My fingers slowly flex as my already shit amount of patience gets worn down even more. This morning has already started off terribly because I woke up to Alina and Dominikrestlesswith their hands all over each other. They must know that I can see.
“Sir,” Matvei whispers behind me.
I snap out of my thoughts to see Maximo and Enzo giving me confused looks. “Is there something else that you want other than money?”
Maximo glances at Enzo, talking with their eyes before turning back to me. “The warehouse near the harbor.”
I blink at them. “What about it?”
“We want it,” Maximo says easily.
A humorless laugh breaks from me before I can stop it. They must be fucking with me. “That’s a vital storage and distribution center for the Bratva.”
“Well, it’s no good to you if the Irish storm in and take over everything, right?” Maximo points out with a shrug. “You might as well let us take control of it, and we’ll give you enough men and resources to equal it in value.”
That warehouse is perfectly and strategically placed near the harbor. We need it, and we’re lucky that it hasn’t been hit by our enemies yet. I’ve concentrated a lot of patrols around it, but I’m starting to worry that it’s only a matter of time.
“That won’t work,” I tell him with a firm shake of my head.
“Are you sure about that?” Maximo questions me. “I think it’s a good deal. Save the rest of your territory and cut out a little slice for us.”
It’s not that simple, and he knows that.
“Pick something else.”
“There’s nothing else that I want or need,” Maximo replies with a scoff. “That warehouse is the most valuable thing you could offer me.”
“It’s not for sale,” I grit out, my tone final.
Silence follows my words, and I can feel the shift in the air and the weight of disappointment now weighing down on it. They shouldn’t have asked for something so ridiculous.
“I’ve heard quite a few things about this war that you’re in,” Maximo comments, his tone turning icy. “The Bratva are scrambling. The Irish have been chipping away at your forces for weeks now, and I suspect you will bury more men by the end of next week. Have you buried your brother yet, Gavriil? Is that why Dominik hasn’t been seen in weeks?”
Something snaps within me at the mention of Dominik. He’s the one who started all this shit by getting attached to Archer’s innocent little sister and putting her above me and the orders that I gave him.
If he’d just let me do what I wanted with Alina, we could’ve avoided all of this. She would’ve been mine to play with however I wanted from the first night, and he would’ve stayed focused.
“That’s none of your business,” I tell him, my voice dipping lower in a stern warning. “We’re here to talk about the war. Not my brother.”
“Your brother should be helping you win this war. Is he not?” Enzo speaks up with a curious cock of his head.
“No, he’s not,” I grit out.
“Maybe that’s why you’re losing,” Maximo comments, his lips curling up in amusement.
A surge of fury hits me.
I slam my palms down on the table, the sound cracking through the room.
“I’m not losing. I thought you hated the Irish more than us enough to join our side and knock them down to size.”
Maximo looks over at Enzo, who subtly shakes his head. “You’re right. We don’t like the Irish, but it’s clear to me that joining the Bratva in this war will cost us more than benefit us.”
My stomach turns as I watch them get to their feet. My face burns hot, a mixture of frustration and shame hitting me. I did this.
This wasn’t how I operated. I didn’t lose deals because of irrational jealousy. I didn’t let emotion rot my judgment from the inside out.
And yet every decision lately has her fingerprints on it.
