Chapter 31
31
Anya
“Z oya,” I whisper.
It’s as if I’m dreaming. My skin tingles all over. I want to feel safe because she has always inspired safety, but the sharp smell of Leo’s cologne is a sore reminder that I am far from safe. At least I managed to throw a wrench at his plans.
“Zoya Asimova,” Ivan Abramovic says, slowly turning to face her as she approaches. “I never thought I would see you again. I thought you were dead.”
“Have you ever met a drowned duck or a dead devil?” Zoya chuckles dryly.
Wearing a long grey dress and wrapped in a black overcoat. Her silver hair is pulled into a tight, elegant bun. Pearls and diamonds glisten around her neck and dangle from her ears, and the men flanking her wear custom tailored black suits. She glides across the concrete floor, her heels clicking with each step. She is the epitome of grace, with the fierce beauty of a Russian woman, even in old age.
“You remember Sergei and Andrei, I presume?” she says, nodding at her guards.
Behind them, a dozen more men follow, making the hall more crowded than before. The air feels thick with a brand-new kind of tension and uncertainty. Death or salvation? There’s no telling how this will end or who will turn against whom.
“It’s good to see you,” Tatyana declares.
“Likewise, darling, I’m glad women are still the heads of our big family,” Zoya says. “If it were up to only the men, we’d have a war on our hands every other Tuesday.” She pauses and gives Lev and the other heads a slight nod. “Gentlemen, I understand there is a council meeting happening here.”
“Yes,” Ivan replies. “Though we didn’t imagine you’d join us.”
“I didn’t either,” she says. “My plan was to enjoy my retirement in peace and quiet.”
Leo Sokolov sneers. “Then turn around and walk away. You don’t belong here anymore.”
“Mind your tongue, boy,” Lev warns him again.
“As long as I breathe, and as long as I bear the Asimov name, I belong here,” Zoya replies, then gives me a soft look. “Are you alright, child?”
I shake my head slowly. “No.”
“Why is my granddaughter here, unprotected and in the hands of the man who killed her entire family?” Zoya snaps. “Where is the justice? Where is the principle of upholding a peace we all worked so hard to obtain?”
“I’m trying to keep that peace,” Leo says.
“No, you’re trying to get away with murder and theft,” Zoya hisses. “And I have a few things to say about that. The council is obligated to hear me out before any decision is made.”
Leo scoffs. “This is ridiculous.”
“I don’t want to marry him, and he has no place taking anything from the Asimovs,” I insist.
“All I want—” Leo tries to cut in, but Ivan raises a hand to silence him.
“I’d like to hear what Zoya has to say.”
“She’s obsolete.”
“Shut up or I will make you shut up,” Lev snarls.
That’s enough to get Leo’s goons riled up. Suddenly guns are drawn around the room. Everyone’s pointing a weapon at everybody else, while Tatyana and Ivan try to calm them down.
“Stop it,” Tatyana says. “This is neutral territory. A council meeting! I don’t care how brazen, bold, or influential the Sokolovs have become, we still follow rules here! Put your weapons down.”
“And you!” Ivan looks at Leo. “You’ve said your piece. It’s Zoya’s turn. If you want your seat at our table on your terms, you have to go through the entire process like everyone else. We decide whether you can go ahead with your plans or not. We are still the majority.”
Leo has only a few seconds to weigh his options.
Yes, he is brazen and foolish, proud and maniacal. But he also knows when he is outnumbered. And pissing on the Bratva’s unwritten constitution could open the door for much worse betrayals in the future from anyone who might find themselves unhappy with Leo’s actions. He knows it could blow up in his face.
So he drops his shoulders and nods once. “Fine, let the old bag speak.”
“You’re lucky you’re heavily armed,” Zoya says. “Otherwise, I would smack you into next week, you sniveling coward.”
“We’re listening, Mrs. Asimova,” Ivan replies. “What objection do you bring to Leo’s demands and resolutions? He feels that marrying Anya and taking over the Asimov ventures would secure the peace and, therefore, grant him a thirty-three percent stake in our organization. Some of us are inclined to agree and vote accordingly. Anya has responded with a vehement no.”
Zoya shakes her head slowly and points at the men accompanying her. “Do you see these gentlemen here?”
“We do,” Lev says.
“They were dispatched to several Asimov businesses the day the Dalton massacre happened. No one associated with our family who was present at the festival survived—no one except Anya,” Zoya says, giving me a soft look. “Tell them, child. Tell them what you saw.”
Leo tries to stop me. “She doesn’t remember much; retrograde amnesia from a car accident, I’m told.”
I wonder if he’s aware how futile this intervention is, or if he’s just trying to buy time. He can’t be so delusional as to think he’ll stop me from telling the truth.
“I remember everything,” I tell him, then look at Ivan and the others. “I was stuck under my cousin’s dead body. They were still shooting. Gunning every Asimov down with automatic weapons. I remember every sound, every smell. The taste of blood in my mouth. And I remember peeking out from under cold flesh. Max Sokolov was there, laughing and firing his AR-15 like it was a videogame.
“And Leo. Leo had two semiautomatic handguns, silver with ivory handles. ‘Make sure they’re all dead,’ he told Max,” I add, his words still echoing in my head. “I don’t want any Asimovs left standing when the cops get here.’”
