“Collateral damage, Pavel Sergeyevich.” His nostrils flare. “It’s one thing to shoot cops. It’s another thing to bomb them at a wedding. It won’t matter if those cops were dirty. Hard to come back from that.”
He squints before I can say anything.
“And I’ll be honest, Pavel Sergeyevich. This sounds like something my old commander would do.” He glances toward the door. “A lot of us died because of him.Hedied. And I don’t know about you, but I like living.”
I growl. “We don’t have any alternatives. This is the best and only chance we have to get Zoya and kill Cardona in one stroke.” I run my fingers through my hair. “We can’t miss this opportunity, Stepan.”
“Chyort voz’my…” He swears as he looks at the page between us.
“Listen.” I follow his gaze. “You’re the one who said the NYPD is our biggest problem.”
“I did.”
“They’re out for blood, Stepan. They’re looking for us.” I pause to swivel toward the bookshelf. “Kill or be killed.”
He scratches his cheek. “You can’tfightyour way out of this, Pavel Sergeyevich.”
“Why not?”
“The odds aren’t just stacked. Whole game—blyat—the entire fucking casino is rigged.”
I shrug. “That’s always the risk.”
“Not like this.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
He glances at the door again. “What does that smart wife of yours think?”
I slump in my chair. “She thinks it won’t work.”
“Does she have an idea of what could work?”
“She doesn’t.”
Bitterness pinches my tongue as I bite the inside of my cheek.
“That doesn’t sound like her.” Stepan looks inquisitive. “How can you be so sure? She always has a plan, Pavel Sergeyevich. I don’t believe that she doesn’t have one now. Maybe she’s just tired of you dragging her along with what you want to do—like a dog tugging on a leash.”
He’s not wrong. Every decision, every step, has come with a suggestion from Liya. And every decision we’ve made together has seen me overriding her—until I’m free of her grasp and she’s forced to follow along. Where I’m eager to put things in action, she’s always been the one to think her way through things.
Measure twice. Cut once.
It’s so obvious to everyone else that Stepan feels the need to lay it out clearly for me. I’ve either been deliberately blind or otherwise dismissive of the terrifying brilliance inside of her mind. Out of—what, exactly?—a need to prove that I’m still the pakhan?
“You believe she has a plan?” I reply in a low voice.
“The better question, Pavel Sergeyevich.” He shrugs. “Is why don’t you?”
He’s right again. Why don’t I?
You know why.The weight of the ring hangs in my pocket. Such a tiny little band of metal. Yet in that moment, it’s as if I’m carrying the weight of the world. My fingers twitch toward it, and it does not go unnoticed.
“I heard what happened, Pavel Sergeyevich.” Stepan adjusts his position in the chair. “She doesn’t trust you anymore, so she’s hiding things from you.”
“She’s committed to leaving.” I look away. “Why would she want to trust me?”
“Because she still loves you.”