They both turn to look at me.
"No?" Saint's eyes are wild. "Gemma, he threatened you. He has footage that could get you killed?—"
"I know what he has." I set down the card. "And I know what you both want to do. You—" I look at Saint. "—want to kill him. Eliminate the threat. Protect me." Then to Marcello. "And you want to pay him off. Give him territory. Keep the peace."
"Do you have another suggestion?" Marcello's voice is careful. Like he's humoring me.
I move to Saint's desk. Sit in his chair. Look at both of them.
"I suggest we do neither."
"Explain." Saint's still tense. Ready to fight or fuck or both.
"Artem is an outsider. He's from Moscow. He has no organic support in New York. No infrastructure. No relationships." I lean forward. "The only reason he has any power at all is because Alexei's death created a vacuum. But Igor is Alexei's second. He has the men. The operations. The loyalty."
"So?" Marcello's interested now. I can see it. There's a spark in his eyes.
"Artem needs that footage because without it, he has nothing to threaten us with. Nothing to force cooperation. Which means his position is weaker than he's pretending." I stand and start pacing. "He's not negotiating from strength. He's negotiating from desperation. Taking fifty-percent of our territory allows him to come to the game with something that the Russians want. Alexei tried the same thing—going after the Neros. Artem's just switching targets."
"That makes him more dangerous," Saint says. "Desperate men do stupid things."
"Or it makes him vulnerable." I move closer to them. "Igor is the natural next heir. Everyone knows it. Everyone expects it. What if we back him? Publicly. Give him our support. Make it clear the Italian families recognize Igor as Alexei's legitimate successor."
Understanding dawns in Marcello's eyes. "You want to delegitimize Artem before he can even release the video."
I nod.
"I want to destroy his power base before he builds it." I look at Saint. "If the Bratva sees Igor as the rightful Pakhan, backed by the most powerful Italian families in New York, Artem becomes a usurper. An outsider trying to steal power. The Russians will eat him alive."
"And the footage?" Saint asks. "Got any plans for that? Because if he releases it…"
"Nothing happens. Alexei wasn't well-liked, and Igor won't come after us. Igor's not stupid—he knows what happened or at least suspects it. Marcello paid him enough to keep quiet, and honestly, he clearly had his issues with Alexei. You said that yourself. If he didn't care then, he won't care now. He wants power more than revenge for a man he didn't like." I pause. "And Adrian might have disowned me, but he's still bound by the alliance contract to come to our defense. The Neros and Marinis are allies on paper, and he's not going to want Artem in power any more than us. He can't publicly back a Russian attack on you without breaking his word. Igor won't want to start a war so soon into his succession. Same as you. Artem is banking on you acting rashly. If you go for his throat, I suspect he's prepared with a backup plan. Instead, we back down and tell him to fuck off."
Silence.
Marcello's smiling. "Damn. That's actually smart."
I roll my eyes. "I'm more than a pretty face, Marcello."
He holds up his hands in surrender.
"It's risky," Saint says. But he's thinking now. I can see it. "If Artem sees it coming?—"
"He won't. Artem said Alexei underestimated me, but he's doing the same thing. He thinks you'll cave to protect me. Adrian would do it for Sera, and he knows that." I move to Saint. "He doesn't expect us to move to his opposition."
Saint stares at me. Then at Marcello.
"You think this will work?"
I'm offended that he needs Marcello's opinion. It's a good plan. But I hold my tongue, content that he's at least considering it.
"It's better than war. Better than giving him what he wants." Marcello nods. "And if it fails, we're no worse off than we are now."
"If it fails, Gemma's exposed," Saint says quietly. "And Artem knows we aren't willing to play."
"I'm already exposed." I take his hand. "Artem has that footage regardless. At least this way, we're playing offense instead of defense." I squeeze his fingers. "And if he bests us, I'll take the heat."
He glares. "No, you won't."
