Chapter 13 - Nico
“You need to come see this, boss.” Those were the first words Viktor said when he called me.
Nothing more. Nothing less. But his tone was enough for me to know that something was clearly amiss.
I was already reaching for my keys before the call ended.
The warehouse stood near the edge of the docks, isolated enough to conduct business without attracting attention and close enough to the water to move merchandise efficiently.
By the time I arrived, the situation had already been contained.
The fire was put out, but large clouds of smoke continued to rise in the sky.
Gray haze still lingered in the night air, curling upward from blackened metal and shattered concrete.
Emergency crews weren’t present like they would have been for any general civilian disaster.
But Romanov problems were handled by Romanovs only.
We didn’t need help. Our soldiers were parked everywhere, and the situation was already under control.
I stepped out of the SUV and immediately caught the scent of burned fuel.
Someone had wanted to send a message. The damage wasn’t catastrophic but rather calculated, and that was what made it worse.
A few of our men moved through the perimeter, securing evidence and assessing structural integrity.
Others stood guard. If someone had done this to give a warning, it was only likely that they would have left a trademark for recognition purposes.
This was how things worked in the bratva world.
Nobody looked relaxed.
Viktor appeared beside me, dressed in his usual black attire. He smelled of smoke and fire, which told me he had been here for a while now. His expression was hard, and I could see he was pissed.
“They were careful in making sure the damage wasn’t a lot. Once again, the tracking of staff was done well, and they sent very few men to do the deed.”
“When did it happen?”
“About two hours ago.”
“Is anyone injured?”
“A few men. They have all been sent to the hospital.”
“Any deaths?”
He shook his head. Thank god.
“No.”
I glanced toward the building. “Then they weren’t trying to kill anyone. This was only for spectacle, I believe.”
“No. Not exactly.” His expression darkened. “They wanted us to know they could get close.”
I hated that answer because he was right.
This wasn’t destruction. It was a demonstration.
A threat. And threats irritated me more than violence ever could.
It meant someone was daring to stand against a Romanov, and this was the second time it had happened.
Despite our alliance networks and armies, someone was dumb enough to step into our orbits.
“Who could it be? Did we find any marks yet?” I asked, even though the question had already been answered in my head.
We had no new enemies outside of Manny Stavros and Adrian Petrov.
“No marks yet,” Viktor replied, following behind me.
We entered the warehouse together, which made me realize that the inside looked worse.
Several storage sections had been deliberately targeted, and a few vehicles had been destroyed.
I could see that the inventory losses would be significant, but none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was the message that had been given to us.
And judging by the expressions waiting for me at the far end of the building, somebody had already found part of it.
Kliment stood beside Jarek, and both of them looked annoyed. They turned around at the sound of footsteps, but neither looked surprised to see me.
“You’re late,” Jarek said.
I looked around. “The fire seems to have been put out.”
“We couldn’t have waited for your arrival before ordering to do that now, could we, brother?” Jarek retorted.
I ignored him, my eyes turning towards Kliment. He held up a small evidence bag, which I took from him. Inside sat a silver cufflink.
I frowned. “What am I looking at?”
“The question shouldn’t be what,” Jarek answered, his eyes narrowing. “It should be who.”
Something about the way he said it immediately put me on alert, as if all of my suspicions were being confirmed. I took a closer look at the bag and studied it, the subtle hint striking me at once. Then everything inside me went still because I recognized the crest engraved into the silver.
A hawk with stylized wings.
It was Petrov. Adrian Petrov.
I had seen the symbol linked to him in several places when I had his information taken out many months ago.
Despite being a minor, irrelevant player, he focused a lot on his image and insisted on leaving his signature at all of his crime scenes.
This was a clear sign that the attack on the warehouse had been orchestrated by Petrov.
For several seconds, nobody spoke, but then Kliment broke the silence.
“You know who this is?’
I nodded slowly. “Yes.”
Jarek crossed his arms. “Interesting. I am assuming it has to be Stavros or Petrov?”
The question felt deliberately loaded. I looked between them.
“Petrov.”
“Of course,” Jarek replied, his tone loaded with sarcasm.
