MIKHAIL
I step away from the bed, gesturing for everyone to leave me alone with Artyom and Konstantin in the recovery suite.
I wait until they leave and shut the heavy wood door behind us, cutting off the soft murmur of my sisters' voices.
"The factory in Queens is a total loss," I say, leaning my hip against the night table. "The Germans are already calling. They want to know why their shipment is currently a pile of melted steel."
Artyom nods. "Tell them it was an electrical malfunction. Offer them a ten percent discount on the next three runs. We can't let them think we've lost control of our own transit points."
"They aren't stupid, Artyom," I grunt. "They know what a C4 signature smells like. Someone hit us from the inside."
"The internal audit is already underway," Konstantin says. He stands near the window, his hands clasped behind his back. "The guards at the gate were paid off through a shell company in Delaware. The trail is clean, but it has Boris Petrov's style all over it. Sophisticated, but damn greedy."
"We can't prove it yet," Artyom rasps, his jaw tight. "And until we do, the Council won't back us if we start a war with the Petrovs. We're losing ground. First the warehouse, now the primary transit hub. If we can't move our inventory, the smaller crews will start looking for a new Pakhan."
I run a hand over my face. "We need options. And we need them now. I'm not going to Boris with my hat in my hand."
"You don't need Boris," Konstantin turns from the window. "And you don't need the legacy families who are still waiting to see if Artyom is going to bleed out. There are other players in this city. Ambitious men who have been waiting for the old guard to make a mistake."
"What kind of men?" I ask, my eyes narrowing.
"Smaller operations," Konstantin explains. "Men with their own independent supply chains. They don't have the name, but they have the hunger. And more importantly, they have the reach we need to bypass the North Docks entirely while we rebuild."
"Ambitious men are dangerous," Artyom warns from the chair. "They’re not loyal."
"They are loyal to profit," Konstantin counters. "Which is much easier to manage than family pride. There is a private game tonight. A casino in Brooklyn, run by a man named Vance. It’s a closed circle. The legacy families aren't invited, which makes it the perfect place to talk without Boris’s spies listening."
I look at Konstantin. He’s right, and I hate it. We’re being choked out of our own city, and if we don't find a new line of credit and new routes, the Morozov name won't be worth the paper the deeds are printed on.
"Where is this game?" I ask.
"A warehouse near the navy yard," Konstantin says. "It's high-stakes. Only five seats at the table. If you want to show them you’re still in the game, you need to play, Mikhail. And you need to win."
"I don't plan on losing," I say. "I'll handle the game. You find the leak, Konstantin.”
"I'll find them," Konstantin says simply.
I open the door, my eyes instantly searching the room until they land on Irina. She’s standing near Milana, her shoulders tense, her fingers twisting the hem of her cardigan.
My beautiful, troublesome wife.
The anger in my gut softens just a fraction.
IRINA
I can’t believe this is happening.
I look at my phone screen, my heart doing a wild, erratic tap-dance against my ribs. It’s him. Again. I slide my thumb across the glass, my voice a quiet hiss in the hospital bathroom.
"I told you not to call me here," I say.
"And I told you that you don't dictate the terms of our relationship anymore, Irina," Boris rasps. "I heard about the factory in Queens. A tragedy. It seems the Morozovs are having a run of very bad luck lately."
"You did it," I whisper, my eyes stinging. "You almost killed him, Papa. You almost killed Artyom."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, though I can hear the smirk in his voice. "But the disruption is quite convenient, isn't it? The Morozovs have to move their toys somewhere. They can't keep their weapons at a burnt-out factory."
"I don't know where they're keeping them."
