"Twice is sufficient to recognize value." I keep my voice flat. Businesslike. "The Baganov Bratva has resources your family needs. Distribution networks across the Midwest. Political connections your Italian counterparts can't match. And unlike the families who've betrayed you before, we have no history of deception with the Sartoris."
Pietro exchanges a glance with Nico. Something passes between them. A silent conversation I'm not part of.
I hate it.
But I sit still. Patient. This is a negotiation, not a conquest. I came alone. No Igor at my back, no guards waiting downstairs. A calculated risk. If they wanted me dead, I'd already have a bullet in my skull. The fact that I'm still breathing means they're at least willing to listen.
"You're talking about this like it's a merger." Nico pushes off the wall and walks closer. "Stocks and assets. Supply chains."
"Because that's what it is."
"Don't bullshit me."
My jaw tightens. Just barely. I force it to relax.
"I'm discussing an alliance," I say. "One that benefits both our families. Your sister's technical expertise combined with our infrastructure would create something neither family could achieve alone."
I don't give a damn about infrastructure. I wanther. The woman who looked at me and walked away like I was nothing.
No one walks away from me.
No one except her.
And that's precisely why I can't stop thinking about her. Every other woman sees the power, the money, the danger. They fall at my feet or run screaming. Vittoria Sartori did neither. Shekissed me like she meant it, then left me standing alone in my own club.
Maddening.
But if these men saw even a flicker of that obsession, they'd put me in the ground before sunset. So I keep my face blank. My voice steady.
"We've already begun discussions with another family," Pietro says.
Red.
Everything goes red for half a second.
My fingers curl against my thighs, hidden beneath the desk's edge. Blood roars in my ears. Another family. Someone else thinks they can have her. Someone else is sitting in meetings, making offers, planning to put their ring on her finger and their hands on her body?—
Control.
I force my spine straight. Breathe through my nose. When I speak, my voice comes out perfectly calm.
"Which family?"
Nico laughs. Sharp and humorless. "You claim this is just business, Baganov. Pure strategy. So why do you care who the other bidder is?"
Because I'll destroy them. Whoever they are. I'll burn their entire operation to ash and scatter the remains across Lake Michigan.
"Due diligence." I meet his gaze without flinching. "If you're considering an alliance with a family that has weaknesses, it affects the stability of any future partnership between us. I prefer to know what I'm competing against."
"Competing." Pietro's mouth curves. Not quite a smile. "Interesting word choice."
"Accurate word choice."
The room falls silent. Outside the windows, Chicago sprawls beneath us. Millions of people going about their lives, completely unaware that three men in an office are discussing the fate of empires.
I lean forward. Plant my forearms on my knees. Let them see I'm serious.
"The Baganov Bratva has been a reliable partner to your family until now. We've honored every agreement. Delivered on every promise. Whoever else is making offers, ask yourself if they can say the same."
