Page 35 of Trapping His Angel
The Altai air was sharp, cold as the edge of a knife. I could see, with my only eye, my breath coming in thin clouds, as I looked over the men gathering, who’d traveled from all corners of the world.
Fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins alike, each of them powerful in their own way, but here because they had no other choice, if business was to keep running smoothly. Here, now, in these snow-covered mountains, they weren’t kings. They weren’t anything.
We held all the power.
It was them who were missing their daughters, sisters, nieces, while we grew our lines. We grew in power and strength. I was the one standing between them, and the slight hope that they might retrieve their property.
I adjusted my coat, wishing I had a smoke, something to do with my hands, to keep my mind occupied while I waited to begin, more out of habit rather than need. I felt the weight of the pistol I shouldn’t have at my hip, as the tension of old scars itched at the cold.
The Bratva had all the leverage tonight.
My eyebrows raised when I saw a representative for the Venezuelan Cartel. How the hell did they know we had Isadora? I didn’t allow my thoughts to spiral. Isadora was mine. They wouldn’t take her from me.
I’d marry her as soon as I could, to keep their claws out of my woman. I let the silence settle heavy in the air before I spoke, deepening the gravity of the situation.
“The Pakhan has extended his hand,” I said, my voice steady but low enough they all had to lean forward a fraction. “He could’ve handled this differently. We could have kept your women and girls hidden away like ghosts, until you were all tooweak from alliances breaking to fight back. But he’s giving you a choice.”
I took a deep breath, shoving all my strength into my voice as I carried on.
“One chance. A way to come to an agreement, and see that all make a safe reunion.” My gaze swept over the Venezuelan representative. They hadn’t even sent a family member. Some random drug runner, in case it was an ambush.
I could tell from his stance he didn’t belong here. And, since I did a thorough analysis on mymalen'kiy angel’spast, I knew what all her family members looked like. Some men stiffened, their pride bruised at being spoken to like this.
Good. Let them feel it. I glared as my gaze ran across every one of them, filing away their reactions for later.
One of the Argentine Cartel’s reps stepped forward; Lazzaro.
“What does he want then? You dragged us across the goddamn world, to freeze our balls off on a mountain. Get to it.”
After watching Roman furiously sign. I locked eyes with Lazzaro, slow and cold. “I suggest you keep your tone in check, Lazzaro, or you might leave this mountain in a worse state than you came.”
He clenched his jaw, the fire in his gaze simmering down to something more controlled. But his silence was enough. The others watched, gauging me, waiting.
“Each of you tried to take something from us,” I said, letting my voice rise just enough. “You tried to bargain, to play games, to twist our hands into giving you what you wanted. But those times are over.”
“This is ridiculous,” the Venezuelan representative argued. “These are petty slights compared to the lives of our people.”
“Would you rather go to war?” I watched as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. No one wanted to go towar again. Not after the carnage Viktor and Tiffany left in their wake any time one of them was threatened.
“N-no,” the Yakuza representative choked out.
I didn’t blame him. He had his hands full with the Triad. The fact that both had representatives in this room was astounding, especially for girls who weren’t even fully Asian. I wondered what was going on, but I had to focus on my backyard first.
“The Bratva isn’t here to make friends,” I carried on with Roman’s speech. “We’re here to make sure loyalty is paid for, with blood and trust. That comes with a price each of you may not want to pay.”
The silence that followed was absolute. A few of the men shifted, looking at each other, realizing the depth of their situation. They had no leverage left. No last resort but to agree to our terms.
We had plenty more girls, but these were the first few we were negotiating. Big fish that I knew would bring in some powerful alliances for us all. I took a commanding step forward, feeling like myself for the first time since I lost my eye.
“The girls will stay under our protection, until you swear your loyalty, and agree to our individual terms.” I glared at all of them. This wasn’t negotiable. “No more games. No more tricks. You’ll agree to our terms, bleed for us, and this will be the last penance you have to pay.”
The wind howled as a storm rolled in. A ghostly whisper that seemed to echo through the mountain’s peaks. I saw a few of them glance away. The weight of their own fear pressed down upon us like a hot iron.
Age old revenge never felt so sweet.
“You have until dawn to decide,” I said, my voice like steel.
Roman left first, but I stared at every one of them, before turning and leaving. I felt the burn of their eyes on my back. Another slight. Hopefully, I stayed alive. My future happiness with mymalen'kiy angeldepended on it.