I studied the picture of the young man who was in a solid one third of the photographs. Blond and blue-eyed, he could have been Aleksei's son for all I knew. "And Axel Movino?"
"They met years ago." Michael handed me an older photograph, one that appeared to be a captured in a university setting.
"Please don't tell me these fuckers went to college together." I was incredulous, my blood boiling.
Aleksei snickered. "One must fear those best educated."
"Fuck. Fuck!" I tossed the folder onto the makeshift table that had been set up, slapping my hands on my hips and pacing the hard concrete floor. My thoughts drifted to why the senator would be blackmailing my family. Still, far too many questions. "So what the fuck do we do?"
"We fight," Aleksei stated with determination.
"Are they already in the various cities?" I asked, rubbing my jaw, unable to comprehend what we were facing.
"Reports of Axel's men, or what we thought were their men have been widespread," Michael answered. "And I just thought the fuckers were a nuisance. What are they called, Blood Brothers?"
"They are weak in comparison to the soldiers Konstantin has," Aleksei said, sighing.
"You were right. We need to get the entire alliance back here," I said softly.
Michael cleared his throat. "I took the liberty of doing that after I discovered the information. From all reports, Konstantin is set to move within forty-eight hours."
"With what army? Axel had maybe a thousand men. What do they think they're going to do, go from city to city?" I knew as soon as I asked the question that I didn't want to know the answer.
"They have over forty-thousand and counting. And that's just from the limited report that I could get from the mother country." Aleksei exhaled.
"Jesus. We've been fucking blind and stupid," I half whispered, my thoughts drifting to Sierra. There had to be a reason that Axel would take such a significant chance on coming out in the open now in order to kill the senator's son. I thought about what Armando had said, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Whatever Lucas had been prepared to provide as evidence had to have something to do with the upcoming war.
"They also have funds available in several offshore accounts," Aleksei continued.
"This was planned for some time." Michael huffed, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "What the hell happened at the cabin?"
I yanked one of the papers that had been found on the soldiers, handing it to Aleksei. "Ambush. Two people knew of the location of that cabin and one I trust implicitly."
Aleksei took the paper, immediately narrowing his eyes.
"And the other?" Michael asked casually.
"Soon to be at the bottom of the Great Lakes," I answered, turning my attention to Aleksei.
The Russian snorted, cursing several times in his native language.
"What the fuck does it mean?" I challenged.
"A sign of the Chechen mafia. They are from the Kadik gang. These creatures are... bloodthirsty animals and little more. If they are working with Konstantin, then blood will rain and not only in our cities but in several other locations." Aleksei sighed. "They are soldiers without a conscience. They follow orders without hesitation. In other words, Konstantin has a chance of taking whatever he wants."
Michael nodded toward the window. "Two approaching vehicles."
Within seconds, we all were prepared for an attack, moving into the shadows near the door, weapons in our hands.
I was the first to notice the other two alliance members approaching, standing down and walking into the doorway.
Dominick approached first, shaking his head. "This is some shit we have to deal with."
"There is already fear on our streets," Miguel added.
"We have a lot of work to do in order to figure this out," I said after huffing, ushering them further into the warehouse.
"How much time do we have?" Dominick asked.
Aleksei continued to hold the Glock in his hand, his expression one of rage. We'd all thought the Solntsevskaya group had been vanquished months before, none more than the Russian. I knew that he felt dishonor, especially given his father had once held an important position. "Less than two days. If what I heard from Mother Russia is true, they have targeted the various cities and are simply waiting for final instructions."
"And I'm going to guess that will include the assassination of the various family heads?" Miguel asked, looking from one man to the other.
"Of that I have no doubt," I said, exhaling and rubbing my eyes. I was already exhausted from the last few days.
"How do we stop them?" Michael asked.
It seemed everyone was looking to Aleksei for direction. He curled his upper lip, firing a single shot toward the open ceiling. "We kill Konstantin. From there, we have our soldiers hunt every Kadik. Once they are removed from the equation, the others will be too fearful to act."
"Kadiks?" Dominick asked.
"The worst kind of Russian soldier." Aleksei laughed after answering. "They kill indiscriminately. I suggest we place our families in hiding immediately. They will be targets."
"All right. I agree with Aleksei. Make certain and find a safe house that no one is aware of. Somehow, the Bratva are well connected, including the use of sources that I can only assume are government issued."
"You're talking the CIA and FBI?" Miguel snorted.
"Exactly." I heard my phone and realized I could no longer hold any information from my soldiers. "Then make certain your soldiers are prepared."