Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
This morning, he attacked my men in broad daylight on a street packed with civilians. It wasn’t just reckless; it was a message aimed squarely at me. He did it to provoke me, to stir fear in my ranks and in the neighborhood we protect. It makes my blood boil. He’s gotten bolder because I haven’t responded strongly enough to his other attacks.
Maybe Sasha was right all along, and I should’ve gone in guns blazing. I can’t let this disrespect go unchecked any longer.
He clearly wants an all-out war. He wants to overtake my territory, to unseat me in my city. He wants to see my blood spilled so he can slide into my place and call it a victory. He doesn’t care how many innocent people have to die to make that happen. He’s the lowest of the low, and I need to stop him.
My jaw tightens as I stare out the window, watching the wind pick up in the garden. A storm is rolling in, in more ways than one. I’ve worked too damn hard to let Semion upend my legacy. I hoped to manage the problem long enough to avoid an open conflict for a while, at least.
This kind of power struggle never ends well. They leave both sides bloodied and civilians dead. When that happens, police get involved, questions get asked, and no one comes out unscathed.
I can’t afford that kind of scrutiny right now, and I doubt Semion can either. What’s his endgame?
“He’s not gonna come to the table,” Sasha mutters from the edge of my desk where he’s sitting. “He’s made that clear. Hell, he’s practically carving up our side of the city already. Today was just him pulling out his dick to show you how big it is.”
“I know that,” I growl.
“I mean, that’s ballsy as fuck. A shootout in broad daylight?” Sasha exhales a hard breath through his nose. “He’s begging for us to respond.”
I rub the back of my neck, tension coiled like steel.
“I don’t want to play into his hands,” I tell him. “I can’t just give him what he wants.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?”
“I don’t know yet,” I admit, though the words taste bitter on my tongue. “But if I make a move too soon, we lose the upper hand.”
“We’ve already lost it,” Sasha counters. “First the drops, now this. And our guys are getting restless. They want to know when we’re going to hit back.”
“Well, seeing as they aren’t in charge, they can cool their heels.” I glance over at him. “And what’s your plan, little brother? You going to pick a fight in the middle of Midtown again? Let Semion beat you bloody a second time?”
He winces, and I know the words land harder than I intended, but I don’t take them back. Sasha’s barely recovered from his run-in with Semion’s men. I can’t let anyone else put their life on the line out of a sense of misplaced pride.
“I was just trying to help,” he mutters.
“I know.” I sigh. “But you can help me more by staying alive.”
“Look,” he says after a moment, “I’ve got some ideas.”
I raise a brow. “What kind of ideas?”
“We hit the ports,” he says. “Not the ships themselves, but the paperwork. I’ve got a guy who can get into their manifests. If Semion’s moving arms through the docks again, we’ll find out. Then we cut the flow. Quietly. Starve his supply. You said you don’t want blood. That’s how you hit him where it hurts without firing a shot.”
I stare at him, considering his plan for a moment. It’s actually much smarter than I expected. Maybe he’s finally learning to think with his brain and not his emotions.
“Get your guy on it,” I say. “And send Anton to trail his warehouse. No contact. I just want eyes.”
“What do we do about the guys? They’re getting impatient, and you know what happens then.”
I do, unfortunately. When our guys get impatient, they tend to be just as reckless as Sasha was. We need to get them under control before they do something stupid that they can’t take back. I need to drop the hammer if I’m going to have any chance of keeping them in line.
“Let me worry about that,” I tell him. “For now, put all your energy into getting into Semion’s books. That’s how you can be the biggest help to me. And don’t get yourself hurt again.”
“I can’t make any promises,” he jokes half-heartedly, but it doesn’t quite land the way he means it to.
“I’m serious, Sasha,” I warn. “If you do anything to get yourself hurt again, I’ll kill you myself. I’ll consider it a direct threat to my authority.”
“Aw, come on,” he chides, hopping off the desk and clapping me on the shoulder. “If I knew you cared about me so much, I wouldn’t have done it at all.”