Page 62 of Vows of Blood
“He explicitly asked you to carry out the hit?”
“No. Not explicitly. I don’t think he expected me to do it personally, but he wanted it done and he wanted me to make sure that it was completed.”
He nods slowly. “If you were inclined to do it, who would you have asked?”
“I don’t know. Probably you. Pavel… he has the passion. He still lacks the skill and the experience.”
Dmitri doesn’t respond. His silence suddenly sounds very loud to me.
“What?”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “Nothing,” he says. “I didn’t say anything.”
Here we go again. “Just say it, Dmitri.”
He sighs. “Do I have to at this point? You know what I think about Pavel’s role in this.”
“I know that the two of you have had it out for one another since we were kids.”
Dmitri scowls. “This isn’t about some childhood rivalry, Alexei. I wouldn’t bring it up if it was. We’re talking about something much more serious.” He leans a little to the side to shake off a little mud from his boots. “I know you don’t want to hear this?—”
“Then don’t say it.”
“You need to hear it, Alexei. Pavel has had his eye on your place in line for years.”
I sigh. This is such an old fucking argument. “He admires me. You’re mistaking jealousy for appreciation. He would never?—”
“My father probably thought the same thing of Maxim,” he says. “But now he’s dead and your father isPakhan.”
I stop and glare at him. “What did you say?”
He turns around and meets my glare, the rifle in his hands pointed toward the ground. “You heard me. Let’s not pretend that the brotherhood has been so solid all these years. Brothers fight brothers for power all the time. It’s almost an inevitability at this point.”
“Pavel and I are not them,” I growl at him. “Our fathers were never as close or as loyal to one another as Pavel and I have been. You should know that better than anyone.”
“Yes, I’ve grown up with you both,” he says. “All the more reason you should listen to what I’m saying?—”
“I hear what you’re saying, and you are wrong.”
We stare at each other in the shade of the tree line. The afternoon is waning above us. In several short hours, the sun will start to give way to the darkness, but I have no intention of moving from this spot if Dmitri wants to challenge me.
He rolls his eyes and says, “We should get moving. There’s still a lot to do back at the cabin.”
He turns and starts walking. I follow him, letting it go as well. I don’t know what’s gotten into Dmitri for him to make such a suggestion. I won’t hear of it. Especially now when it’s crucial that I know whom I can trust and whom I can’t.
We walk the rest of the way back in silence. When I walk through the door, I notice that Isabella isn’t in the front room. Anya tells me that she isn’t feeling well, so she went to lie down. I suppose that’s fair. After everything that’s happened, I’m sure she’s overwhelmed.
Anya and Dmitri go into the kitchen to check on our supply of food. I know there’s a stash of canned goods, but we’ll have to make plans to travel into town for fresh groceries if this goes on for too long. She volunteers to go for food, leaving Dmitri here to check the rest of the house and lock any doors or windows that might allow someone inside.
I take that opportunity to go into the den and call Pavel. I’ve yet to contact him and he still needs to know what’s going on.
He picks up on the second ring. “Thank God,” he says. “Where are you? Father’s been asking about where you’ve gone.”
My stomach tightens. “Has he said anything about retaliation as of yet?”
“He’s said plenty of things about retaliation. He’s already organizing a plan of attack against Pecora. As soon as we find out what hospital he’s in, the word has come down to take him out.”
“Shit.” I sigh as I look over the covered furniture in here. Anya didn’t bother to do anything to this room and it reeks of dust.
