32. Kristof

Ican get used to this.

Seated in the Library, Alena is spread out in front of the fireplace on her stomach, book in hand. The lights are low, the curtains drawn, and with a fruit-and-cheese platter between us, we're almost like a real couple.

A boring one, but in a way that's nice.

I can almost picture this as how life will be when the war is over and Aleksander is ousted.

I will be Pakhan, with Alena by my side, looking absolutely phenomenal. I'm so close.

Closing my eyes, I listen to the fire crackle and the wood shift as it breaks apart in the heat, the soft rustle of pages turning, and the occasional sound of satisfaction from Alena. Every time she makes that noise, that unfamiliar sensation flares in my chest and sits like a warm rock, nestled deep.

I still don't know what it is.

Fabric rustles, and Alena stands over me when I open my eyes with her closed book in hand. She easily drops into my lap, and a warm smile spreads over her beautiful face. In the three days we've been here, she's really opened up.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks, tracing the side of my face with a couple of soft fingertips.

"Nothing you need to worry about."

"I always worry." Her hair, illuminated by the fire behind us, looks like pure gold pouring over her shoulders. She smiles softly, her eyes dancing over my face, and her hands drop to toy with a few buttons on my shirt.

"It's my job to worry," I say, settling both my hands on her hips. "Not yours."

"What is my job, then?"

"To live." I catch her chin, forcing her eyes to me, and then I pull her in for a soft kiss. Chilliness settles on my chest when her pendant falls forward and rests on my collarbone. Alena whimpers softly and presses into the kiss, teasing me with what could come next.

Unfortunately, the shrill tones of my phone stop that in its tracks.

We groan together, and Alena pulls back with a sigh.

"Duty calls," she grumbles.

I tsk softly. "I can ignore it." For her, I would.

She contemplates it for a few seconds, then shakes her head. "No. Go. I'll be here."

Alena kisses my cheek and slides from my lap, returning to the rug, but not before I playfully swat her ass. Then I'm on my feet, striding out of the library with my phone in hand.

Seamus's name glares up at me, and I answer with the press of a button.

"Seamus. I was beginning to think you were getting cold feet."

You think I would take that club and run with the victory?He chuckles.

"You thought about it."

I did.

"Well? You text me saying you have bad news, then I don't hear from you for three days. What the fuck is going on?" I step into the study, closing the door behind me as my heart ticks up a few painful beats. I'm so close to the end, but much of what I need hinges on my agreement with Seamus.

One of my lieutenants came to me with a spectacular deal that I wouldn't believe if we didn't already have one similar. Someone else is looking to team up with us.

"Who?" I bark.

Unclear. They're remaining anonymous right now.

"What do they want?"

Well…Seamus sucks in air between his teeth. They tell me that if we find Alena Orlova, it'll be the luckiest fucking treasure we'll ever get our hands on and we can use her as leverage to get whatever the fuck we want from the Russians. Turns out, the little bird has flown the nest.

My heart drops. In the month that Alena has been ‘missing', we've done a stand-up job keeping her disappearance a secret from the other Families. Now, it seems that the secret is out.

"And you don't know who?"

You never told me she was missing, Seamus says, and there's a slight accusatory note to his tone.

"I can't show you all my cards," I reply. "So, who?"

No idea. A courier brought the information to my lieutenant, and I had some sources confirm it. She's definitely gone.

"Did they tell you where to look?"

Nope, only that your lot can't find your own, so it would be easy for us.

I bite back a snort. If only he knew.

With her, I could get much more than the North docks, Seamus continues.

The phone creaks in my hand as I pace in front of the bay windows overlooking the garden.

"Are you threatening our deal?"

No, Seamus replies in a tone I scarcely trust. But Kristof, no one knows of our arrangement. I'd be a fool not to follow this up.

"Bit strange, though," I mutter, "that this just falls into your lap like this."

I'm not the only one that's tired of Russian overlords.Seamus scoffs. I have to look into this. I'm doing you a courtesy by letting you know.

"Three days later." It's tough keeping the anger from my voice. Seamus, to his credit, doesn't react.

My mind flips into overdrive. Who could have found out? We've kept the Alena situation on lockdown, which means someone talked. The problem is, who did they talk to? The Italians?

They've been quiet during the ongoing war between us and the Irish, and they'd be the only family that would stand to gain anything regardless of who won. Or they'd gain all of it if we both lost. The Italians have been weak for a while now, unable to settle on a Don due to far too much internal conflict, but that doesn't stop them from being sneaky.

There's something else, Seamus says.

My heart drops a notch further, and tension pulses behind my temple.

"Lay it on me," I mutter as the door to the study opens. Alarm jumps across my shoulders, half expecting Alena, but it's Andrev who walks through the door.

Aleksander has requested a meeting. A ceasefire.

My heart stops and the world turns cold.

"What?"

He sent an envoy. He wants to talk. Says there's too much bloodshed on either side and feels that if we're not careful, we'll drive each other into early graves.

"You said no, right?" I ask tightly, my gaze locked on Andrev, who balances on the edge of the desk.

I have to respect the meeting, you know that, Seamus replies. It came directly from the Pakhan, and I will not allow my reputation to be sullied by refusing.

Anger surges. I want to tell him to refuse, that he's a fool for following such ancient traditions, but I can't. Those traditions have been the foundation between the Three Families for longer than anyone can recall. If one leader requests a meeting with another during a time of conflict, then that request must be met and held on neutral ground.

Nothing I can say will sway Seamus from this.

