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I smile. “I guess I still have a thing or two to learn about the business, huh?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get there soon enough.”
“You didn’t answer my question, though.”
“What?”
“How are you doing?”
Alexi smiles. It’s a gentle sort of grin, one with warmth intended for only the closest of friends. “I’m happy here, Aurora. Thank you for asking.”
His phone begins to ring in his pocket. He answers immediately. “Mikhail? Yes, she’s here.” Alexi holds his phone out to me. “The boss wants to talk to you.”
I hold the phone to my ear. “Misha?”
“Hello, my love.”
“What’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I was just wondering if you could forward last month’s financial reports to Dimitri. We just left our meeting with the Volkovs. They want concrete proof that the transition hasn’t hurt our prospects.”
I snort. “Can’t they take your word for it?”
“We’re about to strike a business deal with them. They want transparency.”
“I guess that’s fair. Hold on, I just have to go to the office.”
Exiting the nursery, I stride down the long hall, my feet padding across the cool wooden flooring. I have an office all to myself. No shared workstations in sight. I open the door to reveal what has now effectively become my command center, Alexi behind me.
Before returning to America, Luka helped me set up a battle station, complete with a powerful top-of-the-line desktop computer, four different screens and an impressive office chair with more bells and whistles than a car. The adjustable lumbar support is especially impressive, but I’m not here to lounge around. Mikhail needs me to take care of business.
I don’t have an official title, though I certainly have a function within the overall operation. I suppose you could say I am officially the head of cybersecurity. We learn from our enemies' mistakes and allowing himself to get hacked was what led to Konstantin’s downfall. Mikhail wanted to make sure something similar would never happen to us. Within a few weeks after the takeover, I was charged with completely revamping our system. Our accounts, communications, and so on will never be breached as long as I’m in charge.
Mikhail and I make an excellent team. We always have. While I take care of the work behind the scenes, helping to keep everything organized and my thumb on the pulse, Mikhail is busy out there being the new face of the Antonov Bratva. He’s determined to make an impact of his own, to show we run things differently and more efficiently.And with a hell of a lot less violence.
He tries to keep me out of the spotlight as much as possible, and I’m perfectly fine with that arrangement. While he’s done well to make a good impression on the other gangs in Moscow, we’re not willing to take any chances now that the baby’s almost here. It’s too soon to tell how many enemies are lurking in the shadows, so for now, we must be cautious.
With a few simple clicks, I send off the reports he and Dimitri need. I have everything compiled on a secure server, tracking money coming in and out. We won’t make the same mistake as Konstantin and hire accountants. When you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself. The only people we can truly rely on are those within the family.
I hold the phone to my ear. “All done, darling.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“I love you. Be safe.”
“I will. I love you, too.”
I hang up and hand Alexi his phone. “Do you think you can tell the cook to start preparing dinner?”
“Sure,” he says. “Is there anything specific you’d like to request?”
“As long as it’s not borscht again. I’m getting sick of—”
A sudden jolt of pain cuts me off mid-sentence. It pierces through me, so overwhelming it momentarily blanks my mind. It’s a massive cramp, the pain radiating from the pit of my belly. I suck in a sharp breath and groan.
“Ow.”
“Aurora?” Alexi says, concern knitting his brows together. “What’s wrong?”
