"Nobody needs a politician on staff who won't do what they're told."
"She's on important committees, she's made herself invaluable, even if she is...stubborn. We've never had a problem with her before," Artem reasoned.
"We don't need her, we need her vote. She can step in line or be replaced."
"Replacing her would take time," Artem said. "The US political system is full of bureaucracy and red tape. If we replace her, we can't guarantee that her replacement would fall in line either. The investment to secure another senator with her seniority on the same committee, or to get another senator elected—the time alone?—"
"Which is why I took the girl." I rubbed my eyes, a headache brewing at my temples.
Circles. We were going in fucking circles. Wasting time and money.
"At what cost?" Gregor asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back like he had me cornered. "That girl is innocent. All you're showing is that we can't be trusted to negotiate, that we are as barbaric as our fathers, your brothers."
Innocent.
I almost laughed.
She didn't seem very innocent when I had my head between her legs and her heels were dug into my back as she begged for more. She wasn't very innocent when she admitted how much she liked my cock stretching her. And she certainly wasn't innocent when I stroked her clit as she watched in the fragments of a broken mirror.
"You really think so little of me, Nephew?"
A knock at the door. One of my men.
Gregor started up again—another speech about civility, about not punishing innocent people for the wrongdoings of their relatives.
I waved my man in. He leaned down, voice low. "We checked the girl's place. No sign anyone was there."
I nodded and waved him off.
Interesting.
I'd expected bugs. Cameras. Some security. The senator wasn't stupid enough to call the police, that would create a paper trail. But I thought she'd have her own men. Some private army of mercenaries with questionable morals at her beck and call.
I had kidnapped and strapped an explosive necklace to the neck of her only child, for Christ’s sake.
The sad melody Anna played when I first met her popped into my head. I wondered if that song wasn't for a lover who had jilted her, but for her mother.
I took out my phone, typing out a quick message.
Darius: Confirm the senator’s attending the gala tonight.
"Are you even listening to me?" Gregor snapped, banging his fist on the table.
"No. Your excuses don't interest me. Getting this family back on track is the only reason I'm here. You talk of civility, diplomacy, keeping your children safe. And I ask you, at what point do diplomacy and civility become a liability?"
"You can't kill an innocent woman to make her mother obey. If you kill her, you'll start a war with the US government, and we stand to lose far more than we gain," Artem pointed out.
"And if I do nothing, and the other families smell your weakness, we lose everything. I'm not worried about starting a war with senators whose votes can be bought and paid for. I'm concerned about the bloody and expensive battle that will come from the other syndicates sensing our weakness. Yes, you tookcare of that Colombian cartel, but what about all the others who are circling, looking for any opening or opportunity to take our territory by force?"
The three of them stopped. Stared.
Their mouths opened. Closed.
"You want to keep your families comfortable, then you need to earn. You want to keep them safe? Then you need to make sure that no one is brave enough to come after you. This bitch, the one that I paid to put in office because she was supposed to do what we told her, is going to ruin everything, and she's going to jeopardize your families in the process."
Despite the annoyance itching through my veins, I didn't raise my voice. My control was absolute.
"If our wives find out about the girl—" Artem started.
