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“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Fyodor growls. “The past is immaterial. What matters is the decision we have to make now.”
I turn to my father squarely and look him in the eye. “There is no decision thatwehave to make. It’smydecision, Otets, and I’ve decided that enough is enough.”
“Ruslan, think about this. He is your cousin.”
“And he’s known that a lot longer than I have. He still abducted my family—my woman, my kids. That will not go unanswered.”
“Then lock him up. Keep him confined to a cell for as long as you want. But killing him—” He stops mid-sentence and glances around the room. It’s as though he’s just realized that he’s not the boss anymore.
“Give us the room,” I order.
Myvorsexchange pointed glances as they follow Kirill out of my office. I walk around the table and sit down beside my father. His eyes look hollow, a man so wracked with grief that he can’t even bring himself to sit up straight.
“This is not about Adrik at all, is it?” I rumble.
Fyodor gazes out the windows. “Killing Vadim’s only son… Ruslan, there will be no coming back from that.”
“Tell me honestly, Otets: do you see Vadim coming back from any of this?”
Fyodor flinches and closes his eyes. “He is the reason the Oryolov Bratva survived in the first place.”
“It was his duty to make sure it would,” I say. “I’m not trying to belittle what he did and I’m not trying to play down his sacrifices. He took care of you, of us, after the accident. He saved the Bratva. But that doesn’t give him the right to burn it down as and when he pleases.”
Fyodor sighs mournfully. His breath sounds raggedy in his thin old man’s chest.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “I know you still care for him. And I know you feel the need to save him—”
“He is my family.”
“No,” I say, leaning in closer, “Iam your family. Emma, Josh, Reagan, Caroline—theyare your family. You may not be a husband or a brother anymore but you are still a father. Leonid’s death didn’t change that. And you are a grandfather now, too.”
His eyes brighten infinitesimally but the light goes out almost instantly. “He wasn’t just my brother, Ruslan,” he says softly. “He was also my only friend.”
“I gave him a chance, Otets. These events have proved that Adrik is not capable of allowing us to live in peace. He wants revenge and he won’t stop until he gets it. Which means—”
“I know.” He turns his sad eyes on me. “I know.”
I get to my feet. “Forgive me, Father. My hands are tied.”
He looks up at me. There’s a question in his eyes but he refuses to ask it. Instead, he nods and I turn and leave him to the lonely room. I hate to have to do this—but it’s the only way.
Kirill, Nikolai, Mikael, and Arkady are sitting in the main living room when I walk past. The four of them rise to their feet, waiting on my instructions.
“We need a team. We’re going after Adrik today.”
Kirill frowns. “What do you mean? We don’t know where he is.”
“We will. I just have to talk to my uncle first.”
I leave them to make the arrangements while I head towards the cell block. I dismiss the two guards standing outside Vadim’s cell, then open the door and step inside.
He’s sitting on his bed with a book in hand, his back resting against the cement wall. “Nephew, what a delightful surprise. What brings you here?”
“Your son.”
Vadim’s eyebrows rise but his eye is twitching tentatively. He’s had years of practice, keeping his fear hidden. But I see it now. His fingers never sit still. They keep moving, moving, moving.
“What have you done to him?”
