“Oh calm down, I just went dancing.”
Rodion’s jaw clenches tightly. He doesn’t say another word to her, but I know that look. My brothers used to give it to me all the time when they disapproved of something I did.
The rest of breakfast is pleasant. It’s not like his brothers are rude to me, but they aren’t exactly the friendliest bunch either. It’s progressed from complete distaste to a civil coldness.
Ruslana and I get on very well though and even after breakfast, while Rodion catches up with everyone here, she and I drink coffee out on the patio and laugh as we share stories.
Chapter 15 - Rodion
“Good afternoon, sir. A table for four?” The young waitress asks, eyeing my brothers and me up and down.
“Leon probably booked a table,” Rigor says.
The waitress glances towards the hostess, who runs her finger over the clipboard. “Leon Dubrov. They are in the private section at the back,” she says to the waitress.
“Please follow me, gentlemen,” she says, leading the way through the restaurant, past a doorway closed off with a thick beaded curtain, and into a private dining area that has views across the entire city through massive glass windows that stretch the side of the room.
Leon stands up, nodding a greeting at each of my brothers. “Afternoon, guys, thanks for coming through.” Then he holds his hand out towards me to shake mine. He has a firm grip and a solid shake, and his eyes lock with mine when he greets me. “Rodion.”
“Leon.” I nod back and then smile across the room at Yefim, Alexei and Oleg.
Each of us takes a seat and a harsh silence falls over the room.
Leon clears his throat, “I guess we can get straight to it.”
“Of course,” I say in agreement.
“We’ve set the date for Thursday,does that suit everyone?”
He looks around and we all nod. “Thursday is good.”
Yefim picks up his phone and drags his finger across the screen, scrolling through some information. “I’ve got severaltrucks available for the haul. If Alexei, Leon, Oleg and I drive the trucks, then Rodion, Rigor, Rad and Renat can convoy behind us with the security teams.”
“Sounds good,” Leon agrees.
“Is there a reason we are not driving the trucks?” Rigor asks.
“Because we know the trucks. We know the routes too. This is a massive shipment, and we can’t take any risks,” Oleg says.
“We have all been driving for years. It wouldn’t be a risk.”
I shoot Rigor a look, letting him know it makes no difference. We need to pick our battles with the Dubrovs, and I don’t give a shit who drives the trucks. I just want to be present, to make sure it all goes smoothly.
“We are fine convoying with security,” I say sternly to my brothers and the Dubrovs.
“Alright, then I’ve plotted out a route—“ Alexei pushes a map into the center of the table, traced with a bright red line showing the pathway of the delivery.
I pull it closer to myself so I can trace through the route.
“I don’t think we should take Second Street,” I shake my head. “Especially not if we are driving midday.”
“Second Street will be fine,” Alexei huffs, trying to pull the map back towards himself.
“No. It won’t,” Rigor says, quickly making a grab for it. “We have a building on Second Street, so we know the area well. It gets chaotic midday. I think there is a school nearby and the tRodyafic can randomly back up across the entire street.”
“You guys are worrying for nothing. We’ve done this before,” Yefim sighs in agitation.
Rad leans forward to point at a street three blocks away from Second. “If we take this route we can just avoid—“