Page 60 of Daddy's Reluctant Queen

“They are going to organize against you,” Ignat says. “If it were Cyril alone, I wouldn’t be that concerned. But his brother is a respected, high-ranking man in this Bratva. Cyrus is one of your top brigadiers. If he decides to rise against you?—”

“I know.” I walk back over and hand him his drink. “It’s quite a fucking predicament, isn’t it? All because I showed compassion to my enemy.”

Ignat takes a sip from his glass, then he says, “It’s a little more than that and you know it.”

I think about Sofia in her room at the moment, still wrestling with the loss of her brother and probably everything else that’s happened leading up to it. Had this happened in the beginning, I doubt I would feel her pain so thoroughly. But now…

“So here’s my thought,” Ignat says. “The way I see it, you only have a few options. You could go to her right now and kill her.Maybe that will convince the others that you are still our Pakhan above all.”

“And what are the other options?”

He sighs. “You could have a meeting with Cyril and Cyrus in particular. Instead of bringing this to the entire Bratva. Try to nip this whole thing in the bud. If you can convince them to back off, you might be able to put out the fire before it really gets going.”

I nod. Neither of those options sound like good ones, but the latter at least sounds feasible. “Anything else?”

Ignat thinks about it for a few seconds, then, “You could always pack it all up and abdicate. If you elect me as Pakhan, I might be able to stave them off long enough for you to get off the continent, at least.”

I look at him curiously. “Cyrus and Cyril would kill you within a day if that happened. That’s not much of a head start.”

He sighs, knowing I’m right. Ignat is an adequate fighter and he’s a well-trained strategist, but he’s nowhere near either twin’s level. He’d honestly be a terrible Pakhan. They would eat him alive.

He smiles and shrugs at me. “So, then, maybe use that option as a last resort.”

“Right,” I say.

“There is a fourth option,” he says. “In the past when Pakhans have suspected mutiny, they have been known to clean house. You could do that.”

“Cyrus and Cyril are among my top soldiers,” I say to him. “If I fail at wiping them out along with the dissenters, then it would turn into a full civil war.”

Ignat drinks his drink. “We’re probably headed for that anyway. At least you’d have some level of control over how it happens.”

“Sure. Until I lose it.” I down the rest of my drink and stand up. “Call both Cyrus and Cyril. Tell them to meet me here this afternoon. I’m going to try diplomacy first.”

“Yes, sir,” Ignat says.

It’s aboutten minutes before they’re due to arrive, so I go and check in on Sofia in her room. When I open the door, she’s standing at the window, watching something outside. She’s dressed today. That’s a good sign. She’s wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, her dark hair tied back into a ponytail. She’s even wearing a little bit of makeup around her eyes. She almost looks like herself again.

“Sofia?”

She turns her head to me in acknowledgement but returns her gaze back to the window. “Is something going on?”

“What do you mean?”

She frowns a little and looks back out the window. “I don’t know. It just seems like you’ve got more guards walking around the grounds, that’s all.”

“I’ve tightened security a little,” I tell her. “Nothing earth shattering.”

She pauses. “It’s because of what happened with Adam, right? Because you showed pity.”

“You shouldn’t worry about that,” I tell her. “It’s not important.”

She gives me another brief look, then leaves the window. “Right.”

“I’m about to go into a meeting. If you need me…” I have to pause. What can I say? What do I say? After a second, I sigh and finish the thought. “If you need me, I’ll be in my office.”

She regards me carefully, then, “Okay.”

I leave, realizing that I just confirmed something that she’s probably suspected this whole time. That she’s free to roam and find me wherever I am. I guess it’s better to slide into this change than to fight it at this point.