21. Lev
Chapter 21
Lev
“ I heard a rumor this morning,” Alex says as he scrolls through the latest invoices. Fed Jewelers opened about an hour ago and we’ve been busy managing shit in the back while the salesgirls Dasha and Katrina handle the customers. Though it’s been quiet and they haven’t had much to do.
He’s not looking at me, but I can tell by the way he’s sitting and the tone of his voice that he’s paying very close attention to this conversation.
“Yeah? What’s that?” I act like it’s no big deal and keep polishing the watch I’m working on.
“You know the high-end watch business is a pretty small place.”
“Incestuous,” I agree.
“Everyone knows everyone, good or bad.”
“And plenty of them are fucking bad.”
“Right, well, from what I hear, Emory Smith skipped town yesterday after someone broke into his house and nearly killed him.”
I pause and look over. “Really? Emory? Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
Alex is still staring at the computer screen but I can practically feel his attention focused on me. “It’s strange. Emory was one of the guys we were going to win over, right?”
“Best Rolex dealer in the city, unfortunately.”
“And suddenly, right when we need him, the guy gets attacked. Freak break-in.”
“We’re a cash business. I bet he’s been taking stock home instead of keeping it in his safe.”
Alex’s lips pinch into a frown. “Emory’s a prick, but he’s not stupid.”
“You sure about that?”
He slowly turns, eyes narrowed. I know what he’s thinking, and he’s right, but it still pisses me off because he’s got no particular reason to suspect me.
And yet he does.
Which says a lot about how he thinks of me .
“Tell me the truth, Lev. Did you go pay Emory a visit?”
“Carmie and I went to his office two days back.”
“The day before he ran off?”
“That sounds right.”
He takes a deep breath and schools himself. It’s taking all my self-control not to start laughing. Honestly, he’s got this serious fucking glare on his face. Alex can be such a hard-ass sometimes.
“What did you do?” he asks.
I tell him everything. It’s not like I was keeping this from him on purpose. It just hadn’t come up yet. When I finish, his eyes are closed and he’s taking deep, calming breaths.
“He crossed the line,” I say, making it very clear that I am not remotely apologetic about what happened.
“I get that, and he deserved to get knocked out. But it doesn’t sound like you stopped there.”
My jaw works. “You didn’t see it. The way he was looking at her right in front of me.”
“I hear you, and like I said, he probably deserved what he got. But, Lev, the word is someone really fucked him up.”
“If Carmie hadn’t stopped me, he’d be dead, and I wouldn’t have felt bad.”
Alex nods grimly. “That’s what I thought.”
“He’s going to do the right thing. Emory’s not stupid. He knows I won’t ever stop if I think he’s going back on his word.”
“You can’t go around threatening and beating people into submission. That isn’t how this business works.”
I spread my hands. “We’re a bunch of fucking criminals and thieves, Alex. How the fuck do you think shit gets done?”
He rubs his face with his palm. “I don’t know, but it’s not that.”
“Emory hit on my wife right in front of me. He was practically drooling on her. I held back for as long as I could and he still didn’t stop. I don’t regret it. I won’t apologize for it.”
“He’s going to talk. You know that, right? Sooner or later, he’ll start to think he’s safe, and he’s not the kind of guy that can keep his fucking mouth shut. Word will travel.”
I go back to finishing up the watch I was working on. “Let it travel then.”
“We’re trying to do this the right way. That was the deal, right? That’s the only reason I’m in this with you.”
I don’t look at him. “That’s the only one?” I ask, very softly.
He doesn’t reply. I know what he’s thinking. Alex respects my father—almost reveres him, honestly, and it’s kind of pathetic—but he knows what kind of man my father really is. He knows how Oleg treated me when we were growing up. My father was smart and kept it as hidden as he could, but there were leaks. There were tells: bruises, unexplained broken bones, days when I could barely get out of bed.
Everyone knew. Nobody did shit about it.
Not that I expected Alex or Step to get involved. So long as Dad was focused on me, he wasn’t bothering with them.
It worked. They thrived. Then Step got himself killed and Alex started to lift his head up from his little obsession with being a perfect soldier, and now he’s starting to see the truth about things.
My father’s not a good leader. He never fucking was. For some reason, Valentin Zeitsev’s put trust in him, but that’ll only end with misery.
The door to the front opens and Dasha sticks her head back. “Boys, Oleg’s out front,” she says, frowning at us. “Wants to see you two.”
I glance at Alex. He’s not looking at me. “Speak of the devil,” I say, and we head out together.
Oleg Federov has looked better. He’s wearing a new Rolex, shiny and sparkling and expensive as hell, plus a fancy gold chain. The Bratva’s been good to him lately. But there are bags under his eyes and his gut’s heavier than it’s ever been, and I haven’t seen my father walk more than ten steps without getting winded in a while now.
His town car’s double parked in the street and his guards lurk nearby. A couple of young Russian boys that would do anything for him since he pays them a ludicrous amount of money.
“I have a task for you two,” he says without preamble like we’re his employees. And in some ways, we are. He’s the head of the family. But that isn’t how things are supposed to work.
“Haven’t seen you around here in a while,” I say and toss him my best smirk.
He frowns back. My father’s always been immune to my charms. “I have bigger jobs now. You know that.”
“How is Canada these days? Very cold, I hear.”
Alex elbows me. “What can we do for you, Oleg?”
My father glares at me but turns to his son-in-law, his least favorite person in the world, his former favorite turned backstabbing shiteater ever since he got Natalya pregnant and stole her away from the man Oleg really wanted her to marry.
“Liquidate some of the stock. I need fifty grand in cash by tomorrow morning. No fucking banks.”
Alex’s eyebrows raise. “That’s not much time.”
“Make it happen. I don’t care what kind of loss you have to take. Get me the money by tomorrow.”
“Fed can’t just eat that kind of loss,” I say before Alex can trip over himself to comply. “We just finished rebuilding the place after the fire.”
“Do you think I give a shit? I need the money. Make it happen. And seriously, no fucking banks .”
“You have no clue what kind of financial state this business is in right now, do you?” I ask, letting some of my control slip. This isn’t the time to confront him and Alex is shooting me warning stares, but I ignore him. “When was the last time you bothered checking the books?”
My father shifts toward me. He squares his shoulders and I know that look. He’s pissed and struggling to contain it.
“What I do with my businesses is my decision. I rebuilt Fed from my funds, and if I want to burn it down again, I fucking will. I need fifty thousand dollars in twenties. Make it happen.”
He walks away, gets in the car, and slams the door behind him. His two guards scramble over each other to get in and drive off.
Alex watches them go and doesn’t say anything.
“You know that’s going to hurt. What the fuck are we even going to sell on that short of notice?”
“It’s not time,” he says softly.
“This is why we’re doing this. He’s completely lost it.”
“He’s busy with the Canada job, which you will be too once you take control. You know that, right?”
“I’ll work on Canada and you’ll manage Fed. I won’t ask you to torch everything.”
He grunts in reply. “I know a few people that might be willing to do some quick buys, but it’ll hurt.”
“Sell the fakes first.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m sure. Sell the fakes. And make sure people know they’re coming directly from Oleg.”
Alex gives me a look before sighing and going inside. “Devious,” he says.
“I’d prefer something more direct, but this’ll work for now.”