A touch of shadow

The car glided silently through the night city. Moscow's lights reflected in the windows, as if the whole world watched them from the side — silent, indifferent, but alert.

Sofie sat in silence, wrapped in Aleksei's jacket. Her hands still trembled slightly, but her heart was slowly calming. She could smell his cologne — heavy, masculine, with a hint of smoke and something... elusive. Safe.

Aleksei drove calmly. Though his lips were tight and his jaw tense, his gaze was alert. He kept checking the mirrors, watching for anyone following them.

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly.

"To my friend's dacha. It's been empty for years. Forest, fence, surveillance. No one will find you there. And no one will find you."

"And you?"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"I've already been found. I don't need to hide. I just need to... cut them off before they get to you."

She fell silent. For a moment, she listened only to the hum of the engine and his steady breathing.

"Why me, Aleksei?" she asked suddenly. "Why did they drag me into something that... should have passed me by?"

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Because it's enough that you're close to me."

"And your wife?"

"Don't talk about her. She... she wasn't a choice. She was a deal. Something meant to keep me at the table with people who think the world is a game board. But you — you're not part of the game, Sofie. And that's why you're dangerous to them."

Sofie turned her head. In the dark window, she saw her reflection. A woman with a serious face, dark eyes, in which burned more than ever before.

They finally arrived. The wooden dacha stood at the edge of the forest. Surrounded by a wall, closed with a solid gate. Inside, it was warm and quiet — as if the world had stopped there long ago.

Aleksei led her to a small room upstairs. With a fireplace, a bookshelf full of books, and a couch under a blanket.

"Here you're safe," he said quietly.

Sofie looked at him for a long time.

"And you? Where will you sleep?"

"Downstairs. Don't worry, I won't come near you unless you call me."

"And what if I've already called?" she asked softly.

He fell silent. Tension hung between them. Quiet, dense like the night air.

But he did nothing. Just looked at her with something resembling tenderness... but barely restrained.

"Rest. We'll talk in the morning."

He closed the door behind him.

But Sofie didn't sleep long. Around midnight, a knock woke her. Quiet, irregular. As if something — someone? — was walking on the porch.

She went down the stairs barefoot, heart in her throat.

In the darkness, in the light of a single lamp... Aleksei sat at the table. In front of him lay photographs. Old, yellowed. In one of them was a boy. The same one she'd seen in the office.

Aleksei raised his head.

"Can't sleep?"

"I heard something. Thought it was someone outside."

"It's just the past. It knocks the loudest at night."

Sofie sat across from him.

"Who was he?"

"My brother. He died before he learned to read."

They fell silent. The lamp's light flickered.

"Is that why you fight?" she asked.

Aleksei looked at her for a long time. Then just nodded.

"I don't fight. I live so that someone like him... can live again someday."