Chapter 11
ELEVEN
H aldon claps me on the shoulder while he laughs, the sound boiling my blood. Not only that, but the fucking outrage I feel over what Milo said in front of my friends.
“Why don’t you just get on your knees already and suck his cock?” Haldon chuckles.
“Fuck off!” I bark back, shrugging out of his grasp. Through my anger, I can feel my cheeks reddening. The fact that Milo turned up here unannounced has me all kinds of flustered, and I don’t ever get flustered. Why is it that Milo’s the only fucking guy to get under my skin? As much as I hate it, I find myself craving it as soon as he leaves.
Roman is covering his mouth his fist, and the look I give him must be enough to convey that I’m not in the fucking mood. As much as I know they like to rile me up, tonight I’m not taking their shit.
“Alright,” Roman groans, stretching out his legs. “What’s the plan here? The Russians aren’t going to play nice.”
I slump down on the seat opposite him, kicking my feet up on the coffee table between us. “If we give them the docks, we can’t monitor it. All sorts of shit could be coming in, and we’d have no control.”
“So we negotiate, introduce sanctions or taxes or something,” Haldon suggests.
Scrubbing his hand across his chin, Roman takes a second to think. “Taxes could work. We need to know what they’re bringing in, though. In Cali, there were rumors of the Russians bringing in women to sell them off.”
He glances between us, and the image that flashes through my head is enough to make me shudder. We might conduct illegal businesses, but there’s a line to what we’ll entangle ourselves with, and none of us are comfortable with human trafficking or any kind of flesh trade.
“You think that could be why they want extended rights?” Haldon inquires.
Roman shrugs in response. “It’s a possibility.”
I feel sick. The thought of women being trapped in cargo or shipment containers, brought from one place to another without knowing exactly what’s going on… my blood boils, simmering long enough for me to realize the pain coming from my hands is from my own clenched fists. Taking a deep breath, I try to let go of some of my rage.
“Let’s see what they have to say,” I suggest.
“Sure.” Roman nods.
“As long as you can think straight,” Haldon laughs.
I cut my friend a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, bro…” Roman leans forward to look me dead in the eye. “Stop eye fucking Milo Kyrovsky.”
Here we go. “Fuck you both!” I scowl.
Haldon and Roman burst into laughter. I’d like to say that I’ve missed these moments, but I’d be lying. Five years might have changed us, but some things haven’t changed at all.
“Speaking of eye fucking,” I mention, kicking Roman’s foot underneath the coffee table. “You and Lani. What’s going on there?”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed that in the few weeks since my best friend has been back, my twin’s moods have gone from a simmering irritation to full blown fury. She’s a ticking time bomb, and I know the only person who’s to blame is the guy sitting across from me. Still, more recently, I’ve noticed a shift. It’s slight, but I know my twin better than anyone, and her attitude towards Roman is becoming less volatile.
Shrugging, Roman darts a gaze at Haldon, who just smirks back at him. “Let’s just say I’m pushing all the right buttons.”
“Okay, too much information!” I bellow, standing from my seat. I need to change the subject before this goes to a place I really don’t want it to. And let’s face it, Roman will have no hesitation in describing which buttons of my sister’s he’s been pressing.
“Let’s make sure the girls get home, and then we can head over to the docks.”
“I don’t think the girls want to leave just yet,” Haldon replies.
I move to join him at his office window, looking out over the dance floor below. Amongst the grinding bodies, Alanis and his little sister Haven are sliding up against each other, grinning and singing along to ‘Bad Girls’ by M.I.A. I smile to myself because it’s one of the few times I’ve actually seen my sister so carefree. Ever since Roman left five years ago, she’s been an uptight bitch—and I can say that because she’s my twin. I don’t know what the hell happened, and by the sounds of it, I don’t think Roman knows either, but he’s making an effort to fix it at least.
“Give them an hour, then we’ll drop them off at Lani’s,” I tell them both.
Roman comes to join us at the floor to ceiling window, his eyes locked on my sister. I can tell just by the way he stares that there’s something going on that he’s not telling me. We’ve never had secrets between us, but I know he’d tell me if it was serious.
Just like I should really tell him about what happened between me and Milo.
* * *
R oman grumbles beside me as he tugs on the collar of his coat. The crisp air whips around us, signalling the end of fall. With the temperatures dropping, the Navy Yard we use for our shipments is the last place I want to be right now.
“Thought you were harder than this,” I comment with a smile as I shove Roman with my shoulder. Clearly, the West Coast has affected him more than I realized, because this weather wouldn’t usually bother him.
“Me too,” he retorts.
I hold down my smirk as we all walk silently, the East River lapping up against the side of the docks. It’s like a symphony to our own story; a morbid, dangerous tale. The way the waves crash against the barriers hints at the way this meeting could go. Catastrophic .
As promised, it’s just the three of us meeting with the Russians—though the one thing Milo should know is I never come unprepared. I have men on standby if they decide to cut our meeting short, and knowing the Federovs, nothing is off the table.
Ahead of us, the brothers stand side by side. I’ve only met them a handful of times when I was first introduced to this side of the family business. While my dad did most of the talking, I observed. I watched the way Vadim tried to call the shots, only to be knocked down a peg by his brother Konstantin. While he’s the man in charge, it’s easy to see that Vadim is the one who wants everything; the power, the money, the loyalty. But in this city, you have to earn those things.
