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“Why does Petrovitch want you, Silver? How do you know him?”
“Let’s just say I am intimately acquainted with the son of a bitch and leave it at that,” She barely whispered, before looking at me. “He saw you the night of the Gala. Right before he shot up the place. He saw me too. That’s why I left. I stupidly thought if he only saw me, that maybe he would leave everyone else alone. I was wrong. I heard what happened to Tessa. Is she okay?”
“She’s recovering. Not sure about okay. Not after what he did to her, but she’ll live.”
“He didn’t...”
I shook my head. “No. He cut her. Drugged her and beat her, but no. He didn’t rape her.”
“She got lucky, then. That’s his preferred form of torture. He likes to hear women scream.”
I wouldn’t exactly say that Tessa was lucky. I saw what that bastard did to her. She would bear the scars of her time with him for the rest of her life. The nightmares she must be suffering I couldn’t fathom.
“Silver, do you know why Petrovitch wantsme?”
“You have something that can hurt him.”
“You mean like my relationship with Maxim?”
Silver shook her head. “No. He doesn’t give a shit about your relationship. If anything, he would use you as a means to an end to kill Maxim. He really hates Mr. Fedorov. Like really loathes him. But you... for him to want you, that means you have something or know something he wants. Only you can answer that question.”
“What did Tessa have that he wanted?”
Silver shrugged. “Nothing that makes sense. He toyed with her. That means she was a means to an end or the beginning of his game. He likes to play games, Illyria. What you need to understand about the son of a bitch is that he loves his games. He’s a master at them. Once he knows all the players, he will spend years learning everything he can about his opponents. Their likes, dislikes. What they love. What they hate. By the time he starts a game, he’s already won. That’s why I left.”
“Do you know why Petrovitch wants Maxim dead?”
Silver looked at me and nodded.
“Will you tell me?”
She slowly shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised.”
So, she knew the truth. The real reason Maxim was determined to kill the bastard. Knowing Maxim, it could be something big or something so miniscule that it didn’t matter. From what I knew about Maxim, was that he didn’t believe in second chances. Once he got someone in his sights, he wouldn’t stop until he bled the fucker. However, as much as I wanted to probe this conversation more, I knew Silver wouldn’t divulge anything.
This line of questioning was getting me nowhere. So, I went with the truth. “Petrovitch is buying Valentinetti Corp. My company. The company my family entrusted to me. I can’t stop him without help. If you know anything that could help me stop him, I will give you a marker.”
Silver laughed, holding her stomach as she gasped for air. I didn’t see what was so funny about what I said. I was deadly serious about the company. It was my baby. I lived and breathed that company. Because of the deals I’ve made, I’ve solidified Valentinetti Corps’ future, and I refused to let some two-bit thug waltz in and take everything away.
“You think he gives a flying fuck about your company, Illyria? Petrovitch doesn’t want your damn company. He wants you. Women mean nothing to him. We are a means to an end. An easy way to get to what he really wants. The company is a smoke screen. A way to get close to you, to get to know you. Were you even listening when I said he likes to play games? The man isn’t buying your company. He’s buying you.”
I silently shook my head. She was wrong. My life was an open book. All Petrovitch had to do was look in the papers and he would know everything there was to know about me. No. He was going after my company for something more. And until I found out what that was, I wasn’t letting up. I needed to know the answer.
“Listen and learn,” Silver stated, as she sat up and looked me dead in the eyes. “You are a pawn. Everything you think you know about the man is what he wants you to believe. The man you are fighting is cunning, wickedly smart and devious. He has no morals. He doesn’t believe in the gentlemen’s code like the others. Motherfucker probably pissed on the damn handbook if there is one. All Petrovitch cares about is solidifying his mark in the world and to do that, he needs to take out all the major players. This fucker doesn’t give two shits about you or your family company. He wants Maxim. He’s always wanted Maxim. He wants Montana. He wants it all, your family included. All the ports and the contacts, so he will be the top dog. He wants to control the underground. He wants to be the Czar.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s impossible. None of the families would allow one man to rule over everything. It’s unthinkable. It’s never happened before. Not in the history of organized crime.”
“Think, woman,” Silver said, tapping her head. “Think of it like your stupid company. You have a board, right? Men and women who sit and help you do whatever it is you do. Now picture the heads of all the families around the world as your board members and Petrovitch sitting in your spot. He would control everything. The shipping ports, the weapon trade, the skin trafficking, the drugs, everything. No one could do anything without his okay. That’s his endgame. It has always been.”
“But the families won’t allow that,” I whispered in disbelief.
“They won’t be able to stop him. Like I said, he’s playing a fucking game. Has been for years. He knows everything, Illyria. Just like he knows how to bring Maxim to heel.”
“Me.”
