I guess it is a good thing I have a boyfriend.
2
ANTON
“Is everyone there?” I ask Mikki. He’s talking to me over the phone as I ride back from the airport. He’d wanted to meet me there, but I told him to make better use of his time and make sure all the brigadiers were gathered for my first meeting with them.
Talk of my becoming Pakhan has been going on since I became a brigadier. Probably before then. Maksim was the closest thing I ever had to a father, and being a Pakhan with no sons to consider, he treated me like I was his own flesh and blood.
I am enraged that he is gone.
I don’t think that his body was cold when the ripple effect of a change of guard started to come into play. In Russia, I had to move fast if I was going to honor his wishes and take over my new role. Fortunately, our sister Bratva is in support of my place in line. I wasn’t questioned there.
But already, I started hearing mutinous rumbles here back home. Mikki has kept me in the loop, identifying the true dissenters from the ones who just spread gossip. He’s taken careof those he knew about. Tonight, I plan on handling whoever is left.
He clears his throat before he answers me. “Everyone’s almost here,” he says. “Alexei just called and said he is on his way.”
“Good. I should be there momentarily.”
I hang up and lean back in my seat, watching the city go by. I’ve only been away for two months. Hardly enough time for anything to change, really. Same streetlights, same buildings, old and new. This territory is in need of some adjusting, but that will come later.
For now, all that matters is that Maksim’s death is answered for and I establish my rightful place within the Bratva.
The driver turns down one road and the city streets disappear. I’m in the quiet suburbs on the outskirts of the city. Gated communities and wide roads. Darkened streets with yellow lamps glowing along brick walls. The place that I now must call my home is among these mansions. My inheritance awaits me.
We arrive at the gate, large and wrought iron towering over the car as it pulls up. It comes to life as soon as the headlights hit the bars and slides to one side to let us through.
There is a part of me that wants to enjoy some of what’s been left to me. It feels wrong, however. Even though Maksim wanted me to have these acres of land and this mansion with who knew how many bedrooms, I can’t enjoy the fruits of his lifelong labor. Not yet, anyway.
We move down the drive and I see all the cars parked one next to the other in the small lot, a few paces from the front door. Good.My car pulls up to the front and my driver gets out to open my door.
I’m not even all the way out of the car before I see Mikki coming down the stairs, my closest friend andsovietnik. I’ve known him since we were teenagevor v zakones. He greets me with a smile as he approaches.
“Brother,” he says in Russian. He gives me a firm hug and I have to admit, it feels good. This might be the first touch of genuine kindness I’ve had since Maksim’s death.
“I hope you didn’t have any trouble coming in,” he says. “I hear security’s tight at the airport these days.”
“I didn’t have any trouble,” I tell him. I nod toward the front door. “How do they look?”
“Frightened.” Mikki laughs. “I don’t think any of them actually expected you to return, let alone accept Maksim’s mantle. There was a rumor going around that your leadership wouldn’t be accepted over there, you know.”
“So you’ve told me.” I take a breath and start walking up the stairs. Mikki is right beside me.
“Everything else has been taken care of, if you’re interested,” he says. “The lease on your condo has been paid and all your belongings have been brought here. I can show you to the master bedroom after the meeting.”
“That’s fine.” I’m hearing his words, but they are barely registering. I’m too focused on what has to take place over the course of the next few minutes.
He leads me to the main meeting room on the first floor, past the living room area that’s the size of a hotel lobby, past the staircasewide enough for ten people to walk up all at once. When we get to the door, Mikki stops me.
“You should know,” he said, “No one here has openly objected to your place as Pakhan. However, there are a few who have been rumored to… have their doubts.”
“How surprising,” I say in a dry tone. “If they are smart, they’ll keep their doubts to themselves. Shall we?”
He opens the door and the meeting room where I’ve sat as a soldier for years is now before me. The same long wooden table, hand-carved and brought over piece by piece from a carpenter in Russia. The oil paintings of some countryside that I’ve never been and a bookshelf alongside the back wall filled with books, all of which I’ve read. The high ceilings with the two chandeliers hold court over it all.
The table is filled with my brigadiers, captains waiting for their commander. I walk past them, observing their different faces one by one.
“Gentlemen,” I say as I take my mentor’s place at the head of the table. “Let’s get right to business.”
