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Perhaps it was the wrong time to change leadership. But I find it hard to know what would be right one way or the other. The Matron’s ruthlessness is what started this war in the first place. And Pyotr’s attempt to pacify things seems too little too late.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard about what happened at Lady Onyx tonight,” he opens, cutting right to the chase as he speaks to us in our mother tongue. “And while you might be wondering why I would call you together over this event in particular, when we’ve been sustaining these attacks for weeks now, I believe tonight presents a new level of concern we must face.”
Masking my mild surprise, I listen more intently now. At the same time, I scan the room to witness my questions reflected in the faces around me.
“If Mikhail’s become brazen enough to use guns so openly, I suspect that means he’s formed an alliance with someone high up in the government. Someone who would give him immunity to the law.”
He lets the statement settle over the gathered Veles, and his words bring a sinking sensation to my heart.
“That means every illegal move we make might face higher scrutiny. Hell, even actions of self-defense might be met with an iron fist we’ve managed to escape for years.”
“What makes you think that?” Maks asks, his tone deeply disturbed.
“The warning I received from Officer Depew tonight,” Pyotr says flatly, his sharp gray gaze cutting Maks back down to size.
The red-bearded Russian sinks slightly in his chair, and it gives me a slight sense of satisfaction to watch my pakhan put him in his place. Pyotr might be young and overly idyllic, but he knows how to command his men when the need arises.
“So, we are still to do nothing; just sit back and watch as the Zhivoder shit all over us?” Osip presses.
“I’m warning you not to get caught,” Pyotr counters. “And yes, avoid conflict. This isn’t a job that can be met with iron and lead. I don’t know who Mikhail has in his back pocket, but whoever it is has enough pull to lock us all away if we’re not careful. Mikhail never would have made such a foolish move without being fully confident he could get away with it.”
My stomach roils as I realize too late that the signs might have been right under my nose all along. I was so caught up in Mikhail’s overt interest in Dani that I didn’t think twice about why he might take Ben Richelieu under his wing. Or want to have dinner with Dani’s parents.
After all, Dani’s father is the tough-on-crime attorney general of New York who’s currently running for governor. And the polls would indicate he’s likely to be elected in just a few short weeks.
But Dani’s always spoken about her father’s concern with upholding an honest image. He wouldn’t be so twisted as to cut a deal with Mikhail, would he?
The question leaves me sick to my stomach.
In truth, I don’t know Attorney General Richelieu well enough to have an opinion on the matter. I know that I don’t always like the way they treat their daughter. That they would subject her to such a public life when she clearly doesn’t like it, that her mother would force things on her to protect their image over her daughter’s wants or needs.
But that doesn’t make Dani’s father dishonest.
And she’s always spoken highly of him when it comes to his political convictions.
It’s one of the few reasons I’m willing to accept just how much her family hates me. I can’t really blame them for distrusting me when I’m so closely linked to a notorious Bratva. I only hope they haven’t fallen victim to Mikhail’s public veneer.
And though I might come to regret it, I remain silent about my suspicion. Perhaps Pyotr ought to know about my concerns. But I certainly won’t go blurting accusations in a room full of my brethren. Not when they’re all chomping at the bit for revenge.
No, that would put the crosshairs on Attorney General Richelieu’s back—if not his entire family’s. And as loyal as I am to my pakhan, I can’t be so sure his men are anymore. We’ve been losing a war for far too long.
Focusing my attention back on the meeting at hand, I realize the undercurrent has shifted. Though the tension is still taut, Pyotr’s captains looking grim and angry, it seems his strategy to silently infiltrate the Zhivoder has mollified them for the moment.
To me, that seems like a smarter strategy than a bloodbath. Find the root of the problem and fight the war on all possible fronts so we don’t keep getting caught by surprise. But who we might send in for that kind of job, I haven’t a clue.
By now, our numbers have been drawn down far enough that Mikhail and his men must know us all by sight. So sending any of us into the lion’s den would be a death sentence.
24
DANI
Riding the elevator up to the sixty-fifth floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, I try not to fidget. The crimson sequined mermaid evening gown I let my mom pick out for tonight couldn’t be farther from my style. But she’d sounded so excited on the phone when she said she found me something. And in truth, the last thing I wanted to do at the time was go out and shop for my own dress.
So here I am.
The way it hugs my curves isn’t so bad. I’ve definitely worn dresses with the same flattering shape before. But the low sweetheart neckline is another story. It shows off more of my cleavage than I would naturally be inclined toward, and the high slit in the floor-length dress nearly reaches the top of my thigh.
At least the dress has long sleeves, though, because of the open back, they’re more like off-the-shoulder, fully exposing my collarbones and making me feel more like Jessica Rabbit than I have ever wanted to in my life.
