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Pyotr
Within the hour, Mikhail’s home transforms into our new base of operations. What few men we still have are busy preparing for tonight’s onslaught. While Dimitri reviews the maps, Mikhail gives the orders.
“Violetta plans on swarming us on all sides,” Mikhail says. “No matter what, we’re facing heavy casualties.”
“Misha,” I grumble, “you need to throw in the towel. Dimitri has organized a flight out of here. We could be gone twenty minutes.”
“I’m not letting that woman defeat me.”
I gesture to the images Alina risked her life to take. We’ve printed them out and arranged them on the table, recreating the exact layout Violetta had in her war room. “This is the last of your territory, Mikhail. It’s as you said, we’ll be swarmed. Is it really worth losing our lives defending what little we have left?”
“You don’t understand, Pyotr. We will never surrender.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and pray my headache away. I love my brother, truly, but sometimes it’s like I’m talking to a wall. “Mikhail… You have to listen to reason.”
“This—” he motions to the map, “isours, Pyotr. Our kingdom, our land. You don’t get it because you’re not Bratva. Not really.”
“That’swhyI’m the one you should be listening to. You’re too close to this. This is personal for you and you’re not thinking clearly. Your wife and kids are upstairs. Just for a moment, think about what’s at risk.”
Mikhail’s nostrils flare. “Don’t bring them into this, Pytor.”
“I have to. I’ve seen Violetta’s cruelty on my wife’s marred skin. You think she’ll spare your children? She’s already proven she has no honor by using my marriage as a diversion while she gathered her troops. That witch will kill every single one of us without hesitation—the children included.”
My brother’s jaw ticks in frustration, a good sign as far as I’m concerned. It means he’s actually listening to me.
“Misha?” his wife speaks. Aurora pokes her head out from around the corner and peers into the room, worry etched into her soft features.
Just like that, everything about Mikhail’s normally domineering energy softens. “What’s wrong, kisa?”
“We couldn’t help but overhear,” she says, entering with my other sister-in-law, Natalya, hot on her tail.
“This is turning into quite the family meeting,” Dimitri comments lightly as his wife joins him at his side. I think he’s trying to lighten the mood, but it doesn’t land. We’re all more than a little aware of the corner the Salkovs have backed us into.
“How much of that did you hear?” I ask the women.
“Almost all of it,” Natalya informs. “None of you are particularly quiet. Your voices tend to carry.”
Mikhail regards his wife with the utmost adoration, the softness in his gaze reserved only for her. “What do you think we should do?”
Aurora sidles up to him, one hand pressed to his chest while she rests her head against his shoulder. “I want whatever option ensures we all get out alive.”
He sighs. “I gave up everything to bring this family back from the pits our uncle dragged it into.”
“But look what you gained,” Natalya points out. “There is no shame in a strategic retreat. It doesn’t mean surrender, just that you’re regrouping until you can figure things out.”
Dimitri’s face lights up as he listens to her talk. “She has a point. We faced greater odds when we were up against Konstantin and Levitsky.”
“But our reputation will never recover,” Mikhail argues. “No one will ever take us seriously if we back off now.”
“Maybe you just have tolooklike you’re backing off,” comes a familiarly soft voice.
I’m the first to react, turning to find Alina slowly rounding the corner. She’s got a little more color in her cheeks, and while the dark circles beneath her eyes are still present, she’s looking much better now that she’s had a well-deserved nap and a belly full of food.
“You should be in bed,” I tell her, though I certainly don’t complain when she wraps her good arm around my waist.
“What do you mean?” Dimitri asks. “Look like you’re giving up?”
“I know my mother,” she says. “Violetta will stop at nothing until she gets what she wants. And what she wants right now is the last of your territory. She’s pulling out all the stops. In a couple hours, she’ll have hundreds of men spread out across Moscow to eradicate what remains of your Bratva. But her pride has always been her downfall. She has a one-track mind. We know her game plan, so what’s to stop us from coming in behind her and taking them by surprise?”
