It’s not unusual for Mikhail to message me overnight, but it is unusual for my brother Maksim to do so. He stayed in the guest house last night, so I message him to meet me in my office. Mikhail replies that he’s already on his way. This better be important.
Within ten minutes, they’re both sitting in my office. Mikhail had the foresight to bring coffee. Triple espresso…this can’t be good.
“Why are both of you in my office before seven o’clock on a Saturday morning?” I ask as I sit down and drink my espresso. Mikhail is the first to speak.
“There are internal grumblings, Ivan,” he starts. “At least two of your father’s associates are angry at being pushed out. They feel they are owed more respect by you since they were valued by your father.”
“Which ones?” I ask, downing the remainder of the espresso.
“Nikolai Popov and Vladimir Zaytsev,” Maksim replies.
“Fucking hell,” I say as I brush my hand over my face. “Those were my father’s number two and number three. They should have retired and returned to Russia with my father.”
“They are making the loudest rumbles among the ranks,” Mikhail continues. “They don’t like the message you sent when you said they had to hand everything over in three months. They’re talking about challenging you for leadership of thebratva.”
“How strong are these rumblings?” I ask. Popov and Zaytsev are the assholes who walked out of our meeting last week.
“Pretty strong,” Mikail says.
“I had Kolya look into them and do some digging into their recent activities,” Maksim adds. “We wanted to bring you something concrete. They’ve both made contact with Declan Callaghan in recent days.”
“Let me guess, Callaghan is offering a deal in exchange for his help,” I say as I narrow my eyes. Mikhail and Maksim both give me looks like they’re holding something back.
“What did he offer them?” I ask, standing and leaning over my desk.
“The warehouses and properties in the Seaport District, along with all current distribution channels in the harbor,” Maksim reveals.
“What does Callaghan get in return? It’s obviously not territory, if he’s letting Popov and Zaytsev keep it under Russian control.” Maksim and Mikhail look at each other again before looking at me. It’s like they’re arguing to see who is going to drop the next information bomb.
“Callaghan wants Emma,” Mikhail says reluctantly.
“BLYAT!” I roar, pounding my fists onto my desk top.
“Ivan, we have a plan,” Maksim says, holding his hands up, trying to placate me.
“Which is?” I ask, my temper barely contained.
“We’re already in the process of cutting off their financing. Popov and Zaytsev can’t pay their soldiers,” Mikhail starts. “They can’t rely on Callaghan for future payments, either. Callaghan’s funds are currently being redistributed to other accounts and organizations with less nefarious connections. It’s not enough to be terribly missed, but it’s enough to be noticed and make Callaghan believe someone is embezzling from him.”
“What else?”
“We are increasing security around the house and will double the bodyguard count on you and Emma,” Maksim adds. “Patrols are also being doubled around our territory. Checks are being conducted more frequently.”
“Good. We’ll stay here at the estate until this situation is taken care of.”
“You got it, brother,” Maksim says.
“Mikhail, schedule a meeting with Alexei Rostov and Denis Beridze. I want to meet with them separately and judge if they can be trusted or not. Make sure all my brothers attend, as well. We need to know if they are with us or have allied themselves with Nikolai and Vladimir.”
“It will be done today,” Mikhail confirms.
“I don’t want them arriving here at the same time, so make sure those meetings are scheduled far enough apart,” I tell him, then direct my attention towards my brother.
“Maksim, keeping digging into all four them. There will be leverage somewhere we can use.”
“I’ll call you when we find something,” Maksim says as he stands from his chair. He’s on his phone and talking to Kolya as he walks out of my office.
“What else?” I ask Mikhail.
