Page 74 of Fiercely Protective

“Aye, I know why yer calling and a fine mess ye have now.”

“What do you know of Sevan Avagyan?”

My uncle’s raspy cough and a brief pause were the answer I received.

“I shouldn’t have called.”

“Don’t ye be hangin’ up on yer uncle now. You should have called fifteen years ago. If ye had, ye would be sittin’ in your rightful place with even more wealth and power than ye have now.”

Regret and anger poured through my veins. I should hang up, I should burn the card, and block the number. This was a waste of time.

“Very well, I’ll tell ye what I know. Sevan and young Petros’ father were not the close friends he is tryin’ to portray to everyone. It had been planned for Sevan and his sons to take power once Hyak died, but the old man was always chasin’ the skirts. Even at the age of sixty-five, he managed to coax a young waitress into `is bed and after several attempts, his seed took hold, and young Petros was born. As ye can imagine it didn’t sit well with Sevan who had been waiting for his chance to gain power for years.”

“So, Sevan has been fostering and playing on Petros’ foolishness and convincing him that it is in his best interest to take on me and the Russian Bratva. All the while, feeding us information on how to kill him. He doesn’t want to see Petros succeed, he wants him dead.”

“Aye, but don’t mistake what I’m sayin’ to ye. Petros is unstable and a fool to boot. He doesn’ have what it takes to lead a group of men or run a family enterprise. His foolishness makes `im even more dangerous. But he never would have been able to maintain power for long. Sevan is tryin’ to cement `is lineage by havin’ you and your associates do his dirty work for `im. Looks bad for `im to kill and destroy the family from the inside, best to let ye do it for `im. That way he can come in lookin’ like a champion instead of the traitorous bastard that he is.”

I sighed and took a deep breath to control the rage inside me. “The old man tried to use me and for that, he will pay. I can’t let that kind of deception stand.”

“Nor should ye. Ye have built up a fine organization on yer own. You can’ expect to hold onto it if you don’ rule with a firm hand. I expect now that ye have a wife, ye will have sons and yer sons need to be trained.”

“Trained the way my father trained me? Left to fend for myself on the streets?”

“Your da did wrong by ye, that’s a truth, but once I knew of yer existence, I `ave tried to do right by ye. Once I discovered I had a nephew, I tried to bring ye into the family. But ye refused, ye were stubborn and determined to make it on yer own.”

“And I did. Thanks to Alessio Messina I learned to be the man I am today.”

I heard him scoff loudly. “That’s a shame, it is. But I can’t say the man did wrong by ye, and he has proven to be an ally. You built an empire, and the city is yours, but ye can have more if ye would accept it.”

This was the conversation I didn’t want to have. “I don’t need more.”

“Nonsense. You have a wife now and if ye are lucky, she will bear ye many sons. You are buildin’ a dynasty for them.”

My eyes narrowed as his words sank in. “How do you know I have a wife?”

His laugh was short and breathless. “You don’ think I haven’ been watchin’ ye for the past fifteen years? I may be old, but I know more than ye think. I don’ understand the rush behind it, but I was impulsive when I was a young man too.”

“She needed protection and being married to me was the best way I could assure that she had it. Nobody would dare touch her knowing she belongs to me.”

I don’t know why I felt the need to explain. The lie was an easy one to tell. Protection may have been the excuse I had given Bri for pressing a hasty marriage, but the truth was that after having her in my bed, I knew that having her walk away, giving her up, was no longer an option.

“Protection, huh? Ok, lad. It had nothin’ to do with a nice ass and long legs.”

“I appreciate the information, but I did not call to discuss my wife with you.”

“Nothin’ comes without a price, lad. Ye know that as well as anyone. When all this is over, I want ye to join me for dinner.We have much to discuss. If ye need additional resources, they are yours. Just make the call.”

I twisted my neck from side to side relieving the tension. “I have my own resources.”

“Stubborn. It’s a family trait I’m afraid. Take care, Rogue.”

I put my phone down on the desk and took a few steps away as I twisted the card I still held in my hand. I moved back to the safe and put it inside in the same place as before. Sevan had tried to use me and now not only did I have to find and kill Petros, but Sevan and his sons would need to be dealt with too if they were involved.

But something my uncle said kept ringing in my ears. He had spoken of Bri and having sons. I had never asked her if she was on any kind of birth control because I didn’t care. I certainly had not taken any precautions against getting her pregnant. Even now, my baby could be growing inside her. The thought pleased me more than I would have first anticipated.

I couldn’t think of that now, though. There were too many other things that demanded my attention. I moved behind my desk; there were calls to make and plans to be made. Petros was about to meet his end, and Sevan would not be far behind him.

Chapter Seventeen

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