Page 23 of All the Dangerous Things

“He's interfering with our operations and threatening our interests. He needs to be eliminated.”

I clenched my jaw. “Carmine, killing anyone in the Desolation Bratva will cause significant issues,” I told him, and he kept his fucking mouth shut. “Youknow my brother-in-law Nikolai and his brother Dmitry are heads of the Bratva there. Taking out Volkov could spark a war within my family, if it ever were revealed who took out one of their own.”

Carmine's tone hardened. “Believe me, I understand how delicate the situation is, Gio, but this is non-negotiable.”

I tossed back the rest of my whiskey and ran my hand back and forth over my head.

“Volkov needs to be eliminated.”

“What exactly has he done?” I asked because fuck if I wasn’t going to know exactly why someone close with the Bratva was getting slaughtered and my ass would be on the line for it.

Carmine's voice took on a steely edge. “Volkov has decided to work with some lowlifes because he's done being at the bottom of the hierarchy. He’s taken matters into his own hands to climb the ranks and has been encroaching on our territory.”

For fuck’s sake.

“He’s been siphoning off our profits from the drug and weapon trade shipments.”

Something in the way he said that made my neck tingle. Carmine was lying, but about which part, I didn’t know. And I didn’t know why he would.

“Because of his sloppiness and the giant set ofballs he apparently has, he’s been linked to an orchestrated attack on one of our warehouses.”

Fuck. I knew exactly what attack Carmine meant because I had to deal with the fallout when I was in Desolation. I had to clean up three bodies that were tied to the Cosa Nostra, and we fucking lost a significant shipment to those bastards.

“And the men Volkov is dealing with also sent a clear message that they intend to expand their influence in Desolation atourexpense. They are fucking out of control.”

“Let me talk to the Petrovs. I can have them look into this, since it deals with their men?—”

“Wefucking handle this.” Although his voice was steady and even, I heard the lethal intent laced within his words.

Motherfucker.

“If we don't stop him now, he'll continue to undermine our operations and destabilize our control.”

I ground my molars and asked between clenched teeth, “What exactly do you want me to do, Carmine?”

“Slaughter him,” he said without hesitation. “I want you to send a message. But this needs to be aclean job. No traces and no loose ends. I want it to look like an internal matter within the Bratva.”

I knew I shouldn’t have said what spewed from my mouth, but it was out before I could stop myself. “I can’t be involved. I can’t do the hit. This isn’t just a personal position I’m taking but one that keeps the Cosa Nostra strong in Desolation and our alliance intact.” All I could think about was the blowback from the Petrovs. It would damage and destroy the bonds we’d worked so fucking hard to tie over the years.

Hell, Amara had been used as a pawn and bartered off to a sociopath to ensure this unity.

It didn’t matter if she loved and was loved by that insane motherfucker. She’d still been used to make an alliance, and I wouldn’t risk that, even if that meant going against what Carmine wanted.

Carmine was silent for long seconds, and I wondered if he was going to say goodbye and then order my own hit.

“You’ll figure it out, but I want it done swiftly, and I want it done now. Oh, and Gio?”

I clenched my hand into a tight fist as I waited for whatever order he was about to spew.

“Voglio che sia fatto con un tocco personale.Capito?”I want it done with a personal touch. Understand?

Yeah… I fucking understood. He wanted Maksim to suffer. I was curious as to why though. I got that this was an issue for the Cosa Nostra, but why was Carmine taking such a personal interest in this?

“Just make sure Volkov and the men he works with disappear without it coming back to us.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, weighing my options. I had sworn loyalty to Carmine and the Cosa Nostra, but my family ties with the Petrov Bratva complicated the matter. But Carmine approved the wedding, the familial link between the Bianchis and the Petrovs. He saw how those ties would strengthen us on the East Coast.

“Carmine, if I do this, it could have severe repercussions. Even if it’s not traced back to us, Dmitry and Nikolai won't take kindly to the mess this will cause.”

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