I don’t know how to do this without destroying everything.
I’m a coward. Plain and simple. I’ll put a bullet in someone’s skull without blinking, but I can’t tell my own father I’m gay. Kelly thinks it doesn’t matter, that he understands, but I see it in his eyes sometimes. The question of whether I’m ashamed of him. I’m not. I’m ashamed of myself.
We’re sitting in Ozero, our recently opened club. Waiting for our father to show up because he’s supposed to tell us what he found in the files Calder and I pulled from the stash house. Kelly had to go to work, and I was bored, so I might as well sit through this meeting even though all I want right now is to bury my face between his thighs and make him fall apart with my tongue.
Mikhail’s running this and our other three clubs for our father. He’s actually doing a decent job. Even if I wasn’t sure how it would work with his drug problems constantly getting in the way. A memory of talking to Kelly here for the first time after the clinic incident hits me.
I bite on my tongue, trying to shove it out of my head.
“Did you hear me?”
“No, but I’m sure whatever you said was stupid.”
Mikhail throws all his cards into the middle of the table, sending them scattering everywhere, then rises from his chair and points a finger at me. “I said I have an idea how we can fuck with Yulian.”
I rub at my temple. “Imagine that. The thing I said would be stupid turned out to be stupid.”
“I want to prank him.”
I scoff. “Why can’t the two of you just leave each other alone?”
“He starts it. Ask Danya, he’ll tell you.”
I glance over at Daniil who rubs at his temple and shakes his head.
“This family is exhausting,” I mutter.
He opens his mouth to snap back, but the doors open, and our father walks in.
He raises his eyebrows at all the cards scattered across the conference table, then looks at Mikhail, who suddenly goes sheepish and drops his hand while straightening up fast.
I whisper, “Pussy,” in his direction. He gives me a death glare, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something that’ll get him in trouble.
Our father comes and sits down at the head of the table, glancing between us with the faintest smile. “I remember you all playing this when you were young, though I can’t say I miss the screaming and the fights that happened every time one of you won.”
“You mean because someone can’t handle losing.” I glance over at Mikhail, who glares at me but doesn’t say anything back.
Father huffs a quiet laugh, then continues, “I sent Lev, Yulian, and Calder to Vegas to handle the expansion. They won’t be here for this meeting. The documents you retrieved were more valuable than expected because they confirmed someone with police background is working with the Nozares family, feeding them information about our activities. We don’t have names yet, but we know it’s a retired detective with access he shouldn’t have.” He points at me. “I have additional targets for you to handle.”
He shifts his attention to Daniil without missing a beat. “There are police files I need analyzed for patterns and connections. Take Mikhail with you because two sets of eyes catch what one might miss.”
More like he wants Daniil to babysit Mikhail and keep him from doing anything stupid, but I don’t say that out loud.
“Intelligence suggests Santiago’s sons are questioning his leadership, creating internal fractures in their organization.” He drums his fingers against the table. “Unconfirmed, but if true,it creates opportunities we can exploit to our advantage. What’s concerning is Omar Nozares’s cartel tried to hit one of our shipping containers last week. Something’s off—they’re making risky moves that don’t match their usual careful approach.”
My father and Mikhail start discussing logistics and timelines while Daniil sits silent, just nodding when they look at him. I tune them out and pull out my phone.
Me:
When are you done at work
My leg bounces while I wait for an answer I already know. Boundaries suck. The typing bubbles appear and disappear a few times before his response comes through.
Zaychik:
Like an hour
Zaychik:
