Chapter 1 #2
Fuck. I shook my head as the memories took a bitter turn.
I’d been bored to death, seeking an adventure on my own with my favorite cousin Dimitri.
We’d thought we were something special, our fathers’ reputations providing us a road paved in gold to do what we wanted.
Our arrogance led to utter stupidity, getting drunk and disorderly, both tossed inside a cold and dark jail cell.
My father had been so fucking angry he’d refused to bail us out.
So had my uncle.
My aunt had been too fearful of her husband’s response had she gone against him, but not my mother. She was fearless even while being pissed.
She’d defied them all, taking the rental car with a fistful of cash in her hand.
If only I hadn’t been such a fucking dickhead, she might still be alive.
Fuck. Since when did I allow my mind to be constrained by a single concept of guilt? Never. That wasn’t who I was as a man and I couldn’t let it happen as the leader of our family organization.
“Yes, Pakhan,” Mikhail hissed.
The kid was fighting reopened wounds. Stash eyed me carefully before taking long strides toward the door.
Kirill was prepared to follow until I shook my head.
While I might not have spent much time with Stash, he was very much like our father and almost a carbon copy of the man I’d become.
Only his level of anger was from years spent in utter poverty, learning to steal food from local vendors to try to keep himself and his mother alive.
Families were complicated at best, our father’s infidelity nothing new, but an illegitimate offspring was a new and unwanted twist.
And Mikhail? Well, he’d never fully recovered from his grief or the effects of the horrible disease that had almost taken his life.
The last few days exhausting, I closed and rubbed my eyes, instantly thrust back into the last few minutes of our mother’s life.
Our mother was merely a distant memory, little more than a pawn in the very dangerous game my family had played for generations. Not a single holiday had meant a damn thing since then, and certainly there’d been no more family vacations.
Except for my father’s funeral.
How many people had our father blamed for her death? How many new enemies had he made from accusations made? And the person responsible for her death had never been found.
“When the dust settles,” Dimitri interjected. “Why don’t you consider moving the business to New York?”
Now I laughed in earnest. “Not a chance.” My uncle had tried to convince our father for years to leave the old guard and head to the new world. No, thank you.
He walked closer, clapping me on the shoulder. “I’m sorry I need to return to New York so soon. I have certain business of my own that can’t wait.”
Dimitri knew when it was best to walk away. Our businesses were separate for a reason. “I appreciate you coming all this way.”
“I meant what I said. You’re always welcome.”
“You never know. I may take you up on it one day.”
I stood with a drink in my hand, mulling over options while Dimitri said his goodbyes and left. Death was a typical occurrence in our profession, but the older I got, the more difficult it felt to deal with.
In the last few days, I’d made the rounds in securing our warehouses, talking with our accountant and trying to reassure our employees that nothing would change. Meanwhile, other Russian Bratva were breathing down our necks. They were like vultures waiting for clean and easy pickings of roadkill.
The house was filled with people, the wake a cornerstone of being Orthodox Christian, and my stepmother was active in the church. I couldn’t care less, yet on this one subject, I heeded to her request. For me, the idea of walking into a church was blasphemous.
“What about the attorney?” Mikhail asked. “And the will?”
His words dripped of contempt. “That is the last thing on my mind.” At least my answer pleased him.
For now, Marta would stay in the house. I was a cruel bastard, but I certainly wasn’t planning on kicking her out on the street.
She and Stash had been through so much over the years, homelessness included.
“How do we move forward from here, Pakhan?” Grigor Kierev asked, another soldier who’d come up through the ranks.
“My father already scheduled a meeting with the Cosa Nostra Don the day after tomorrow, and he’d want us to keep it. The meeting will continue as scheduled.”
Our father hadn’t been prone to making alliances with anyone, but the radical Bratva to the north and south were like Vikings hell bent on invading our territory.
By taking control of several major roads and ports, the ruthless syndicates had made getting our product across country lines much more difficult. The Italians could provide relief.
“While I mean no disrespect, Kazimir, your father was quite insistent that his last will be handled right away.” While my father valued had Sergei’s counsel, I found him to be nothing more than a money-grubbing brown-noser. In my mind, attorneys were synonymous with filthy cockroaches.
However inappropriate, I’d had revenge fantasies about the man and those like him for years.
Now wasn’t the time for such indulgences.
What a pity. “Yes, Sergei. Perhaps you are correct in that my father’s will requires my attention.
My father’s riches must be distributed in accordance with his wishes.
However, there will be no further riches added to the coffer should anyone within our business realm gather a whiff of hesitancy with my regard to handling business.
The reading of the goddamn will can wait. ”
While I hadn’t raised my voice, I didn’t need to. Several of the men were already back-stepping toward the door. In addition to my bloodthirsty reputation, it was widely known that the short fuse was attached to an impressive stack of explosives.
Right now I needed to exercise control. As with any tragedy, there were those eager to see if the family fell apart, fading into a weakness sufficient enough for one of our half dozen enemies to swoop in. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
With my direct stare at the attorney, his face paled and he lowered his head. “Yes, Pakhan.”
“Kirill, make arrangements for the trip. We leave in the morning. I want you as well as at least two other men on the trip.” The last thing I wanted was to vacate the country during the tumultuous time, but there really was no choice.
My father had nurtured a relationship with the Italians after their initial approach. That had taken almost a full year.
