Chapter 11

Chapter 11ViktorIt took Olivia over an hour before she replied to my text. I tried not to look like I was checking my phone too often in the meantime, but I felt the absence of her more than I had expected.Ivan’s death had left me feeling strange. Not exactly afraid, for I never feared for myself, only occasionally for others, but not exactly secure either. It was more like I was suddenly, acutely aware of how alone I was.That was ridiculous, of course. I had my Bratva. I had my life, I had friends. But I also had a close friend who would be in his grave as soon as the coroner’s office was done with him. And another close friend who had suddenly become a world-class screw-up.And in the middle of all of that, while I stood in my home’s converted ballroom of a meeting room and waited for my men to finish assembling, I couldn’t help but keep thinking of Olivia. Of the warmth I felt in her presence. Of the bliss of having her in my bed. And how much that would distract me now, pleasantly, from the isolation deep inside.But I would have to wait to act on that until I knew I wasn’t dragging her into a brewing war. Doing that would endanger not only her, but also my son. And that, I could not allow.I simmered with anger as I waited on my men, but still glanced down a last time to see if she had answered. And that was when she did.I wish I could have stayed too, but a lot has changed in my life. I have a son now, and he needs his mom in the evenings.I imagined she would be hesitant to bring up Michael, but at least she wasn’t being secretive. That would have been the one thing I absolutely could not tolerate from her.Not knowing how to bring up the little life that bound us together now, our son, my heir, was understandable. Trying to hide him from me altogether would not have been permissible. If she went too much longer without broaching the subject, I might have to take offense. I might have to wonder if she planned to lie to me, to keep my son a secret. And I might not be able to take such an act lightly.But for now, with such a brief re-acquaintance, I could forgive it. I could even understand.Of course. Take care of your child. I have family matters of my own to deal with tonight. I simply wish I was with you instead at the moment.Then she wrote back something I hadn’t expected, which shocked me in a strange, pleasant way, Are you okay?It actually took me a few moments of blinking before I could answer. No. But that’s not a conversation for over the phone. I’ll contact you again once my current meeting is over.Moved by her innocent concern, I tucked my phone back into my pocket and then squared my shoulders, moving to my seat at the front of the room before deciding to stand instead. I was restless. My rage over Ivan and his killer’s clumsy death kept pushing me to move around when I wanted to be still, serene, and in control.Boris came in last, with his men, and none of them could look me in the eye. I watched Boris take his seat, considering again how I wanted to handle this. I was tempted to call him out, as much for his cowardice as for his incompetence today. But I had already taken away a degree of his responsibility to match the degree of trust he had killed in me with today’s bumbling.I decided I was not going to call him on the carpet in front of everyone. I was going to focus on the problem, and how to solve it.“Today, we lost Ivan,” I said simply once the last of them had taken their seats. “He was attacked by the Puerto Ricans on the road, ended up hospitalized for his injuries, and was then assassinated by another of their members who pretended to be a nurse.”A rustle went through the crowd. I heard some of the questions, How did this happen? Who was on watch? Why would they kill Ivan?I nodded grimly, but neither fed the rumors nor sought to answer every question. Instead, I said simply, “We chased the perpetrator, only for him to be shot during a confrontation. The only ID he had on him was a fake name. However, the coroner’s office soon identified him for us.”I took a deep breath, and my hand slid to the warm, glassy rectangle of my phone in my pocket. Just feeling it there was strangely comforting. But I didn’t need comfort. I needed to be the toughest of the tough, unassailable.“The coroner also confirmed that Ivan was killed by an overdose of potassium administered in his IV.”I let that sink in, including the fact that the assassin had been able to get in and tamper with Ivan’s IV on Boris’s watch. Let the whispering start up again—the rustle of horror, shock, suspicion. I saw a few men turn to look at Boris, who sat stonily. Everyone knew who I was most likely to trust with guarding Ivan.I didn’t have to call out Boris for failing. I didn’t have to mention him at all. His incompetence spoke for itself. Damn you, Boris. Of all the times for you to be off your game, it had to be while protecting one of our most essential men.