“No. I don’t. There’s something come up, and I need to focus on that for a while. I can’t give the business one hundred percent.”
“Is this something to do with the ballerina and her manager husband you asked Damen to investigate?” I ask.
Bohdan nods. “She’s someone who was once important to me, and I think she’s in trouble.”
“Fuck me, you’re all whipped; that’s the problem here,” Vasily grouches, but it’s good natured.
“You’re the worst one of the lot,” he says to Bohdan. “You’ve got Bratva blood, man. It’s in your veins. You’re Bratva born. I don’t get how you can walk away.”
“We don’t have to stay what we were born as,” Bohdan replies. “My old man was the lowest on the rung, and I worked my way up to almost being the highest; that’s good enough for me. Now, I want a change. I fucking love Greece. I love the sun.”
“Yeah, you also love money, women, and the finer things in life. You’ll get bored; I guarantee it. When you do, I’ll take you back.”
Andrius clears his throat. “If you do get bored, Bohdan, and go back to working with Vasily, that’s fine, but then you can never come back to us. What I’m setting up with K is going to be legitimate, and we want to make it big. Now, if you want in, we can accommodate that.” Andrius glances at me with a subtle nod, letting me understand he’s doing this for me. “You won’t be a paid grunt either. You say you’ve got savings, then you can come into this as a partner. Myself and K will have to discuss on what percentages and terms, but I’m willing to do it this way. However, if I find out you’ve been in any way involved in Bratva shit, you won’t be working with us any longer, and you won’t be getting a severance slip. Do you understand me?”
Bohdan nods. “Yes, Andrius, perfectly. Go back to Bratva shit, get dead.”
Andrius laughs. “Yeah, you get it.”
Vasily looks lost. It’s not something I’m used to seeing on him. He’ll be okay, though. He’s colder than me, and that’s saying something. If I can secure him as muscle for Vasily, along with the protection Stamatis will bring, I’ll feel secure that he’s not being left all alone to sink or swim.
“You know, there’s a place here for you too, Vasily,” Andrius says, making me want to kiss him.
“No, thanks. I want to get back to Moscow and business.”
“You won’t be alone,” I say. “You’ve got more backing now than you had last week. Do you realize the power Stamatis has? Or the pull that you and Ilya could have working together? You’ll be fine.”
“Can we still be … I don’t know, friends?” he asks.
“Jesus, yes. You can come see us, come stay,” I answer without looking to Andrius. He made his terms clear, but I won’t abandon my friends. “I cannot get involved with any illegitimate shit, but you’ll always be a friend. Christ, you’re practically family.”
“Okay,” he says, and it’s very little coming from him. I feel guilty, but then I remind myself why I’m doing all this. I have to think of Cassie, of Michael. Of the future.
“Okay.” I clap my hands. “Now if you gentlemen don’t mind, I need to go see my woman. We’ve got hell descending on us in mere days, if the intel from Marcus is correct, and we need to strategize and plan. For now, though, I’m going to rest for a few hours.”
By rest, I mean fuck, and the smirk on Vasily’s face shows he knows it too.
Andrius nods and sips at his coffee. “Can’t wait for this to be over and to be back home with my family.”
I can’t wait for it to be over either. I pray we’ll all still be here when it is.
Chapter Twenty
Cassie
There’s something building. The sense you get before a storm when the air itself is expectant. That’s what the atmosphere in the house is like. As the days and hours tick by, the men become increasingly withdrawn and serious. There are bursts of humor and joking, but mostly, they pore over maps of the area around Konstantin’s property and talk almost hourly on the phone with Damen.
On the second evening, Konstantin comes looking for me, finding me in the pool area. I’m not in the pool because I can’t get my wound wet yet. I like the space, though. It’s peaceful. He surprises me when