Page 4 of The Pakhan

“What do you want me to do with the body, boss?” Sergei asked, the grin on his face holding a positively wicked appearance. The man was little more than a savage, craving the kill. Well, I let him be in charge of the cleanup crew and that seemed to make him happy.

“Dump him in the East River. I think the fishies need a nice dinner.” I shoved my weapon into the pocket of my jacket. I hadn’t worn a tie. Lately, they’d become too confining.

“Oh, and check the warehouses tomorrow. I want to make certain there aren’t any issues,” I instructed. I limped toward the bar, loathing the raging storm outside. It made the injury ache that much more, my limp more pronounced.

A weakness.

I’d been given a fucking weakness by some assholes determined to take over my regime. And I still wasn’t certain who the hell was responsible. That left me in a cranky mood.

The two men left were Nikolay Kuzmin, my second in command or in the world of the Bratva, my Brigadier, and a man who’d been a good friend over the years, trustworthy to a fault and once determined to remain on the right side of the law.

I’d convinced him otherwise. Since then, Aleksander Semenov, a highly respected attorney for the top law firm in town had become more than just my drinking buddy. He’d become my Counselor, perhaps the most highly respected position in my ranks.

My father had insisted on developing his American regime the old way with very strict guidelines on positions and promotions. And I had to give the man credit; his system of authority worked like a charm. If my employees were good men and women, they reaped the benefits, including substantial yearly raises and bonuses. But on the flipside, if they betrayed me, they knew what would happen.

That usually made my life a breeze. Not so, the past few weeks since I’d been shot, laid up in the hospital like some fucking invalid for two weeks.

The rumors and gossip channels had been buried fifteen feet under. I poured three whiskeys, realizing the two men had worked on some conversation they wanted to have with me.

They believed ganging up was the best way to handle a rogue like me. Ha. I handed them their drinks, grabbing mine, hissing when another two bolts of lightning flashed outside my office window. I always knew when something was on my soldiers’ minds.

“Speak,” I said before taking a sip.

“What do you mean, boss?” Nikolay asked, his eyes twinkling.

“You know exactly what I mean. You feel the burning need to say something to me. Do it so I can wallow in my sorrows.”

“That’s just it,” Aleksander said. “The appearance you give to almost everyone, including your own men, is that you’re hiding from the enemy. It makes you seem afraid.”

Lesser men would die for the disrespect but both men were allowed to speak their minds, no matter how much I hated what they were saying. “I’m not hiding from anyone and the two of you know that.” I wanted to add I was the Pakhan but I wasn’t into bragging.

“You almost never go out of your house. You haven’t gone to the warehouses yourself for inspections since the incident and you haven’t even gone to eat at your favorite places. What would you call that?” Aleksander was pushing the envelope, but the man was right.

There was something about seeing your life flash in front of your eyes that took a toll on a man. “So what do you suggest? I pretend like nothing happened?”

“Return to your normal schedule. Be seen. Be heard.” Nikolay took a step away as if I was going to hit him.

They were both right but with the limp, I was concerned how other people would see me.

“I have a different recommendation,” Aleksander offered. “The governor’s ball is less than a week away. You need to go and take a date.”

I almost spit out my whiskey. “Wait a minute. Is my manhood being questioned?”

“Fuck, no,” my counselor laughed. “Your leadership abilities are. Everyone who is anyone, including notorious criminals, has been invited. Big swanky affair. It’s the governor’s attempt at bringing happiness to the people of New York. Or to stop the bloodshed and ridiculous corruption, as he likes to call it.”

I hated the governor. He was nothing more than a pompous politician with his sights set on the White House. My gut told me he was corrupt, but no evidence had ever been found to that effect. Granted, my men’s idea wasn’t bad. Sadly, I was sick to death of having useless but pretty women on my arm. I wanted one with more… substance.

That had seemed impossible to find, but maybe I was looking in the wrong place.

“The party is for assholes, brownnosers, and idiots who honestly think the governor can do shit for them.” I took another swig of whiskey, wondering why the taste wasn’t as good tonight. Perhaps the bad taste in my mouth was from being pushed in a direction I clearly had no desire to go.

“Aleksander is right. You need to show you’re a force to be reckoned with.”

I slowly turned my head in Nikolay’s direction. “I am a force to be reckoned with.” Both men were just staring at me.

“Just consider it. Hire an escort as your date. I don’t think anyone would notice or give a shit.”

Aleks was usually right about most things. He wouldn’t have gotten so far up the ladder in the chain of command if he wasn’t. Still, I wasn’t the kind of man who appreciated being pushed under any circumstances. “I’ll consider it.”

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