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I didn’t make contact. I didn’t need to.

They had a job to do, and so did I.

I continued inside and found Sergei and his brothers waiting for me in the front foyer, and all of them looking grim. No fake smiles. No smooth, Bratva hospitality. Just cold eyes and tight jaws. Damn. These boys were killing me.

“Okay. I’m here. What is it that you wanted to discuss?”

Sergei didn’t answer right away. He gave a quick glance to Viktor, then Nikolai before turning his attention back to me. “First, we want you to know that we’ve been very pleased with our partnership thus far.”

“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?”

“No, we are truly pleased.”

“Just tell him,” Nikolai pushed.

“Tell me what?”

“We might have a slight issue that might or might not need to be addressed.”

“Just cut the bullshit and tell me what the hell is going on.”

“It’s our Uncle Vasili,” Viktor answered. “He’s the issue.”

“You’re gonna have to give me more than that.”

Sergei grimaced as he said, “He’s a powerful man, even more powerful than our father was, and he’s been trying to reach out.”

“Trying? That mean you haven’t actually talked to him?”

“No, and I’d rather not,” Sergei answered. “He’s just going to try to force us back into the family business, and we want no part of it.”

“And you can’t just tell him that?”

“Not unless we want a fucking bullet in the head,” Nikolai scoffed. “He’s not the kind to take no for an answer.”

Nikolai added, “He abides by the old family code and expects everyone in the family to follow suit.”

“I see.” When I agreed to partner with them, I thought we were just facing some local grievances that would fade with time, not the fucking Russian mafia. “And what are you wanting from me?”

“We simply wanted to make you aware.”

“You thinking he’s going to show up here?”

“There’s no way of knowing what he may or may not do.”

I didn’t like this, not one fucking bit, but like it or not, we would have to face it head on. I thought for a moment, then looked to Sergei and ordered, “Double your security here and at the house. Have a guard with your mother at all times. I’d rather it be one of my boys, but for now, I’ll leave that up to you.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“We’ll need to do a full check of your security system here and at the house.”

“Understood.”

“I need to talk with my boys. I’ll get back to you in the morning.”

“Are you going to bail on us?”

“Not unless you give us reason to.” I turned and started for the door. “Get the guards and check the security system.”