Page 45 of Nikolai

"Well," Jake stands. "Let's get this shit show started, shall we?" Walking toward the other end of the room, he yells, "Church." I fall in behind my father and Logan.

Once everyone has filled the room and taken their seats, including Victor, who is always at my father's side, Jake slams the gavel on the surface of the table. "Alright, listen up. As you all know, we had ourselves an incident that took place out at Charley's." Jake looks at me. "Neither one of those fuckers had any identification on them, so we put the word out trying to identify who they are. Unfortunately, none of our contacts or people in town knew anything about them, and believe me, in this town, people notice new faces hanging around. I contacted Lex and asked him for a favor. I sent him images of the guys from the security feed at Charley's. If he gets any hits on the FBI database, he'll email the results. These men threatened Demetri's woman. A threat none of us are taking lightly." Jake peers around the room. "With that said, I'm givin' the floor to our brother." Jake jerks his head toward my father.

Leaning back in his seat, my father speaks. "As most of you already know, a threat was made against Glory, and those details were shared with you. Because of that, and now with what happened here in Polson, I have to assume, both threats are related, yet we have no leads."

"Well, I sure as hell was hoping for more answers than what we have. Now, we've got a bunch of dead men and zero leads on who's fuckin' with my family," Logan quips.

"Unfortunately, my son is right." My father stands. My eyes follow him as he crosses the room where a fresh pot of coffee sits and pours himself a cup. "My soldiers found nothing. No fingerprints left on the package. The surveillance video from the restaurant shows nothing but a young delivery boy arriving shortly after we did. The boy took off down the street. Nobody has seen him since. It was Victor who felt something was not right and opened the box."

"Where was Sergei during all of this?" I am irritated at the fact my father hasn't shared any of this with me until now.

His hand tightens around the mug. He sits back in his seat and glances across the table at me. "Sergei is dead."

"How?"

"I killed him." My father's eyes flick to the other side of the room where Victor sits, his arms folded across his chest. Victor looks at me, confirming my father's admission with a tight nod.

"Why?" I ask.

My father's face hardens. "He stole from me. Over two million dollars to be exact."

Logan leans back in his chair. "Do you think he was behind these threats against Glory?"

"No. None of that leads back to him or the men he was selling my inventory to. Sergei simply became blinded by his greed. In the end, it cost him his life," my father replies.

"We'll keep our ears to the ground. In the meantime, I want everyone here to keep their eyes open. Report to Demetri or me if you hear or see anything." Jake slams the gavel.

Getting up from my seat, I walk out of the room. "Nikolai," I stop after my father calls my name. I look at him, not hiding my irritation. "You are angry with me," he states.

"I should have known about Sergei's betrayal and death before the others," I'm forward with my disapproval.

"Your attention to the safety of your woman was far more important than Sergei's demise. My decision to keep this information to myself was based solely on those facts, and nothing more." Staring at my father, I try to see his point of view. "Making sure your happiness and future are secure means more to me than you realize, son."

How can I continue to be angry with him after his admission? Besides, I decided to take a step back from many of my obligations. My father could have thrown that in my face, but he hasn't. "I apologize for my anger," I tell him.

My father pulls me in for a brief hug—something he does more often than he used to. "So, how is Leah?" he asks as he pulls away.

Thoughts of her waiting for my return cause me to smile. "She's good."

"We are lucky men, you and I," my father's eyes leave my face. I look over my shoulder and notice Glory standing with a few of the other women across the room.

"I'm happy for you, father," I tell him. "She's good for you."

"I'm happy for you too, son. I have seen a change in you since Leah has entered your life," my father says, his eyes still locked on his woman.

"I was thinking of moving into the guest house," I bring up a topic that's been on my mind since he mentioned he and Glory would be spending more time in Polson. My father finally shifts his attention back to me. "I don't think two couples living under one roof is an ideal situation."

My father nods, placing his hands into the front pockets of his suit pants. "True."

"And I'm looking at another four to six weeks before the construction of my new home is complete," I add.

"I'll inform the staff," my father says and retrieves his phone.

"No need." I stop him from calling. "I'm heading back now. I'll take care of everything myself."

Later that night,after leaving the party being held at the Kings' clubhouse, Leah and I are in the guest house getting settled while eating dinner. "I'm so relieved." Leah sits on the sofa. "To be honest, I like this place better, not that the main house isn't nice. It's just; the guest house feels cozier."

Grabbing a cold beer from the refrigerator, I join my woman in the living room. "You mean more intimate?" Leaning in, give her a quick kiss, then steal a bite of her pizza, making her giggle. A pounding on the front door interrupts our dinner. It seems to be becoming a pattern lately. Sitting my bottle down, I cross the room and answer it. Maxim fills the space, his chest heaving like he's been in a marathon, and I'm suddenly on high alert. "Your father needs you. Glory is in trouble. The enemy is in active pursuit of her and Sasha as we speak."

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