Page 73 of Forbidden Vows

“It doesn’t help us. Who do we have left, now?” Andrei asks me.

“The Fedorovs, but even they’re shaky at this point. The other families are too small to count once Sergei pulls his numbers together for the next council meeting.”

The odds are not in our favor, and Jonas knows it.

“Either way, you have my sympathy,” he says.

“Your support would’ve been more welcome,” I reply. “I have no use for your sympathy.”

“We go where the power is, Anton.”

“I’ll remember that when the tables turn.”

I can see the flicker of fear in his eyes. Deep down, Jonas is aware that they’re betting on the wrong horse, spurred by fear and nothing else. Sergei Kuznetsov has proven that he’s unable to lead the Bratva—having to resort to cyberattacks and acts of sabotage to weaken us is all the evidence I need that he isn’t mature or intelligent enough to hold the grand seat.

“Though other fools and madmen have held my chair before me, before my father, those were not better days,” I tell Jonas. “Every time Sergei promises that he’ll help restore the Aslanov’s former glory, he neglects to tell you how bad it really was in that era. There’s a reason why you have little family left on your father’s side.”

“It’s my mother’s decision, Anton. I can’t overturn it.”

He stands, giving Andrei and me one last nod before he heads out.

The heaviness of what we just learned settles in as my brother and I exchange glances.

“Do you have a contingency in place for Laura if the shit hits the fan?” I ask.

“Yeah. There’s a security detail prepped and ready as well. What about Ian?”

“He knows the drill. He hasn’t left Eileen’s side since we got back from the funeral. If I’m not with her, he is, and he’s got a dozenformer FSB gentlemen at his beck and call, if needed.”

“I hate that it’s come to this.” Andrei sighs deeply. “Ciara made a fatal mistake.”

“We can’t help her, not right now.”

“He will kill her, you know. I’m pretty sure he had a hand in Ronan’s health declining the way it did, and dare I say, his sudden death.”

I give him a hard look. It’s something my brother and I have discussed before, suspected. “I’ve yet to share that suspicion with Eileen, so I hope you’ve kept it to yourself.”

“Laura is aware, but Eileen won’t hear a thing from us.”

“Good. She doesn’t need the aggravation. Not without evidence, anyway.”

Andrei sits straighter in his chair, suddenly more energized. “You know, we could investigate that whole thread. Discreetly, of course. What was the physician’s name again?”

“Rattner.”

He pulls out his phone. “Let me handle this. If Kuznetsov is going to play dirty, we might as well do the same. I don’t think we can afford to be cautious at this point,” he says while texting someone.

“You’re right, we can’t.”

A rapid knock on my office door brings our conversation to a halt.

“Come in,” I respond.

Kacey, one of our assistants, enters slowly. I don’t like the look on her face. “Sir, we just got a call from the brewery.”

“Which one?” I ask. “We own five.”

“The South Side one. Fire and police services were called.”

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