Igor Marin gets out of the car, flanked by at least two dozen of his men, each more wolf than soldier. I make my way down to Igor, he smirks at me, an excited child who cannot wait to get a hold of his present. I shake his hand and then turn, placing myself in between Igor and his men. Lucas walks down and joins us as we face my father.
“It’s time to pay for your sins, Father.”
“What the hell are you doing, Carlos?” Bruno shouts.
“Shut the fuck up, old man. This is a family matter, which you are not a part of,” I say, fixing him with a look that dares him to question me.
He stands on top of the steps, cigar in hand, watching me, his eyes flitting between me and the Marins. He is bewildered, the process of understanding what is happening is taking a while to click.
“Guards,” Igor instructs, and the large array of armed men scatter over the grounds, dominating my father’s men into submission. They are outnumbered and unsure of what they’re supposed to do. You see, my father has the image of a powerful man with many men willing to give their lives for him. But that's not the truth. If you scratch the surface, the guys my father employs have no loyalty. They are lazy, they steal off him regularly and do jobs on the side. They just do this for the money and protection. The notoriety of working for the Silvas. It's the Silva name of the past that holds the respect, not the mess that my father has made, whose idea of rule is to destroy rather than use his brain. I’m so thankful for Pedro imparting this information to me, otherwise I would be walking into this blind.
“You lied. And you lied so well,” he growls at me. I smile at him without warmth.
“No, you lied to yourself. You thought you could drag me back into this family, manipulate and blackmail me. I warned you what would happen. I warned you I would bring war to your door if you went near him.”
Igor steps forward, his thick hands behind his back, a general overseeing the battlefield. He’s not the dumbass my father thinks. He speaks like a godfather, or a dealer naming a price.
“To Silva’s men. Your loyalty, if that's what it is, is misplaced. But not unforgivable. Drop your weapons. Join the Marins and prove your loyalty to my family and you will be rewarded well. Or, leave with nothing but your lives.”
A silence settles that is thicker than anything I’ve experienced. I can’t predict how this is going to go. Will they open fire? Will they concede?
“You have a nerve coming to my home, and demanding the submission of my men. I will destroy you, Marin. You and everything you care about.”
Igor laughs loudly, a few of his men joining in. My father’s face burns with anger.
“Look around you, Gabriel. How will you do that? Be kind to yourself and know when you're beaten.”
“The Silvas end today. If you continue to follow my father, you will die alongside him. I promise you that. Make your decision wisely,” I say to the Silva men who all look around at each other with uncertainty.
One of the young guards, barely in his twenties, lowers his rifle. Then another. And another.
“You rats! You gutless cowards!” Gabriel shouts.
“They’ve just realized the truth. Power isn’t taken by force anymore. It’s offered by those strong enough to hold it,” I say, just as I hear more engines in the background. I look past the treeline and see two more SUVs arrive. Dima and the boys.
Dima, Lev, Jules, Ivan and Noah slide out of their vehicles, weapons visible but not raised. Apart from Noah, who is holding a baseball bat. Interesting.
“They’ve not come for war, just to collect their man,” I say to Father just as Mark walks out of the front of the property, propping up a tired looking Simon.
We’re so close.
“Who the fuck are they?” Bruno asks.
“We’re the Kozlovs, and you took our man. You’re lucky Carlos is running the show, because I would put your head on a fucking spike,” Lev says, brutal and cold in his delivery.
Simon and Mark finally reach us, and I don’t miss the concern in the guys' eyes when they see Simon. The shell of the man he was when he left. Mark hands Jules a medical bag with everything they need for the journey home.
“You’ll need to change his dressings on the flight. Everything is in here with instructions,” Mark says, and Jules nods.
I’m not sure what to say to Simon as he is purposely avoiding eye contact. But that will have to wait. I need to finish this handover or whatever you wanna call it.
“Get him out of here. Thanks for coming here,” I say to the boys who are surrounding me, staring at me with blank faces.
“I ain’t leaving,” Ivan says.
“I’m not going anywhere until I’ve killed someone," Noah says. What the hell are they doing?
“We’re here for support, and to play. Jules will take Simon to the airport where Chase and Aaron are waiting. You’re not keeping the fun to yourself, Carlos,” Lev says and his smile is razor sharp.
