AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sigh, continuing to my office. Through the clear glass window, I see our guest of honor seated in my office chair.
Catherina Antonov is a force to be reckoned with. I love the woman dearly. She has all my admiration and more, plus a healthy dose of respectful fear. She’s small compared to her sons, standing at only four foot nine. Her ghost white hair is pulled back into a neat bun, every ounce the elegant Bratva princess—banished or otherwise.
She dons a severe black dress with a high neck and long sleeves, the hem of her skirt cutting off just above the ankles. If it weren’t for the large diamond stud earrings she wears, it’d be easy to mistake her for a stern, ruler-cracking Mother Superior.
“About time you showed up,” Catherina snaps coldly. Her English has improved much over the years, but her words are still thick and heavy with a Russian accent, which adds to her intimidating air. “When you called me, you made it seem like an emergency. Yet here you are, starting your day at noon.”
“I was taking care of business, Mother,” I reply, unfazed.
She rises from my seat and walks over to give me a hug. It’s stiff and uncomfortable—and just like the ones she gave me as a child. “You’re getting too thin,” she says, giving me a critical once over. “Are you eating enough?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m not lying, Mother.”
Behind me, Dimitri snorts, too amused for his own good. Pyotr crosses his arms.
“Can we get to the heart of the matter?” he asks gruffly.
Catherina nods. “Yes. Tell me more. I hear Konstantin has been causing all manner of troubles.”
“A few hiccups here and there,” Luka explains. “But nothing we couldn’t handle.”
“Have you seen him in person?”
“Just once,” I say. “He asked to meet with me.”
“In a public place, yes?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have gone, otherwise.”
Catherina nods sagely. I can practically hear the gears turning in her head. Once upon a time, she was a brilliant strategist. The Antonov Bratva flourished under her guidance. While Konstantin gave the orders and my father who carried out his word, my mother acted as the organization’s voice of reason.
Until we had to run for our lives, of course.
“I know you’re enjoying retirement,” I say to her, “but we really need your help. I’ve tasked Luka with finding Konstantin’s location, but so far he hasn’t been able to find anything.”
Luka grits his teeth. “Someone’s helping him. Someone powerful, someone with resources. It’s the only way to explain why he’s so elusive.”
I can feel my youngest brother’s frustration. In this day and age, nobody’s untraceable. Modern technology sees to that. Everyone lives on the internet, can be found on a passing traffic cam, can be tracked through the use of credit cards. Our digital footprints are everywhere if you know where to look, but Konstantin…
He’s a ghost, haunting my family for weeks without recourse.
Hopefully with Catherina’s help, that’ll all change.
“We need you to get in contact with your old friends,” I say. “We need information, Mother.”
She arches a stern brown. “So you want me to get my hands dirty?”
Dimitri smiles apologetically. It’s no secret he’s a mama’s boy through and through. “We have the company to think about, Mother. Our faces are too public. We can’t afford to get caught.”
“Youdounderstand what you’re asking of me, do you not?” Catherina asks. “Most of my underground contacts believe me dead. The landscape has shifted, my sons. New alliances have formed, and old ones have dissolved. There’s no telling how many targets will be on your backs once I reach out.”
“We have no other choice,” Pyotr finally pipes up.
Catherina puts her hands on her hips. “And if we find him? What then?” She looks at me directly. “What lengths are you willing to go to make sure Konstantin never bothers us again?”
