Page 76 of Royal Beast
The barb lands hard, Aleksey visibly tensing as his hand flexes against the table. Anatoly raises a hand again, silencing his cousin.
“Enough,” Anatoly says, his tone sharper now. “We’re not here to bicker like children. This meeting is a courtesy, a chance for you to avoid the inevitable.”
“And yet here we are,” Rory replies coolly, “with you circling the same demands like vultures, hoping we’ll cave. It’s not happening.”
Dariy leans forward, his smirk gone, replaced by a dangerous sneer. “You act like you’ve got all the power, but you’re cornered. Your little family can’t stand against the full weight of ours, and you know it.”
“And yet you’re the ones here asking for a deal,” I shoot back. “Doesn’t seem like we’re the ones cornered.”
Anatoly’s calm façade cracks for the briefest moment, his jaw tightening. “This isn’t a request. It’s a warning.”
“A warning?” Rory’s voice is sharp, cutting through the tension. “Funny, it sounds a lot like you’re begging.”
The room shifts, the tension nearly boiling over as the Russians bristle. Dariy starts to rise from his chair, but Anatoly places a hand on his arm, keeping him in place.
“Watch your words,” Anatoly says, his voice low and venomous. “You’re not untouchable, no matter how much you like to think you are.”
“And neither are you,” I counter, my tone equally cold.
Anatoly’s daughter, who has been silent until now, speaks up, her voice light but pointed. “Men like you never learn, do you? Always so eager to cling to what little you have, even when it’s slipping through your fingers.”
Her words draw another glance from Liam, who quickly looks away, his jaw tight.
“We learn just fine,” Rory replies, his voice a razor’s edge. “And the first thing we learned is not to trust snakes offering deals.”
Both sides continue to trade barbs back and forth, the conversation spiraling into a circular argument. Every offer from Anatoly is met with firm rejection, every counter from Rorydismissed with a scoff. Frustration simmers, and the room feels like it might combust at any moment.
“We’re not here to walk away with nothing,” he says, his voice low and steady. “If we’re going to avoid burning the whole city down, we need middle ground.”
Anatoly smirks, but there’s no humor in it. “Middle ground? Let’s hear it, Brannagan.”
“You want more control over the docks and the waterfront district,” Rory says. “Fine. We’ll step back, but only if we get our casino land returned. That means full ownership and no interference from your side.”
Anatoly’s eyes narrow, his lips pulling into a tight line. “You’re asking us to give back land you couldn’t hold. That doesn’t sound much like middle ground to me.”
“You didn’t ‘win’ that land,” I snap, the words leaving my mouth sharper than intended. “You took it through underhanded bureaucracy. Handing it back is the least you can do if you want us to play nice.”
Dariy chuckles darkly from Anatoly’s right, leaning back in his chair like he’s amused. “And what’s stopping us from keeping the docksandthe casino?”
“Common sense,” Rory says before I can. His voice is measured, but there’s an edge to it. “Push too far, and no one wins. We’re not going to fold, and neither are you. But we all know when it’s time to stop swinging and start talking—or at least, I thought we did.”
Dariy’s smirk falters, but Anatoly’s gaze doesn’t waver. He studies Rory for a long moment, then shifts his eyes to me, then Liam, and finally, Lucky.
“The docks will be ours,” Anatoly says, his tone clipped. “You’ll stay out of our way there. And we’ll give you the casino.”
“Fine,” Rory says, his voice even. “But if there’s one more attack on our territory, this ends. No more talking. No more negotiating.”
Anatoly stands, extending his hand. “You drive a hard bargain, Brannagan. I’ll give you that.”
The tension doesn’t fade as both sides step back. Dariy locks eyes with Lucky, his expression daring, while Anatoly’s daughter lingers near the door, throwing Liam a look that’s impossible to read.
When the door closes behind them, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“This isn’t over,” Rory mutters, turning to face us. “Not by a long shot.”
I nod, clenching my fists to steady myself. “At least now we’ve got something to work with.”
As we walk out of the diner, my phone buzzes.
