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“Shall I leave the bottle, sir?”

“No, thank you,” I say, opening the laptop and booting it up

He picks up the tray “I’ll be here until eight if you need me”

I acknowledge him with a nod before he leaves

For the next hour, I try to losea business e a knack for figures, I enjoy playing the stock h-risk projects The financial part of the business is the , especially when the money rolls in

At six, a light dusting of snow starts to fall I was going to give it another hour, but h, I scrub a hand over my face I haven’t slept in twenty-four hours It would be wise to get so worry won’t let e as I hoped it would

Pushing to hts of St Petersburg shining through a veil of snow Dinner isn’t until seven The thought of a war, but not asher—when she letsmyself that she’s here and safe It’s that last notion that ive her another hour like I promised myself She’ll come around

Igor stands when I exit the office

Grigori lifts his head “Good night, sir” For a uard by way of greeting, “Igor”

Well, hell I would’ve never guessed Who knew Grigori had a soft spot for uard?

If Igor picks up on anything, he doesn’t show it

At the reception area downstairs, Igor gets our coats where the clerk had checked the his satchel and uuard is already there to take his place

Yuri sits on a sofa near the exit, reading a book After we go through the security scanners, he shuts the book and gets up to open the door