Page 38 of His Savage Vow
I close my laptop and turn back to Constance. “That’s what Enzo brought to my attention earlier. Our own people are now making nice with Bratva puppets in public.”
Constance doesn’t flinch, but the tension in her shoulders shifts, tightening, not softening. She understands the blow this is meant to be.
Enzo sets his glass down on the table. “Ever since Darby lost the election, our local political clout has waned. We stillhave good enough relations at the state level that no one would dare accuse you directly of any crime, but this push by the city police is coming from the mayor, who is taking orders from Alexei Volkov.”
“They know I’ve got enough friends and associates, as well as lawyers, to fight off any direct accusations against me. That’s why they’re targeting our infrastructure,” I explain to Constance.
“That’s not all,” Enzo continues. “I’ve gone through what we recovered from the raid—there wasn’t much left by the time we got there. The Russians were moving guns and drugs through the port. My guess? They got tipped off when we were coming. Everything of real value was gone.”
“Which means someone in our communication chain is dirty,” I mutter.
Enzo nods grimly. “I’ve already put the word out on the street like you ordered—Maximo Luciani’s badly wounded and leaving town for his own health and safety. Kirill will probably hear it inside an hour. He’ll think he’s won.”
Constance glances at me. “And then Saturday…”
“We burn Club Metron to the ground, with him and all his cronies,” I finish for her.
Enzo leans forward, his voice low. “There’s one more thing. Kirill and his uncle Alexei, they’ve got crews out contesting control of our territories all over the city. Street corners, our business rackets, even some of the old gambling rooms. They’re testing every inch of our territory.”
My jaw ticks. So, this is their play, bleed us slowly before they come for me.
I sit back and let all the pieces arrange themselves in my head. A war on the streets, a war in the press, a mole feeding them intel. And in forty-eight hours, we’ll either take Kirill off the board or give him exactly whathe wants.
“We have to hit them hard,” I finally say. “Starting Saturday night.”
Constance’s gaze holds mine across the table. She’s still angry, still daring me to try and keep her out of it.
Two days. That’s all the time we have to make sure the fire burns the way we need it to. “Let’s eat, then we need to make a plan. How exactly are we going to burn the club down while the Bratva are celebrating?”
“They may be careless; they may even think they’ve already won if you lie low and we don’t retaliate any further,” Enzo says.
“Don’t rely on that,” Constance breaks her silence as she shakes her head. “Don’t ever assume your enemy is stupid or even distracted. They’ve been onto us so far, and I doubt they’ll let their guard down now.”
“She’s right,” I agree while flashing her a tight smile. “They’re likely to have a police presence there as well. The only way this is going to work is if we plant a device in the club tomorrow, in preparation for Saturday.”
“I can get some boys out late tonight to sabotage the HVAC system at the club, so they’ll have to call in a repairman tomorrow,” Enzo offers. “We’ll make sure one of our crews gets the job; that will give us access to plant a bomb in the ductwork. If we blow it up in the insulation, we should get the inferno we need to put Kirill on his heels and get a shot at him.”
“A device in the club is a point of no return,” I warn. “If the police trace anything back to us?—”
“They won’t,” Enzo cuts in.
“Make the calls,” I order him. “While we’re at it, I’ll call the capos tonight and try to calm their nerves. With their crews being pressed all over the city, I want them to know I still have their back…”
“Don’t do that,” Constance interrupts. “You’ve got leaks,Maximo, even more than that Pellegrini rat. I know you want to reassure the people in your ‘family,’ but if we’re going to pull off Saturday, the Bratva can’t have even a hint of a warning…”
“You’re right.” I sigh in defeat and rub my forehead. “I’m not thinking clearly. Between my ribs and my leg, I’m fucking exhausted. It’s in my nature to keep my captains in the know, but now…”
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” Constance says as she moves around the table and pulls me to my feet.
“I’ll make the arrangements,” Enzo confirms.
“Call me as soon as everything is ready,” I remind him.
As Constance and I make our way upstairs, she turns to me with concern etched on her pretty face. “Are you sure about this, Max? Planting a bomb, burning the club down to get to Kirill Volkov?”
I enjoy the way she says the shortened version of my name way too much. But I push those thoughts aside for now.
“Kirill and his uncle Alexei are the ones responsible for your father’s death. I thought you were ready to do anything to get revenge.”