“Ivan’s autopsy should be completed soon, and his body released to his family by the weekend. We will help with his funeral arrangements, but we will be holding a separate memorial. His widow has asked that no member of the Bratva be in attendance at the burial.”A rumble of irritation at that, which I echoed in my heart. Ivan’s wife blamed the Bratva for his death. I couldn’t really blame her for that, he had died because he was a member. But the reality was that the Bratva as a whole was not to blame. Not for what El Luchador’s Pueblo had done.“I know that the family’s decision may upset some of you who considered Ivan a personal friend. However, such is the way of our line of work, and Ivan’s widow is already suffering. We will not disturb her in her time of grief. If I catch any of you even looking in that direction, you will answer for it.”Some of the tension left the crowd. But then, a deep voice spoke up from the back—Boris. “So how are you going to answer the Puerto Ricans for this one?” he demanded.I stared at him. You have a lot of balls, poking at me about this right now. But I knew that same question had to be in everyone’s minds. “I have worked very hard to be cautious in this matter, and give the Pueblo and El Luchador room to negotiate and seek a mutually beneficial arrangement. Now, in response to my overtures, one of our best men, my friend, the best finance man on the East Coast, lies dead. Murdered. I want full details on what happened, and who was involved. But make no mistake. I’m just verifying what I think we all already know. El Luchador has thrown down the gauntlet. We will get to the bottom of Ivan’s murder,” I reassured my men. “But we must also now prepare for war. If the Pueblo would rather fight than deal, we will make sure they can never survive it.”A ragged cheer went up. Shouting. Some arguing, but not much. Many of them were eager for the fight—too eager. I looked around at them and wondered how many more of them I would lose in that fight. How much blood would have to be spilled until El Luchador saw reason.Perhaps he never would. Perhaps I’d have to put him down like a dog.But most of those around me weren’t deep thinkers unless it came to their duties. They weren’t considering the cost in blood. All that most of them were concerned with was that if blood was to be spilled, then that blood should come from our enemies.Afterward, there were drinks, cigars, and snacks. I refrained from all of them, my fingers still wrapped around my phone in my pocket as I mingled, greeted people, and answered questions.The whole time, however, I was haunted by the idea that I might be missing something. An essential piece of the puzzle. Some fact that would change my perspective on everything.“I thought you were going to send me down to the coroner’s office,” Boris said, suddenly at my elbow. I hadn’t noticed him pushing through the crowd toward me.I turned and eyed him. He smelled of alcohol, and there was a belligerent spark in his eye. “I handled it myself,” I said simply. “Is there a problem?”“Yeah, there’s a goddamn problem!” His voice raised just a little too much, and a few conversations around us died. Then more. I could feel the crowd listening.I crossed my arms. “Go on, then.”He hesitated, seeming surprised that I was willing to listen instead of arguing back. But that was part of why Uncle Mischka had chosen me to be pakhan and not him. He was always ready for a conflict over something. I thought things through.Boris often didn’t. Like pregaming this much before a meeting to announce a member’s death. Like challenging me now. I had gotten used to his hotheadedness as his close friend, but coupled with screw-ups, it was intolerable. So was his assumption that I would be as easily set off as he was.His brilliance was sometimes eclipsed by his temper. Meanwhile, I was even smarter than he, and managed to keep a clear head. Most of the time, anyway. “Well?” I demanded, my tone calm but sharp. “Explain your problem, we’re all listening.”“Look, things didn’t go well with the hospital. Ivan’s gone. I know.” He went silent, his thick jaw flapping like he couldn’t form the right words. “I know how you have to be feeling.”He hadno idea how I was feeling. First Uncle Mischka, and now Ivan before we could settle his estate.And that didn’t just bother me because of the losses. The timing was interesting.“But…?” I coaxed him, finding his silence too long for my patience.“But you can’t take on solving Ivan’s murder by yourself!”I stared at him. You did nothing but get in my fucking way today, you bumbling, drunken fool, was what I wanted to say.Which was when it clicked.