Tatyana sucks in a deep breath. “No…”
“Yes. Leo and Max Sokolov were present. I may be the only witness, but I am not lying. There is a case being built against the Sokolov syndicate as we speak,” I say. “My brother, Aleks, collected evidence against them. When Leo heard that I survived, he sent Max to get me.”
I summarize my ordeal to the best of my ability, as I analyze each expression carefully. By the time I’m done, Leo is boiling mad, and Ivan’s frown deepens into a dead-eyed scowl.
“So, pardon me if I vehemently refuse to enter a marriage with a man who has repeatedly violated the Bratva’s own peace treaties. If he did it to my family, he will do it to you, sooner or later.”
“Nonsense,” Leo says. “All lies.”
“You may have muscled in on other people’s territories before,” Zoya tells him. “And you got away with it, too. But your biggest mistake was when you confused my son’s righteousness for weakness. Paul may have tried to do the right thing, but I will not hesitate to bury you for what you’ve done.”
Leo gives her a cold grin. “Or I could just kill you and your bitch of a granddaughter and be done with it.”
“You won’t!” Lev snaps. “Not until the council decides.”
“What’s there to decide?” I gasp, my face burning red with fury.
Tatyana rolls her eyes. “As of now, Leo’s stake in the organization is big enough to warrant a conversation and a vote, I’m afraid.”
“Even though he broke the treaty?” Zoya mutters.
“Yes.”
“Nobody move!” shouts a voice coming from somewhere to our right.
I hold my breath as I turn and see Nico, realizing he’s not the only one moving. From every corner of the hall, from every hidden spot, men dressed in Kevlar and armed to the teeth storm in, their military-grade weapons trained on every single Bratva man and woman present.
“Nico,” I whisper.
Zoya gives me a wry smile. “The cavalry has arrived.”
“Zoya, what is the meaning of this?” Ivan Abramovic says, sounding downright insulted.
Altogether, I’m counting three dozen military or former military men along with the Asimovs’ old guard. For the first time, Leo is severely outnumbered. Frozen. And likely panicking.
Chance and Booker emerge from behind their partners, their green eyes trained on me.
“Oh, God,” I manage. They’re here.
“Outside contractors,” Zoya tells Ivan. “Given the damage Mr. Sokolov inflicted upon my family and our business, I had to source my security from elsewhere. Trustworthy gentlemen, I assure you. Their federal friends, on the other hand, are not as malleable.”
“What are you talking about?” Lev asks.
“Well, like Anya just told you, there’s an ongoing investigation into Leo Sokolov and his entire syndicate,” Zoya says with a casual shrug. “What do you think will happen if you all decide to vote to support him now?”
The blood instantly drains from Ivan’s round face. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I have a better idea,” Nico interjects.
“Fuck this,” Leo takes his gun out.
A split-second later—POP!
A bullet goes through Leo’s head.
I close my eyes and scream as blood spatters across my jacket. I fall back, but someone catches me.
“Freeze!” Nico’s voice booms through the hall.
“Nobody fucking move!” Chance adds.
I look up. Zoya’s on the floor, holding me close. Leo’s men are like statues with their hands frozen in the air.
“That didn’t have to happen,” Nico says calmly. “I do not want any more bloodshed, but that’s going to be up to you all.”
“We have no issue with anyone else,” Booker adds. “In fact, we’ve secured a clear exit for every council member who does not want to bump into the ATF on their way out. There’s a team of federal agents waiting to take every Sokolov syndicate member into custody. Your choice, ladies and gentlemen.”
Ivan Abramovic shakes his head. “I did not see this coming.”
“Frankly, neither did I,” Nico replies. “But Leo forced our hand when he kidnapped Anya.”
“Let it be,” Lev tells Ivan. “It’s better this way. The Asimovs get their turf back. They can rebuild. We split the Sokolov fronts between us. Everybody wins.”
“You can’t do that,” objects one of Leo’s lieutenants. “The treaty says—”
“The treaty?” Tatyana laughs. “You fuckers didn’t care about the treaty when you gunned one of the founding families down to steal their territories!”
“And you were ready to vote against the same founding family just now!” the lieutenant insists.
Booker moves in and presses the muzzle of his weapon into the guy’s temple. “Yes, but the terms have clearly changed. And reasonable people know when they’re better off taking a step back. You’re going to prison either way, buddy.”
“You’re safe now,” Zoya whispers in my ear.
All I can do is stare at Nico for the longest moment. I see the pain in the green pools of his eyes. Killing a man will take its toll on him. But he saved me.
“Well, then, I suppose we can reconvene in about a week?” Ivan says, looking around as if he’s just about to wrap up a quarterly budget meeting at a corporate office. “Same time, different place?”
“A week sounds about right for us to get our bearings and assess our position,” Zoya says as we both look up. “I’m sure we will figure out a way to move forward.”
“I look forward to sitting at the table with you, Zoya,” Tatyana replies with a smile.
“You heard the ladies,” Lev barks. “Move out. Let the outside contractors do their jobs and head out the back door, unless you want to spend the rest of tonight getting every hole plugged by federal agents.”
Slowly and calmly, they follow Booker’s instructions and slither out through the back doors as Leo’s men are lined up against the wall. Chance and his partners secure every weapon and make sure it’s safe for the federal agents to come in, while I try to break out of my frozen state.
Nico keeps staring at Leo’s lifeless body, a puddle of blood spreading around him like a crimson aura.
“It’s really over, isn’t it?” he mutters as I sag against his side.
“Thanks to you, yes.”