For a long while I sit on the edge of the bed, watching Sandi sleep, her bruised shoulder catching the light—deep wine-blue, cuts edged in shadow, finger imprints faded but still visible. Not play. Not conquest. Just the evidence of survival. It’s almost peaceful, this hush. Sandi sleeps, breathing even; I tuck the blanket higher…
Tag: women
The COMC Files Book V Yerevan
I curl up in the armchair by the bed, bare feet tucked against the cushion, watching the slow rise and fall of Sandi’s chest. A soft but firm knock interrupts my thoughts. I open the door to find Mikael standing there, coat unbuttoned, eyes slate in the corridor light. “Tarmo would like a word,” he…
The COMC Files Book V Yerevan
Tarmo waited until Mikael’s breathing settled before reaching for the secure channel. The suite felt smaller with the door closed. He poured a glass he wouldn’t drink—habit, not thirst—and keyed in the feed. Karim’s face bloomed first, grainy. Then Mitra’s, backlit by amber. “The codes,” Tarmo said. “You have them.” Not a question. Karim inclined…
The COMC Files Book V Yerevan
The Ledger The corridor to the far sauna suite was silent but for the muted creak of old floorboards under Tarmo’s steps. He didn’t speak, didn’t glance back to see if Mikael was following. There was nothing to say yet, and too much to be said all at once. Inside, the air soaked them in…
The COMC Files Book V Carnal Appendices1
Back to the Living I end the call to Mrs H—her voice still echoing in my ear, that promise she’d deliver news of my survival to Hasna. The phone is still in my hand when I notice movement next to me. Sandi lies there, naked, the duvet pooled at her feet, the hotel lamp bathing…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 34
The Zargari lead tips his cap. Time. Caravan forms in shadow—horses shifting, Dom carts bleeding into market chaos. Flight in every gesture: a glance, a tap, the syntax of vanishing. Asdar’s hand finds my hip. Signal, not tenderness. My skin still sparks from the interrupted bath, slick and wanting. I shove it down—longing braided with…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 30
“ENOUGH!”* My breath stops. That grunt—familiar. The blindfold is torn off in one motion. Light stabs my eyes. I blink, heart hammering, searching the crowd for the shape behind the voice. For a beat, no one moves—Romani faces flickering between suspicion and relief, Azerbaijani bystanders holding back. Somewhere in the tangle, I know the wolf…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 27
Inside, the hiss of brakes and the chime of departure boards blend into one constant undertone. The high‑speed train to Ankara waits, silver and intent, its nose angled toward the tracks stretching east. Tickets pass through the gate with soft clicks. We find our seats, stowing bags overhead. Outside, the last few passengers hurry along…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 26
Istanbul Dawn The city stirs, a thousand lives resuming. Cracked windows carry metal shutters clattering two streets over, bus brakes hissing, the simit-seller’s rising cry. Horns thick with impatience, heat building. The warehouse holds night’s breath. Mitra—cardigan-armour—coaxes the camping stove to a blue flame. Coffee bitters the cold air. She moves with dawn-departure muscle: crisp,…
The COMC Files Book V chapter 23
Elena lay there, wrapped in a blanket on a makeshift bed in the far corner of a warehouse. Her hair spilt messily over the pillow, her lips parted in the vulnerable slackness of sleep. The only light came from a single streetlamp, its beam cutting through the fractured glass high on the wall. He stepped…
The C.O.M.C. Files 