“I’m not about to take that risk.”
Yulian’s smile turns cheeky. I grit my teeth—this is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.
“Oh, I get it,” he says childishly. “You need to find her, huh?”
“Don’t be an idiot,” I snap. “This is business.”
“Trust you to acquire business that’s that hot.”
“Yulian,” I say in a warning tone.
He suppresses a sigh. I’ve been disappointing my easygoing, playful younger brother ever since our personalities started diverging when we were boys. He stayed youthful. I became what my father always intended me to be.
“Okay, okay. Sorry. I just didn’t think it was urgent. Give me an hour, tops.”
“You have thirty minutes,” I counter.
He wrinkles his nose. “Forty-five?”
“I’m not negotiating, Yulian.”
He sighs. “Then I’m wasting time standing here talking to you. I’ll be back in half an hour.”
He practically runs out of the room and smashes right into Lev on the way out.
“Where the hell are you going in such a hurry?” Lev complains as Yulian pivots around him and just keeps going without a word of apology.
Lev walks into the room looking extremely annoyed. “What has he fucked up now?”
“Never mind. You look like you could use a drink.”
“Always.”
I pour us both a glass of bourbon and we sit down next to the billiards table in black leather armchairs that face one another.
“Well?” I ask.
“It looks like loyalties are split down the middle. Couple of the suppliers turned me down outright.”
“They didn’t even hear the offer?” I ask incredulously.
“Rodion got to them long before we did.”
“Husavic?”
“Yep.”
“The Triad?”
“Mhmm.”
“O’Connor?”
“On the fence.”
I lean in my seat and abandon my bourbon. “On the fence about what? Taking our money?”
“Says he doesn’t want to get in the middle of a Bratva war.”