Chapter 31Zane
31
Zane
I t’s been ages since I saw Tema in person, but I think it’s appropriate that we meet to reflect on the completion of the insider trading mission and discuss future plans. Plus, I need to tell him to stop sending couriers and start having my guys pick things up from him instead. He doesn’t know it, but we almost lost billions of dollars from one simple mistake.
The address I’ve been given is for a bar on the other side of town where Tema operates. If it’s anything like the one I run for my organization, we’re not all that different. I’ve always suspected that Tema and I were two people cut from the same cloth. There are just so many similarities.
Hell, we might even be cousins, but neither of us would dare touch a DNA testing kit.
I go alone because I trust Tema. You have to have some trust when you’re playing a game this big. He trusted me by putting money in my hands, and I’ve trusted him by coming here without my usual security detail.
I don’t think Monroe liked that idea very much, but she still doesn’t understand how we do things around here a hundred percent. We have our own code or ethics, even if it’s more about bloodlines and ancient rules than anything an outsider would understand.
The security at the door to the bar steps aside when I walk up, already knowing who I am. I’m the man who made Tema rich, and together, I suspect we’re going to become unstoppable. I sense a partnership in the near future, more work that could unify our Bratvas into one.
Maybe I’m just a dreamer, but Monroe made me into a believer. Anything can happen, and I have proof of that now.
As I come into the room, my eyes are immediately drawn to the man standing in front of the bar. He’s immense, towering over everyone around him at six foot four, his broad shoulders and muscular frame dominating the space. His body is covered in tattoos, intricate designs that snake down his arms and up his neck. He’s a lot heavier inked than he was the last time we met.
His eyes catch mine and he smiles, but they’re a cold green, a stark contrast to the warmth of his skin. There's an unyielding hardness in them, the kind of gaze that makes you feel exposed, as if he can see right through you.
Definitely Bratva. Monroe has said the same thing about my eyes. I think it’s all the death you witness. You’re able to imagine what someone would look like as a corpse even before they’re dead.
Tema’s dark hair is kept short and neat, like he used to be in the military. I think he may have served at one point in Russia, but I don’t recall.
When he moves toward me, it’s with a purpose and a fluid grace that’s surprising for someone his size. Every step he takes is calculated, every gesture deliberate. He carries himself with a confidence that’s almost palpable, a confidence that tells everyone in the room that he’s important and dangerous.
But we both our, our power coming together and neutralizing in a way that would be impossible with anyone lesser. We’re two sides of the same coin, brothers in another lifetime. We both recognize and respect each other as equals.
When he speaks, his voice is deep with a slight Russian accent. It’s a voice that commands attention, that makes people listen. He doesn’t need to raise it over the noise of the bar. The quiet intensity of his words is enough to carry them over to me as I walk up to him. “Long time, no see.”
I smile, matching his friendly but serious demeanor. “We should get together more often. Celebrate more wins.”
He chuckles, handing me a glass of scotch. “Here, let’s drink to that.”
I take the glass and raise it in the air, and we toast to our continued alliance. It’s a great start to what should be an even better afternoon. It’s not often two men of this caliber are about to get together and talk business.
Tema drinks, and I drink with him. The scotch is excellent, but I already knew it would be by the way the alcohol clung to the glass. It’s almost like maple syrup, deep, rich, and sweet. If he ever did want to poison me, this wouldn’t be a bad way to go.
Thankfully, though, I don’t feel my throat closing up and the air leaving my lungs. It’s just the gentle burn of alcohol as it warms my throat and stomach. I put my glass down on the bar and exhale slowly. “That’s good stuff.”
“Only the best for us, right?” he says with a knowing grin.
“Yes, only the best,” I say. “But it almost wasn’t that way. We almost lost the chance to make all this money.”
Tema’s grin turns to a slight frown. “Explain.”
I shrug, like it wasn’t a big deal. “Your courier delivered the flash drive to the wrong house, and then it was almost intercepted by a man named Maksim. Do you know him?”
Tema smacks his hand on his forehead. “Maksim? He’s been harassing my men for weeks! I was just about to put a bullet in his head when I saw on the news he had been shot coming out of the county jail.”
I push my thumb into my chest. “You can thank me later. He was a pest to me as well.”
Tema laughs, motioning to the bartender to pour us another round of drinks. “You are a good man, Zane. You know what you’re doing, and I like it. I think we should work together more often.”
“I came to propose an alliance,” I reply, cutting straight to the point. “We can hash out the details some other time, but tentatively, if you’re on board, so am I.”
Tema pretends to think about it, but I know he’s already made up his mind. There’s nobody else that could ever match his stride, and we both know it. If we were ever to partner up with anyone, it would be with each other.
A smile spreads across his face, slow but certain, like a sunrise, and he extends his hand. I take it, feeling the warmth between our palms, and we shake. A deal has been struck.
Our futures have been cemented, and our success is inevitable.