Chapter 10: Vincent

Ava was colder toward me this morning.

Ice cold.

We still ended up the same way as yesterday, slaves to passion when it came to claim us. It left me wanting more and on edge. Two things I can’t be right now. This instability of emotions is not good for me. Today is the meeting with the Bratva guys.

It’s happening in a few minutes.

I got to Giordanos Inc. early. It was so early I had to open up the building myself. We have a custodian who usually takes care of that.

I’ve been standing by the window of my office looking out at the shimmer of the lake as the sun graces the water.

My office here is bigger than the one I have at Renovata. I like it more here because of the view. It makes good for times like these when I need to reflect and get lost in my thoughts for a while. Or rather just think of anything. The problem with thinking is overthinking.

Right now, I have Ava and her gorgeous body stuck in my head, and I have this meeting I’m really not looking forward to.

The two things are competing so badly for my attention that I’m not even thinking about Mark. Ava has replaced him in my mind.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I reach for it.

It’s Claudius Morientz, another mafia boss and a friend of mine. He has a PI he works with who’s helped us out a few times. He’s a powerful man in Chicago and has seen his fair share of trouble, which means he knows the right people to get certain things done that the usual Joe can’t do.

His text says: Gibbs is on the case.

I message back my thanks.

I contacted him yesterday when I realized it was best for me to delegate some of the investigative tasks I needed to do on Mark. The shit of a mess he left in the office was too much to handle with the investigation as well.

Now I’m glad I did it because last night, I got a message from the rehab clinic Mark booked himself in letting me know he was being placed under a medicated detox.

The doctors said he wouldn’t be able to talk business for the next three days while they weaned him off the drugs. He’ll be in there for a minimum of three weeks.

Three fucking weeks. It pissed me off, but at the same time, it made me aware of how serious his situation must be.

Gibbs on the case will give me a break. I need it all resolved so I can be sure there’s nothing left to worry about. Then all it will be about is my lost two million. I can deal with that and anything that directly affects me. What stresses me out is shit that affects everyone else.

So far, I have those things under control. Various clients Mark was stealing from have been paid back, out of my damn pocket to smooth things over, and we’ve managed to put a block on all the shit he set up to siphon money from the other business.

I am absolutely still left in wonder as to how the fucker did it while I never knew what he was up to, but I’ve decided I’m not thinking about it today. I don’t care if someone holds a fucking gun to my head, my focus is going to be on this meeting. And being objective.

A knock sounds on the door, and I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s time.

“Come in,” I call out, and Salvatore comes in with Christian and two bulky-looking Russian men who look like cage fighters.

That’s my first clue of personality. One has dark hair, the other is blond.

The dark-haired guy is Dmitri and looks like my age. He’s the Sovientrik, advisor to the Pakhan, the boss. He’s the same rank as my mother to my father.

Yuri, the other guy, is a Brigadier, like Salvatore is capo to me. The structure is different though to the way we are in the Italian mafia. My family is Sicilian, and we tend to be old school La Cosa Nostra. Born and bred. The first thing we know to do is to go with gut instinct. Mine is on high alert right now.

“Good morning, gentlemen.” I beam, becoming the leader I’m supposed to portray.

“Good morning,” Dmitri says to me. His accent is thick. He makes his way right over to me with Yuri. Both shake my hand. “Great to meet you. I hear congratulations will soon be in order.”

Although I smile at him, I get that uneasy feeling again. He’s talking about Pa’s retirement and my ascension to be the new boss. News travels fast in the underworld.

“Thank you. I appreciate it. Please sit.”

They sit on the opposite side of the table, and Salvatore and Christian sit to my left, leaving me at the head. I quickly glance at them, grateful they’re here. Yesterday, I had Gabe on the phone asking me if I needed help. I couldn’t tell him that I felt like I needed all the help I could get.

I certainly can’t look like that now in front of these men. They’re like sharks. I don’t need to know them to know that if they get a whiff of blood, they’ll eat me alive in one gulp.

I straighten up but rest back against my chair, casual and cool, crossing one leg over the other. “So… my father has told me the basics. I’d like you to tell me more about what you’re hoping to get from an alliance with us.”

Dmitri nods his head and runs a hand over his beard. “Of course. The idea came about because we have a new business venture and we’re looking to be aligned with the best people to make the most money.”

To my knowledge, most Bratva guys are into drug trafficking— heroin. We don’t get our hands dirty like that. If it’s that, we’re out because if we get caught, we’ll be well and truly fucked.

“And what is this new business venture of yours?” He doesn’t like the way I say that. I wonder if he expected me not to ask.

Dmitri shuffles in his seat, sitting forward so he can rest his elbow on the table. “I hope you understand me asking you to keep this under wraps.”

“That goes without saying. Don’t worry, I didn’t think you needed us to ship daisies.” I smirk.

