Page 36 of Precious Legacy

“Speaking of eye fucking,” Varo mentions, kicking my foot underneath the coffee table. “You and Lani. What’s going on there?”

Shrugging, I dart a gaze at Haldon, who just smirks back at me. “Let’s just say I’m pushing all the right buttons.”

“Okay, too much information!” Varo bellows, standing from his seat. “Let’s make sure the girls get home and then we can head over to the docks.”

After dropping the girls at Alanis’ apartment, it takes us forty minutes to get through the city and over to Brooklyn. The docks of the Navy yard sit on the edge of the East River. During the summer, it’s a picturesque landscape where you get an awesome view of the sun setting over the city. In the winters, the air turns bitter and crisp. The weather is unpredictable and relentless. I’ve always preferred the weather in California to here, which is why I’m grumbling the whole way from the car to the docks.

“Thought you were harder than this,” Varo comments, shoving me with his shoulder as I pull the collar of my coat over my neck.

“Me too,” I retort.

We all walk silently in sync. As promised, it’s just the three of us, though we have men on standby should this meeting go sideways. I’m hoping it doesn’t, but it’s better to cover our asses than have them handed to us.

Ahead of us, the Federov brothers, Vadim and Konstantin, stand together. I’ve only met the men once or twice. Since they never had any direct involvement with my businesses until now, I’ve never had the need to speak with them. But twenty years has aged them, and they look like they’ve been involved in one too many altercations. One has a scar across his face, while the other clutches a cane close to his side. Like all organizations, there comes a time where the mantle has to be passed down. If you fail in passing the legacy on, you run the risk of destroying everything you’ve built.

The Five succeeded in directing us three into our roles, giving us enough guidance to ensure their legacy lived on. But it’s obvious the Russians don’t follow the same rules. Greed does that to people; to desperate people. Every ounce of power feeds their ego. Every inch of freedom grants them more authority.

Milo approaches us, his tall figure eating up the glow of the floodlights planted around the area. “Thanks for meeting us,” he beams, holding his hand out to Varo.

He takes one look at it before refocusing his gaze on the men ahead of us. “It’s not like we had much choice,” he grumbles.

“Formalities,” Milo responds, holding his hand out to me.

I take it, shaking it firmly. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

We turn and follow Milo as if he’s an executioner walking us to our deaths. In any other circumstance, he might as well be, but from the look of the Russians, I think health is on our side today. He introduces us to Vadim and Konstantin, and I note the differences between them both. Konstantin leans against his cane, holding his hand out to shake Haldon’s first.

“Thank you for agreeing to come here.” Konstantin smiles as he shakes our hands. “I understand there’s animosity that has settled between us and I want to clear that up.”

“Going after my businesses doesn’t just cause animosity, Federov.” I dart my gaze between Konstantin and Vadim, not really sure who to address. By the looks of things, neither hold power over the other.

“But you can’t fault us for trying,” Vadim laughs. I can tell already that he’s going to be the problem here. The arrogance that oozes from him irritates me and proves exactly why we need to set boundaries tonight.

Konstantin carries himself with more elegance; a calmness that projects through his words.

His brother looks like a loose cannon that I really don’t want to cross.

“You know your boundaries,” Varo reminds them.

“Of course,” Konstantin answers. “Though we would like to discuss the extension of our permits.”

“You don’t have any,” Haldon states.

“But we would like that to be a possibility,” Konstantin replies, gesturing to the docks with his cane. “Our supply has increased, and we’d like to be able to use the docks more frequently.”

“In exchange for what?” Varo asks.

“Whatever you’d like.” Konstantin answers. “Increase our taxes if you must, but you look the other way.”

“Look the other way?” Haldon shifts beside me. I can practically feel the unease rolling off him. “What are you bringing in?”

“That is what ‘looking the other way’ means. No questions, no paperwork. Allow us to use the docks freely.” Vadim bounces his assertive gaze from Alvaro, to me, to Haldon. We must all wear the same expression, because he laughs deeply. “Don’t look so worried, boys. None of our imports concern you. And we’ll let you off about not distributing our liquor in your clubs, even though you’ve taken your cut.”

“Careful, Federov. You’re close to treading the line that separates business and personal,” I warn.

Another deep laugh fills the space between us, this time from Vadim. “You’re just boys,” he scoffs. “What would you know?”

And there it is. He just made this personal.

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