Page 41 of Kaid's Empire

“Kaid will kill you, he will destroy you!” I spit angrily.

“Ah, there it is.” I hear him stand and he starts walking up––I'm guessing––stairs, but he stops mid-way. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. Kaid made a mistake. By being with you, he has made himself vulnerable. You are now a target, a beautiful red bullseye to take down the mighty Pakhan!” He laughs.

Twenty-Nine

Kaid

“What time is the meeting?” I ask Mikhail.

“Midday, it shouldn't take long,” he answers.

I nod. I don’t like leaving Theia alone on the boat. Mikhail made sure that two of my men are there to keep guard, but overnight, I have barely slept, too worried about whether she is okay. I've had no texts messages and it makes me nervous.

We pull up to the restaurant and get out, walking through to the back. I smile when I see my mother’s cousin. He pulls me in for a hug. “You look more and more like your mother,” he greets. “Sit.” I take a seat.

“So, tell me, why the emergency meet?” he asks, pouring us both a coffee.

“I wouldn’t ask, not normally, you know that, but I've been betrayed. My woman was attacked without my knowledge by one of my own soldiers, and he––along with a couple of other soldiers––has joined with Vitali,” I state.

He doesn’t say anything, just smiles. “Your woman?”

I laugh and shake my head. “I should have known from that information that’s what you would focus on.”

“My boy! This is big news for la famiglia! This calls for a big partito!” He claps.

“Uncle, there is slightly more important things to sort than having a party,” I point out.

“Si, but you deal with that. You're not stupid. You send a message, wipe them out, then we party.” He smiles.

“I need your help. I need to make sure she is kept safe, and I need to flush them out. They have fled Russia and are hiding here, in Monaco,” I add. “I want this dealt with quickly and efficiently. I have no room for fuck ups, and more to the point, I need to be absolutely sure I can trust my soldiers.”

He nods. “Once you have dealt with Vitali, you will be able to expose the traitors within the ranks. But believe me, I do not think there are many, your men are loyal, you are a good fierce leader, they know this. Vitali is nothing more than a cockroach, he just needs to be exterminated, then he will stop trying to takeover.”

I nod. “I know you're right.”

“Good, then tell me how I can help. Let’s get this bastard dead so I can meet the woman that will be joining our family!” He claps cheerfully on my shoulder.

My Uncle Antonio is a big guy. He isn’t actually my uncle, but it’s what I've always called him. Family is family, no matter how distant. With his support in this, it means I can resolve it quicker. It means I can get back home to Russia with Theia and take back control.

After a long catch up, we leave. With arrangements in place, I feel better. It means Vitali is surrounded, eyes will be on him, Oleg, and what little men he has left.

I get in the car beside Mikhail. “Let’s get back, I don’t like leaving Theia for longer than is needed,” I order.

The car starts to drive, and I check my phone, seeing her on camera, cleaning. I shake my head.

I feel the car take a sharp left, and I frown and look up. Oleg turns and smiles from the passenger seat, a gun aimed at Mikhail and me. Fuck.

“Took you long enough. See, you meeting that stupid bitch is an advantage to us because you are distracted, and when a person is distracted, they make mistakes. Like now, for instance, you didn’t even notice Mikhail wasn’t stood outside the car waiting for you.” He tuts.

“You're a dead man, Oleg, dead,” I say in a low threatening tone.

He laughs, throwing his head back. “See, distracted, you are the one sat there, I am the one with the gun aimed at you,” he points out. “It will be you that dies today, you're the dead man,” he spits angrily. I place my phone back in the inside of my pocket and smile. “Why the fuck are you smiling?” Oleg yells.

“Now there is no need to shout, I am only sat in the back of the car, myself and Mikhail can hear you. I'm calm, Mikhail is calm, so why don’t you just calm yourself down, you always did get over excited. Didn’t his mum always say he was an over excitable child?” I ask Mikhail. He just nods in agreement.

“Don’t talk about my fucking mother,” Oleg spits. “I will fucking kill you,” he threatens again.

“No, you won’t, you are following orders from Vitali, you are nothing more than a lap dog, an errand boy. You get told what to do and then you just run along and do it like the good little boy you are,” I state calmly. I catch Mikhail lips twitching out of the corner of my eye, he knows Oleg’s weakness is his own ego.

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