Maxim Chernov doesn't make mistakes. For eleven years, he's been Aleksei Volkov's most trusted enforcer — the one who manages threats before they become problems. The one who is never distracted, never compromised, never caught off guard.
Then Camille Reyes walked into a fundraiser with a press badge, a recorder, and questions sharp enough to cut glass. He deflected her that night. He's been reading her articles every morning since.
Eight months later, she's published something that changes everything. The Volkov operation is exposed — not dangerously, not yet — but close enough that Aleksei sends Maxim to have a conversation. One conversation. Establish what she has. Find out what she wants.
Camille Reyes doesn't want to be managed. She wants the truth, she'll publish it regardless, and the only question is whether she writes it accurately or not. She gives him a choice: cooperate or get out of the way.
She doesn't expect him to give her thirty-seven organized documents.
She doesn't expect him to drive at a consistent three-block distance to every source meeting.
She doesn't expect to fall for the most dangerous man she's ever interviewed.
But she has a notebook. And the truest things she's ever written aren't the ones that ran in the paper.
Then Camille Reyes walked into a fundraiser with a press badge, a recorder, and questions sharp enough to cut glass. He deflected her that night. He's been reading her articles every morning since.
Eight months later, she's published something that changes everything. The Volkov operation is exposed — not dangerously, not yet — but close enough that Aleksei sends Maxim to have a conversation. One conversation. Establish what she has. Find out what she wants.
Camille Reyes doesn't want to be managed. She wants the truth, she'll publish it regardless, and the only question is whether she writes it accurately or not. She gives him a choice: cooperate or get out of the way.
She doesn't expect him to give her thirty-seven organized documents.
She doesn't expect him to drive at a consistent three-block distance to every source meeting.
She doesn't expect to fall for the most dangerous man she's ever interviewed.
But she has a notebook. And the truest things she's ever written aren't the ones that ran in the paper.
Used availability for Cora J Riley's The Bratva Enforcer