If they want a war inside that room, I’ll give them one.
The moment I walk into the warehouse, Lukin doesn’t even wait for me to sit.
“It’s time to end this, Dimitri,” he snaps, rising to his feet. His men stiffen behind him. “Your revenge has brought trouble to all our doorsteps. We are ready to join forces and help you defeat Koval and whoever is involved in this—” His jaw clenches. “As long as you let Vivian return.”
Something inside me breaks.
I explode.
The chair scrapes back violently as my palms slam onto the table. “Never.” My voice ricochets through the room like a gunshot. “Vivian isn’t leaving my protection. Not now. Not ever. You don’t bargain with her safety. You don’t negotiate her like she’s a piece on a chessboard.”
Lukin’s expression flickers—anger, disbelief, fear—but I’m already past the point of restraint.
“She stays with me,” I growl. “Even if the entire Bratva stands against it.”
A murmur ripples through the room—shock, disapproval. Roman leans forward like he’s about to lecture a child.
“Dimitri,” he says, palms spread, tone annoyingly calm, “we need clarity. Are you in love with Vivian, or is revenge still your foremost plan? Because right now, it looks like you’re losing sight of the mission.”
My laugh is sharp and humorless.
“What I feel for my wife,” I say, voice dropping to a cold, lethal edge, “is none of your business.”
Roman stiffens, but I don’t stop.
“And if you don’t want to join forces with me? Fine. I’ll fight alone. I’ll end Koval myself. I don’t need a single one of you.”
A few of them exchange glances. Tension thickens like smoke. Adrian finally steps in, raising a hand. “Dimitri, relax.”
“Don’t tell me to relax.”
“I’m not your enemy,” he snaps back. “None of us are. Our wives mean the world to us, so we understand the need to protect your woman. But we need the facts. All of them.” His eyes narrow. “Why did you marry Vivian in the first place? What is your revenge for?”
The room goes silent. Everyone watches me. Waiting. Judging. Planning their next steps based on what I say next.
Fine.
If they want the story, I’ll give them the story. I straighten, every muscle locked like steel cable. My voice comes out low, controlled, but threaded with a rage I’ve carried for years.
I tell them everything—how the Laurent Bank scandal wasn’t just fraud or corruption, but a chain reaction that got hundreds of innocent people killed, including a close friend.
By the time I’m done, the room is dead silent.
No one challenges me now. No one even blinks.
Lukin is the first to speak. He exhales heavily, rubbing the scar on his jaw. “Okay. We understand,” he says. “But from this point forward, we move as a family. No one acts alone. No retaliation, no attacks, no preemptive strikes unless I approve them.”
The others nod in agreement, watching me carefully, waiting.
I meet Lukin’s stare. “Fine,” I say. “I can work with that.”
His brows lift, surprised I agreed so easily.
I shrug, though my blood still simmers. “As long as we get the bastard funding Koval,” I add, “I’ll play by your rules.”
For now.
***
