I sigh, feeling angry about everything.
I push the chair away from my desk and close my laptop. I am not managing to get any work done and that is making things worse, as I have to do this.
If I can just eliminate one threat, perhaps everything else will become easier.
I stand up and walk towards the kitchen. I need a drink. Something cold, strong, and filled with ice.
I grab a glass out of the cabinet and pour some whiskey into it. I press the glass into the fridge door and a few ice blocks drop into my drink. I swirl the drink to coat the whiskey in the coldness of the ice. Maybe I need to consider asking for some advice. None of my brothers know how I feel about Jennifer, though. None of them know that I am actually in love with her.
Fyodor is busy today. He’s out on a family day with his wife Kat and their baby Konstantin. I can’t imagine what that must be like. They always seem so happy when I see them together and I wonder how Fyodor worked it all out to get to that place.
Perhaps Paval can give me some advice?
He is hot-headed and aggressive most of the time, but I know he has a good heart. The problem is that I can’t tell him everything. He was not there when I told my other brothers about the pregnancy and I know Paval will not approve. He is hell-bent on putting the organization first before starting a family or having children. He thinks everything revolves around his duty. I guess I could ask him for advice in general, about how I should deal with the enemy to stop them from being a threat. He will know what to do about that.
I sip my drink as I walk through the house and out onto the pool deck. The sun is already sinking low as evening drifts in. I slip my phone out of my back pocket and dial Paval’s number. It rings a few times before his thick voice answers.
“Paval here.” He’s using his business tone.
“Does my number not show up on your phone?”
“Of course, it does. I didn’t look. I’m busy.” He grunts.
“Are you too busy to talk for a moment?”
He sighs and I hear something moving around before he answers. “I have a few moments. What can I do for you?”
“I’m trying to figure out how to solve this issue with Alexander Golubev. He continues to threaten Jennifer, and in doing so he is threatening me. I want to resolve this once and for all and put him in his place.”
“What did you expect him to do when you stole his shipment, Kiril?”
“Stole his shipment? What the fuck?” I snap, feeling anger rising.
“You know what I mean. In his eyes, this is all about business, and you have messed with his business. I don’t know why the hell he had his container on our dock, but that was his mistake. If he had not made that mistake, none of this other bullshit would be going on. There would be no problem.”
“Paval, I don’t really get what you’re trying to say.” I do not like what I think he is trying to say.
“She is just a girl. Why are you so hell-bent on fighting Golubev for her? Why don’t you just cut your losses, give her back to him, and forget about the whole thing?”
“How the fuck can you ask me to do that?”
“We were all there the other night, Kiril. You got shot, twice, actually. We all put our lives at risk. We’re now receiving threats against the organization for something that technically has nothing to do with us.”
“You are treating this as though it only has to do with business.”
“Of course, it only has to do with business. Everything is about business. The organization is our life. Nothing else matters.”
“Bullshit, nothing else matters. There is so much more to life than that.”
“Not really. Just think about it, Kiril. Before she arrived at your home, things were fine. Everything was fine. Now we’ve had a recent shootout, with more looming. We’ve had to put so much manpower into her, finding out who she is and why they wanted her. We’ve had to put additional manpower into protecting her friend, who none of us even cares about, and now what? You want to go to war over her? I don’t fucking get it. Just give her back. Find another one to play with.”
“Would you give your own sister to Golubev?” I shout into the phone. “You know what he does with these girls. Would you want someone to go through that?”
“She is not my sister. My sister is at home, safe, under the protection of the organization. That girl you have in your home almost cost you your life and was willing to give information to your enemies to save her own skin. She’s not worth it.”
“Fuck you, Paval.”
“Grow the fuck up, Kiril. Grow a backbone and learn to put the organization ahead of your personal, physical needs,” he snaps back.