26. Konstantin
TWENTY-SIX
Konstantin
I don’t enjoy watching Sierra leave with Kyran Winters, but I know exactly what Silvano Cresci is doing. He wants them out of the room so we can discuss things in private, without either of their objections.
“What’s the catch?” I ask him brusquely. “You are not helping out of goodness of your heart.”
Silvano smiles at me, while his man—Maddox?—subtly gets between us.
“Is it so hard to believe that I would do something simply to help Kyran?” Silvano taps Maddox on the arm. “You know me, right? You know I always look out for my people.”
Maddox snorts, obviously amused by some inside joke.
Nikolai eyes him, then turns to me. In Russian, he says, “I don’t like this. He’s entirely too smug.”
“I don’t either, but our main focus right now has to be my father,” I respond.
Silvano isn’t perturbed by our conversation in Russian. For all I know, he speaks it and is pretending not to.
“Your mother is a rabid bitch,” I say in Russian. “I’m going to pass her around to all my men.”
Silvano doesn’t react at all. “I’m afraid I passed on the Russian lessons. We could try Spanish or Italian, although I’m very shaky on those too.”
Maddox coughs into his hand. “You don’t speak Spanish, boss.”
“I could!” Silvano grins up at him. “It would make sense for me to speak Spanish. Maybe I should force Kyran to take Spanish lessons with me.”
“Oh, he’d love—” Maddox begins, then cuts himself off when he sees the look on my face. He sobers instantly, straightening to attention. “What do you need me to do, boss?” he asks Silvano.
“Protect me from the big, bad, scary Russians.” Silvano leans forward and takes a discarded pen from the nearby desk. He starts fiddling with it, making it click and click and click. “So, an alliance between us. This is of course predicated entirely on Sierra Winters’ safety. Right now, Kyran wants nothing more than to have his baby sister with him. I will do whatever it takes to get that for him—even if it would be a lot simpler to deliver your head on a platter to your father.”
Nikolai bristles, glaring hotly at Silvano, and Maddox’s gaze flits between the three of us like he’s expecting a fight to break out any second.
I sneer at him. “You could not hope to kill me.”
“I have hoped plenty,” Silvano counters. “Kyran and I have fantasized over how to eliminate you.”
I take a threatening step forward, and Maddox immediately puts himself squarely between me and Silvano.
“We would gladly see you dead, too,” I say in a low growl. “And Sierra would approve of it.”
Silvano scoots his chair to the side so he can see me again. “She probably would. She isn’t a fan of me right now, which is a shame. However, since Kyran and Sierra still value each other, for their sakes, I think we can figure something out. Something that’s mutually beneficial.”
“Yeah? So what’s that gonna be?” Nikolai challenges him.
“A formal alliance. You become one of our… under families.” Silvano gives me a wide shark grin.
It takes a second for the implication to sink in. I clench my fists and say, “You want me to answer to you?”
“Did I say that?” Silvano fiddles with the pen again, making that annoying click click click sound.
“No fucking way,” Nikolai says with a shake of his head, but he has the wherewithal to say it in Russian instead of speaking on my behalf to Silvano. The vehemence has him half-sitting up, but he winces and settles back into his chair as it jostles his wound. “Who does he think he is?”
Stepan shakes his head too, but he knows it’s not his place to say anything.
“Let me give you a word I think you will understand,” I tell him. “ Nyet . I did not bow to my father, and I will not bow to anyone else.”
“And look where that got you.” Silvano sighs loudly and finally sets the pen back down. “Fine. If you won’t agree to that, I can’t offer you my full support. It’s too risky, without enough payoff.”
I don’t need his full support though. He isn’t the only person I can call on. I reach for my phone—and remember that it’s still with my father. Fuck.
I extend my hand out to Stepan. “Your phone.” He unlocks it and passes it to me without question. “Give me Giulio Pavone’s number,” I bark at Silvano. “I know you have it.”
Silvano’s eyebrows go high, but he laughs. “Sure. I’ll even dial him myself.”
He gets his phone and makes the call, setting it to speaker.
It takes several rings before Pavone answers. “Silvano? Am I late? No, that’s tomorrow. That’s tomorrow, right, Damien? The gay strip bar tour?”
Silvano rubs his eyebrows. “That’s tomorrow, although I think I have to cancel. I have Konstantin Voronkov with me, Giulio.”
“Oh! Really?” I hear shuffling from the other end.
“Yes, I am here,” I say, getting closer to Silvano. Maddox hovers, preventing me from approaching further. “I have things to discuss with you.”
“Yeah? Like the text you sent me just now, saying you wanted to discuss new product?” Pavone chuckles. “Imagine my surprise, when I get this text after you’d been so adamant about not stepping into my market.”
