I don’t tell him otherwise because right now, that’s giving him the incentive to talk. He thinks by betraying Bogdan, that somehow makes him my ally.
Fool.
Alexei stands against the wall, his ribs wrapped but his eyes alert. He’ll be fine, but I know how close it came to losing him along with Hannah.
My most trusted men surround us—Andre, Mikhail, Sergei—all of them veterans who've been with me since before I became pakhan. I hate the idea of trusting anyone, but I have to trust them. They’ve proven themselves.
"Radimir has wanted your position since your father died," Ivan says, his voice hoarse from talking. "He believes it should have been his by right of age and experience. That you were too young, too American, too soft."
"And Bogdan?" I keep my voice neutral, though rage simmers beneath the surface.
"Your cousin has been planning this for over a year. The embezzlement scheme, framing Richard Quinn—all of it was designed to make you look weak. Incompetent. To give the elders reason to question your leadership."
The pieces fall into place with sickening clarity. "The evidence against Quinn was manufactured."
"All of it. Bogdan needed the money.”
“Needed?” I question, but I don’t expect Ivan to give me that answer.
Bogdan is a wealthy man. He doesn’t need anything.
Hewants. He desires. That is a very dangerous motivator.
Ivan looks at me. I see the fear. “I don’t know.”
"Where’s the money?"
"Hidden in offshore accounts under Quinn's name. Bogdan planned to 'discover' it after Quinn's execution, proving to the elders that you'd been right to act.”
My hands curl into fists. Richard Quinn would have died for a crime he didn't commit, and I would have been the one to order his death. Hannah would have lost her father and never forgiven me.
Which was probably part of the plan too.
"Today's ambush," I say. "Was that supposed to kill Hannah or just scare her?"
"Kill her." Ivan's expression is grim. "And you, if possible. Radimir believed that with both of you dead, he could take control before the elders even knew what happened. He wanted to position himself as the strong leader needed in a time of crisis."
Ivan is singing. So much to say. Bogdan and Radimir were fools to let him know so much. And I’m going to capitalize on their foolishness.
I look at Alexei, who nods slightly. He's been thinking the same thing I have—we're running out of time. If Bogdan and Radimir were willing to move today, they must have contingency plans for when the ambush failed.
"How many men do they have?" I ask Ivan.
"Maybe twenty loyal to Bogdan directly. Another thirty who'll follow whoever's in power. Radimir can call on his own network—another forty or fifty. I was supposed to be the general."
He’s pouting. He wants me to provide him a position of equal rank in my organization.
"When will they move again?"
Ivan hesitates. "Soon. Maybe tonight."
“When were you supposed to report in?” I ask.
“They were going to be out of town,” he says.
So they could claim to have no knowledge. Claim they survived by sheer luck.
“And when were you supposed to report in?”
