Page 68 of Savage Bratva King

Her tone has lost some of its abrasiveness. She is the only person I have ever told about what I witnessed in our father’s study when I was five years old.

“I’ll sort it.”

Andrej is about to mention Gianna’s failed escape attempt, but I shoot him down with a barely perceptible shake of my head. The second coffee is starting to hit the spot, and this game of chess with my rivals is what I do best.

“Fine.” Victoria’s tone makes it blatantly obvious that everything is far from fine, but she knows when to stop pushing. Another quality that makes her the best. “So, how did the police commissioner’s future son-in-law got caught in the crossfire?”

“Let’s just say that it was a case of wrong place, wrong time. It was too late for Xander to pull out, so he went with Plan B.”

Victoria steeples her fingers on the table. “So, now what?”

I refill my cup a third time, taking my time. I need Victoria on board with what I’m about to suggest. It doesn’t matter what Andrej thinks; we’ve both learned to work around him over the years.

“Xander has never gotten the police commissioner on his side. They tolerate each other while the Amory Corp funds the commissioner’s vacation homes. Xander is too volatile for the relationship to go any further.”

“Our mother however…”

I smile. “Our mother is close to the commissioner’s wife. They’ve come to respect one another through their philanthropic involvement. He won’t want to hit us if he can find a way around it because his wife will make his life a living hell.”

“So, what do you propose?”

“We’re going to build and fund a women’s refuge in the city.”

Silence. Victoria hasn’t immediately quashed the idea which is a good start.

“Have you discussed this with Gianna Sedric?” she asks eventually.

“Not yet. She was working in a women’s refuge in Montenegro before her family requested her presence back in Chicago.”

Victoria unlocks her tablet, and I give her time to do whatever research can’t wait until the meeting is over. “So, you want our mother to sell the idea to the commissioner’s wife.”

“With your assistance and expertise.”

“Don’t flatter me, Leo. It doesn’t suit you.” Victoria looks up from her tablet. “And you think this will sway the commissioner’s attention in our favor.”

“I know it will.”

“That’s it?” Andrej’s voice slices through the air in the boardroom. “That’s your master plan? Throw a fucking refuge into the mix and convince the cops to look the other way?”

I bristle at his choice of words. I haven’t seen Gianna at work, but I’ve seen how she is with Marvel and Lucky, and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that helping people and animals less fortunate than herself is her passion. I want this to work for her sake as well as to get Xander Amory off my case.

“Andrej.” Victoria doesn’t care for his tone either.

“What?” He uncrosses his legs and swings his seat around to face the table. “You’re not buying into this shit! You know he’s doing this for the little printzessa, right?”

“So, what if he is?”

Andrej narrows his eyes. “You don’t think it is out of character for our big brother to suddenly announce that he has a caring side? What next, huh? He’ll take a sabbatical and go set up a gorilla sanctuary in Rwanda?”

“I revert back to my initial observation, Andrej.” Victoria stares him out. “If you have nothing constructive to say, then please zip it.”

“Fuck this.” Andrej stands up, scraping his chair backwards across the polished wooden floor, and goes to the door. “I’ll be sure to come and visit you when this all comes crashing down on your heads.”

He leaves the room, slamming the door behind him, and we wait for the dust motes to settle silently before we resume the conversation.

“Talk to me, Leo. What does this have to do with Gianna Sedric?”

“She has hands-on experience of working in a refuge. I want to involve her from the planning stage right through to completion.”

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