"Malcom is still out there, Tatiana…"
"And you think by not admitting you love me, it will keep me safe?" I chuckle and shake my head as I pat the back of his hand. "Foolish man."
He pulls his hand away with a scowl and turns to put the wound dressing material in the nightstand drawer. I didn't mean to anger him, but apparently, the only emotion he's really good at showing is anger.
"Then let's take him down together," I say quietly, and I lift my chin indignantly as he glowers at me.
"No way in hell am I?—"
"You don't get to tell me what to do," I snip, and he stops cold. After a beat, I continue. "As a condition of my being here with you, you have to let me speak my mind and make my own choices…" I pause and sigh. "And I will promise to trust you and listen to you if you are really concerned.”
"Then you fucking stay in this room and heal." His nostrils flare and his eyebrows come together in the center, but he isn't saying those words in anger.
"No," I say gently. "I am going to help you take them all down, and I have a plan."
This time, when I speak, he listens.
If he's going after Malcom Kozlov, I have every right to help him, and if I’m right and the mole still works in this casino, I know just how to do it.
27
DIMITRI
The kitchen table is crowded with men and weapons and coffee cups that have gone cold. Yuri sits at the head with maps spread out in front of him showing every Kozlov territory we know about. Vadim and Fyodor are on either side studying the layouts while Lev takes notes on his phone. I'm standing near the counter with my arms crossed watching Tatiana move around the room refilling drinks.
She's been on her feet for an hour despite my protests. She should be resting, but she insisted on helping, so she's playing hostess while we plan a war. And this time, she's not trembling at the facts she's overhearing like when she heard me tell the guys about Volodin the night after he was murdered.
Yuri taps a section of the map. "The Kozlovs, what's left of the Veche crew, and at least two smaller operations we haven't fully identified out of the Balkans have aligned against us." My brother has taken command of everything now that Tatiana is back in my home and out of harm's way. I can’t say I'm not glad to cede the leadership to him.
"How many men are we looking at total?" Vadim leans closer to examine the markings with narrowed eyes and a finger that glides over the waxed paper. Even I had no idea how large the alliance territory was. We're up against a formidable opponent by any right.
"Best estimate is around sixty to seventy." Yuri sits back. "Maybe more if they pull in outside help."
"We've got forty, not including Luka's people." Fyodor does quick math on his fingers. "But that still puts us at a disadvantage if they coordinate properly."
"They won't coordinate properly." Lev looks up from his phone. "They're desperate and scrambling after we took out half their leadership at the church. They'll make mistakes." My nephew is cocky, and cockiness gets you in trouble. Tatiana glances at me, and I nod and smile at her in appreciation, then notice the sadness in her eyes. She looks too thoughtful. I hate seeing how this weighs her down.
"We can't count on that." Yuri's voice is firm. "We need to assume they're smarter than they've been and plan accordingly."
Tatiana sets a fresh cup of coffee in front of Yuri, and he nods his thanks without looking up. She moves to Vadim next, and I watch her wince slightly when she reaches across the table. The movement pulls at her bandaged wound. It's all scabbed over now, which probably makes it hurt worse. I can almost feel the pain for her.
"After slaughtering their men in that church, we've created an actual war." I push off the counter and walk over to the table to look down at the map—so many safehouses circled in red. This is only what they've got here in St Petersburg. There's more inSerbia and Romania. "They're not gonna back down now. This is survival for them."
"So we need to move fast." Fyodor traces a route on the map with his finger. "Hit 'em before they can organize a proper defense."
"Even with Luka on board, we might not win if we give 'em time to dig in." Yuri circles several locations with a pen. "These are their known strongholds. We'd need to hit all of them simultaneously to stop them from reinforcing each other."
"That spreads our forces thin." Vadim shakes his head. "We'd be vulnerable if even one location goes sideways. Besides, we'd have to coordinate an attack, and pulling their best men away to one location would be our only shot."
Tatiana finishes her rounds and sets the coffee pot back on the counter. She's been quiet this whole time, but I can see her mind working. I know that look. She's thinking about something.
"What about a setup?" she asks casually, and she turns to walk back to us with her arms crossed over her chest. Every man at the table turns to stare at her and the room goes completely silent. It isn't often we even let a woman into these meetings. Our women are our greatest weakness because if our enemies can leverage them against us, we fall. Having her here is an anomaly, something no one intended.
Though instead of shooting her down, Yuri's eyebrows go up. "What kind of setup?"
"Tatiana." I cross the room and take her elbow. I don't want her getting involved. I've seen the nightmares torment her in her sleep. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"I was just asking a question." She doesn't move when I try to guide her away from the table. That stubborn expression is gonna get her in trouble one day.
