Chapter 36
CHAPTER 36
ANA
MOSCOW
W hen I brought James home, it was a baptism of fire because every single member of my family, plus their wife and girlfriends, were in attendance. It was a homecoming of epic proportions and I could tell that James was overwhelmed.
If the flight over wasn’t enough to blow his mind, given the opulence of our huge private aircraft, our home finished the job the moment we swept through the gates.
It was a huge ask and a monumental occasion, and yet I didn’t have time to ease him in gently. After dinner, mama decided she wanted to spend some time with him alone and as the other women chatted in the silk- papered dining room, Titus nodded his head toward his den and we all dutifully followed him there.
The Romanov children.
Titus, Valentin, Arman and Alexei, Mikhail and myself taking the last two seats. It’s unusual for us all to be together, especially in one room, and I hate knowing the last time we were was at my father’s funeral.
The air is thick with anticipation and as Titus hands out glasses of vodka, I wonder what I’m about to learn.
The message was clear.
Mama is missing you .
It was code for get the hell back here; we need to talk.
Silence descends on the darkening room, not just from the darkness of the black sky outside, but from the sense of occasion.
This is a counsel of war. I recognize that and I sip my drink and wait for the bombs to explode around me.
Titus sits at his desk and regards us with his usual blank expression.
“A great deal has happened since we last spoke.”
Nobody replies and he reaches for the photograph that is becoming increasingly full of ghosts.
He points to our mother and sighs. “The last woman standing.”
He raises his eyes and the only sound in the room is the ice cubes clinking in the glasses.
“It was decided that Adele and Charles were surplus to requirements. There were questions being raised that threatened the entire establishment. ”
He shrugs. “You may as well know that Boris Fedorov ordered the hit on them and Nikolai Barinov was positioned on a ridge above the highway with an automatic rifle aimed directly at their car. He took Charles out, who was driving, with one simple bullet to the head just before the tanker passed, driven by a man who was deep in debt to the Cardoza mafia. If Barinov missed, he was instructed to take them out anyway, and their fates were sealed the moment they stepped into the car. The subsequent inferno disguised the bullet in his brain as his body was reduced to ash.”
“Nikolai never misses.” Mikhail reminds us and Alexei growls, “Risky though.”
“Not really.” Titus shrugs. “They would have finished it another way if necessary. This way, America mourns the death of a potentially great president and recovers by fielding the next suitable candidate instead.”
“But where does that leave Burning Roses and The Rose Foundation?” Arman adds, shaking his head. “Marsha and Adele are dead, along with their secrets.”
Titus glances at me and smiles. “The Rose Foundation lives on for the right reasons this time. Charitable ones. Burning Roses will form again, no doubt under different leadership, but none of that is our concern. They were created to ensure the rise of two of their members. To join Russia and America together when the two members gained full control.”
“But they didn’t and there is still one huge problem left.” Valentin snarls, and we fall silent as the final piece of this puzzle is yet to find a home.
Titus sighs heavily. “That one is not so easy to solve.”
He downs the shot of vodka and drums his fingers on the table. It surprises me because Titus has no reaction to anything. He never has, and this is the first time I have seen him show any.
“Our problem is now closer to home.”
“Tell us.” Mikhail sits forward, almost salivating at the leash, causing Titus to smile, his eyes dancing with laughter.
“This one’s on me, Mikhail.”
“How?” I share my brother’s confusion because Titus rarely gets involved with the problems in our business. The rest of us have suitable skills in that area, leaving him free to coordinate the attack.
“The final secret that pa was guarding is a more delicate one. It concerns our country and there is no room for mistakes.”
We fall silent, all realizing the truth of his statement.
I say carefully, “How can we help with that? Surely it’s up to Boris to deal with it.”
Titus nods. “Ordinarily, yes, but he has asked a great personal favor from me and it would be in our family’s best interests to accept.”
He’s not wrong there. Nobody refuses Boris Fedorov anything and lives to tell the tale, but I wonder what Titus can do to help with a problem I don’t even want to think about, let alone be involved in .
Alexei sighs heavily. “If you need our help, it’s yours.”
“Of course.” We all nod because if there is one thing the Romanovs excel at, it’s the family business and I’m aware this decision will affect that, regardless of the personal favor Boris has demanded.
Titus sighs as he realizes that his glass is empty and Valentin reaches for the bottle and sets about topping up our glasses.
As he sets it back down, Titus says simply, “Please raise your glasses. I have important news.”
There is not a sound in the room as we wait with expectation, and his eyes flash as he says wearily, “I’m getting married.”
There is no sound, just disbelief as we stare at him as if it’s some kind of joke.
Arman recovers first and growls, “What the fuck! Do we know her?”
“No.”
Titus shakes his head and shrugs. “As it turns out, neither do I, but that is unimportant. It’s who she is that counts.”
“I don’t understand.” I glance around the room and note my confusion is shared by my siblings, and Titus smiles darkly.
“So, aren’t you going to congratulate me?”
“Of course.”
Mikhail raises his glass and huffs, “To Titus and–”
We stare at our brother as we wait for the name of the unfortunate woman and he leans back in his chair and says simply, “Tatiana Pavlov.”
It’s as if he stole our power of speech with the drop of one name and as we stare at him in disbelief, he raises his glass.
“Wish me luck. I sure as hell am going to need it.”
As he drains the glass for the second time, my heart sinks. Here we fucking go again.