“Wouldn’t be the first time you let a woman come between you and business,” Yulian mutters.
But he doesn’t do it quietly enough. I’m on him in a flash, hands fisted in his shirt, pinning him against the wall and snarling in his face, “What the fuck did you just—” when Lev steps between us.
“Respectfully,” he says, “we don’t have time for the two of you to fight.”
Yulian glances at me. “He’s right.”
“I know he’s fucking right,” I spit. I sigh and let go of my brother. “Pick your weapons. We move out in the next fifteen minutes.”
I head to the back wall where my favorite guns are kept. Lev and Yulian go to their respective corners. We each have our preferences, our own specific skills, our own sets of tools.
Yulian favors guns, like I do. Quick and simple. But Lev likes a good fist fight, so he chooses to deck himself out with little accessories, blades and brass knuckles and the like.
“What did Yaromir say?” Yulian asks as he holsters a gun at his hip.
“That Marina made contact with him minutes before he called me,” I tell both of them. “She asked if they could meet and talk. She said she wanted to explain what happened back then and why she’s back now.”
Lev snorts. “Like we don’t all know what she’s doing here.”
“Did Yaromir say how she sounded?” Yulian asks.
“Sugary sweet. She’s going to do whatever she thinks it will take to get what she wants out of him. In her eyes, he’s easy pickings.”
“She could just as easily kill him to get what she wants,” Lev points out. “That would give her command of the Ivanov Bratva as well.”
“If they choose to follow her, that is.”
“She doesn’t need all of them to follow her,” Yulian says. “Just enough to put up a fight against us.”
“She’s no great strategist,” I say. “She wants power, but she has no idea how to get it. More importantly, she has no idea how to keep power once it’s hers.”
“You’re doubting her?”
“You forget, brother,” I tell him. “I know her better than anyone.”
Once we’ve all geared up, we head outside where the rest of my men are waiting for me.
“We need to keep a low profile,” I tell all of them. “So we’re not approaching the Ivanov grounds together. The gates at the back will be kept open for us to enter. The moment we get inside, we surround the place and move in.”
The men all look determined, ready. It’s been a while since we had a mission of this magnitude to carry out. They all know their marching orders. More importantly, they know who we’re really moving against.
“If you see Marina Ivanov, you will detain her immediately and bring her to me,” I say, looking in every man’s eyes. “If she proves difficult to trap, then use your fucking guns.”
Both Lev and Yulian look at me with surprise.
“Like I said,” I tell both of them, “I want this shit over with. Let’s move out.”
Yulian, Lev, and I climb into one jeep and peel out. As we hurtle towards the Ivanov property, I check the time. Yaromir’s estimations have Marina on the property within minutes. The plan is to let her get inside and then pin her there like a rat in the corner.
“What if this is a trap?” Yulian asks suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“What if Yaromir is secretly allied with her?” Yulian continues. “What if we’re walking straight into a trap?”
I glance at my brother. “Don’t you have any faith in me?”
“What do you mean?”