Chapter 14
Gavril
I pulled out a clean dress shirt from the closet and shrugged it on, adjusting the collar under my still-damp hair. After my time with Naomi in the music room downstairs, we had come up to the main floor to take a shower and get dressed. Our time of hiding was over.
I had work that deserved my attention, and the longer I waited to mobilize my side of the war, the worse off we would be.
Deftly working on the buttons, I thought about what I had told Naomi. Fuck, I loved her. I probably had loved her for a long time before I had dared to admit it to myself, but she was the future I wanted. It wasn’t just because of her carrying my child. She made me feel like I could be something more, like I could hang onto a shred of my soul while carrying out my duties as Pakhan.
With some minor adjustments, that is.
Going through my coats, I found one that suited me and shrugged it on, looking at myself in the full-length mirror. My past had driven me to believe that I couldn’t change anything about what I was doing, but Naomi challenged me to change. She had asked me to give up the human trafficking, and hell, I was going to do it.
It wasn’t going to be easy. There would have to be negotiations so I wouldn’t be pitting myself against the world with nothing but enemies around me. Trafficking brought a hell of a lot of money to the Bratva and to those around me as they sold the women off.
I would have to entice them some other way. I had a big footprint in the real estate market, mostly commercial, and in a shrinking city that always needed more, it was easy to make a good bit of money in the market these days.
It would take a little longer than trafficking would, but at least I wouldn’t have to worry about the Feds breathing down my neck. My real estate businesses were actually legitimate, and I paid my taxes like a good citizen every year.
Actually, they had been my backup plan, a retirement plan, I guess. It wasn’t just about me, however. The Bratva still needed money to run the business, and my family needed my support.
Not to mention Inessa and her girls. There were so many people that depended on me. I had to make sure that, in the event that I ended up in prison, there would still be an influx of cash coming from somewhere.
Shaking out of my thoughts, I gave myself a once-over before striding out of the closet, pulling up short when I found Naomi curled in my bed, asleep.
My fucking heart ached at the sight of how her arm was curled under her stomach as if she were protecting our child even while she slept. She could ask for anything right now and I would give it to her. If she wanted my heart carved from my chest, I would do it. It was unfathomable to me to believe that she loved me, but I knew she did.
She loved me despite who I was or what I did, and because of that, I had to make sure she got out of this shit alive. Hell, I couldn’t live without her.
Swallowing hard, I forced myself to walk out of the suite, pulling the door behind me quietly. It was time for me to be Pakhan. If everything went well, I would have plenty of time to love on my wife later.
And I planned to do a lot of it.
I found my brigadiers in the dining room, a smattering of small-plate appetizers in the middle of the table. They all stood as I entered and I slipped into the cool mask of indifference, waving my hand at them.
When they were all seated once more, I stepped to the head of the table, bracing my hands on the shiny, lacquered wood.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” I started, meeting each one of their gazes with one of my own. “I have a plan.”
A few sat up straighter at my words and I clasped my hands behind my back, commanding the room. “We have two issues. The newly formed Krasnaya Bratva and an FBI agent that is hell-bent on destroying me.” I wasn’t about to relay to all of them about Hampton’s involvement with Naomi. All they needed to know was that he was the enemy, and we needed to destroy him.
“We need to draw them out,” I continued, my voice echoing in the silent room. “I want them all dead and this shit over with quickly.”
“And how is that going to happen?” Yuri asked slowly, his fingers drumming lightly on the table. Unlike the others, he had no plates before him, not even a drink. Yuri was all business, and I could appreciate that.
“I have bait,” I answered, the words souring on my tongue. I didn’t want to use Naomi, but she was right. She was the best sort of bait for them both. Hampton wanted her. The brigadiers would want to use her against me to force me to comply.
If anything was going to bring them to me, it was Naomi. “I also have a plan to make it seem like the two got caught up in the crossfire and canceled each other out.” By the time that happened, I planned to have Naomi in my care once more and a plan to get away from LA for a while. Even if I was able to pull this off, my name, my Bratva’s name, was going to be attached to the shit that was to follow.
I didn’t want to give the federal government any other reason to hold me. Hell, they already had enough as it was.
Oleg scratched his chin thoughtfully as he mulled over the plan. If he reneged, then I doubted the rest would be willing to go forward. Sometimes Oleg became the unofficial spokesperson of the group, and while I didn’t mind it, it was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult if he didn’t like it.
“It’s an impressive plan,” he said at last. “But impressive plans have a way of falling apart before they ever get started, Pakhan.”
I dipped my head in acknowledgment. “You are correct. This plan is risky, and if we don’t go through with this, then we will have to continue fighting as we are. That could take days or even months to complete.” They knew I wasn’t lying about it. While the current plan was working as best as it could, it was far from over. One of us was going to run out of men, and when that happened, the other wouldn’t have much thought left but to surrender. I couldn’t guarantee that it would be us in the end.
Oleg finally heaved a sigh. “You’re right, of course, Pakhan. I will go with this plan, and we will see if it will bring us to victory. My men are ready to proceed.”