he made no move to approach me, so I assumed he was just here to visit his sister or tank back some drinks rather than to inform us of another disturbance on the horizon.
Care of Kirill and Joanna’s nuptials, the Irish had become allies where before they’d been our sworn enemies.
Da, times had changed, but I felt something in my bones. A dark intuition that warned of danger just around the corner.
Such was the existence of a Russian mafioso.
A path of people parted for me on my way up the backlit staircase to the mezzanine level of the club. From that higher viewpoint I took one last sweep around the lower floor before entering the war room of the entire Zolotov operation.
The control room and offices overlooked the nightclub from one-way windows and housed the highest tech security.
It also housed Yury, our pakhan . . . and Kirill’s dog—the stray we’d taken in after discovering him poking around our dumpsters and trash.
Yury sat in a deep, plush leather seat, one heavily tattooed hand resting on the mutt’s head.
I nodded at him, and he raised a glass of vodka toward me. Tendrils of smoke wove across the air from the thick cigar he puffed on.
Meanwhile, Sasha stood across the room in her habitual stance. With her fists on her hips and her chin thrust out, she stared venomously at Maksim. As my youngest brother, he’d been appointed Sasha’s round-the-clock bodyguard.
A role he despised.
Sasha was not a stray like Boris the dog. She was printsessa of the Bratva, and Yury’s only child.
The short skirt of her dress shimmied with every stomp of her foot in the ridiculously high stilettoes, and Maksim’s glare narrowed, his lips tightening too.
“I don’t see why I always have to stay up here as if I’m on restriction. I’m twenty-two years old not two years old, Maksim.”
Towering over the troublemaker, my brother growled out in a low voice, “I will handcuff you to a fucking desk leg for a week and give you nothing but water instead of that fancy champagne you insist on unless you sit your ass down and shut your mouth up.”
“Arkady,” she wheedled, turning pleading eyes on me.
“Nyet. My job has nothing to do with babysitting pampered princesses or any females at all for that matter. I am not getting involved.”
My comment earned me scowls from both parties.
Letting out a loud huff, Sasha flounced into a chair. Her skirt flipped up higher on her thighs, which made Maksim snarl under his breath again. While he fumed, she daintily sipped champagne and swung a bare leg as if to goad him to make good on his threat.
Their volatile dynamic continued daily. Kirill and I had decided it was only a matter of time before Maksim turned her over his knee for a good ass-paddling.
Yury had already approved of such discipline.
Joanna claimed the pair who were always at each other’s throats just needed to fuck it out.
The idea was laughable at best. Despite being forced together almost 24/7, they did nothing but squabble. I imagined if they ever did fuck, one of them was going to walk away bloody. Maksim, probably with scratches all down his back.
Hiding my smirk, I turned to the bank of security monitors while loosening my tie.
I heard a deep grunt then a shift of leather before Yury lumbered to my side. “Everything is in order for deal tomorrow night?”
“Da, Papa.” I straightened up to face him.
He switched to the mother tongue, which came easier to him. “New players. It will be interesting to see if they keep their word on the entire payment.”
Leaning onto the edge of the console, I felt the heavy weight of Yury’s hooded stare as he sized me up.
Before building his own Bratva dynasty, the man had used his smarts and savviness—not to mention his brute force—in the Gulag. He’d not only survived his harsh imprisonment, he’d been an infamous gang leader.
He’d been training me—and testing me—for years, because one day I’d take over the Zolotov kingdom.
“Don’t worry, Yury.” I turned a dark smile on him. “If the deal turns sour, the Italians won’t make it out alive to talk about it.”
“Good.” He laid a large paw on my shoulder, the most affection the man ever showed.
At that moment, Boris sprung up to all fours. With one loud bark, he launched himself at the door where he howled madly.
In the next instant, I drew my Sig Sauer and moved to block Yury. Maksim shoved Sasha behind her