Page 35 of Deadly Legacy
“Those men barely would have had time to report back before this was sent.” Nikon set the phone down. It made a soft click against the wooden desk. “He’s playing games. Improvising.”
“It’s a trap.” Alexei leaned back in his chair, studying his brother with sharp eyes. “Le Délice is too public, too easy to monitor. One incident there and the Mayor’s goodwill to us evaporates, donations or no donations. Dmitrii knows that. He’s trying to force us into territory where we can’t respond without consequences.”
“Of course it’s a trap.” Nikon moved to the window. He pressed his palm against the cool glass, feeling the vibration of the city below. Late night traffic flowed like blood through veins. “The only business Dmitrii’s interested in is takingours.”
Nikon turned back to face his brother. “Decline. But have someone watch the restaurant.” Nikon made a circular motion with his finger. “Let’s see who shows up expecting to meet us.”
Alexei nodded, already typing. His fingers moved across the phone screen with nimble precision. “Done.”
“There’s something else.” Nikon returned to his desk. He sat heavily in the leather chair. “One of Dmitrii’s men mentioned Andrey.”
The typing stopped. Alexei’s fingers froze mid-air. “What about him?”
“Nothing specific.” Nikon’s voice hardened. His eyes narrowed to blue slits. “Dmitrii’s using him. Parading our brother around like a trophy of war.”
Alexei’s throat worked. The muscles in his neck corded visibly. “Andrey chose his path.”
“Yes.” Nikon rubbed his thumb across an old scar on his knuckle. “But does Dmitrii know how to use him against us?”
Chapter 11
Reuben’s handshake with Mia Adebayo lingered a moment longer than strictly necessary.
“We’ll review the final terms and be in touch tomorrow.” Her dark eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement. “But between us, Matthew Capital’s proposal addresses our security concerns in ways your competition hasn’t considered.”
The weight that had settled between his shoulder blades for the past week lightened.
“Always happy to exceed expectations.” Reuben forced his face to remain professionally neutral. But his mind was already racing ahead to Nikon’s reaction when he shared this development.
As he left the conference room with a final nod to the founders, Reuben was immediately flanked by his security detail; two broad-shouldered men with identical blank expressions.
Walking toward the elevator bank, he slipped his laptop into its leather case, filing away the subtle shifts in the expressions he’d cataloged during the meeting.
“So Wallace is making his move tomorrow morning.” Reuben’s finger tapped against his thigh.
“Likely,” his security guard confirmed, eyes scanning the hallway ahead. “We intercepted a calendar invitation while you were inside.”
The Matvei family’s surveillance capabilities never ceased to impress. Nikon’s influence had transformed Matthew Capitalfrom a money laundering front into a legitimate business with actual employees—but the shadows of their other world were never far away.
As the elevator doors closed, Reuben allowed himself a single deep breath. His security detail stood silently on either side.
“The car should be around in five minutes,” the one on his left murmured as the elevator descended toward the parking garage.
The elevator doors slid open to concrete and shadows. Something was wrong. The stillness felt manufactured, the silence too complete.
The acrid smell of exhaust permeated the garage, but none of the expected sounds of cars starting or doors closing reached his ears. His security team sensed it too, hands automatically moving beneath their jackets.
“Four o’clock,” one murmured, and Reuben’s gaze shifted right without turning his head.
A figure emerged from behind a concrete pillar, then another from between parked cars.
Two more appeared, blocking the path to their vehicle.
The security guard on his right shifted forward. “Stay behind us, Mr. Hoyt.”
Four against three.
Reuben’s pulse quickened, but his mind cleared with the familiar focus he’d developed at high-stakes poker tables.