It’s obvious the Russians don’t follow the same rules as we do. Taking businesses from under us, paying off people on our payroll to benefit them. It’s part of a game, one I don’t think they’re ready to play. And if they are, they need to rethink their strategy. We might be new to leadership, but we have just as much experience in this life with the help of our families to guide us.
Milo approaches us, his tall figure shadowing the glow of the floodlights planted around the area. He still looks as dangerously seductive as he did a few hours ago. His dark eyes lock onto mine, lips curling into a knowing smile.
“Thanks for meeting us,” he drawls, holding his hand out to me.
I stare down at it, recalling the memory of it wrapped around my cock as he pumped me into his mouth. Fuck. I refocus my gaze on the men ahead of us, ignoring his gesture. “It’s not like we had much choice,” I grumble.
“Formalities,” Milo responds, diverting his attention to Roman.
He takes Milo’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Let’s get this over with, then,” he sighs.
Milo strides towards his bosses, and I can’t help but let my eyes linger on the way he walks. Such confidence, such arrogance. Even in the dead of night, he looks fucking irresistible.
No, Vee. Pull yourself together. He’s the goddamn enemy.
“Thank you for agreeing to come here.” Konstantin smiles as we approach, reaching out to shake each of our hands. “I understand there’s animosity that has settled between us, and I want to clear that up.”
He’s obviously referring to the fact that we found out about Mason Aintree. Like I said before, he had everything coming to him. He should have thought twice before double crossing The Five, and what he got in return was a message. It could have been a lot worse. It almost was. As soon as Roman ripped into the guy, I wasn’t sure he’d ever stop. Roman is usually able to keep calm, even when he doesn’t need to be. Years of discipline in the boxing ring has taught him to control his emotions, but he snapped, and I’m surprised there was anything left of Aintree after Roman was finished.
Death and violence have never been an issue for me. I accepted the inevitable the moment my dad placed a gun in my hand. I relished in it the moment my dad told me if I was to point the barrel at anyone, I better be sure to pull the trigger.
I did. I still remember my first kill; the scream that tore through the night when I embedded a bullet in one of my dad’s enemies. Now, it’s like second nature. Every time I feel the grip in my palm, my fingers twitch for violence.
“Going after my businesses doesn’t just cause animosity, Federov.” Roman swings his gaze between Konstantin and Vadim. He’s met the brothers less times than I have, and I can tell he’s unsure of who to address.
“But you can’t fault us for trying,” Vadim laughs. Arrogance oozes from him, proving exactly why we need to set boundaries tonight.
Konstantin carries himself with more elegance; a calmness that projects through his words.
His brother looks like a loose cannon that I don’t think any of us want to cross—not that we’d hesitate to take him out if push came to shove.
“You know your boundaries,” I remind them. My dad fucking set them, after all.
“Of course,” Konstantin answers. “Though we would like to discuss the extension of our permits.”
“You don’t have any,” Haldon states.
“But we would like that to be a possibility,” Konstantin replies, gesturing to the docks with his cane. “Our supply has increased, and we’d like to be able to use the docks more frequently.”
“In exchange for what?” I ask.
“Whatever you’d like,” Konstantin answers. “Increase our taxes if you must, but you look the other way.”
“Look the other way?” Haldon shuffles his feet, his shoes scraping the concrete. I can practically feel the unease rolling off him. “What are you bringing in?”
“That is what ‘looking the other way’ means. No questions, no paperwork. Allow us to use the docks freely.” Vadim bounces his assertive gaze from me, to Roman, to Haldon. We must all wear the same expression, because he laughs deeply. “Don’t look so worried, boys. None of our imports concern you, and we’ll let you off about not distributing our liquor in your clubs, even though you’ve taken your cut.”
My fists clench at the term ‘boys’. Just because we’re younger than these assholes doesn’t mean shit. We’ve been brought up by men ten times better than these pricks, and they’d do well to remember what will happen if they cross us.
“Careful, Federov. You’re close to treading the line that separates business and personal,” Roman warns.
Another deep laugh fills the space between us, this time from Vadim. “You’re just boys,” he scoffs. “What would you know?”
I shift uncomfortably, my gaze going to Milo for a split second because these three just made it fucking personal. Their egos have taken a bruising because they’re under our jurisdiction. New York is our territory, and they know what we say goes.
“A lot more than you think,” Roman challenges Vadim, taking a step forward.
Vadim counters with a step of his own, though it doesn’t put him as close as I think he wants it to. He has an edge of danger about him that could turn lethal, given the chance. “You accept our terms, or we?—”
“Enough!” Konstantin barks at his brother. “This is a request. One we hope you’ll consider.”
“And if we don’t?” I question.
“Let’s not think about that option just yet,” Konstantin warns with a wry smile. One that is almost demonic.
Sighing reluctantly, I glance between the brothers. “Fine. We’ll consider it.”
“Much appreciated,” Konstantin replies before passing by us.
It takes a second for his brother to follow. Giving us one last glare, which I’m sure is meant to intimidate us, he storms off into the darkness with Milo following behind.
“I hate to say it,” Haldon huffs. “But we’re gonna need to bring in the big guns.”
I let out a groan because I know he’s right. While it’s not the first time we’ve had to deal with turf wars or any kind of kick back, it’s the first time we’ve had to deal with crime bosses who are equally as fierce as us. Fortunately, I’m not worried about seeking advice from my dad, because that’s what he’s there for.