Chapter 5
A last-minute meeting request from the New York board members wasn’t shocking, but I would have enjoyed a few days to get settled in first. Ivan sounded about as amused as I was when he told me, but he assured me it was a small get-to-know-you thing.
Meet your new Pakhan, I suppose. Apparently, some asshole insisted we have the meeting this weekend before he has to fly back to Russia.
Zakhar Zadorov.
His name sounds familiar, but I can’t quite put a finger on it. Of course, all of these men would know of me from my position at Thunder Bay. They may not have been on the same board, but as my father’s second, they knew who I was.
As Pahkan, I could have easily declined. And maybe I should have, but I would have to meet everyone anyway, and a little meeting didn’t sound so bad. Big mistake. I’ve sat in on enough of Thunder Bay’s board meetings to know what is and isn’t normal, and this was the latter.
Looking back, I should have made sure I was the one orchestrating any first meetings, so my men knew who was running the show. Instead, I agreed to a last-minute meeting and wound up on someone else’s turf for my first run-in with the board.
As soon as we walked into his office, I knew there would be problems. One advantage of being a woman in this field is my ability to read people by things like decor.
Call it perception, insight, intuition, whatever, but I’ve always been able to predict someone’s intentions earlier than any of the men I’ve worked with.
And an office filled with as much ornamentation as his shouldn’t feel as sterile as it does.
A clear indicator of the facade Zadorov is hoping to sell.
By the time I realized this was merely a fraction of the board, it was too late.
Only six people sat around that conference table.
Myself, Ivan, Zakhar, and three other men, who all seemed to look at Zakhar for their stance on every policy I plan to enact in New York.
It was an ambush. And while I know that his henchmen will follow the strongest leader, Zadorov may very well prove to be a problem for my takeover.
To nobody’s surprise, the issue of my gender was the main concern of all four men.
Ivan remained stoic when they basically spat on his decision of a successor.
“Women are good for two things: pleasing their men and birthing them heirs. Not leading Bratva outfits.” For once, I was glad Misha had to wait outside.
There would have been four dead Russians and a war on our hands, not even a week into my reign.
By some miracle, I held it together with thoughts of my bed, the only thing keeping me from a mental breakdown.
The only problem was that I was imagining my bed.
The one in Thunder Bay. In the house I spent years cultivating.
It wasn’t until I flopped back on the bed in New York that I remembered this nightmare is now my room.
Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine it’s the beautifully decorated bedroom I left behind, but all I could see was fucking red.
My frustration at the loss of my safe space finally boiled over, and I left the bedroom in search of a distraction…which leads me to my current location and, quite possibly, one of the most important rooms in the compound.
It doesn’t take much rummaging through the liquor cabinet to find a drinkable vodka.
Thank God Ivan stocked the good stuff. I waste no time with a glass and instead sink to the floor and turn the bottle up. After decades of drinking, it would take nearly the whole liter to have any effect on me, but the burn down my throat is therapeutic.
Fuck me, it’s been a day. Actually, it’s been like this every day since I moved.
Misha was right, having Father around in Thunder Bay made a huge difference.
I guess the men there tolerated my position at the table as long as I wasn’t the one steering the ship.
And by tolerated, I mean benefited at every turn from my expertise both in the field and in the boardroom.
If anyone truly thought it was Father calling the shots for the last five years of his life, they were dumb as fuck.
No, as soon as he got his diagnosis ten years ago, he ramped up my training. In his later years, he was merely a figurehead signing his name to my hard work. And it was all for nothing. He was barely in the ground when I found out he left the empire to his bastard son, my brother Teddy.
I was shocked when Ivan offered me his branch, especially considering he has a son of his own, Sasha.
Apparently, they both found love and want out of the Bratva completely, or at least as far as possible.
That’s the difference between us. The Bratva is my love.
Teddy was lucky to marry someone familiar with the lifestyle.
Ellie grew up with the same dangers and has the proper training to withstand this life, so my brother didn’t have to deal with the guilt of putting her in harm’s way. But for me…
Love is a weakness I cannot risk.
Only two people could really be used against me: Misha and Teddy. The former would never allow himself to be my weakness, and the latter will never know that he is.
A knock on the door startles me into sitting up straight. “Who is it?”
“Ivan.”
“Oh. Come in,” I say, standing and hiding my vodka.
He opens the door with a warm smile on his face and immediately reaches for my not-so-hidden liquor. “I knew you had good taste.” Taking a swig, he hands it back to me.
I take a drink and smile. “How did you find me here?”
“You aren’t the only one who needs a reprieve sometimes. Now, would you like to tell me what’s led you to the liquor cabinet before lunch?”
