Page 105 of Arranged Obsession
With some hesitation, Dad finishes his drink, pours himself another, and lets out a long breath. “Cormac, you’ve been perfect. And I suppose that made meexpectperfection from you, while I don’t hold anyone else to that kind of standard. Perhaps I’ve been too hard.”
I swear, I must finally be losing my mind.
I knew this was going to happen one day. I mean, I’ve always been fucking crazy. But I really thought I had it under control. My marriage to Bianca’s been really good for my mental health.
Apparently not. I’m undergoing a mental crisis.
“We’ve had issues with the Morozovs for years,” Declan points out. “There’s a reason you wanted Yuri dead to begin with. Yes, Cormac getting caught complicated things, but still. The tension was already there. He only heightened the stakes.”
“Once again, my sons prove smarter and more levelheaded than me.” Dad leans back, slowly rocking his glass side to side. Ice tinkles against glass. “Which still leaves us with a problem. The Russians are getting more and more aggressive. We have to be prepared for war.”
Everyone goes quiet. The prospect of straight-out vicious turf killings doesn’t sit well with anyone.
But if that’s what it takes, I’ll slaughter each and every one of the Morozov bastards, so long as it means Bianca stays safe and in my arms.
“I assume we can’t count on the Marinos for support,” Declan muses softly to himself. “We wouldn’t go down to Philadelphia to fight one of their wars either, to be fair to them.”
“Don Marino will provide what he can, but we won’t factor them into our plans.” Dad grimly leans forward on his elbows. “If anyone’s got a problem with moving forward to a war posture, speak now.”
I stare at my brothers. Declan’s staying quiet, though he looks thoughtful. Finn seems almost eager.
Seamus has the most to lose. He’s the ground-level general. If this really does come to outright fighting, it’s his men on the front lines. He’ll see the most death, do the most murdering, and carry the most risk.
“Always wanted to fight a war,” he says with a smirk and a shrug. “Sounds like fun.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I push back from the table and rise to my feet, hands clenched into fists. “What are you all doing?”
Dad looks surprised. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“This war doesn’t have to happen.” I gesture around at them. “We could have found a way to slow things down, but I’ve been aggressively pursuing the Russians. I’ve been doing it to protectmy wife. But you’re all acting like this is in the family’s best interest.”
Silence falls again. I know what I’m saying. They don’t want to pin the blame on me, but I can’t act like I’m not the one antagonizing the Morozovs. I killed Fyodor. I threatened and nearly shot Taras in the head. Yeah, they made two attempts on my wife, but under other circumstances, that could be considered a mild response to what I’ve done so far.
“Brother, we’re on your side,” Declan says simply.
“They tried to blow up your wife,” Seamus points out. “She’s one ofusnow. You think I’m going to let that slide?” He snorts, shaking his head. “Fuck that. The Russians burn. Nobody touches my family.”
I stare at them. Finn’s nodding and even Dad seems like he agrees.
“I didn’t expect this,” I admit, sinking back into my chair. “I just assumed I had to handle this on my own.”
“Nah, bro, you’re not alone.” Finn nods and raises a glass in a salute.
I sit back and listen as they discuss war plans. They talk about gathering weapons, body armor, and ammunition. There are crews to build, men to train, territory to defend. Bribes will have to be paid out in enormous sums to the police.
At the end of it, I feel overwhelmed by their support. I never imagined they’d be on my side. All this time, I had assumed it was me against the Bratva. My job to clean up my mistake. My sins and my failures.
But I’m not alone.
“You’ve done pretty good so far, all things considered,” Seamus says once the meeting is over. Declan and Finn remain behind at the pub to drink while Dad gets straight into a car to head home. We walk together toward where I’m parked under a dim street light. “Seriously, the Morozovs have been looking for an excuse to start shit for a long while. What happened with Yuri is basically just a pretext.”
“He was the Pakhan’s nephew.”
“Eh, so what? He was a stupid shit.” Seamus slows and stops, his lips pulling into a vicious smile. Sometimes I forget that my brother is as ruthless as I am, only better at feeling emotions. “I actually have a present for you.”
“What’s that? It’s not even my birthday.”
“My boys intercepted some rumors you might be interested in.” Seamus crosses his arms, smile fading. “Russians got a shipment coming in. Allegedly, it’s coming from the cartels. Which means big drugs.”
