37. Andrey

37

ANDREY

"To our first milestone!" Cevdet toasts his glass of champagne to the sky. "Only one fucking trip and I'm a few million dollars richer. Ha!"

Cevdet isn't usually a sloppy drunk, but his excitement is justified. Our first drug run after the expansion was flawlessly executed.

Luca, however, is always a sloppy drunk. He raises his cigar in a toast and brings his glass to his lips like he's going to take a puff. He and Cevdet roar with laughter at the mistake and clink their glasses.

It's Bujar, as always, who paces himself. "One successful run doesn't guarantee that they'll all go as smoothly," he pipes up over Cevdet's less-than-on-pitch rendition of "We Are the Champions." "We need to?—"

"Jesus, Bujar, have another drink. It might help pry that stick out of your ass."

Bujar glowers at Cevdet before turning to me for support. "We can't afford to be complacent."

"I agree, but not all of us are in a fit state to talk business." Luca and Cevdet begin an uncoordinated round of the chorus, singing different lyrics and sloshing their glasses together. "There will be time for that later."

"Exactly!" Cevdet roars. "Listen to our fearless leader. The night is ripe with still-untouched pleasures…" His eyes veer towards one of my waitresses in a red mini skirt. "What a wonderful selection you have tonight, Andrey."

I draw Cevdet's attention with a click of my tongue. "The women are not on offer, Cevdet. Not in my clubs. Not on my watch."

Drunk as he is, the man still has the sense to backtrack. "I was talking about your array of poisons." He lifts his empty glass, and it's refilled immediately.

"We should grab our wives and have a formal dinner to cement this new venture." Luca seems to warn Cevdet with his eyes, reminding him he does, in fact, have a wife at home.

Cevdet toasts to the idea even as he watches my waitstaff sashay across the club. "Who will our young leader bring? Is there a woman you'd dare to introduce to us?"

He's teasing, but I have no desire to bring Natalia anywhere near this crew. Still, a meeting of the families is symbolic. It signifies trust.

I give my allies only a polite smile. "I'll set it up."

As Luca and Cevdet launch into the particulars of this dinner, Shura enters the VIP room and looks for me. I rise from my chair. "Excuse me, gentleman."

Slipping out of the VIP room behind Shura, I notice the rest of the club has emptied considerably compared to an hour ago. "What's going on?"

"The cops are here."

I've been getting reports of cops in the area all night, but I didn't really think it would turn into a raid. I press two fingers to my forehead, massaging away the headache forming there. "Where are the supplies?"

"Hidden after the first sighting, but a raid isn't a good look. Especially tonight." We both angle towards the VIP room where Cevdet's voice is rising above the steady thrum of the music.

"It's too late to get them out now," I concede. "Let the cops have their fun. I'll handle the allies."

Shura nods and departs to take care of matters. When I slip back into the VIP room, the mood has stalled. It's clear that all three men are aware that something is up.

"Something the matter, Andrey?" Cevdet asks.

"Just a few kinks that need ironing out, that's all."

Cevdet's smile only gets wider. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the cops that have been sniffing around the area all night, would it?"

I don't so much as blink. "It seems my enemies think practical jokes and minor annoyances are enough to rattle me. If this is the best they can do, destroying them will be easier than I thought."

Cevdet snorts. "They're intimidated, that's what this is."

"Cheap moves to undermine your authority," Luca adds.

Bujar alone stares at the door with his eyebrows drawn together in a worried V. It remains there throughout the entire search, even as Cevdet and Luca return to their drinks.

Minutes later, Shura reappears in the doorway and nods, informing me that the cops have cleared out.

"They found nothing." I make a show of laughing for their benefit. The allies join in, but I'm not sure how much of it is sincere.

After another two rounds of champagne, Cevdet and Luca finally stand to leave. Bujar looks as relieved as I feel as their ruckus departs.

"That lasted forever," Shura grumbles, joining us as Vaska escorts our allies from the room.

"Try sitting through it." I put down my mostly untouched champagne flute and reach for a cigar instead. "Did you find out who called the cops?"

"‘Anonymous tip.'" His disgust is obvious.

I roll my eyes. "I expect better from Slavik and Nikolai. Calling the cops is like telling the teacher. It's juvenile."

"Maybe they're desperate."

"Or maybe this has nothing to do with either one of them."

Shura cocks his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

The more I think on it, the more likely it seems. It's too cheap a ploy for men like my father or Rostov. Which leaves only…

"I think it's time to have a little talk with my brother."

The mention of Viktor has Shura baring his teeth like Remi. "There's no point wasting your time with that scum. It's bad enough you have men tailing the useless waste of space. If you confront him face-to-face, he'll just lie through his teeth."

He doesn't mention Katya's plan to confront Viktor, and out of respect for him, I haven't, either. But we're dangerously close to the topic now.

I get to my feet. "He's never been a good liar. Particularly not when he's drunk. And considering the hour, I'd bet he's well on his way to plastered."

I can hear the grind of Shura's teeth. "What if he destroys what we've built? What we have?"

I have a strong feeling he isn't talking about the Bratva.

"Brother, Katya's a smart woman." He flinches, but I keep going. "She can more than hold her own where Viktor is concerned."

Shura's hands ball into fists. "We're not talking about this."

Not yet. But we won't have a choice soon.

"Have Viktor brought to the manor," I sigh. "If you'd rather have Vaska and Yuri handle it, then give them the order."

"I can fucking handle Viktor," he glowers. "I can take that motherfucker with my eyes closed."

I know that much is true.

It's Katya who's more of a struggle.