I don’t know how honest I want to be. It’s against my nature to show any weakness, but Ivan is one of my few sources of sound advice, so I want to share my frustrations. As wonderful as he is, though, complaining about being a woman is not how one conducts business with a Bratva boss.
“What made you decide to hand this over to me? Surely, a male cousin of ours somewhere would gladly take the reins. It would definitely make everyone else happier to have a man leading the New York branch.”
Ivan is still for a moment before he answers. “I know you’ve met my son, Sasha. But did you know I have a daughter?”
“Yes, of course. Katarina, right? Sasha talked about her a lot when he was helping train Teddy, but I’ll have to admit, I didn’t know about her until recently.”
“You wouldn’t have. She was raised as my brother Pavel’s daughter.
Her mother was forced to marry him, but the two of us fell in love.
She died in childbirth, and Pavel always assumed Kat was his, so I kept my distance for everyone’s safety.
He kept her hidden from the world, locked behind these compound walls, but regardless of her gilded cage, she blossomed into one of the most intelligent and kind humans I’ve ever known.
She faces life head-on and never backs down from a challenge.
” He smiles wistfully, and I hope I get to meet Kat sooner rather than later.
“Then there’s Sasha’s wife, Lucy. She lost the only family she knew when her mom died.
She didn’t have anyone and was only in her early twenties, but she never let life’s darkness in.
Instead, she continues to see the best in everyone and everything.
I truly believe her light saved my son. I hope you have someone in your life you can turn to when the shadows of the business threaten to swallow us whole. ”
If he means brother from another mother and right-hand man, I have Misha. If he means a lover, someone to share both my deepest thoughts and the banal ins and outs of everyday life…
“And last, there’s my wife, Blanche, who could run circles around any man I know.
She certainly does me. She’s cunning and strong, and I know I couldn’t have accomplished so much in the past few years without her help.
I studied your operations in Thunder Bay until I physically couldn’t read any more.
I listened to the way your father talked about you, always with respect.
I saw what you did down there when you started running things.
You’re more capable than anyone I know to take over this Bratva.
And quite frankly, I think the fact that you’re a woman makes it even better. You’ve got this.”
“Thank you.” I nod at him as he leaves, straightening my clothes as soon as the door shuts behind him.
I was born for this.
I’ve just put the half-empty bottle of liquor back on the shelf when my phone buzzes, and I smile as my brother’s silly picture pops up.
“Hello, Cuddles, everything okay?”
“Sis! Yeah, everything is great.”
“Good, good. Did you need something?
“Can’t a guy just check in on his most favorite sister in the whole wide world? Why does it always have to be me needing something? How are you getting acclimated to New York?”
“Okay, well, thank you, I guess. Um, it’s fine. Sorry, I don’t typically talk on the phone for no reaso—”
“Oh great, I’m glad you’re liking it! Actually, there is one tiny favor I have to ask of you.”
I knew it. God, I hope the house in Thunder Bay is still intact. “What?”
“Well, since you aren’t going to be at the compound much—”
“I’m actually stuck here for the next few mon—”
“Thatcher needs a place to stay, and I told him it wouldn’t be a problem for him to just stay there.”
“No, absolutely not. I have—”
“He won’t be in your way much at all, I promise. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of that mansion. Even if you were there, I doubt you would even notice him.”
“Teddy, I have a lot going on right now and—”
“I wouldn’t ask if he had a better option. His condo building caught fire, and his only other option right now is a hotel, but he gets sad when he’s cooped up in a hotel room without any friends.”
“His condo caught fire?”
“Yeah, about that…actually, just make sure he doesn’t have any candles.”
“Doesn’t have any candles? Wait, the fire in the condo was—”
“It’ll be fine. Just tell your housekeepers to check his rooms several times a day, just to make sure—”
“Theodore, no. He can’t stay—”
“Oh shoot. Listen, I’ve gotta go, but he’s on his way. Can you make sure your gate guards know to let him through?”
“Teddy!”
“Bye, Sis!”
The blank screen of my phone mocks me as I stare, but not for long. I’m still processing the fact that Teddy fucking hung up on me when I get a call from the front gate.
“Hello?”
“Boss. We have a man here who insists you’ve invited him as a guest, but he doesn’t seem like the type of person you would—”
“Thatcher Prescott. Just tell her my name, and she’ll let me through.”
Pulling up the surveillance app, I filter to the entrance, and sure enough, Teddy’s friend is hanging out the window of his SUV like the goddamn puppy he is.
“Boss? Do you want me to let him in or take care of it?”
“Take care of it? Sir, I’m sorry, I’m not into men like that, but I’ll definitely take a hot blonde if you’ve got one of those in that guardhouse with you.”
“Boss?”
Sighing, I grab not only the bottle I put down earlier but two more as well. Something tells me I’ll be double-fisting drinks for the foreseeable future.
“Let him in.”