To turn away now would be an act of abandonment we wouldn’t soon recover from.
Besides, there were millions to be made in using their ports and connections.
My father would roll over in his grave should I allow the opportunity to pass.
Or he’d reach out from the depths of hell, dragging me down with him.
The thought brought a wave of images, which in turn brought another smile.
“I’d like to go with you,” Mikhail said while taking a step toward me. My brother had been my shadow for years, his love of his family one of many attributes I admired. While he was a talented young man, I wasn’t certain he was ready to be indoctrinated into the world of the Bratva.
Maybe our father had been too protective.
Or maybe I’d been.
“You’d be better suited remaining here, Mikhail. I need a show of strength for our soldiers.” In my mind a decision had been made and it was time to move on, but I should have known better with my brother. He was the one person who’d seen my softer side.
His smile and the fact he made direct eye contract meant he wasn’t letting this go.
“Stash is perfectly capable of handling business for a couple days. I deserve a chance to prove to you and everyone else that Chertov blood runs hot through my veins. Plus, the show of solidarity and force will dispel any rumors of weakness the Italian pigs might have heard.”
He’d hated all things Italian for years, blaming them for our mother as much as he had everyone else.
“He does have a point, Pakhan,” Kirill encouraged. “A show of utter strength will be beneficial. And highlighting the family unit will be considered highly respectable.”
I took a deep breath while allowing the thought to linger.
He did have a point. They both did. “I will consider your recommendation. Kirill, have extra security placed on our buildings and incoming shipments. We need to send a message to the people of Russia and beyond that our family is handling our father’s death with no interruption. ”
Kirill moved closer, lowering his voice. “Why don’t I have a brief conversation with the reporter who mentioned the funeral? Just a few words. Their newspaper goes beyond Russian media. I will ensure people know nothing has changed.”
“Not a bad idea. But make it brief.”
“Yes, sir.”
I headed from the room, thinking about where I could find Stash.
He was also a creature of habit, preferring the outdoors even in icy weather to a warm fire and a glass of cognac.
Noticing him through the window in the kitchen, I grabbed my overcoat and joined him, both of us staring at the statue of Virtus, an artistic piece our father had insisted be placed near the fountain.
“Did you know Virtus is supposedly the personification of honor, bravery, and moral strength? A virtuous god.” His question was rhetorical and I knew the reason he’d asked.
“A little-known secret, Stash. As a young man, our father had his heart set on becoming an attorney, defending those wrongfully convicted of crimes.”
Stash was notably surprised, turning his head toward me. “You’re kidding.”
I grunted and studied the face of the unanimated Roman god. “No. Now, I assure you I’m likely one of the only people in the world who knew that.”
“What happened? Why didn’t he pursue his dream?”
“Because of our grandfather, the man currently residing in the Shamrock Glen.” The retirement center was well worth every penny spent, my grandfather safe and secure from the outside world and from himself.
He had occasional bouts of lucidity but not enough for the funeral, but his anger was a family trait.
He’d raged when told about his son’s death, blaming me for his murder.
Challenging the former patriarch would mean disrespect, something I wouldn’t do.
“So he was forced to become a criminal.”
“He was required to follow in his father’s footsteps, an honor to be asked.”
Stash laughed in the same bitter sound I’d heard from Mikhail. “So now you’re being forced into becoming something you have no desire to be.”
I needed to find the right words to help him understand.
“Stash, I’ve seen the world and been allowed to sow enough wild oats I should own a damn farm.
My father encouraged me to find my place in the world and I took him up on the offer, but at the end of the day, nothing changed the fact I was the firstborn son of a powerful man in an even more powerful regime.
Stepping into my father’s shoes is an honor.
That doesn’t mean my methods of leadership will be the same. It just means I value the opportunity.”
He studied me for a full minute. “Understood.”
“Good,” I said and clapped him on the back.
“Do you think there’s a chance my… I mean our father was murdered?”
I honestly hadn’t entertained the thought. “The coroner was convinced it was because of his love of cigars.”
“That’s almost the only thing I remember about him as a child.
The scent of his cigars. I’ve hated him for so long.
What he put us through. It wasn’t just about never having a decent meal or nice clothes.
I loathed the man because my mother loved him so much.
She fell in love with him the first time they met.
The first time they made love. When they conceived me.
He never apologized for what he put her through even after determining she was good enough to marry. ”
“Your mother is good enough to be anything she wants and you’re very lucky to have her.”
I had a feeling he sensed my compliments were rare, any sentiment kept as thought only. I wasn’t a warm man by anyone’s standards, but he needed to feel as if he was part of the family.
“Thank you.”
“Of course. Now, I need to ask a favor. I have an important meeting in Italy in the next couple of days and Mikhail is going with me. I need you to assume the Pakhan position until I return.”
“Won’t that piss off Mikhail?”
“He made the suggestion.” I remained quiet, allowing him to make the decision without pushing him. His eyes opened wide as he searched mine.
“Bezuslovno, moy Pakhan. YA okazhu tebe pochesti.”
Absolutely, my Pakhan. I will bestow you with honor.
“Just don’t burn the place down while I’m gone. If you do, there will be hell to pay.” As I grinned, he took a deep breath.
I could already feel the wolves barely being held at bay. They were hungry for blood.