“What exactly are you implying?” I asked Jarek, wondering if my brothers thought I was the one responsible for all of this. It was true I was keeping his supposed bride hostage, but no one knew that. Neither of them answered immediately, and that was answer enough.
I exhaled slowly. “Jesus Christ.”
Kliment’s expression didn’t change. “You want to explain things now?”
I laughed once without humor.
“I was wondering when we’d get here.”
“Get where?”
I looked at my brother. “To the point where I stop pretending this has nothing to do with me.”
The warehouse suddenly felt quieter, and Jarek straightened.
Kliment remained still, waiting and listening.
The way he always did. Viktor hovered somewhere behind us as well, just as much a part of this conversation as everyone else.
I looked at the destroyed inventory. The damaged walls.
The lingering smoke. And I knew I had to take some steps now.
Last time this had happened, I had not decided on what I was going to do next about this situation, but now it felt as if I was running out of time.
I didn’t know how, but Manny and Adrian knew where Vera was, and they were letting me know that they knew.
“You guys already know this is about Vera Stavros.”
“Yes, we know,” Jarek replied, a smile on his face. “The very woman you dated and fell in love with, then kidnapped her and got shit faced drunk at a seedy bar from where we had to rescue you, and then told us how you have no idea what exactly you are planning to do with her.”
“Yes, her,” I replied. I wanted to give a smart retort to Jarek, but I was at a loss for words. If there was anyone at fault here, it was me. I should have planned things better.
“So, what’s the situation now?” Kliment asked.
“Nothing has changed, except for a few revelations,” I said with a sigh, not knowing how to explain things.
“What do you mean?” Jarek asked, sitting down on an empty stool placed nearby. Kliment took the stool beside him.
I was too annoyed to sit down, so I continued pacing.
“It has come to my attention that Vera lied to me about cheating on me.”
“What?” Three shocked voices came to me at once, and I glanced between them, shaking my head.
“Sorry,” Viktor said, sitting down as well.
“Yes. Her father apparently forced her into a match with Adrian, and she had no choice, which led to her breaking up with me. She lied to me so I would hate her and let her go.”
“Oh, good god,” Jarek shook his head. “Why did she listen to her father? What does he have on her?”
“This was something she did not tell me.” I knew I sounded like an idiot for saying that out loud, but I trusted Vera enough to know she sure had her reasons.
If she could have told me, she would have told me.
However, it still didn’t stop me from feeling pissed at her, which was partly the reason I had been staying away.
If she couldn’t trust me enough to tell me the whole truth, I had to make some hard decisions as well.
“And now Manny Stavros and Adrian Petrov have found out you have her. Even if they might not have proof, they probably have eyes on you, and they are going to wage a war to get her back. Have you decided how exactly you are going to handle this situation, Nico?” Kliment asked, always the logical one.
“I haven’t.”
Viktor and my brothers studied me, all of them silent.
“I think you’re missing something,” Jarek suddenly said, appearing serious, which was rare.
I blinked. “What?”
“Let’s assume Manny discovered somebody took his daughter from the wedding. If he doesn’t even know you exist in Vera’s life, why would he suspect you? The Romanovs have never interacted with Stavros in any capacity, and we are too big for him to take down just for the sake of it.”
“That is a reasonable assessment,” Kliment nodded.
I opened my mouth and then stopped because I had no answers for this.
“Right now, we are assuming that Manny Stavros didn’t know about Nico,” Viktor chimed in, and all of us turned to look at him. “But what if he knew?”
“He obviously knows.” Kliment nodded.
“How can you say so?” I asked.
“He would have no reason to attack our warehouse otherwise, Nico. Either Manny is smarter than we think and always knew about you and Vera, or somebody told him about it.”
“You don’t think she told him?” I said, knowing Vera never wanted her father to find out about us.
“No. She might not have. Maybe he investigated himself and found proof,” Viktor shrugged.
“Well, the bottom line is that as of now, Manny Stavros and Adrian Petrov have become priorities. They are after us, and the only reason behind it can be Vera and her link to Nico. We have to double our security and make sure that things stay in check. I cannot afford these attacks every other day,” Kliment replied.
I nodded. That part at least made sense.
“We’ll find out who’s responsible.”
“We will.”
“And when we do?”