all sit?”

Abe pulled a seat out for her. She shot him a grateful smile. “It has been difficult, yes, but I have been well looked after by Abe and Fox.”

Kat nodded approvingly. “Good to hear. Shall we get straight to the point? You’re all likely wondering why I asked for this meeting in person.”

Freya waited; hands folded in her lap.

“Recent intelligence has given us a lead on the missing laptop. Given the potential security breach at Hellisheidi, I couldn’t risk sharing this information electronically.”

Freya’s gut clenched. What had they found?

Her eyes darted to Abe, who covered her hands with his own. At his touch, the knot in her belly eased, though the fear remained.

Kat unclipped a brown manila envelope from the blue file. She tipped it over, spreading photographs across the table. “These were taken by one of our operatives. We’ve placed an agent deep within Adrik Korolov’s organization.”

“Adrik Korolov? I know the name.” Leo picked up a photograph and studied it before passing it to Freya. It was a glossy ten by eight print of a well-dressed man entering what looked like a high-end club— Nightingales. In his shadow walked two heavyset men. Security, she guessed.

Kat tapped the photograph closest to her, spun the photograph to face her. “Adrik Korolov. Russian arms dealer with a penchant for high-tech weaponry. Our sources confirm he’s in possession of your device, Freya. He’s the one who arranged for it to be stolen. Do you recognize him?”

Freya licked her dry lips. This was her nightmare made real—someone using her work to weaponize innocent people. She leaned closer to the photograph, willing herself to recognize his features. “There was a group of investors who toured the plant just before I completed the archive.” The memory was hazy. So much had happened since then. “But I can’t—I’m sorry, I don’t recognize him.”

She scanned the assembled group at the table. “Even if it was him, the archiving was classified. How would he have known what was going on? Or even that all the crucial data was on my laptop? The thieves wasted no time looking at anything else. They went straight for the laptop, no questions asked.”

Kat shook her head. “That’s still unclear. We’re investigating potential leaks, but nothing concrete yet.”

An insider. Her first gut instinct, now haunting her again with fresh evidence.

“Korolov sent men to Iceland last week,” Kat continued. “A squad of his best mercenaries. One was found restrained at the home of Dr. Asta Eriksdottir—a notable Icelandic physicist.”

Freya gasped. Asta. “Is she okay? We had to leave, and we didn’t know if she was even—” Her hand flew to her mouth as memories of their escape flooded back.

Kat nodded, and a sudden lightness blew through Freya.

Thank God.

“Dr. Eriksdottir is safe and well. I can’t say the same for one of Korolov’s men. He was found tied to a kitchen chair, wearing a colander as a helmet.” Kat narrowed her eyes at the document. “At least according to the report.”

Abe snorted. “Definitely sounds like Asta.”

Freya dabbed at her eyes, her relief hardening into resolve. She met Kat’s gaze across the table. “How can I help you retrieve the laptop from Korolov?”

“One company he uses as a front is hosting a charity gala in a few days at the Dorchester. It’s a cover for a high-stakes tech auction.”

“Let me guess,” Abe said. “The laptop’s on the block.”

“Yes.” Kat agreed.

“But it’s still encrypted,” Freya said.

Kat nodded. “Yes. Which gives us an opportunity?—”

Abe made a choked sound. “Absolutely not.”

Freya spun to face him. Was she missing something here?

“Abe. Do you have something to share?” Leo asked.

“We can’t put a civilian at risk in an operation.” Abe met Freya’s gaze. “Especially one like Korolov. His security team are animals.”

Oh.

Understanding slipped into place. She twisted the band of her watch until metal pressed into skin. They weren’t just after her expertise—they wanted her as bait. A lure for Korolov.

“That sounds dangerous,” Freya said quietly.

“It is.” Abe shifted forward, closing the space between them like he could shield her from the truth. But it was too late for that.

“It could work, right? He needs me to open the laptop. If he has me, it leads us right to it. You could catch him in the act—when he tries to take me.”

“Freya, it’s not that simple.” Abe flexed his fingers against the table. She knew him well enough now, knew he was struggling to hold back.

She ignored the way her heart tripped at his concern.

We’re not even a couple.

She straightened in her chair. “I was responsible for that laptop when it was stolen. This is my chance to fix it.” Her voice was calm. “And there’s a kill switch embedded in the encryption. If I got close enough, I could destroy the data. End this whole nightmare. ”

“A kill switch? That sounds like the best idea yet.” Zak rubbed his hands together.

“That would be a less than choice scenario.” Kat frowned.

“But preferable to it falling into the wrong hands.” Freya drew in a slow breath, as possibility crystallized into certainty. Finally—a solution. An end to this endless game of cat and mouse. “I’m done hiding.” She held Abe’s gaze, refusing to flinch. “Hiding has never worked out for me.”

“We are not using you as bait.” Abe carved out each word like granite.

“Abe. It’s my choice.” She captured his battle-scarred hands between hers, smaller but just as determined. “This is my research, my responsibility. I want to help. I want to do this.”

“What if something goes wrong, Freya?” Shadows lived in his expression.

“What if we do nothing and he comes after me, anyway?” she met his gaze, refusing to look away from the hard-set of his jaw. “I could just as easily be hurt waiting for him to make his move. This way, we control the timeline. We choose the ground. We catch him off balance.”

Abe’s chair creaked. “Maybe.”

“It could work.” Leo pulled up a blueprint on his tablet. “We’d have a full team in place. Multiple layers of protection, an airtight extraction plan. Freya wouldn’t take a single step into the Dorchester without complete coverage.”

Abe shoved back from the table, his chair screeching. “I want it on the record that I am extremely unhappy about this.”

Freya turned away, her chest constricted. Her fingers curled into her palms, nails biting into her palms, but she squared her shoulders. She understood his anxiety, but this had to end. She couldn’t hide forever. Her archive had started this. Now she could help end it.

She faced Kat and uncurled her fingers, laid her hands flat on the polished table. “Tell me what you need me to do.”