“What about them?” Egor, the older man next to Ivan and head of the bratva on the West Coast asked pointing to Brey and Vick.
Vick, always the optimist, smiled widely at him. “We just came along for the fun of this meeting.”
Jett chastised her with a look.
“What?” she asked. “It’d do everyone some good to lighten up. The classical music for one is pretty ominous.” She turned toward me. “Probably should have had them put on some hip hop.”
The music that hummed low in the background would ramp up at night once we opened. Now, though, it played the popular favorites of Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven.
I lifted my drink to my lips to keep from chuckling at her boldness.
“This is not time for women, huh?” The old man glared at her. “Talk of music and frivolous things we don’t bother with.”
Vick sat back completely undeterred and lifted a brow while raising her hand to her husband’s shoulder, signaling for him to let her handle it. The mood in the room had shifted.
Stonewoods weren’t talked down to, and Vick was just as much a Stonewood as Jett and Jax. “Maybe you’re unaware, because we haven’t met, or maybe my husband didn’t make it clear to everyone here, but I’ll do the work right now so there aren’t any misconceptions. I walked in here with the knowledge that this was family business. Family is created equal at Stonewood Enterprises. You want to be a part of our success, it would be smart to take that into consideration.”
Katalina smiled at her friend and then glanced at the other bratva heads. “Let’s be clear, we’re not here to be on display for all you men. If we sit at this table, we’re going to eat at it. We make the decisions too. Am I right, Bastian?”
He nodded.
“You agree, Jett and Jax?” Her grey eyes cut to them.
They nodded.
“How about all of you?” Katalina lifted at Gio. The Valentino family fell in line because no one wanted to contend with Bastian and the Stonewoods.
“It’s for the best that we’re all sitting here now. Us together means we have control that can’t be penetrated.” Bastian explained.
“Our crews need to fall in line first.” Ivan spoke up next to Katalina, tapping his calloused hand on the table. “I want to believe our leadership will sway them, but we know that’s not the case. My blood only gets her so far. We’re telling them to listen to a woman…”
Katalina didn’t rear back. She knew it wasn’t tradition. She knew she’d have to protect herself. Still, his words slammed into me hard. I spoke from behind Bastian. “We need eyes on her twenty four seven.”
Ivan waved me off. “We have that, of course.”
“Better than just a man or two. You need real security. It won’t just be your own who want her dead.”
“But will they risk it when they know it will bring the wrath of the Stonewoods and the Armanellis?” Ivan countered.
“If they can get away with it, why not?” I shrugged. “Put a bullet in her head and drive away with no trace. Make sure she always has enough eyes on her to protect her.”
“I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job,” Ivan grumbled like his pride was at stake.
“Your son was doing your job for a long time and he learned from you. It took Katalina one night to get out from under his men, no?” I’d destroy his pride if I had to. Cade had updated us on security footage and word spread of her taking a guard’s life.
Katalina cleared her throat. “The bigger question is how we solidify my role.”
“You take your place next to Bastian,” Ivan said, like they’d already agreed on that, like he’d already decided and her question was outrageous.
“What does that mean exactly?” She squinted at him, her silver eyes suddenly hard and fierce. “Our bratva shouldn’t be overshadowed by the power of the Armanellis. We have specific requests, necessary ones that I think need to be acknowledged before we all agree to a consolidated power.”
Ivan hmphed like she’d blindsided him. “I suppose you want lawyers and signed in ink contracts too,” he said like she was crazy.
She nodded without glancing away from him. The struggle for power was happening between them already. Her life would always be in jeopardy now and she would have to obtain power over and over again to keep herself alive.
Still, the woman didn’t think about it that way. Instead, she wanted her cake and to eat it too. I respected her for coming this far and pushing her agenda immediately. She wanted sex trafficking off the table. I knew that was going to be her first ask.
Yet I wasn’t sure everyone would agree to it. The Armanellis had never pushed all of the families to wipe their profits clean of it, and the bratva probably hadn’t even considered it.