Chapter Twenty-six Daniel
Chapter Twenty-six
Daniel
The sound of our footsteps on the marble floor catches both Yuri’s and his wife’s attention. Their gazes linger on me and Jennifer before they walk down the staircase, welcoming us into their mansion.
The address isn’t known to many people. Jennifer and I being allowed here is huge — it’s their private house.
It’s their private life after marriage. No one in our business knows this is their house — and fuck me, if it weren’t for the pretty woman next to me, I don’t think Yuri and Katya would’ve invited me here.
While Jennifer looks around in shock, taking everything in, I maintain a serious expression.
She’s still not used to our world. To the luxury we can afford.
“Good to see you, Caruso,” Yuri says, nodding. He seems tense; it doesn’t surprise me.
Hell, he should be tense. All of us should be.
“Can’t say the same, honestly,” I respond with a sarcastic tone. He sighs, shaking his head.
We rarely joke around each other, but when we do it's in a safe environment.
We can’t risk miscommunication because of sarcasm. It costs people’s lives.
In his home, though, I don’t think anyone could die because of a simple joke. God, I hope not.
Katya smiles to lighten the mood immediately. Once I got to know her, I realized she hates it when there’s tension or hostility in the air. She prefers things calm and stress-free.
After all, she’s like Jennifer — a normal woman married to a man involved in messed-up businesses she had no idea about.
She still barely knows anything, but it was their choice not to involve her in business.
Jennifer and I decided differently.
Though, having her help men from injuries is the closest I want her to get to my business.
“I’m so glad I can finally see you again!” Katya beams, pulling Jennifer into a hug. My girl looks back at me with a slightly shocked expression, but once she sees my reassuring nod, she smiles and hugs Katya back.
I still think Jennifer isn’t used to being treated like this. Katya tends to overstep boundaries sometimes.
To be fair, both Katya and Jennifer don’t meet other women often.
Although recently, Jennifer, Victoria, and my mother have been spending a lot of time together. Don’t know what they’ve been up to, though.
Women’s stuff, I guess.
I’ve seen them play with Mary and Enzo often the last few days.
It makes me sad, kind of. I wish I could have more free time to spend time with them.
However, although Jennifer and I are sexually attracted to each other, I’m not so sure how Jennifer feels about me getting close to Mary.
Her daughter is adorable, but I want to keep a bit of distance for now. Maybe, one day, I can spend more time with her.
When Jennifer is more comfortable with it. It was obvious to me she wouldn’t be, the other day.
And if she’ll never be, then that’s that.
I’m not going to force myself onto her family.
Katya releases Jennifer after a few seconds. “Should we go get some coffee?” she asks.
Without even looking at me, Jennifer nods.
I’m glad. I don’t want her to feel like she needs my permission to do everything. Especially with someone like Katya, I want her to have a normal life. Make her own decisions.
However, I still want her to feel reassured. I want her to know she’s safe around here.
“Are you sure you’ll be fine with that?” I tease. She laughs. Jennifer says, “Being with Katya is safer than riding that thing again.”
I look at Yuri. “She’s talking about my Harley.”
For the first time today, a faint smile appears on his face because of Jennifer’s and my teasing. “You took her for a ride? I thought it was holy to you. You’ve always bragged about not taking random bitches with you.”
I gulp, not daring to look at Jennifer. Fuck. I’m sure she’s gonna either tease me or possibly be mad at me for that later. “Changed my mind.”
He nods. “If you say so.”
The room falls silent. But then, as usual, Katya cuts through the uncomfortable silence. “Alright then, we’ve got girl things to talk about. Will you guys join us once you’re done? We’ll be in the living room.”
Yuri nods. “Of course, beautiful. We’ll join you immediately after we finish this… discussion..”
While our women immediately take off, all we do is watch them.
We don’t move for a few seconds, the sounds of Katya’s heels and Jennifer’s sneakers on the marble floor being the only sounds audible for a while.
He sighs, being the first one to speak up. “Alright then. Want to talk in my office? It’s more private there. I don’t want to bother my wife.”
“Good idea, Volkov.”
He nods before walking up the staircase. I follow him closely behind. It actually surprises me how much he trusts me. Any normal boss wouldn’t let another Don walk behind him on a staircase.
It’s basically a free pass for death — a single wrong move and he’d be gone.
But I’m glad he trusts me enough. Our families have been allies for so long, starting a war by killing him now would be ruthless.
Besides, Yuri, Katya and I grew close over time. I could never do this to them.
Once we reach his office, he holds the door open for me, letting me enter. He immediately locks the door.
I don’t mind it, though. I think privacy for this discussion is much needed.
In the back of my mind, I know his right-hand man, Nikolai, could come inside and kill me at any second.
It tenses me, but I think he’d feel the same in my house. The same would go for Hayden, after all.
Yuri and I are close, but still, I can’t trust him with my life.
I can’t trust anyone with my life except my parents and my siblings. Hayden is an exception, as well. But the rest?
No fucking chance.
I sit back in the seat, staring at him. Well fuck. This is a much-needed meeting. Time is running out.
We never know what happens next.
“So, what’s this about, exactly?” Yuri pours himself a drink. When he offers me one, I decline.
Like I said, I don’t care about traffic laws.
Drunk driving with Jennifer behind my back, however, is another thing.
“The shipment.”
“Ah,” he grins as he twirls his drink in his glass. “What about it? Wanna change something? Do you need more kilograms this time? A different date?”
“It’s not about that. Date and kilograms are set like always,” I clarify immediately. “I’m worried.”
He stops right before taking a sip, putting down his glass. “Worried? You? About what?”
“Security measures.”
He hums. “Any reason why you’re suddenly so much on edge?”
I laugh sarcastically. “You know why.”
