Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 94

What Made It Worth The Risk.

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We hadn’t even made it three steps toward the others before Conner’s dad came around the corner. His boots crunched gravel, his shoulders were broad enough to block half the path, and those pale eyes cut right through us. I froze. Heat prickled at the back of my neck, my hair wild, my shirt still askew. Hopefully, he couldn’t tell what his son had just done to me in the stables. Hopefully. Pa’s gaze lingered a second too long, suspicion sharpening the lines of his face, before he cleared his throat. “Time to strategise,” he said simply, his Irish burr heavy as stone. Then he turned, expecting us to follow. Conner only smirked, like he had nothing to hide. I wanted to elbow him in the ribs, but I kept my mouth shut and fell into step. Naomi and Liam joined us, Naomi humming cheerfully as if she hadn’t already guessed the entire bloody truth.

The main house loomed ahead, tall and sturdy, the kind of place built to weather storms. Inside, it was rustic, sheek, timber beams overhead, stone walls softened with tapestries, and old oak floors worn smooth from decades of boots. Antlers and framed photographs lined the halls, the history of this family etched into every wall. It smelled like woodsmoke and fresh bread, homely in a way that made my chest ache with something unfamiliar. Pa led us through to his office at the back. The room was broad, masculine, but not cold, bookshelves lining one wall, a wide desk scarred from years of use, leather chairs pulled close around it. A fire burned in the hearth, its crackle the only sound as Pa shut the door behind us. He turned then, folding his arms, eyes sweeping over each of us in turn, Liam steady, Naomi restless, Conner infuriatingly smug, and me, still trying to shake the feel of his hands on my skin.

“Alright,” Pa said, his voice quiet but heavy, settling like a command. “Let’s talk about how we end Yakov. Tell me about him. How does he work? Where’s his compound? How many are we talking? Be precise.”

I breathed once, finding the rhythm I needed. Today, I would spill every secret that has been drilled into me to take to my grave.

“He runs like a network, not a single fortress.” I started flat. “His core is in the foothills, remote, fortified, a converted monastery deep in the Carpathian ridge. It’s not on any tourist map; he uses old smuggling routes to bring in supplies and to move people. The place he uses most is twenty–odd kilometres off the nearest town, hidden in a hollow with one road in and out. It’s perfect for control and for keeping outsiders from seeing patterns.”

Pa’s eyes didn’t leave me. “And manpower?”

“Core fighters, the ones he grooms to be ghosts, number between forty and sixty inside that compound at any given time. They’re the tip of his blade. Around them he has a secondary web: handlers, logistics crews, drivers, local informants and paid cops. That pushes his operational footprint into the hundreds when you include off–site assets and sleeper cells across Eastern Europe. He doesn’t rely on large open formations. He likes small teams, deniable, brutal, precise.”

“Training?” Pa asked.

I let out a hard breath. “Break, rebuild, technical overlay. Physical conditioning until your body moves on instinct; psychological enforcement to make obedience reflex. Then you’re layered with tradecraft: lock–picking, silent entry, close–quarters killing. On top of that he has a tech cadre, about eight to twelve specialists, who teach electronic tradecraft: how to hack CCTV, black out a grid, spoof identities, and build ad hoc surveillance from off–the–shelf parts. That’s what makes them dangerous: they’re not just fighters. They can make a city blind or make your systems open like a book.”

“Where do they get their intel?” He pushed.

“Three ways,” I said, “Internal surveillance, cameras and moles in places his targets move, Commercial buys, scraped data, bought records, corrupt clerks. And fear: people talk when they think it’ll keep them alive. He cultivates all three. He’s surgical with what he acts on, and fanatical about not leaving traces when he does,”

Pa tapped the arm of his chair. “How do they communicate?”

“Encrypted channels,” I said. “Mesh–style comms that can bridge offline with couriers when needed. Short–burst radio for field ops, and disposable comm devices preprogrammed to self–wipe. They’re paranoid by design, compartmentalized cells with cut–outs, so you kill one

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What Made It Worth The Risk.

cell and the rest keep moving.”

“Any weak points?” Conner asked quietly.

I leaned forward. This was what I’d been saving for. “Yes. Too many to ignore. Yakov’s strength is his tech and his control; his weakness is the same. He centralizes sensitive systems in a few locations, a comm hub, a server room, a small number of handlers who stitch everything together. Cut the head off the network’s ability to see and coordinate, and you shatter the illusion of omniscience. He also uses predictable logistics: supply runs come through the same routes on a schedule because it’s easier to manage. He trusts fear to hold people in place, but fear cracks when presented with something steadier, like food and simple loyalty. Finally, he underestimates people who leave on purpose; those who defect with grudges can be the most effective counters because they know his methods and where he hides his pride.”

Pa’s hands were clasped so tight I could see the knuckles whiten. “You? What do you want? What did you want when you slipped out?”

“I wanted love…” The words fell out quieter than I meant. My gaze slid to Conner before I could stop it, and of course, he caught it, grinning wickedly, puffing his chest out like a bloody peacock. Typical. My cheeks heated, and I hated myself for it. Pa’s eyes narrowed, not in disapproval but in thought. Maybe it wasn’t the kind of answer he’d expected from a trained killer.

“I wanted love,” I repeated, straighter this time, forcing steel into it. “Not the leash, Yakov called loyalty. I wanted to be seen, to be heard, I wanted to love and be loved.”

Naomi gave a low whistle, leaning back in her chair, her grin sharper than knives. “Well, fuck me. That was cute.”

Liam smacked the back of her chair, muttering, “Shut it, crazy,” but he was smiling too.

“You’ll have it here,” Pa said at last, voice deep, final. “Not just love. Respect. Loyalty earned the right way. And family, because that’s

what stands the test.”

For a second, my throat closed. My heart thundered in my chest, and damn it, a single tear stung the corner of my eye, quick as a blade, gone just as fast. Hopefully, no one saw.

Conner squeezed my hand, grin smug and proud. Pa leaned back, folding his arms again. “Now,” he rumbled, “let’s put that fire of yours to work. We’ll need every scrap of what you know if we’re going to bleed Yakov dry.”

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