Page 131 of Between Us

“Are we sure Nikolai is with him?” Alek asked as they waited at a red light.

“Nikolai and Sergey both.”

Roman could understand why Nikolai had betrayed him—resentment for being stripped of one's position within the organization went a long way. But Sergey...he could attribute no reasons for his backstabbing other than stupidity and a whole lot of greediness.

The opportunity to take the three of them out within the same night meant that Roman's luck was changing. As much as he hated being indebted to the Rossettis, he knew that Matteo’s intervention the night before had most probably saved all of their lives, and Roman could only be grateful for second chances. This time, he was determined to make it count.

A young boss was an inexperienced boss, which was exactly what his enemies banked on.

Oleg's misfortune?

Roman was a fast learner. He had no intention to repeat Vitaly’s mistakes, or even his.

“Park over there,” he told Alek, pointing to an empty spot next to a trash container.

The other two cars came to a stop behind them. Stepan and Dimitri got out, followed by Andrei and Konstantin in the third car.

Roman climbed out of the passenger seat and adjusted his suit jacket over the Kevlar vest he had underneath. They’d come dressed normally, not wanting to attract more attention than necessary.

The street behind Oleg's apartment building was deserted at that late hour. Roman had no intention of hiding, but parking three cars up front was sure to alert Oleg of their presence, so they had gone to the back instead.

“Let's get this shit over with,” he said to the men gathered around him.

They entered the building through the ramp going into the underground parking. Walking around the lowered barrier, they passed the empty security boothand headed straight for the elevator.

Roman felt his lips curve up.

His luck really was turning around tonight.

He nodded that Dimitri should go first. “You know what to do.”

Dimitri got into the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. He was going to disable the doorman working the front desk before he saw all of them and hit the panic button.

“Stepan, the cameras.”

“All covered,” Stepan confirmed, doing something on his phone. “Tonight's footage will be erased as soon as we leave the building.”

Roman nodded and checked his watch.

When the three-minute mark hit, he called the elevator again.

Dimitri was casually leaning against the front desk when they made it into the luxurious lobby. The doorman was nowhere in sight, and Roman knew Dimitri had shoved his unconscious body under the heavy desk behind him. In a couple of hours, he would be waking up to chaos all around him. The event was sure to make the front page tomorrow, and it was exactly what Roman wanted. A powerful statement achieved more than words could, and with the type of men he had to deal with, fear was always the most effective motivator.

Since Oleg lived in the penthouse, he used a private elevator that could be accessed only via a key code or with a little help from the front desk.

“Try not to blow your cover,” Roman told Dimitri who had snatched the doorman's employee tag and clipped it to his suit jacket.

Dimitri gave him a slow grin. “No worries, boss.” He checked the name on the tag. “Don't I look like a Ben?”

Roman ignored him. It was risky to leave Dimitri in plain sight where he could be discovered by any one of the nosier tenants. But they needed to get in and out of the penthouse without issue, and since they didn’t have the key code, this was the only alternative.

He motioned for the rest of the men to follow him as he went for the private elevator.

“He lives better than you,” Stepan observed as they passed a row of Greek-inspired marble sculptures in different stages of undress.

Andrei chuckled, his fingers brushing over the naked breast of a female statue. “Not for long though.”

Roman gave a slight shake of his head, deciding not to engage. As soon as they were in the elevator ascending to the top floor, everyone pulled out their guns, all playfulness gone from their demeanor.

---