SECURED

Mr. GRUMPY

•Kirril•

As I sat in the meeting room, my thoughts kept wandering back to the previous night. After I had tucked Ciya into bed, Ray had told us about the letter she found by her window. My stomach stir at the thought-another breach in our home. A mole, Ray had said. We had to be careful, more than ever.

Ray sat in the middle chair, his usual commanding presence filling the room, while Roman, Ivian, and I sat on other side. The rest of our men filled the remaining seats, all listening intently as Ray spoke.

"It could be the maid or one of the bodyguards who put the letter in her room," Ray began, his voice calm yet firm. "We have a mole in the house again. I want every single CCTV checked. Keep an eye on all the guards, especially when they leave the house. Make sure to check what they bring in and out with them."

Roman added in, his voice carrying its usual authority. "We can't afford to be careless with her security. If you notice anything odd about anyone's behavior, report it immediately. I want full reports on my desk by 11 every day."

Just as Roman finished, there was a knock on the door. All of us shared a look, wondering who dared interrupt a meeting like this. Ray, as calm as ever, gestured toward the door. "Come in."

To my surprise-and everyone else's-our princess.

Ciya, walking in with that innocent look on her face, completely unaware we were in the middle of a meeting . "Ray, I wanted to-" she began but stopped in her tracks when she noticed the room full of people.

I could feel my protective instincts flare up immediately. Every man in the room turned their attention toward her, and it pissed me off. I didn't want anyone looking at her like that.

Why is everyone looking at her? Don't they have anything else to do?

Ray, sensing the tension, softened his voice. "What happened, princess?"

She hesitated, her eyes scanning the room until they landed on one of our men.

It was Nikolai.

Her expression changed instantly, her eyes widening with shock. "No... No. 27?" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

We all followed her gaze to Nikolai, who stood frozen, clearly just as surprised as she was. Something about this interaction was off, and I didn't like it one bit. My jaw clenched as I tried to make sense of it. How did Ciya know him? And why did she look so shocked?

"Princess, do you know him?" Ivian asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and concern.

Nikolai, on the other hand, glanced nervously at us, his eyes shifting between Ciya and the rest of us. His silence was unnerving, and I could feel my blood boiling.

I shot a glare at him, fully aware that I was being over the top, but I didn't care. The guy had no business being surprised by her presence. Heck, he had no business being in the same room as her. My overactive imagination was already working overtime.

Ray's voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. "Kirril, you're staring."

I blinked. "I'm just... observing." Observing Nikolai's every move, every twitch. Who was this guy to her?

No one was going to be her No. 27. Nope. Not on my watch.

"Yes, I know him," Ciya began, her voice steady yet carrying an undertone of something deeper. "He was there when I was caged during my mission. He was in the exact opposite cage."

Her words struck me like a blow.My baby sister always seems to cause trouble-though only for our enemies. She's untouchable otherwise, and I'll keep it that way. But the moment she continued, something stirred inside me.