into letting us borrow her key and make an illicit copy. Not a hair on her head was harmed. Call it my good deed for the year.
Now, I’m standing outside the house of this bastard Judge Herrington, ready to make my parental case as convincingly as I know how to do. The hours of groveling like a pig at the feet of Child Welfare workers are behind me, thank the fucking lord. Ahead of me is what I’ve needed, what I’ve craved—action, and the pure, clean process of might making right.
“Second story, third window from the right,” Timofei reminds me. “Fourteen steps from the landing to the bedroom door. He sleeps separately from his wife. Snores too loud.”
I scoff. This will be even easier than I expected.
“Are you sure you don’t want to send men to handle this?” he asks me for the umpteenth time.
“No,” I snap. “This one I am doing myself.”
We stride up to the front door and begin the night’s work.
The key fits into the lock perfectly, and the house opens up before me. Inside is as quiet and still as the estate outdoors. A clock ticks in one corner. Aside from that, nothing…until I hear it: the raucous, tea-kettle-whistling noise of a snoring fat man.
We make our way up the stairs, feet moving silently, checking each step for creaks before we proceed.
Soon, we’re at the top.
Fourteen steps forward, one by one, until I find the door. It swings open smoothly. I step inside, Timofei at my side, and push the door shut behind us.
Timofei looks to me. I nod. He crosses the distance to the sleeping judge, and wakes him with a hand clamped over his mouth. The man sits bolt upright in a panic. When he sees me, his eyes bulge.
“Mmmff!” he cries out against the throttling pressure of Timofei’s palm keeping him quiet.
I raise a finger to my lips. “Shh,” I whisper. “You do not want to wake Lucille next door. She would not be pleased to be tired for her appointment at the nail salon at nine-thirty. And little Charlie downstairs has a big day at school tomorrow. They both need their rest.”
At the mention of his family member’s names, Herrington’s eyes bulge further. He knows damn well it’s a threat. Not that I’d ever hurt them. I know the rules of the Bratva Syndicate: Never hurt anyone who’s not in the game.
But Herrington doesn’t know about that rule. And I’m not about to fill him in, either. His imagination will do more damage than any real torture ever could.
He struggles, but Timofei keeps him rooted in place. “Let’s make this quick,” I say in a low rasp. “I need custody of my nephew. You can help me with that.”
The man tries to say something, but Timofei’s hand reduces it to muffled mumbling. I nod, and my second-in-command removes his palm.
“You have lost your fucking mind, man!” Herrington rasps. “Do you know who I am? I’m a motherfucking judge!”
I shake my head sadly. “I was hoping you would make this easy, Joseph. But apparently, you need to be reminded of who I am. I’m Matvei fucking Morozov. I control this city. Nothing you do and nowhere you go will ever happen without my awareness and approval. Don’t you even think about telling me no. If you do, I will make sure you cannot go anywhere without seeing one of my men pointing a gun at your head, ready to pull the trigger if I say so. You cannot run from me. You cannot hide from me.”
I step closer and press my face right up close to his.
“Listen to me, asshole,” I whisper harshly. “Because I am very, very serious.”
Even in the darkness, I can see the color drain from the man’s face. He knows it as well as I do—I am not kidding. Not even a little bit.
“Fantastic. Now that we’re acquainted with each other, let me repeat: I need custody of my nephew. His name is Nikolas Morozov. His father and mother were killed in a horrific accident, and I am trying to do what is right for the boy.”
Herrington draws in a rattling breath and rubs the sleep from his eyes. “The best I can do is provisional custody,” he says. “I swear, there’s nothing more. These things take time, and you’ve got a rep, you know?”
I scowl. If one more of these fucking civilians lectures me about my reputation, I will follow through on my threat and reduce the whole