Of course my father texted him. I’d known relinquishing my phone to him would be disastrous. He’d gotten through the security faster than I’d expected, but then, we aren’t the only ones with tech experts on staff.
“That was not me,” I say. “My phone was stolen.”
“Oof. Bad luck. You should report them. New Bristol cops are always happy to help the local citizens.”
Nikolai mutters under his breath, “Yeah, if you pay them enough.”
Maddox must’ve caught the words, because he snorts. He doesn’t argue, though. We all know how to get the attention of the NBPD, and that has nothing to do with being a citizen and everything to do with how well we can line their pockets.
“So, why are you calling, and from Silvano’s phone?”
“The thief, he will attempt to enter your market. He is already the largest supplier in Russia. Do you think you want that competition?” I try to temper my voice, despite my anger. “I would like to take the thief down. It will help you keep your monopoly.”
“Whoa, whoa. Monopoly is such an ugly word. I’m sure I only have like, eighty percent of the market share here in New Bristol. There’s a lot of competitors, especially these days. And?—”
“Giulio, stop rambling,” Rossi’s deeper voice interrupts. “What do you want, Voronkov?”
“I need men.” I glance at Silvano. “We have weapons. I will pay you handsomely, once the thief is taken care of.”
There’s silence on the other end. When Pavone finally responds, he sounds less amused. “I’m not super into this idea. You’re a great guy, Voronkov, but y’know, the other Voronkov might be a great guy too.”
Fuck. I’d hoped Pavone would see the benefit in helping me.
“Sierra wanted to catch up with Vanessa,” I say quickly. “She regrets how we left last time.”
There’s another pause, and Giulio sighs loudly. “More tempting, but… it’s kind of a bad time.”
Now Silvano laughs. “Really? You were going to take me and Kyran on a tour of your new gay strip bar, but you can’t spare a few men?”
“Look—” Pavone makes a disgusted sound. “Jesus, Damien, I get it! Fine. I can spare a few guys. But I’ve got enough trouble from bitch auntie right now, so?—”
Nikolai makes an impatient gesture, but I don’t know what he’s trying to say. Maybe he’s frustrated, too, but it seems like that’s the constant state of being around Giulio Pavone. He could test anyone’s patience.
“Bitch auntie?” Silvano repeats. “You mean Lucia Bellini?”
Nikolai sucks in a breath.
“Lucia Bellini? Victor Corvi’s whore?” I frown, remembering our interactions with them those short months ago. “How is she giving you trouble?”
“None of your fucking business,” Pavone snaps back. “You want my help? Tell her to back the fuck off.”
“Do not do that,” Rossi says immediately. “We’ll handle our own affairs.”
They hang up.
Silvano shakes his head. “Giulio Pavone. Every single time.”
“What do Bellini and Corvi have to do with Giulio Pavone?” Nikolai asks, voicing the question I’d been about to ask.
“Now I know you aren’t local,” Silvano says. “Giulio’s wife is Lucia Bellini’s sister. It’s no secret she—Lucia—loathes Giulio.”
“Who doesn’t loathe Pavone, though?” Maddox asks with a derisive snort.
“Is he going to help or not?” Nikolai asks. “He doesn’t sound like the most reliable guy.”
Silvano’s staring at the phone, tapping his lip. “I wouldn’t count on it, but…”
Pavone might not help, but regardless of how Lucia had tried to spin things, Corvi owes me . Sierra was the one who saved him and his woman from death by poison.
“Do you have Corvi’s number?” I ask Silvano.
Silvano nods, and this time he hands the phone to me directly. “I’ll allow you some privacy, but please return the phone as soon as you’re done.”
Nikolai’s brows shoot up.
“How generous. Why insist on the speaker call with Pavone?” I ask, suspicious.
“Oh. Because he always puts me on speaker, and I find Giulio Pavone infinitely more amusing when he’s being irritating at other people,” Silvano answers. He makes a shooing motion. “Go on, before I change my mind.”
I head into the neighboring room and shut the door. I’m not naive enough to think this will keep the others from eavesdropping, but the semblance of privacy does help. I dial Victor Corvi’s number.
“Victor Corvi’s phone,” a feminine voice responds, sounding slightly breathless.
“You aren’t Corvi,” I say gruffly.
“And you aren’t Silvano Cresci,” she answers. “If I had to make a wild guess, I would say this is Konstantin Voronkov, yes? To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“What gave it away? The accent?” I shake my head, although she can’t see the gesture. “Lucia Bellini, I assume?”
She chooses to ignore my first question, instead replying, “Yes. Victor is busy. How can I help you, Voronkov?”
