Page 67 of Wicked Refusal

I banish that thought. I can’t afford to doubt myself—not at this critical moment.

And yet, I know it’s not self-doubt that whispers those words in my ear. It’s Mia. The idea of her having no one to come home to, of her crying on my grave. Of Eli sharing her grief. Of my own child never getting to know me.

I can’t leave her. Iwon’tleave her.

Which is why I have to do whatever it takes to end this.

I stop at the secretary’s desk. She’s back at her post, because of course she is. If I gave my employees time off every time bullets fly, there’d be no one here left to answer the phones.

“I want you to leave a message to Isaak Noskov,” I say. “Tell him I need to speak with him about the Hudson clean-up.”

“The Hud…?”

“Don’t question me. Just do it.”

“O-Of course, Mr. Lozhkin!” She quickly complies, reciting the code words into the receiver with only the slightest shake in her voice.Hudson clean-up—a bit on the nose, but it’ll get the message across.

I stride back to the office. My men have lined up against the broken window in full SWAT gear.

“You call Isaak yet?” Maksim asks.

I didn’t tell him I was going to. But with Maksim, mystery is pointless. Anticipating moves and counter-moves—that’s what being a good second-in-command boils down to. And yet, something about the way he’s phrased it unnerves me.

“I don’t need anybody else to help clean up my messes,” I snap.

“Never said you did, boss. Just thought you’d want his input on where the other families stand.”

Blyat’.Now, I can’t even take it out on him, because he’s fucking right again. The most precious currency I can deal with today is information, and Isaak has that.

Isaak Noskov.Allies aren’t something the Lozhkin Bratva has in spades—we either make enemies or steer clear of each other—but he’s a special case. To him, allies are way more profitable than enemies. He’s made it his mission to cultivate neighborhood relationships in the underworld, especially on his side of the river. To me, whispers are a nuisance to be silenced. To him, they are valuable trading chips.

That’s why, if anyone’s thinking of joining up with Prizrak, he’s going to know about it.

Besides, that’s not all I want from him. I made a promise to Mia this morning that I’d help in any way I could. And while shooting a third eye in Brad’s forehead would be short and pleasant work for me, Mia has made it clear that’s not what she wants.

That means I’ll have to take a different route.

“I left Isaak a message,” I say. “He’ll give us what we want by the end of the day, like always.”

“You sound sure of that.”

“He owes me.”

“Honestly, I’ve lost track of who owes who between you two.”

“Really?” I say. “I’ve been gift-wrapping the heads of his enemies since the day he asked me to smoke them out of my borders.”

“And he’s been calling in Prizrak tips since he took over from his daddy,” Maksim counters. “All in all, I’d say you’re evenly matched. I get that you won’t put your dicks away long enough to be friends, but at least admit he’s the best ally we’ve got. That, or keep up the pissing contest until the bay has turned gold. I’m sure the tourists will love that.”

“You realize the last person to sass me out like that ended up bleeding through the floorboards.”

“To be fair, it wasn’t you who did it.”

I open my mouth to snarl out another warning, but Maksim puts his hands up. “But fine, point taken. I’ll shut up. And since I’m feeling generous, I’ll go iron out Rurik’s affairs, too. Though I’m sure his records will be a nightmare compared to Slavik’s.”

“Send the overflow to Kazimir and the others. Since they’re stuck holding their dicks in a bunker, they might as well make themselves useful.”

“I’ll make sure to pass on the message.”