Page 44 of The Brigadier

“Now, a little bird told me that you have a houseguest.” She gave me a saucy look, something she was known for.

“There are no secrets in this empire. None.”

“I would love to have a brunch to meet her. Maybe in a couple weeks,” she said.

“Maybe.”

She laughed. “They’re in the sunroom. It’s a beautiful, warm October day.”

“Yes, it is.” I headed to the back, the house one I knew very well. Vadim had land, a beautiful estate where the acreage was covered with trees and flowers. He was a happy man, something I hadn’t thought would happen in our early days given his propensity to violence.

Then again, we’d been young men sowing our oats.

When I walked in, the two men did little more than get up from where they were sitting.

“This won’t take long,” Vadim said. “I’m sure you want to get back to your guest and Damien.”

“I don’t want to overload her. My little man can be a handful.”

They both laughed.

“I talked with Raphaella who grilled her dad. Now, you know how the man has been, but he seemed genuinely shocked we were under… I’ll say duress.” Aleksander had utter faith in the woman he’d married. I couldn’t blame him and Raphaella’s father would be an idiot if he so blatantly broke the alliance.

“You trust what was said,” I added, glancing from one man to another.

Vadim nodded. “He is going to see what he can learn from his end. Yes, the smaller Italian group has been a pain but mostly in his ass trying to steal shipments and territory. We’ll have a combined meeting in a few days. In the meantime, we should keep a close watch on business activities including the smaller businesses, and our families. You know how some of theserodents act. They will find a way to weasel in when you least expect.”

“The shipment?” I asked.

“At the port. Extra men on board. No issues so far,” Aleksander said. “I also checked with my partner at the law firm, asking him to find out if there were any recent heavy-duty arrests in the Italian community.”

“Good idea,” I said. “Something crazy is going on, the kid stalking Chantel hired from Columbia University of all places. By an Italian. He was scared shitless but only after being placed on ice for a night.”

“An Italian. Pretty coincidental,” Aleks mused, rubbing his jaw.

“I know,” I agreed.

“Wow. The techniques are definitely different than they used to be,” Vadim said, half laughing. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions about any of this. I’m having my computer whizzes keep an eye on any attempt at hacking.”

“I doubt they’ll go down that well again,” Aleksander stated with more certainty than I felt.

“Yeah, you’re right but all avenues need to be watched. We need to be very careful.”

“Agreed. Now, if you’re not going to need anything else right now, I’ll head home,” I told them. “I will say a charade is being played. It’s like whoever is doing this is determined to enjoy the show. Twisted bastard.”

Aleks smirked. “Just remember, usually greed or revenge is behind every game.”

“Yeah,” I huffed. “I know.”

“Watch your back, my friend. The stalker bit was clever but dicey. Whoever is after us has placed Chantel into the mix,” Vadim warned.

“And I wonder if my brother has anything to do with the trouble.”

Both men looked at each other.

“Don’t ask. But I am having further discussions with Vissarian,” I told them.

“Do that. We don’t need any additional surprises,” Vadim said.