Somehow, I don’t get the feeling she plays receptionist because he doesn’t feel like answering the phone.
I don’t want to deal with her—and I think I know why Pavone calls her “bitch auntie” —but I know asking for Corvi won’t get me far either.
“Corvi has some minor operations in New Bristol, yes?” I hedge. I haven’t dealt with them much, but I know part of the animosity between Pavone and Corvi is that they’re fighting over territory. A few years ago, Giulio Pavone’s father had attempted a massive takeover in Benton, and been killed for it, but that hasn’t seemed to dissuade Pavone much.
“Information like that has a price,” Lucia says. “But I’m curious to know what has the Voronkov outfit calling, so for the sake of expediting this conversation: yes.”
“I’m calling in that favor,” I say bluntly. “You owe us—you owe Sierra.”
“I believe we saved her life,” Lucia says mildly.
“No. If not for her, both you and Corvi, probably even Guerra, would have died that night.” I don’t bring up the fact that I would have died too.
“And if not for our help, she would be dead,” Lucia says. I can practically see her shrug, and it makes my blood boil. “But again, for the sake of curiosity, what is it you want, Voronkov?”
I do have one extra card to play. “The people you have in New Bristol, harassing Pavone. I need them for a job.”
The line goes so quiet I’m sure she’s hung up on me. Right as I start to scowl, though, I look down and see that the call is still connected.
After several long seconds, sound picks up on the other line again, and I realize she’d muted me.
“What ‘job’?” she asks more bluntly.
“There’s a thief who took up residence in my mansion. I need him taken out. Once that’s done… well, you’re looking for new routes for your trade, right? Whole new shipping routes to Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa will open up.” I shouldn’t promise this much, but with my father out of the picture, I’ll have full control of our part of the trade.
“All of that, in exchange for getting rid of a… thief?” she asks, skepticism lacing her voice.
“If the thief remains, he will definitely decide to expand even further into the US,” I say sharply. “He won’t be content with only New Bristol. He’ll go for Benton and disrupt all your trade. Maybe you’ll come out on top, but at what cost?”
She murmurs something I can’t make out, then the call goes abruptly loud. “We’re listening.”
“I need… twenty men,” I say, naming a higher number. “We storm the place, take out the thieves.”
“Twenty? You’re out of your mind,” Lucia argues. “There’s no guarantee they’ll survive.”
“Then send your best people, or the most expendable ones,” I argue back. “This has to happen within the week.”
“Twelve,” Victor Corvi’s voice suddenly says. “We can spare twelve people. Just send us the information we need to brief them.”
I knew he had to be nearby. Twelve isn’t as good, but I’ll take whatever I can get. “I’ll arm them. But they’d better know how to hold a gun.”
Lucia scoffs. “We wouldn’t send in men who don’t know how to handle themselves,” she retorts. “If we send in twelve men, we expect them to return in one piece. How many others will we have support from?”
I glance at the closed door, thinking about Silvano’s “compromise.” I know I can get more out of him though. “We’ll have enough. My men, Silvano Cresci’s men.” Maybe even a few Pavone men, but I don’t say that.
It will have to do.
“Send the information, then. Someone will reach out to make more solid plans when we’ve had time to go through it,” she says. “If that’s all?”
“Yes.” I end the call before she can.
After another breath to steady myself, I head back out. I hand the phone back to Silvano.
“You will support us,” I say flatly.
Silvano raises his eyebrows. “I will?”
“You will give us the men we need. Because if you do not, I will ensure Corvi and Bellini take over the New Bristol market. The extra shipping routes, all the connections I have? I will give them to Corvi. I will help everybody else edge you out of the market.” I take a menacing step forward. “And I will ensure Sierra never meets with Kyran Winters ever again.”
Silvano smiles and nods. “You really only had to threaten that last part. All right.” He glances toward the office window. “Let’s hope Kyran and Sierra actually want to see each other after all this is over.”
“You sent them off together to try to make that happen,” Nikolai says abruptly. “We aren’t stupid.” He bares his teeth in a feral grin. “Or you’re hoping he and your other guy can overpower Yuri while our backs are turned.”
“He did not give that order,” I say confidently.
Silvano plays at being a cold, heartless manipulator, but I’m starting to see the truth. He cares far too much about Kyran Winters to do anything that would harm Sierra.
He was always going to help us.
“I did not give that order,” Silvano agrees. “While we wait for the others, how about we start brainstorming exactly how to be rid of your pesky relatives?”
As much as it hurts, as much as part of me balks at this whole turn of events, I’m relieved too.
I have allies. I have support.
I can finally be rid of my father.