“I don’t plan to,” I replied smoothly, even as the suspicions added fuel to my growing anger and disgust. “Let’s take this into my office,” I said in a clipped tone.There was muttering all around us. None of them liked being called into my office alone during one of these gatherings, any more than they’d liked it when Mischka had done the same. He’d only had to call me in once, and I remembered feeling about ten years old during that walk into his study.Boris already felt lousy—I hoped. He might just have been drunk because he had never been sober today, including while watching Ivan. But even if he was a step away from breaking down crying, it was time.I could hear him huffing behind me as he trailed me to my office. I could smell drunkard’s sweat, beer, and whiskey. Every time I got a whiff of it, I had to fight the urge to turn around and turn his mountain of a nose into a foothill.Once we were both behind closed doors, I turned to him and he stopped short, the two of us standing within arm’s reach of each other.“What the hell did you pull me in here for?” he demanded.“I need to know one thing, that I do not want the others hearing. Because if your answer to this question is what I think it is, and they heard it, they would tear you apart.”I stared into his eyes and saw his rage and bravado waver. He knew which of the two of us was deadlier. Who had more power, even back when we’d been equal in rank.“What is it?” The strength had gone out of his voice. That just disgusted me further.“When did you start drinking today, and who among your men helped supply you?”He stared at me dull-eyed for a few seconds before something clicked in his head. “You think I was off my game today because somebody drugged me? You think they turned one of my guys and he—”“No,” I said, knowing his elaborations were just to cover his ass. “I think you haven’t been sober all fucking day.”I watched his face carefully. He went white, then red. Guilt flickered into his expression, followed by fear, and then anger. “I don’t drink any more than any of the other guys,” he snapped.I took a steadying breath, wondering if my knuckles would break on his face. I would use the heel of my hand instead, hit harder.“You might be able to lie to yourself about that,” I replied coldly, “but you must be out of your mind to try to lie to me.”“I wasn’t drunk watching Ivan.”“Then how did that murderer get past you today?” I demanded. “That isn’t like you. None of this is like you!”The frustration had crept into my voice, but for some reason, hearing it seemed to calm him some. “Viktor, look, seriously, this all has a really simple explanation. I had a late night, last night. A date went well unexpectedly, and by the time I needed to be back at the hospital for my turn on watch, I’d had, like, three hours of sleep and—”“A hangover.” I frowned. I still didn’t trust his story entirely, especially with his being so drunk right now. As much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t. Ivan was dead because of this.“Look, when have I ever been this far off my game before?” His eyes pleaded, the belligerence finally ebbing away.“Not since we were both teenagers.” I sighed, thinking suddenly of those days, back when everything had been so much simpler. Hell, they were simpler six months ago.“See? Don’t freeze me out. If I’m going to watch over the guys for you, and handle things while you look for a new Ivan, I need—”“Who was the girl?” I cut in suddenly.“The…girl?” He blinked at me slowly, disgusting me with his dopey expression.“The one you partied with instead of sleeping.”“Oh yeah. Maria.” He saw the look on my face and paled again. “What is it?”“Where did you meet her?”“I ran into her at my bar. You know, Horatio’s over by Scollay Sq—”My brain was already doing the math, and I didn’t like the results. “You met her at a bar you’re known to frequent. That night?” He nodded. “Thought so. What did she look like?”“Real cute, curvy. Kinda dark.” His wistful smile made me want to backhand him.“Dark curly hair?”“Yeah, big brown eyes, big…” He cupped his hands in front of his chest while my blood pressure continued to rise.That absolute moron.“So a Puerto Rican woman seduces you and leaves you hung over and exhausted while guarding Ivan. And that very day, a Puerto Rican assassin shows up to poison him.”He blinked at me slowly, his smile fading.I rolled my eyes and took a few steps away from him before spinning back around to face him. “She set you up, you damned fool!”He swallowed, gaze sliding away from mine. “Oh God.”“If you want to get back into my trust, and the brothers’ good graces, find Maria. That’s your only job right now. Go find her, use your men for help if you need to, and bring her to me. Alive this time, Boris.”Drunk or not, Boris now looked horrified. He nodded and backed out, opening the door for himself and leaving my presence.