Page 112 of Cruel Juliet

But I haven’t forgotten what the Danilos did. The hit on me and Misha. They thought they could take our lives on my turf and live to brag about it.

Over my dead fucking body.

I take a seat at the head of the table. “We’re done playing defense,” I begin. “You hit my people, you bleed for it. What happened at the White Russian cannot go unpunished.”

Mikhail’s grin stretches. “Glad to have you back from your paternity leave, cuzzo. Who are we skinning first?”

I suppress a smile and the urge to shake my head. Mikhail’s become invaluable to me in the past few months. Ever since he backed me up against Anatoli, he’s been taking up Lev’s mantle. Admirably so. He never once bothered me while I was out to care for Lilia and Sima, not unless it was life or death. He and Ivan kept things afloat and everybody else in line.

But he’s been itching for this. I can see it on his face.

That’s good. I’ll need my men motivated for what’s to come.

I turn back to the others. “Starting tonight, I want three of their keybrigadirygone. Make it clean, but make it loud. I want their families to wake up tomorrow knowing what happens when a Danilo crosses my line.”

Ivan exhales, rubs a hand over his jaw. “That’ll stir up hell, Petyr. You sure you want it loud?”

“I’m not asking for opinions,” I say. “I want them to remember this night.”

Mikhail grins. “About damn time we stopped pretending we’re the nice ones.”

“We move tonight,” I say. “Ivan, you’ll coordinate transport. Mikhail, I want your men covering exit routes. Oleg, you take cleanup. No witnesses, no hesitation.”

Ivan nods. He may not approve of it, but my uncle isn’t the type to disobey an order. Besides, he knows how the business goes. This must be done, whether he likes it or not. “Understood.”

I slide a folder across the table. Mikhail opens it, scans the names inside. “You want it brutal?”

“Yes.” My voice doesn’t rise. It doesn’t have to. “Make it a message.”

Ivan leans forward. “How brutal are we talking?”

I look him dead in the eye. “Make sure they need a dentist to ID the bodies. That brutal enough for you?”

Ivan sighs. Mikhail grins again, sharper this time. “Perfect.”

The room goes still for a beat as the men take in their assignment. Then everyone starts to move.

Orders fly. Routes, weapons, vehicles. The rhythm of it all is muscle memory. The smell of metal and gun oil hangs thick in the air. It feels like the past creeping back in.

The Gubarev Bratva has been playing defense for far too fucking long. Tonight, they’ll see what it means when we attack. Learn that I’m not the kind ofpakhanwho lets things slide.

As long as I’m on this throne, it’ll be covered in the blood of my enemies.

Come what fucking may.

When the meeting’s done, I head home. The house is quiet, peaceful. A stark contrast to everything I’ve been setting up.

Upstairs, Sima’s asleep. Lilia starts fussing in her crib when hears me step into the room.

I pick her up and rock her, slow and steady, the way that always soothes her. Her head settles against my shoulder. She smells like milk and soap.

I stay like that for a while. Hours, maybe. When I’m with my daughter, I tend to lose track of time. Not the greatest of habits for apakhan,but they tell me it’s what dads do.

At some point, my phone vibrates once in my pocket. A text from Ivan.

It’s done.

I stare at the screen for a second before locking it and slipping it back into my pocket. Lilia sighs in her sleep, small and peaceful, like she’s never known what the world outside this house really is.