Chapter 30 #2
"Fair enough."
My phone rings. Unknown number.
I almost ignore it. Then I see the area code. Brooklyn.
Morozov territory.
"Excuse me." I step out of the office, answering. "What?"
"Adrian Nero." Alexei's voice is smooth, amused. "We need to talk. Now."
"I'm busy."
"Not too busy for this. It's about Gabriel Romano."
My hand tightens on the phone. "What about him?"
"I have information. About him. About your wife. About things you're going to want to know." He pauses. "Meet me at The Plaza. One hour. Neutral ground."
"Why would I trust you?"
"Because if you don't, your pretty little wife might not make it through the week." His voice hardens. "One hour, Adrian. Don't be late."
He hangs up.
I stare at my phone, rage and fear warring in my chest.
He knows something about Sera. Something he thinks gives him leverage.
I should ignore it. Should call his bluff. Should assume this is a trap.
But I can't risk it.
Not with her.
I go back into Antonio's office. "I need to go."
"Everything alright?" Antonio asks.
"No. But I'll handle it." I head for the door. "If you find Gabriel, call me immediately. Don't engage without me."
"Where are you going?" Saint calls after me.
I don't answer. Just walk out, dialing my head of security.
"Double the guards on Seraphina. No one in or out without my authorization. And get me a team. We're going to The Plaza."
I hang up and head for my car.
Whatever Alexei knows, whatever he wants, I'm going to end this.
Today.
The Plaza Hotel sits in the heart of Manhattan like a monument to old money. Neutral ground. A place where families meet to negotiate without bloodshed.
It's a fucking tired institution, but it's been this way since anyone can remember.
My car pulls up to the entrance, and I see Alexei's convoy already there. Black SUVs lined up like a funeral procession. Armed guards posted at strategic points. He's making a show of force.
So am I.
I have my own team. Six men. Armed and ready.
This could go very wrong, very quickly.
I step out, and Alexei is waiting near the entrance. He's dressed in his usual style—expensive jeans, designer shirt, that fucking gold chain. He looks relaxed. Confident.
I want to rip his throat out.
"Adrian." He spreads his arms in mock welcome. "So good of you to come."
"What do you want, Alexei?"
"Always so direct. No pleasantries?" He gestures to the hotel. "Let's talk inside. I've reserved a private room."
"We can talk here."
"I'd rather not discuss your family business in front of the tourists." His smile is sharp. "Unless you want everyone to know what I know?"
I grit my teeth. "Lead the way."
We walk through the lobby. Tourists with shopping bags part around us instinctively, sensing danger. Hotel staff suddenly find urgent tasks elsewhere. Our security details follow at a distance—his men watching mine, mine watching his. One wrong move and this lobby becomes a bloodbath.
The conference room Alexei leads me to overlooks Central Park. Expensive. Neutral. Safe.
For now.
He closes the door, leaving our guards outside.
Now it's just us.
"Talk," I demand.
"Sit," he counters.
"I'm not sitting. Talk or I walk."
He sighs. "Fine. Have it your way." He leans against the table. "I've been tracking Gabriel Romano. Just like you. Just like the feds. He's a popular man these days."
"Get to the point."
"The point is, he came to me last night. Offered me a deal."
My blood runs cold. "What kind of deal?"
"He'll give me your wife." Alexei's eyes gleam. "In exchange for clearing his debt and giving him safe passage out of the country."
The room goes silent except for the pounding of my heart.
"You're lying."
"Am I? Think about it, Adrian. He's desperate. He's running out of options. And his sister is the most valuable asset he has." Alexei tilts his head. "I turned him down, obviously. But I thought you should know."
"Why would you tell me?"
"Because Gabriel Romano is bad for business.
" Alexei pushes off the table, moving to the window.
"He's a rat. He's working with the feds.
He's stealing from everyone. And if the feds are circling him, they're circling all of us.
" He turns back to me. "I can't have federal scrutiny on my operations right now.
Not with the shipment coming in next week.
Not with the expansion into New Jersey. Gabriel Romano is a fucking liability, and I want him gone. "
That makes more sense. Alexei doesn't do anything out of kindness. He's protecting his own interests.
"So here's my offer," Alexei continues. "You kill Gabriel. I forget about the money he owes me. We call it even."
"What's the catch?"
"No catch. I want him gone. You want him gone. This benefits us both." He crosses his arms. "Plus, I get to watch you clean up your mess without getting my hands dirty. Win-win."
I study him, trying to read the angle. Trying to figure out what he's really after.
"And if I don't?"
"Then I might reconsider his offer." Alexei's smile is cold. "After all, your wife would make excellent leverage. Pregnant, vulnerable, about to give birth any day now. And I'd very much enjoy negotiating with you from a position of strength."
Rage floods through me. My hand moves to my gun.
"I wouldn't," Alexei says mildly. "Your guards are outside. So are mine. You shoot me, and we all die. Very messy. Very public."
He's right. Fuck.
"Touch my wife and I'll burn your entire organization to the ground."
"I believe you. Which is why I'm giving you this information instead of taking Gabriel's deal." He moves toward the door. "You have twenty-four hours to find him and end this. After that, I make my own decision about what to do."
"You're threatening me."
"I'm motivating you." He pauses with his hand on the doorknob. "Oh, and Adrian? Gabriel mentioned he has something planned. Something big. He didn't elaborate, but he seemed confident he could get to your wife whenever he wanted." He glances back. "Might want to tighten your security."
He moves toward the door, but something in the back of my mind ticks. "Wait."
Alexei stops. "Yes?"
"The Russian. Artem. The one who cornered my wife at the bookshop months ago. Before the wedding." I watch his face carefully. "You sent him, didn't you? To intimidate her. To send me a message."
Alexei's expression doesn't change, but I see it—the flicker of confusion in his eyes. Brief. Quickly masked. But there.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play stupid. A Russian thug shows up at Sera's workplace. Corners her. Scares her. Makes sure she knows she's being watched." I step closer. "No one else had reason to send someone after a book restorer. It had to be you."
"This supposed Russian," Alexei says slowly. "You got a name?"
"Artem."
Alexei doesn't flinch. Doesn't move. But I see the slight tic in his jaw. The way his eyes narrow just a fraction.
He knows Artem.
"I didn’t send him after your wife.”
"You're lying."
He looks away from me, and I sense something.
“If you fucking know something, Alexei, you better tell me.”
His brow raises. “Or?”
“Or I’ll fucking kill you.”
The threat is hollow, and he knows it.
But then, something changes. I see the moment he decides to give up whatever he knows.
“Artem Olov isn’t one of my men. But he’s one of the most dangerous mercenaries in Russia.”
Fuck.