Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Chapter 14
Lev
Istalk across Adriano’s office. I should sit down and quit pacing—it’s fucking rude and I know it—but I can’t help myself. I’m jittery, and it’s not because we’re talking about murdering my father.
I keep hearing my wife puking her guts out in the toilet.
It shouldn’t bother me so much, but I know what it means. Morning sickness. The baby’s in there growing, and it’s coming whether I like it or not. Which means I’m going to have to see if I measure up to the way I think of myself, and there’s a big part of me that’s afraid I’ll fail.
Like my father failed raising me.
But it’s also about her. My wife, Carmela, beautiful Carmie. I don’t like that she’s suffering, and I don’t like that I even give a damn. I’m not sure how to make all the pieces of me fit.
Which is why I’m worrying about what I can control.
At least there are only three of us at this meeting. Adriano and I, plus Alex. They’re the only men in the whole world I trust right now, mostly because Alex is married to my sister, and Adriano now has incentive to make sure our deal goes through.
“My plan’s got two phases,” I tell them, forcing myself to focus on the room. The place has lots of old-world charm. Adriano doesn’t strike me as someone nostalgic for a time long before he was even born, but there are faded and yellowing globes mixed with leather-bound volumes on the shelves. Whoever decorated this office was definitely going for powerful ancient Mafia Don vibes. Like he’s got a fucking olive farm in the Sicilian hillside.
“And how involved am I in both of them?” Adriano asks.
“The first, not very.” I nod toward Alex. “We’re going to handle that part.”
“That’s good to know, but I’d like to hear some more details.”
“We need to take over as much of my father’s business as we can,” I tell him and make myself stop pacing when Alex gives me a sharp glare and gestures for me to settle down. “That way, I’ll have a legitimate claim when the time comes.”
“And how hard will that be?” Adriano asks.
Alex answers for me. “Shouldn’t be difficult. Oleg’s been slowly phasing himself out for a while now. He focuses on Zeitsev business instead of his own family these days. Mostly, Lev needs to make it clear who’s in control in case anyone’s unsure.”
“That involves some finesse, but it’s doable.” I sit my ass down and cross my arms to keep from twitching all over the place. “Once my father’s more or less cut out, then it’s your turn.”
“And what do you need from me, exactly?” Adriano sits back in his chair, fingers laced together. “I assume you can just walk into your father’s room and shoot him in the face whenever you want to.”
Because I’m a very sick man, that image doesn’t bother me one bit.
If anything, it gets my blood up.
I grimace and shake my head. “Can’t do it like that. I need a show of strength, and I need my father to flinch first.”
“We’re going to set him up,” Alex says, hunched forward slightly. He talks with his hands sometimes, gesturing sharply in front of him. “Force him to make a mistake. When that happens, we’ll handle him, and we need your men there to make sure nobody else does anything stupid.”
“If all goes well, there won’t be any more blood spilled and your people won’t ever have to draw their weapons.” That’s wishful thinking, but not impossible. My father’s grip on his small subsection of the bratva’s been on shaky ground ever since we nearly caused a full-blown war with the Marinos.
Now I’m making deals with them instead.
“I’ll admit, I like the idea of not having to kill any Russians. I’ve had my fair share of blood already.”
“We’re aware,” Alex says dryly. Adriano shot him in the leg not that long ago and I’m betting the wound still bugs him sometimes.
“But there’s an obvious hole in this little plan.” Adriano’s chair squeaks as he leans on his elbows. “You want to set him up, but I haven’t heard how.”
“We’re working on it.” I don’t like that he’s questioning things now, especially after I did my part and married his cousin, but at least he’s right.
Parts of my plan are shaky at best.
Mostly because there’s no good playbook for how to depose your own father without sparking a civil war.
That’s the tricky needle I have to thread. Valentin Zeitsev will be livid if I end up causing him more trouble by killing a man he’s been trusting more and more with his business. If I’m going to make this seamless, I need the pakhan on board, and that’ll involve doing this as smoothly as possible.
Only one head will roll. And that’ll be my father’s.