Page 44 of The Devil's Wrath

“He’s expecting you,” she said crisply, waving me through the double doors of his office. My eyes slid across the gold-plated placard with the words, “Thane West, Esq.” I pushed through without knocking. My father sat behind his massive mahogany desk, the city skyline sprawling out behind him through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Hedidn’t look up as I entered, his attention focused on the papers in front of him.

“You’re late,” he said flatly.

I bit back the urge to tell him to fuck off. “I came as soon as I could. What’s the situation?”

“Sit,” he ordered, still not looking at me.

I remained standing, my jaw clenched. “I’d prefer to stand.”

Finally, he raised his gaze to mine, cold green eyes so like my own. “I said sit.”

It was a battle of wills, one I knew I would ultimately lose. With clenched fists, I lowered myself into one of the leather chairs facing his desk.

“What’s the problem?” I asked again, getting straight to the point.

He steepled his fingers, fixing me with a penetrating stare. “The Russians are moving in on our territory.”

I felt a flicker of surprise before it was quickly replaced by cold, calculating fury. The Russians were ruthless and ambitious but not usually this stupid. Encroaching on Brotherhood turf was a bold move. And a deadly one.

“What do we know?” I asked.

He slid a file across the desk. “Our informants have seen their men coming and going from Abel Benson’s house. Ozzie reported that their men were checking out our shipping sites and gathering information. Just last night, they attacked one of our storage facilities. We lost two men, and half a million of product are missing.”

I flipped through the file, scanning its contents quickly. There were surveillance photos, maps marked with Russian strongholds, and dossiers of key players. My eyes narrowed as a familiar face stared up at me from the pages.

Nikolai Petrov.

The head of the Russian Mafia in the city and a sadistic bastard known for his love of torture and his complete lack of mercy. We’d tangled before, and the memory of it still made my blood boil. I had been keeping tabs on Sergei Petrov, his nephew and ex-Spetsnaz operative who had left his father’s bratva in Russia and cozied up withAbel Benson, the leader of The Collectors and the father of the fuck who had shown up to the quarry last night, guns blazing. His daughter was Haven Benson, the girl Kai was obsessed with, and her brother Alex was becoming a real pain in the dick for The Brotherhood.

“Petrov,” I said grimly. “He’s behind this.”

My father nodded. “It appears so. And he’s getting bolder.”

I frowned, processing this information. “I thought we had an agreement with Petrov. He stays out of our business, we stay out of his.”

My father’s lips thinned into a grim line. “Apparently, he’s decided that agreement no longer suits him. He’s testing our borders, pushing to see how far he can go before we push back.”

I leaned back in my chair, my mind racing. “So we push back. Hard. We send a message that The Brotherhood is not to be fucked with.”

A cold smile curved my father’s lips. “We will. But while we are doing that, I need you to infiltrate their organization by hacking into their networks. I want names, addresses, accounts, and associates. I want to know where they are going and with who—every movement tracked.”

I raised a brow. “You’re suggesting subtlety?” I nodded, already mentally mapping out my plan of attack. “I’ll gain access to their systems. Passwords, encryption keys . . .”

“Whatever you need. Just get it done.”

I rose to my feet. “Consider it handled.”

As I turned to leave, my father’s voice stopped me. “And, son?”

I paused, glancing back over my shoulder.

“Don’t let your . . . extracurricular activities distract you from your duties.” His tone was deceptively mild, but I could hear the steel beneath.

My jaw clenched. He knew about her. Of course he did. The bastard had eyes and ears everywhere. But I’d be damned if I’d let him use her as a pawn in this game.

“My focus is on the job,” I said coldly. “As always.”

His eyes glittered with a hard light. “See that it stays that way.”

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