Page 89 of Emerald Vices
“You know I can’t let you go back there.”
Misha’s chin falls to his chest and his breathing quiets to a slow, raspy rhythm. “I don’t want to hurt her, either. I don’t want to do anything that would cause her pain or stress. But…” He raises his face to look at me again, and as he does, I’m struck by how much of a man he seems to be. Proud and self-assured and resolute. “She needs to accept that I have a choice in this, too.”
“We all have choices,” I agree. “But this is not yours to make.”
“What if we didn’t tell her?”
“She’s pregnant, not stupid.”
“Tell her I ran away.”
I laugh. “She’d launch a full-scale manhunt for you. She’d search to the ends of the earth until she got you back.”
Misha knows that as well as I do. He crumples to a seat on the grass, head slung low between his knees. “It’s not fair. None of this is fair.”
No, it’s not. It’s not fair at all. Between Shura protecting Katya and Natalia protecting Misha, I’m left with nothing except a full-scale Bratva war that will leave me vulnerable on all sides.
Route Seven was supposed to be a contingency plan.
Now, it looks like our only way out.
37
ANDREY
“To our first milestone!” Cevdet toasts his glass of champagne to the sky. “Only one fucking trip and I’m a few million dollars richer. Ha!”
Cevdet isn’t usually a sloppy drunk, but his excitement is justified. Our first drug run after the expansion was flawlessly executed.
Luca, however, is always a sloppy drunk. He raises his cigar in a toast and brings his glass to his lips like he’s going to take a puff. He and Cevdet roar with laughter at the mistake and clink their glasses.
It’s Bujar, as always, who paces himself. “One successful run doesn’t guarantee that they’ll all go as smoothly,” he pipes up over Cevdet’s less-than-on-pitch rendition of “We Are the Champions.” “We need to?—”
“Jesus, Bujar, have another drink. It might help pry that stick out of your ass.”
Bujar glowers at Cevdet before turning to me for support. “We can’t afford to be complacent.”
“I agree, but not all of us are in a fit state to talk business.” Luca and Cevdet begin an uncoordinated round of the chorus, singing different lyrics and sloshing their glasses together. “There will be time for that later.”
“Exactly!” Cevdet roars. “Listen to our fearless leader. The night is ripe with still-untouched pleasures…” His eyes veer towards one of my waitresses in a red mini skirt. “What a wonderful selection you have tonight, Andrey.”
I draw Cevdet’s attention with a click of my tongue. “The women are not on offer, Cevdet. Not in my clubs. Not on my watch.”
Drunk as he is, the man still has the sense to backtrack. “I was talking about your array of poisons.” He lifts his empty glass, and it’s refilled immediately.
“We should grab our wives and have a formal dinner to cement this new venture.” Luca seems to warn Cevdet with his eyes, reminding him he does, in fact, have a wife at home.
Cevdet toasts to the idea even as he watches my waitstaff sashay across the club. “Who will our young leader bring? Is there a woman you’d dare to introduce to us?”
He’s teasing, but I have no desire to bring Natalia anywhere near this crew. Still, a meeting of the families is symbolic. It signifies trust.
I give my allies only a polite smile. “I’ll set it up.”
As Luca and Cevdet launch into the particulars of this dinner, Shura enters the VIP room and looks for me. I rise from my chair. “Excuse me, gentleman.”
Slipping out of the VIP room behind Shura, I notice the rest of the club has emptied considerably compared to an hour ago. “What’s going on?”
“The cops are here.”