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“We know the reason Grigori stopped trafficking two years ago wasn’t so he could work with us as he said. It was because he kept losing shipments to the point they were able to connect several to him and he had the Feds, Interpol and about six different local governments on his ass. I said the reason we wouldn’t work with him was because he wasn’t giving concessions the way any other group we worked with did. Then we all just breathed a sigh of relief when he refused. You know how Grigori has been bitching loudly over the last year about how unfair it was our grandfather gave Father Chicago and Philadelphia, and Grigori got New York?” Milos asks Nikita.
Milos, ever the puppet master pulling Nikita’s strings to get him involved, thinking instead of acting on his frustration.
“Yeah, which doesn’t make any fucking sense. New York was by far the bigger moneymaker. It’s the reason Grandfather gave Father two cities instead of the one. Grigori keeps saying it was because Father had so many children which is bullshit. Until you began taking over, we made half of what Grigori and his sons make in New York. Now because of you, we make more here in Chicago alone than New York.” Nikita nods as he puts down his glass and finally begins paying attention.
“Exactly, his argument didn’t make sense, so I dug deep to find Grigori’s hemorrhaging money not just personally but professionally.”
“No surprise there. He’s always lived beyond his means even while Grandfather was alive. Once Grandfather died in the hit with Father, the leash was off,” Nikita mumbles.
He nods. “One of the benefits to getting out of trafficking was the ramp up on the borders. We were already losing more merchandise than we got in and the Feds were all over it. Grigori waiting as long as he did left him bare to the Feds and they are closing in. The money he’s paying isn’t enough to keep him safe, and now he’s so broke he can’t even pay anymore. It’s why Ivan is taking over in name and you’re marrying his daughter.”
Nikita tries to hide his confusion by sipping again.
I sigh. “We think if I were the one to go they would turn me into one of them by foul means. Grigori offering me his granddaughter and me going out to New York makes no fucking sense. Marrying her and her coming to Chicago would, but it’s not the deal. So the thought is they would kill me to take away Milos’s second and his strength. If you go—”
“I’m bait? Are you fucking kidding me?” Nikita looks from me to Milos then back again.
From the open-line speaker Vasily begins laughing. “I told you two you should have told him sooner.”
My other brothers, Maxim and Damien, are arguing that one of them should be the one to go.
“Enough, you two women. This is the plan, we stick to it. With Nikita the youngest of us all, they will think he’ll be the easiest to break.” Vasily sighs.
“While not realizing it would be easier to break concrete with a spoon,” I mutter as I sip the last of my vodka. Nikita takes it as the compliment it is. “I’m willing to go. But we think it would be better if it were you. We don’t think they’ll kill you or anyone but Milos or me—maybe Vasily since they’re going to try and take all of what we control. It would need to be done in tandem. If Milos or Vasily was killed, we would know immediately something was wrong and our guard would go up. Once we send you in place of me, we’ll gain a greater picture of what their intentions are.”
“I have eyes on them. While I would rather wait until all this shit is settled before marrying Celia—I don’t need her as a target—this could take months, and I’m not willing to wait.” Milos checks his watch again.
I throw my glass within inches of him. The glass goes everywhere, and he glares up at me. “We can’t have that. You’ve waited four long years to take your bride in hand. If it goes any longer I will cut my own throat from putting up with your mournful stares out the window.”
“Or catching you listening to her recordings.” Nikita sighs. “I feel like I know her voice better than my own. It’s a nice voice though.”
“Fuck off,” he mutters.
“You’ll marry her fast and hide her behind the gates.” It’s an order from Vasily.
“Yes, brother,” Milos assures him.
Vasily lost his wife and their unborn daughter less than two years into their marriage. Vasily never forgave himself for not taking greater care to protect her.
“It’s another reason why I’m pushing for a quick marriage. Carlo will think it’s for children. Dom is the only one who knows the real reason. But he also believes it’s for locking the marriage agreement so I have support of the Outfit if we have to go to battle with Grigori and his sons,” Milos explains.
Nikita slams his glass on my desk. “If you had told me from the beginning I would not have bitched so much. It’s as Father said anyway: marriage is one thing, pleasure is another. I’ll marry her and bed her. Then I’ll find my mistress.”
Milos shrugs. “As long as you are discreet.”
I nod. The women we’ll marry won’t go into this thinking it’s a love match. The least we can do is to be honest. We’ll do our best not to bring shame on her, but we’re marrying for business, not pleasure. The more honest we are the easier the marriage will be.
“Discretion is key in all things,” Vasily agrees.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll stop bitching?” Milos asks as he stands.
“Go on, settle the price of your bride.” Nikita nods.
The door is barely closed behind Milos when Nikita looks to me. “What the hell else is going on?”
“We’re going to need you to get basically everything you can to bring Grigori and his sons down. Just in case we need something to trade them.” I offer him a flash drive. “Fill it up.”
He takes it with a shake of his head. “I’m going to get two mistresses for this. I’ll be owed two of them.”
