I can’t help but wonder if things would have been different if it hadn’t been Anton there. He was fast. He was alert. The others, not so much.
Anton had been hanging back to avoid being noticed. He still got to her in time. I owe him. The fact that it was his job changes nothing.
I down the scotch. The burn does nothing for the rage building in my chest.
Someone tried to kill her. Again. In broad daylight. In a crowded park.
And I wasn’t there to stop it.
It’s irrational. I can’t be everywhere. That’s why I put men on her. But the thought of her on the ground, vulnerable, exposed makes me want to burn this entire city down until I find whoever gave that order.
I’m pretty sure I know exactly who set it up. And I won’t have to look very far. In fact, he’ll come straight to me.
Kirill arrives ten minutes later. He takes one look at my face and pours himself a drink without asking.
“Talk,” I say.
He pulls out his phone, scrolling through something. “From what I’m being told, the SUV was stolen about an hour before the rundown. It was dumped about a block away from where she was hit.”
“Yuri?”
“Yuri,” he confirms. “One of my operatives confirmed it two hours ago. The driver was a contractor Yuri’s been using since he arrived. Low-level. Expendable. We’re tracking him down now. Probably already fled the city or is dead.”
I drain my glass. “When you find him, bring him to me.”
Kirill nods. He knows what that means. If he’s still alive, the driver will tell me everything he knows before I’m done with him. Then he’ll disappear into the East River.
“This escalates things,” Kirill says carefully. “Yuri’s not testing anymore. He’s trying to remove her. He seems to be in a hurry.You think that means Mikhail’s days left in the land of the living are shorter than we thought?”
“Seems to be the case. I want to know if Mikhail is part of Yuri’s operation.”
“You think Mikhail is okay with Yuri trying to take out his own daughter?”
I give him a look. “You don’t think he would be, just to see which one comes out on top?”
“That’s a harsh test for an heir, even for him.”
“Do I need to remind you of what he did to his own wife?” I hiss the words.
“Point taken.”
“If he succeeds, if Yuri takes over the Baranov operation, he becomes a problem. A significant problem.”
Yuri is ambitious, reckless, and has something to prove. He’ll offer me a sweetheart deal on the surface, only to push into my territory. He’ll challenge my control. He’ll destabilize everything I’ve built because he needs to prove himself to the old guard back home.
Sofia is predictable. She’s smart, cautious, and she understands the value of stability. She knows the rules. She respects the boundaries. She’s been running things for a while and knows the key players. There is respect there.
Yuri is here to shake shit up.
And I don’t like it. With Sofia, I know where the lines are.
“Sofia stays in that chair,” I say.
“Yuri seems…ambitious. Could mean more action.”
“Yuri wants action. Chaos, doubt, intimidation works for his goals,” I say. “That’s not going to do us any good. He’s going to change the landscape, and none of that helps us.”
“Is there another reason?” he asks quietly. “Another reason you want her at the head of that family?”