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CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Niko
“Gentlemen, like I told your woman, you will take no action without my approval.”
ThePakhanglowers at my brothers and me. The man does not look happy and I’m pretty sure I know why. I’ll get to the bottom of it later, but I’d bet all the money I have that Charleigh stood up to him in a way we warned her not to. Sure, her pride and grievances against Dimitri are completely legit, but there is a time and a place to confront a man like thePakhan. Charleigh did not choose her opportunities wisely and because we weren’t in the room with her, there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it.
Not really a surprise, when it comes down to it. She’s not the kind of woman to let someone run her over.
But the stern expression thePakhanis wearing today for my brothers and me is not something I’ve seen before.
I’ve known this man for as long as I can remember. Our father went way back with him, all the way to their Russia days. Their mutual respect and longstanding relationship have meant an open-door policy for my brothers and me, even after Papa was gone. Regardless of the topic, our interactions are always friendly, even when we’re politely disagreeing with each other.
Today is different, though.
Today, thePakhanis speaking as if we’re strangers undertaking an unpleasant negotiation, which I suppose we are. He’s taking no chances on us misunderstanding—or ‘mishearing’—his clear directive. The days of the man pretending to hide a quarter behind the ear of ten-year-old me, while Papa proudly patted me on the head, are a universe away.
No, today I am looking at an altogether different man, one who has multiple interests to protect, even if that means letting people like Charleigh get hurt.
I don’t like this version of thePakhan, and the more he insists we follow his lead, the less I like him. I want restitution for our girl, possibly even more than she does, and it’s almost impossible not to see him as an obstacle.
We know that as long as Dimitri Yegorov walks this earth, Charleigh won’t have a peaceful night’s sleep. Not only is she forever looking over her shoulder, her rage is unmistakable. It’s written across her face and evident in the way she walks. It’s even affected the way she speaks.
Like my brothers, I want to put all this to rest for the sake of Charleigh, and also get back to our day-to-day business. Dimitri has been nothing but a pox on all our lives, really, for as long I can remember, and it’s well past time for him to get his due.
How my brothers have restrained themselves from taking him out for what he did to our parents is beyond me. They have less patience than I do, their actions far less muted.
But we may be getting closer to our revenge if what Charleigh says about a ‘secret room’ in Dimitri’s house is true. It’s quite possible she imagined it. The beating she took was a serious one, and her memory is not the most trustworthy witness. But if that room exists and has evidence linking Dimitri to my parents’ death, this case will be fucking closed.
No more ‘being patient,’ as thePakhanputs it. No more bullshit payment of reparations meant to smooth over bad feelings. In the old days, in Papa’s time, it might have been enough to send an injured party away with a bag full of cash. But that doesn’t work anymore, and especially not with someone like Charleigh.
Which I’m sure thePakhanpicked up on, and which has put him in such an irritable mood. Undoubtedly, he thought he could pat Charleigh on the head, pay her off, and send her away like a good girl.
He doesn’t know her like we do.
She may not have been around the block like the rest of us in the syndicate, but she has enough self-respect to ask for what she wants, and not to back down when she’s refused at her first appeal.
Hands folded in front of him, Vadik takes a deep breath. The only way I know he’s losing his patience is his lightly tapping foot, which thePakhanfortunately can’t see or hear.
“Sir,” my brother starts, “I am not sure what further evidence is needed to show that Dimitri Yegorov deserves a punishment considerably more harsh than paying off Charleigh for her trouble.”
ThePakhan’s head snaps back on its axis, screaming loud and clear that he is not having it, not having the Alekseev brothers not only question his decision, but continue to press the point.
That’s too fucking bad. If he goes ballistic on us and pulls out a gun and shoots us dead, well, at least we’ll know we went down trying to do the right thing for Charleigh.
Holy shit.I’d risk my life for her. I hadn’t realized that until now.
Fuck, am I in trouble. At least I’m not alone. I look at my brothers, doing all they can to contain their frustration with this stubborn old man. I know we’re of the same mind.
“I think you are aware that a woman in our employ was recently killed driving Niko’s car,” Kir says.
ThePakhannods. Of course he knows. He knows all the shit that goes on.
“The truck driver who hit her, making the wreck and explosion look like an accident, was the same man who crashed into Clara and me several years ago, killing Clara. I have no doubt he was on Dimitri’s payroll, then and now,” Kir says.
“Where is this man now?”
