“Then tell him not to be in the middle. He needs to pick a fucking side,” I say. “Unless he wants to face the wrath of both Bratvas instead of one.”
Lev sighs and takes a long pull of his drink. “Some of them think they can stay out of this.”
“The stupid ones, maybe.”
Lev eyes me carefully, and I can tell that he’s not saying something he really wants to say simply because he knows I’ll get pissed.
“What? What is it?”
Lev shrugs and sips his bourbon. Stubborn, mute bastard.
“If you want to keep enjoying that drink,” I growl, “you won’t make me ask again.”
Lev sighs. “You and Marina… It was chaos, Ant. And that chaos was never contained.”
“Because the bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”
“She thought she could scare you into treating her the way she wanted to be treated,” Lev says.
I scoff. “It had nothing to do with how I treated her. She couldn’t make me care about her. That was the crime, apparently.”
Lev doesn’t touch that, wisely. But I can see the way his eyebrows rise and fall like ocean waves. It’s his thinking face.
“You’re wondering why we couldn’t make it work?” I surmise.
“Well, why couldn’t you?”
“Because there was no foundation. It started off fueled by lust and desperation. When that fizzled out, we had nothing to say to one another.”
“Is it different with her?”
I know exactly who he’s talking about, but I feign ignorance. “Who?”
“You know damn well who, Anton. The Gilmore girl.”
“She was a good fuck,” I offer carelessly, as if she hasn’t invaded every dream I’ve had since that night on the sea. “But memorable only because she was ballsy enough to steal from me.”
Lev snorts. “That wasn’t courage; it was ignorance. If she really knew who you are and what you’re capable of, she’d never have even thought about stealing from you.”
“She’ll learn soon enough.”
My cock twitches to life at the thought of facing her again. Of breaking her again. Perhaps more permanently this time.
Right on cue, Yulian appears through the door. “Seventeen minutes,” he says with a smirk, waiting for a pat on the back.
I give him nothing. “Well?”
“She’s on her way home as we speak.”
“Good.”
“You know, you could send me in,” Yulian suggests. “I’m sure I can shake her down for the phone. And if she resists… well, then, I can just shake her down.”
I bite back the fury that offhand remark induces in me and shake my head. “Not necessary. I need you on the Turner meeting tonight. You can accompany Lev.”
He frowns. “I’m back up?”
I nod. “Lev is the one who set the meeting up with Turner. So he’s the one steering the ship, until such time as I decide to come onboard. Make sure you’ve got his back, understood?”