Page 61 of Cruel Longing

“What do you have in mind?”

“There is something Dmitry did that was a smart move before he died. It might be the only thing I give the old man credit for doing.”

“What was it?” Mikhail leaned forward.

“He invested in a tech company. And the legislation just went through that’s going to allow me to make a fortune. Enough to become the lender in this city again.”

“Wow. That’s great. Good news, brother.”

“It is. This is where you come in.” We had never done business together. Our fathers were the ones who brokered the deals in the closed-door meetings.

“What can I do?”

“I need to free up more capital. I want to put more into this tech investment. What do you think about expanding your distilleries by adding a French winery?”

“You want to sell the Novikov wines?”

I nodded. “It’s solid money. It’s a good return. But I need the cash now. As you know, at the interest rate I have with the Amato organization, it’s going to take a lot of time to repay the debt my father incurred. I want to cash out of the wine business and put everything into the tech.”

“Are you sure?” Mikhail looked stunned. “That’s a steady, above the board business you have. I guess I thought you’d just live over there and grow a bunch of grapes, date models, and drink wine the rest of your life.”

“As nice as that sounds, I have bigger plans. I want my place back in New Orleans. I’ll give you a fair price on the winery. Ithas a brand new office. It’s beautiful over there. Maybe you and Chelsea could take a trip and see it,” I suggested. “Has she ever been to France?”

“No. She hasn’t.”

We leaned away from the table when our lunch was served. The waitress dropped off extra glasses of water and walked away.

“Take her. Make a vacation out of it. You’re going to want to buy it on the spot. I know you will. Peter, my guy over there, he’ll give the full tour.”

“What about the fire?”

I swallowed hard. I gripped a knife in my right hand. I was just about to cut into my steak.

“The buildings were rebuilt. The casks and grapes weren’t damaged.”

“But do they know who set the fires?”

I looked across the table at my friend. “No. They never caught anyone. No one was charged.”

“Who do you think did it?” he asked.

“Probably just some drunk who wandered in after hours.” I wanted to dismiss his concerns. I grinned. “That was five years ago. Nothing has happened since. It’s a closed case. Nothing to worry about.”

Mikhail nodded. “Right. Just covering all the bases. What’s the catch?”

I rubbed the side of my face. “What do you think about running the Bratva training there?”

He blinked. “What the fuck?”

I shook my head. “One of my Brigadiers, Roman, is interested in coming here instead. I can’t promote someone there. No one in the training is ready.”

Mikhail huffed. “And to think it was just going to be grapes.”

“It’s never grapes.” I stared at him.

“I guess it isn’t. I haven’t done Bratva work in a long time. You know that. I’m not sure how Chelsea would feel about it.”

“She wouldn’t have to know. There’s an estate on the other end of the property, away from the castle where the training facility is. Tell her you’re there for the wine.”

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