“The snitch?”
“The snitch. Fuck, yes.”
He sighs. “I could’ve been wrong, Caruso. See, I know I was the one who told you there was a snitch. But maybe you should drop it. It could’ve been a coincidence. Another gang saw you and decided to mess with you.”
The idiot fucking laughs as he continues. “I think I shouldn’t have told you about that assumption. You get stressed so easily, man.”
Is he fucking serious right now? Telling me all that shit just to blow me off when it gets serious?
I sit up. “No, God… Listen. See, I know nothing’s happened since then.
I know you’re telling me not to worry, but I have a bad feeling about this particular shipment, really.
It’s the first time we receive a shipment together after Roy’s death, and it’s the perfect opportunity for that snitch to attack any of us.
Maybe the snitch just stayed quiet because they knew we assumed something. ”
“Let’s not make this shipment a huge deal.”
His response makes me fucking rage. One of my men died, and he’s the one who doesn’t want this to be a huge deal? How the fuck would he feel if Nikolai had died? If any of his men were affected?
“I’m making this a huge deal because it quite literally is. Do you remember how much cocaine is on that ship?”
Volkov scoffs. “Fuck, yeah, I remember. But nothing’s gonna happen, I’m sure.”
How the fuck is he so sure about that? I scrunch my eyebrows. He wouldn’t be behind all this, would he?
… Fuck. I’m losing my composure, seriously. I can’t trigger anything just because of my emotions.
Instead, I stay calm. At least I fucking have to try.
“How are you so sure?”
Realization dawns on his face as he looks back up at me. “Do you seriously think I’m responsible for his death?”
“I didn’t say that. It’s just suspicious to me. How are you so sure nothing’s gonna happen, huh, Volkov?”
He growls as he shifts in his chair. “Fuck it, fine. Let’s make a plan for better security measures. But I’m telling you, once this shipment is done and nothing happens, you’re gonna drop this topic. It’s getting on my nerves.”
“It’s getting on your nerves?” I scoff.
I know I’m testing him right now, but I don’t give a fuck.
“I’ve had to stay on edge for almost a month now because any of my men could be that fucking snitch. I had to watch all of them, and my only suspect is off the list now, too. How do you think I feel? You think Roy’s death meant nothing to me?”
I feel the heat rise in my chest, but it’s not just about Roy anymore. It’s about my family. My friends. Jennifer and her daughter. About making sure nothing happens to any of them. And if it does, he’s going to regret it.
Because it’d be his fault for simply dropping the topic when it could kill someone.
Fuck this. Julian’s right. I’m losing my temper too easily lately. But I can’t help it. This is too important.
"Бред какой-то." (“This is nonsense.”)
Yuri rolls his eyes as he takes another sip of his drink.
I don’t even care that I don’t know what it means; I’m sure it’s not anything positive.
But I’m too pissed to care right now. This is about my family and my woman, and I’ll make sure no one dares to hurt them.
“I know you don’t want me to worry too much, but if this shipment goes wrong, someone could get hurt.
And seriously, the second someone just touches Jennifer the wrong way, I’m going insane.
That person will die. So, I want us to take a look at the situation, and for fuck’s sake, I need us to take better security measures! ”
Yuri grins at me. “See, I’m glad she wasn’t just some prostitute. But stop worrying so much—“
I groan, irritation creeping into my tone. “I swear to you, Volkov, if anyone tries to hurt her because you didn’t plan the security measures right, you’ll be the first one I’m gonna kill.”
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. Shit. That was too far.
His jaw tightens, and for a split second, I see a flicker of doubt in his eyes. “Was that a threat, Caruso?”
I sigh, running a hand through my hair, trying to steady myself.
“You shouldn’t worry about my threat as long as you’re gonna make sure the security is solid. You’d be the first one to kill anyone who hurts Katya, wouldn’t you?”
He hesitates, but then reluctantly agrees. “You’re not wrong,” he grins. “You bastard know how to get to me.”
I nod. “I do. And I’m glad I do.”
The tension of my spoken threat still lingers in the air, but I think he’s finally realizing that this isn’t just about the cocaine and the huge amount of money we could lose.
It’s about protecting our loved ones.
“Fine, then. What did you have in mind?” he asks me.
I grin. Thank God, he knows I’m right.
Being too cautious is better than not being cautious at all.
“We’ll get extra security. I want snipers around the dock. I don’t care if you think it’s too much. And just in case, a backup crew. I want as many men as possible there to ensure that if anything goes wrong, we catch that motherfucker and kill him.” I tell him my plan.
He looks down at his drink before sighing. “Don’t you think that’s overkill?”
“Better overkill than getting killed.”
He mumbles something in Russian that I don’t understand, but in the end, he agrees. “Fine. Do you have good snipers?”
“Two. If you add two more, that’d be good.”
Yuri nods. “That’d be easy.”
It doesn’t take long to sort out the details before we’re done. I text Hayden a quick update while Yuri calls Nikolai in his office, telling him everything we’ve discussed.
Soon afterward, we leave his office and join our ladies in the living room.
Unlike us, they’re sitting in a calm, sweet ambiance and sipping on some coffee, having fun.
Fuck, my girl’s smile is so gorgeous.
Whatever she does, she looks gorgeous.
She’s wearing black jeans and a shirt, and although it bothers me and I wish I could’ve gotten her a new dress for this meeting, she insisted on wearing this outfit.
I’m sort of glad, actually. I wouldn’t have gotten her on my Harley with a dress, after all.
“I don’t need more dresses,” she said when I mentioned getting her a new one.
I think that’s bullshit. But I respect her opinion, anyway.
Regardless, she can be fucking sure I’m gonna buy her new dresses whenever I feel like it.
It’s the way I am. Can’t help it.