Page 189 of Silenced

That comes as a surprise to them, but it shouldn’t.

Those men fought forme. That will never go without compensation.

“What about B4K?”

Igor slips from the back wall and states, “We killed more of the B4K leadership than anticipated in the offensive on their subdivision, Pakhan.

"The death toll is still rolling in. My police informant says the morgues are overflowing with their members.”

“Linton’s gone?” Iosif queries.

I nod. “Nothing more than ashes now.”

Antonin sneers, “As he deserves. We dealt with the rest and those who escaped have fled with their tails between their legs.”

“B4K is obliterated,” Yuri growls. “Next, we have to deal with the Indigo Cartel. Smirnov lost his seat as Pakhan for allowing the cartel and that piece of shit gang to flourish in the city. Florida isours.”

Though I bow my head in agreement, I merely state, “We have bigger problems than a cartel, men.”

Iosif blinks. “We heard about Moskva, Pakhan.”

“Couldn’tnothear about it,” Yuri agrees.

“I’m glad that Turgenev’s dead,” Antonin mutters.

“Me too,” mumbles Leonin Ovechkin. “Is it true you sliced his throat, Pakhan?”

“It’s certainly not a lie.” I heave a sigh when my voice locks and sign instead, “I’m an enemy of the Krestniy Otets.”

“He’s sided too many times with the Kuznetsovs for my comfort,” Iosif comments. “His men are fucking animals. They play spy games. That’s not what the Bratva is about. At least, it shouldn’t be. I don’t have stars inked on my knees so I’ll bow before a bastard like Kuznetsov.”

Yuri, a man withsixdaughters, grouses, “He hasn’t been my Krestniy Otets since he tried to force that girl of his to marry when she was fifteen. Pig.”

“What’s your game plan, Pakhan?” Antonin asks.

My jaw works. “You follow me into the darkness, men?”

“Youare our Pakhan,” Yuri states. “The Krestniy Otets only grows fat on our earnings whileyoucover the increase in his tithe. You had my loyalty from the first day you took control of Florida, Pakhan.

“I know I’m not the only one who’d prefer a leader who hurls himself into warfare, who attends the funerals of his fallen, who cares for their dependents, than one who sits on his ass in Moskva.”

“Now’s the time to leave,” I caution. “There’s a war coming.”

Iosif’s chair scrapes back as he gets to his feet. He doesn’t head for the door, however. Instead, it’s his turn to slam his fist into his chest. “You are my Pakhan.”

When the rest of my Brigadiers follow suit, leaving me the only man seated, I rasp, “The Krestniy Otets doesn’t know what he’s unleashed.”

Antonin smirks. “He will soon enough.”

CHAPTERFORTY-NINE

Nikolai Veles,

Your mutiny will not be tolerated.

You will stand down as leader of the Bratva in Florida.

You are officially an enemy of the Krestniy Otets.

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