He smiles at me. “I like that. I must use that one. We're into diamonds. Mining in Africa. We need them shipped to various parts of the world.”

Diamonds. That is definitely a new one for us, and from Africa?

Jesus Christ, it has illegal written all over it. Africa has extremely strict laws with regard to their diamonds. Of course, they would. It’s their countries wealth.

This agreement here means we’d be smuggling those diamonds, and I’m sure as fuck they’re not going to be any old diamonds.

“What kind?” I ask. “What kind of diamonds are they?”

Dmitri smiles wider. “I see you are a man of taste. They are the kind that would draw a lot of attention if discovered we had them. We have a very sophisticated setup we’re proud of.”

I look at him and think about it all. Pa told me they’re offering a contract for one billion dollars. That’s to secure our services for five years, after which there will be an increase. It all sounds good, and we could do it.

The thing about our company that everybody wants is, they know we can bypass certain people and laws. We’re like pirates, and to say we own the seas is no underestimation. We actually do.

What gets me though is, sure we’re powerful in the sense of what we can do, but we’re the little guys in comparison to these people.

“Why us?” I ask. “You could pick anyone. We’re just humble criminals who’re good at making a buck.” Like fuck, I make us sound like we’re more honorable than we are. In actual fact though, we’re probably a lot more honorable than these guys.

In the Bratva, it’s always about who has the most money. It’s a different kind of greed. It’s heightened right here and now with me questioning a billion-dollar contract.

“You guys have the ability to smuggle any shit without being seen. We need efficiency, and sometimes small is good. Looks more legit. Especially when the feds have their eyes turned to prior alliances.”

Ah. There we go. That’s it. Makes sense now. “Didn’t work out with your other associates?”

“No. You and I both know that feds are not the best people to have on your ass.”

“Hear, hear,” I agree.

“So, what do you think?”

I draw in a breath. “Sounds like something we can help you with.”

Dmitri nods his head, satisfied with my answer. I’m not done yet though.

“That’s fantastic. So… when can we sign contracts?”

“Wow, you move fast. I’d like some time to think about it, if that’s alright. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, and we can talk contracts then. If you get your people to send over all the paperwork so my people can go over it, that would be great.”

His smile stiffens. “Oh, I see. Well, we're hoping to get this project and agreement underway in the next eight weeks. We'd love to have everything in place before then.”

This is where people who assume they have some control over us falter. I know we’re small fry to him, and he probably expected me to jump like a dog and catch his bone.

I won’t though. I gave my answer.

“I’d like some time to think about it. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can,” I merely repeat. I almost laugh at the flicker of anger that sparks in his eyes. I know what death looks like, and I’m sure this guy is the kind who would kill me dead just for my insolence if he could.

He needs me, and that’s my leverage.

"Okay. Well… I guess we’ll be waiting eagerly to hear from you."

“Four weeks tops,” I answer. That will give me time. It’s standard waiting time across the board that is usually acceptable. I think for an alliance, and with so much money involved, I’m within my right to take the time I need to make sure I’m doing the right thing on all fronts.

Dmitri bows his head, and although he looks calm and cool, his eyes still give him away. There’s a lethal iciness in them that I pay attention to.

Fucker… he can wait.

“Thank you.” He stands, as does Yuri, and they both leave.

The tension leaves the room too, and the air is less tight as the door clicks shut.

I look to Salvatore, who leans forward onto the table. Christian shakes his head.

“I do not like them,” Christian says.

“You and me both,” Salvatore agrees.

I’d jump in there and say the same, but I decide to take the high road and talk out the shit.

“What don’t you like?” I ask.

“Shady as shit,” Salvatore says.

I raise my brows. “We’re shady as shit.”

“Come on, Vin, you know what I mean. Diamonds as well? We’ve never done diamonds.”

“And there’s a reason for that,” I add.

“Yes, we’re done if we get caught,” Christian puts in.

“But we’ve never got caught, not once. I want us to think about this objectively. I’ll admit there’s something I don’t like. They won’t be telling us everything the same way we’d never tell. Business is business. So, the focus needs to be this: we stand to lose a shitload of money if we get this wrong.”

Salvatore narrows his eyes at me. “I don’t know, Vin. I feel like there’s more that could potentially be damaging to us.”

He’s right, at least I sensed that too. This alliance could be no different to any other we’ve agreed to, but then it might not be. And it’s an alliance. Different to just a simple contract. It means working together above the rim.

“The problem I see is, there’d be a clash of titans,” I point out. “We know how we run things but don’t know how they do. We don’t know what else we could be getting into with guys like that.”

“So, what do we do?”

“We’ll do our standard checks and make sure it’s all for our benefit. If it is, then we’ll do it.” There, that’s me being completely objective, although my gut instinct is already telling me not to trust them.

The pressure is on more than ever to make the right decision. I already feel inadequate to take the lead. I don’t want to be the guy who starts his leadership and brings about ruin to the family and business.