Page 19 of Ruthless Bonds

He visibly swallowed, nodding his head. “Understood, Pakhan.”

“Good.” I relaxed in my chair. “As you all know, I went to Toronto and met with the Italians. They’ve agreed on a tentative alliance. We’re going to supply them with weapons in exchange for distribution rights and a cut of the profits.”

Murmurs and nods of approval came from everyone around the table. This was a lucrative opportunity that would make us a lot of money and expand our presence over the border.

“Aleksandr, I’m sending you to Toronto to setup a business front, a shipping and trucking company. We’ll also need to bribe the CBSA.” I glanced at Gavriil, who nodded. “Gavriil will get you everything you need.

“Now, onto a more serious matter. It’s come to my attention that Boris Ivanov has crawled out from whatever desolate rock he was hiding under.” I rose from my chair and walked around the table as the men leaned in.

“I shouldn’t have to remind you of his—eccentricities.” I paused, recalling how he’d burned down a house full of innocents rather than face my father’s wrath. “He’s a rabid dog. Dangerous and unpredictable, but ultimately just a nuisance.”

I stopped at the head of the table, my gaze sweeping over each of my captains. “Increase your vigilance, but don’t waste too much energy on him. The Cruel is just a piece of the past, a reminder of how my father used to do business. I run this city, and he’ll be dealt with. Efficiently and so ruthlessly that it’ll serve as a reminder to anyone foolish enough to think they can challenge us.”

The room relaxed, any tension dissipating. After a few last-minute discussions, I ended the meeting. Everyone left, except Gavriil and Cheslav. My Doberman, Sasha, ran through the doors and straight for me. She sat at my feet, placing her paw on my knee.

“Hello,printsessa.” I stroked behind her ears and pointed to the ground. “Down.”

Cheslav eyed her warily. “We have a problem.”

“Tell me.”

“The cameras at the safe house were disabled an hour before the explosion. There’s no footage to view.”

Gavriil shook his head. “I figured that was apossibility. I’ve had my people checking the cameras in the area, as well as the expressway and parkway. I’m expecting an update any minute.”

“And the police?” I questioned.

“I took care of them.” Gavriil lined up his tablet next to his phone and burner phone, making sure they were all in a straight line. “They won’t be a problem. All the witness reports are destroyed.”

“There’s more.” Cheslav turned his laptop around and showed us his screen. “Someone attempted to breach my network this morning. They weren’t able to access any files. Whoever it was, was good. But not as good as our team. We were able to track them immediately.” He pressed some keys, and a map pulled up.

“Why am I looking at a map of my estate?” I growled.

“Because whoever hacked into my system was doing it within a hundred yards of here.”

The room fell quiet.

Fuck.

Miklov had been locked up since yesterday, so this wasn’t his doing.

That meant the mole in my organization was a lot closer to home than I’d realized.

“You’re sure they were unable to access our files?” Gavriil asked.

“Yes. Even if they gained access to the files, it would all be useless to them without the passkey. Which only the three of us have. Without the passkey, it’s unreadable data.”

I tapped my fingers against the table. We had to be even more careful now. There was too much at risk,especially if we wanted to expand our gun trade into Canada.

“From this moment on, we operate under the assumption that our walls have ears. Every conversation, every message or call has the potential to be compromised.” My voice was low and controlled.

Cheslav typed something on his laptop, pulling up another layout of my estate. “I’ve already ensured all the signal jammers are functioning. My team is discreetly doing a sweep for any bugs or tracking devices around the premises as we speak.”

“Good.” I stood and straightened my suit jacket. “I want all the security footage from today viewed. Every second of it. Check for outsiders or anyone acting strangely.”

My mansion was impenetrable and had state-of-the-art security. Not to mention the thirty armed guards I had on duty at all times. It was a fortress. No one was getting in here without me knowing about it. The question was, who was inside already that I’d trusted by mistake?

I dismissed him with a nod. The threat to my kingdom would not be tolerated. I would burn down the entire city to flush them out if I needed to. Nobody crossed me without paying the price.

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