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I relaxed only a fraction.
“Explain,” Uncle Igor demanded.
I swallowed hard. “The timing on the hits to our shipments were precise. In addition, the last-minute change to our course was only known by a handful of top-ranking soldiers.”
“Sophia said it could have been tracked virtually,” Nikolai challenged. My cousin was leaning forward, the blade tapping against thin air.
“That’s why I haven’t brought this forward until tonight. I wanted solid proof that we had a problem.” I lifted my hands. “But my time’s run out. The attack escalated this.”
Pressing his fingers against the ink blotter, my uncle rose. “In your arrogance, you thought to keep this from me?”
“Respectfully, sir, you weren’t above suspicion,” I responded hotly.
Nikolai sucked in a sharp breath.
But my uncle only laughed. “And this is why you’ll be the joint successor with Nikolai.”
I fucking stumbled. Mouth dry, I cut a glance at my grinning cousin. I couldn’t speak.
“When Papa retires, we’re going to be Bratva kings, cuz.” Nikolai spun the blade before snapping it closed. “It was my idea, but our pakhan agrees wholeheartedly.”
“I always assumed you’d rule, and I would be your second,” I stuttered.
Nikolai shrugged. “We both bring equally valuable assets to the table. And neither of us is going to screw the other’s wife behind his back, so there’s no danger of us becoming mortal enemies.”
I barked a laugh. “You both honor me,” I said, voice once again confident.
“Good. Now...what do we do about the traitor?Ifwe have one.” Nikolai punched the arm of his chair.
“Feed information to the heads, then watch it get leaked to the Serbs.” I’d been planning to do it on my own, but now I could have help orchestrating this madness.
“Unless the mole is savvy—he might know we’d catch him doing it that way. Issuing multiple orders and waiting for him to screw up would take too long,” Uncle Igor said with a shake of his head.
“And if you feed different tales to each of the heads, you might get away with it once. Or they’ll talk, and the mole will get suspicious.” Nikolai worried the upholstery under his ruthless touch.
“Then hold off the attack,” I insisted. “We’ll solve this matter one way or another before we play into his hand and attack the Serbs.”
“We’re going to have to work fast then,” my uncle muttered. “Sit down, ace. Let’s run through the possibilities and see if our joint heads can’t narrow them down, then we’ll know better who to watch as we prove or disprove your theory.”
As I took my seat, my uncle raised a hand. “Oh, I just remembered. This came not five minutes ago.” He passed me a small package.
“Yes, I forgot about that,” Nikolai laughed. “Your father-in-law-to-be has invited himself for dinner tomorrow—no, tonight.”
I took the package from my uncle and tore off the wrapping. A gold foil clothing brand stared back at me. I slid the lid off the box and pushed the tissue back. The sweater staring back at me was no doubt of luxury make, but it was more fitting for the colder climates of the Old World rather than the sunny heat of LA. I stifled a groan. “Not really my style.”
“Your bride left a card in there too,” Uncle Igor said with a jerk of his head. “You’ll host an intimate family dinner with them.”
I arched a brow. “Respectfully, may I ask why, sir? We’re in the middle of a war, and they were almost caught in the crossfire.”
“The bride wants to see her future home.” My uncle shrugged as if to say “women.”
I pursed my lips. “As you wish.”
“It’s not a problem, is it?” There was a challenge in the pakhan’s eyes.
“No, sir.”
“Good, because that’s what we thought you’d come here to discuss—the dissolution of your engagement,” Nikolai admitted.
