Ruthless Reign: A Dark Mafia Forbidden Romance (Tarnished Reign Book 1)

Chapter 41

I’m stillhard when I get to my second-floor office. Knowing Liza is in the bedroom just a few feet away, naked and waiting for me, is going to make this the longest phone call of my life.

If I could’ve delayed the call I would have, but Pavel said it was important.

“I was hoping not to hear from you for at least a few more days,” I quip when he answers the phone.

“Yeah, well, I think you”ll want to hear this.” The serious note in his voice catches my attention. “We got a fingerprint hit back on one of the men who attacked you and Liza in the car.”

“And?”

“His name is Yuri Zhukov. A second cousin to Sergey and Nikolai.”

A dark feeling slithers through me. “Fuck me. So it is the Zhukovs after us ... or after me. The only common denominator between the ambush at the port and the car attack is me.”

Pavel sighs heavily. ”It seems that way. We compared the tire treads from the port attack to the vehicle found at the shootout. Both sets are the same high-performance tires, nearly impossible to find in Russia. Only a few people would have the money or interest to import them. I think it’s safe to say that both vehicles came from the same source.”

“I”d ask why they’re targeting me, except I think it”s clear.” I shake my head, pacing back and forth in a short, tight line. “I’m heading up the shipping deal.”

“You think they want to fuck with our deal?”

“More than that, I think they want to eliminate us.” I roll my shoulders and groan. “We’re the biggest fish in Russia. Take down the Belov Syndicate, and you clear the way to dominate organized crime in the country.”

Pavel mumbles a curse under his breath. “Aligning with the Petroviches would certainly be a good way to consolidate their power.”

The hairs on my arms stand on end. “Working together to crush us. Fucking ballsy, I”ll give them that. Even if all they’ve managed to do is sign their own death warrant.”

“We still need more to go on,” Pavel points out. “Viktor has our hackers pulling all the logs and surveillance videos from the port, and Savin arrived there today. Whatever shit went down, we’ll soon know about it.”

My jaw clenches, and a weight settles in my gut. “I’ll loop Maxim in. Call me if you learn anything else. Whatever it is.”

As soon as my call with Pavel wraps up, I text Maxim that we need to speak ASAP. Although I’d much rather have Liza on her knees, holding onto the headboard, I need to debrief Maxim—war is on the horizon.