"Thank you for letting me know," I say tightly.

Seamus grunts. I'll keep you updated.

The call ends and a deafening silence falls. I was so sure that I was closing in on the end, and now here I stand, with someone else letting slip that Alena is missing and Aleksander finally making a smart move for the first time in a decade.

Something's changed. There's something I'm not seeing.

"Aleksander's called for a ceasefire," I say slowly, turning on the spot to face Andrev. "Called for a meeting."

"Seamus is going?"

I nod.

"Are you certain he won't just hand you over to Aleksander? If they reach an agreement, how confident are you that he won't shop you in?"

I turn my phone slowly in my hand, replaying the conversation in my head. "He won't." My inner turmoil lacks the confidence in my words.

"You never told me how you got him on board in the first place." Andrev flexes one arm, tilting his head as he rolls his neck. I resume my pacing by the window, chewing slightly on the inside of my cheek.

"The Petrovs, you remember them?"

"Yeah. They were stealing off the top, right? Working out their own deal with the Irish to give us all up, right?"

"Well, when I went to clean up that fucking mess, I found something interesting. Turns out, while wining and dining the Irish, they were stealing a lot of Irish girls off the top. Girls supplied by Seamus's own right-hand man. He had an axe to grind about Seamus's leadership—jealousy, I think—and wanted to set him up to look like he was betraying his own blood while securing the deal. The night I killed the Petrovs, I tracked down that traitorous Irish bastard and handed him over to Seamus as a bonus."

That night feels so long ago now, it's hard to recollect how we got from there to here.

"Shit," Andrev mutters. "And they didn't kill you?"

"I had a container full of girls to back me up," I remark. "Seamus was grateful. Let me walk away with my life. You know how dearly he clings to the old rules of respect, so he gave me a one-time deal. He'd give me one get out of jail free card if we ever ran into each other again."

"Still doesn't explain how he's in your pocket, ready to oust Aleksander."

"Like I said, he's a man who values tradition. After Aleksander refused to put an end to the fighting and war broke out, I realized I was destined to spill every drop of Russian blood we had protecting the Docks, protecting territory while Aleksander focused on that fucking wedding. So, I went back to Seamus with a new deal." I pause my pacing and face Andrev.

"Rather than the get out of jail free, I wanted a deal. He helps me orchestrate this war and helps me oust Aleksander from Pakhan, and I'll give him the entire North Docks. And a few other bits and pieces. The Irish need those shipments as much as we do, so… Seamus agreed. With those Docks, he looks powerful to his own people, and we finally have peace. When was the last time we weren't biting each other's ankles for territory?"

"You think Seamus will honor this?"

"Tradition is important," I muse. "But we'll have to prepare for anything. If Aleksander finds out?—"

Right on cue, the devil's name flashes on my screen as my phone flares to life. I answer immediately.

"Aleksander."

Kristof. Get back Stateside. Now.

"Why?"

Because I said so?he barks loudly. I know for a fact that Alena's disappearance wasn't the Irish, and it sure as fuck wasn't the Italians.

"What are you saying?"

I'm saying there's a fucking rat, and I need you back here! I have a sit down with the Irish Captain.

"About?"

What do you think?Aleksander scoffs. A ceasefire.

"Why now?"

What's with the questions?he snaps. Get the fuck back here, now!

He hangs up on me, and Andrev scoffs. Aleksander was yelling so loudly that Andrev surely heard all he needed to know.

"Seamus?" he asks.

I shake my head slowly. "I don't think so. Something, or someone, has Aleksander thinking Alena's disappearance is in house. Seamus doesn't even know about her."

"But if he lets slip that you two have been in bed together? Assuming you have something to do with Alena wouldn't be too far of a leap."

My lips press in a thin line, and I resume pacing, wearing a thin line into the Persian rug beneath the desk.

"Fuck." I dial the only person I know for sure who's on my side.

Kristof!August Nikolaev answers with a booming, jolly voice. My boy. My birds told me you were back here. Why have I not seen you?

"Things are moving faster than I expected, August," I say quickly. "I think I might need your help sooner rather than later."

Whatever you need, my boy. August laughs. I've said it a thousand times. No one gave a shit about our struggles until you appeared. My men are yours. What do you need?

A smile pulls faintly at my lips. All the trouble at the Docks and reduced shipping had the greatest impact on the Mafia families here in Russia. Money is at an all-time low, with no safe way to ship weapons, drugs, or more. And with Aleksander looking elsewhere for weapons rather than helping his own people, the Nikolaevs were mine the second I set foot here.

"Pakhan is getting suspicious. I need to move our plan up, and I'm not sure we have the backing of the Irish anymore. Whatever firepower you can spare, I'll take it."

Send me what you need, August says.

"Thank you. Is there any way you can get a squad into the US? Undercover?"

Consider it done, my boy.

We discuss a few more details, and by the time the call ends, the world outside is dark and the weight on my shoulders is suffocating. I sigh deeply and run one hand through my hair.

"Moving the dates up means we won't be in a strong position to overthrow Aleksander," Andrev says cautiously.

"Well, what the fuck do you want me to do? Without the Irish, we're sitting ducks, anyway." I groan and toss my phone on the desk, done with calls.

"I'll call my contacts," Andrev says. "See if we can get eyes on the meeting."

"Please," I agree.

Long-laid plans are beginning to slip, and my easy path to Pakhan is fading away by the second.

But I still have one weapon no one expects.

I have Alena.

Her loyalty is all I need.