Mikhail is already seated at a table in the back corner. Private but visible enough to discourage stupidity. He looks worse than I expected. The suit hangs loose on his frame. His skin has that gray pallor of a deathly ill man. But his eyes are still sharp, still calculating.
I approach the table, and he doesn’t stand. Can’t or won’t, I’m not sure which.
“Sokolov,” he says. His voice is raspy, like he’s been running miles. Another sign of his poor health.
“Mikhail.” I take the seat across from him. “Thank you for meeting.”
“I was curious what you wanted. We haven’t spoken in years.”
A server appears immediately. I order water. Mikhail already has scotch in front of him, though I notice he hasn’t touched it.
“I’ll be direct,” I say once we’re alone again. “Your nephew is making moves. Aggressive ones. And they’re putting both our operations at risk.”
“Yuri is ambitious. That’s not a crime.”
“Attempted murder is.”
Mikhail’s expression doesn’t change. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He’s tried to kill your daughter twice in the last week. If her guard hadn’t been faster than the vehicle, Sofia would be dead right now.”
He doesn’t even flinch at the thought of her on the pavement.
Anger flashes across his face. Mad at Yuri or mad that I know?
“That’s a serious accusation,” he says.
“It’s the truth. Your daughter is the biggest obstacle between him and your empire. He wants your seat. He’ll kill her to get it.”
“And you care about my daughter’s welfare because?”
I hold his gaze. “I care about stability. A succession war in the Baranov family destabilizes the entire city. That affects my operations. That affects everyone’s operations.”
“So this is about your bottom line.”
“Everything is about the bottom line, Mikhail.”
“My family is not your business.”
Any man willing to throw his own daughter to the wolves deserves to be torn apart by them.
“When he takes over, he’ll start pushing into my territory because men like Yuri can’t help themselves.”
“If he takes it, he earns it.”
I clench my jaw. “Are you backing Yuri’s move?”
“Not your concern.”
“You’ll let him kill your daughter?”
Given what this man has done to other women he supposedly loves, I know it’s possible.
Mikhail picks up his scotch, takes a small sip, then sets it down carefully. “What do you want from me?”
His non-answer sends chills down my spine.
“An alliance. Sofia inherits when you die. I back her claim. In exchange, we maintain the existing territorial agreements and establish formal trade partnerships. We both get richer, and the city stays stable.”