The whiskey in Katerina’s glass was worth more than most people made in a month. It burned going down, a clean, expensive fire. Just like the one still burning in the warehouse district.

Senator Lilian Grayson sat across from her in the plush, silent office, her own glass of mineral water untouched. The woman was a statue of polished ambition.

“A mess, Katerina,” Grayson said, her voice cool. “A publicly recorded firefight. A dead Ivanov enforcer. This draws the wrong kind of ...