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Nikolai would turn forty this year. He was sick of returning to an empty house. He could imagine a beautiful woman waiting for him after a long day at work, a warm dinner, a flirty smile, and soft curves to welcome him to bed.
Oh, Nikolai never had trouble with women. They usually flocked to him like moths drawn to the fire. Whores didn’t interest Nikolai any longer. He wanted something more permanent, an obedient wife, children to pass on his legacy. Nikolai could have all of that with Veronica. Nikolai remembered the bold girl who slipped him curious glances every time he came over to Arturo’s home to discuss business. Veronica was a grown woman now, an adult capable of making her own decisions, and yet Arturo would offer her no choice in the matter.
Arturo knew he didn’t have long to live. The moment he passed away, the Romano Familia would crumble. There was no one to take over. Arturo didn’t believe any of his lieutenants had what it took to be the Don. Veronica certainly didn’t want to be involved with the family business.
“Too late for that now,” Nikolai mused.
Once he took Veronica as his wife, the Baranov Bratva would assimilate the Romano Familia. He would take the empire his old friend had painstakingly built and with Veronica’s help, ensure it would never die.
There was a knock on his door. Nikolai sighed. His assistant knew he didn’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the evening. Then Nikolai remembered his secretary, Estelle, had already gone home for the night.
“Come in,” Nikolai said.
His second, Ivan, hurried into his office. Ivan looked haggard, Nikolai observed. Maybe he should suggest Ivan take a vacation. Ivan could take his wife and children to someplace warm. Forget about the troubles in the city and the organization for two weeks. The prospect sounded tempting. Nikolai couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a break himself.
“Problem?” Nikolai asked. When it came to business matters, Nikolai had always been sensible.
“Yes, you ordered Yuri to keep a close eye on Arturo Romano’s residence,” Ivan began.
Nikolai already didn’t like where this was going. His old friend did his best to hide his sickness from the public for as long as he could but a member of the press had gotten wind of Arturo’s hospital visits.
To survive in the line of work they dealt in, one must always have countermeasures. Arturo didn’t have one, so he turned to Nikolai for help. The moment Arturo’s enemies scented blood in the water, it was only a matter of time before they closed in.
“Yuri spotted a suspicious white van entering the neighborhood, probably a rental. He saw the driver emerging from the van, carrying a large black case. Yuri managed to take a picture of the man. We sent the photo to our experts,” Ivan said.
“Did they identify the man?”Nikolai asked.
“Yes, they confirmed it was Reid Hyde,” Ivan said grimly.
Nikolai got on his feet. Hyde was a well-known name in the underworld, a hitman used by mafia families to take out their competitors. Money motivated men like Hyde.
If Nikolai knew the hitman had accepted a contract to take out Arturo beforehand, Nikolai would have found a way to contact the killer and offer Hyde double the amount of money to take out his employers instead. Now, however, it was too late to do anything. Arturo might be the main target but Nikolai wouldn’t be surprised if whoever hired Hyde was ordered to take out Veronica as well.
Veronica might not be a real threat to anyone but eliminating every single member of the Romano family might be icing on the cake for some, and Arturo had pissed plenty of people off during his lifetime.
“Boss, where are you going?” Ivan asked warily.
Nikolai put on his coat, then took out one of the guns he kept in the drawer of his desk.“Where else? My old friend might be marked for deathno matter what, but I have every intention of saving my future bride.”
“You can’t be serious, Nikolai.”
Ivan struggled to catch up with Nikolai as Nikolai left his office and took the elevator back to the first floor. Ivan outlined the pros and cons of his crazy decision. More cons than pros, Nikolai noted. His associates always saw him as pragmatic. Nikolai’s actions might be seen as reckless to Ivan but he didn’t need to justify his intentions to anyone else. He was the Pakhan of the Baranov Bratva after all.
“Is it truly worth risking your life to save a woman you hardly know?” Ivan asked, panting as they stood on the sidewalk. Nikolai had texted his driver on the way down. Gilbert would arrive in a few minutes.
“The woman,” Nikolai explained,“is merely a bonus. What I am after is Arturo’s legacy and his assets.”
“I see.” Ivan visibly calmed down.
Nikolai had always been an accomplished liar, but he never had a reason to use his talents with his associates until tonight. Let Ivan consume his lies, he thought.
Ivan and the other members of the Bratva needed to see him as their cold and indomitable leader, because they would accept nothing less. Unlike the Italian mafia, where leadership passed from one family member to another, Nikolai had to fight his way from the bottom to the top to get where he was.
Gilbert arrived with his car. Ivan hesitated, then said, “Let me and some of the men accompany you at least. We know we’re up against Hyde but whoever hired him could have sent more backup.”
“Verywell, I’ll allow that,” Nikolai said, before slipping inside his black sedan.
****
