The plane touched down on an abandoned airstrip, hidden between stretches of Romanian forest. Adrian kept his hand on Valentina’s lower back as they exited, his sharp gaze slicing through the thick mist.
Everything about this screamed trap.
But they had no choice now. The old contact Nicolae was their last thread of hope.
Valentina stayed close, her pistol tucked into her jacket, steps silent as a shadow. She was no longer the woman he first captured. She had sharpened herself into a weapon.
And Adrian couldn’t decide if it made him proud or furious.
A battered jeep rumbled toward them. Nicolae climbed out, his scarred face breaking into a grin.
“You look like hell, Costa,” he rasped in thick-accented English.
Adrian didn’t smile. “Get us out of sight.”
Nicolae nodded, gesturing th
