Page 68 of The Enemy's Defector
“It’s time to end the Kozlov Family,” Maxim stated ruthlessly at this meeting downtown.
I tightened the knot of my tie, never having gotten the hang of them, and nodded. It sure was fucking time to end them.
“But how can we know this isn’t a diversion from the Romanos?” Hugo, one of our best supervisors, asked. “How can we trust that all these rumors are right?”
I shook my head. “It no longer matters. I was held on a Kozlov property. Even though I was relocated, beaten, and originally captured by third-party contractors, Anton Kozlov participated in my captivity by hosting me in one of his fucking cells.”
Saul, seated at the table in a chair next to Maxim, leaned over and rubbed his face. “No one’s arguing with you on that point, Nik. But what if we focus too much on Anton and in the meantime, the Romanos drive in and strike us harder somewhere?”
“We’ve already been working with the general idea that the Kozlovs and Romanos have been operating with a loose alliance as partners,” Damon added. “I see what you’re saying. If we go all in to take out Anton and his Kozlov organization, we need to be careful that we’re not ignoring the Romanos in the meantime.”
Facing two fronts of an attack wasn’t ideal, but we could manage it. Usually, when crime families teamed up, it was small groups that would build into a bigger coalition. They never ended well. They’d get too big. No one respected one leader and infighting would break it all up. That was partly why we’d always been isolated, and at the top. Father never wanted a steady ally where control would become a point of conflict, but he valued secure friends. Like Thomas Kozlov once was.
I stayed back, walking back and forth as I let the others talk. The supervisors and leaders within the organization all chimed in. They were the men on the street, on the frontlines. Like Father used to, Maxim sat patiently and listened to them all. He would always show his willingness to listen and react, not be a dictator for the sake of holding all the power over the rest of us.
Still, the men couldn’t seem to agree.
If we’d go forward with a plan to annihilate the Kozlovs, then watch the Romanos.
If we’d split our efforts and try to take out both parties.
Or if we’d kill Anton only and focus on the Romanos as a group.
One thing wouldn’t be changed. I wouldn’t allow it.
“Anton Kozlov needs to die,” I stated once the clamor and discussions faded in the large meeting room.
I said it for Katerina. I declared it as revenge for my capture.
“But do you have proof that he is the one who hired the contractors to capture you?” one supervisor asked.
“Or are you eager to kill him just because you married his niece?” another asked.
“Regardless of what part Anton Kozlov had in my capture, he was behind it to some extent and that is enough of a reason for me.” I stood straighter, daring anyone to reject Katerina’s place in our family. “Most of all, though, he needs to be eliminatednow, not later, because he’s put a hit on her. He placed a hit on her because she has always sided with me, with our organization. He wants her dead despite the fact that she is carrying my child, one of the future generation who will lead this family after us.”
No one contested me on that point.
“From what I recalled during my captivity, it seems most likely that Dominic Romano has played a heavy hand in this operation. They are equally to blame for the crimes against the Ivanov Syndicate.”
Saul nodded. “From what we’ve compiled from the surveillance copies Katerina provided, it seems that they split the tasks. The Romanos likely arranged for your capture and movement, but Anton provided the holding places.”
Maxim sighed, adding a growling rumble to it. He was clearly exasperated, and knowing my brother as well as I did, I could tell that he was getting impatient. Like the rest of us, he wanted this crap over with. Stepping into a position of power was a huge adjustment, but he wasn’t even doing it during a time of peace. He had to juggle a new wife, the coming of his child, and keeping the organization safe and profitable against a two-pronged attack.
“This is just like before,” he muttered. Looking at Damon, then me, he furrowed his brow. “We were younger then, but when we were captured and held…”
“Then almost shot,” Damon added, scowling, “all because of Beatrice’s affair and her willingness to appease her lover by having us killed.”
I tried not to dwell on those memories. Remembering that one woman could’ve held that much power over my fate chilled me, and it was a weighty part of why I’d struggled to commit for so long.
“No one could tell who’d taken us then,” Maxim reminded us all. “We were taken as a way to bring down the family. The sons of thePakhanwere held and almost killed because the enemies wanted to end us all and ruin the family.” He stood, seeming too restless to sit while he dredged up these thoughts. “That was the last time someone had worked on an endless campaign to end us. Now we’re wondering who to target with this. It’s déjà vu.”
I shrugged. “I won’t change my mind. I say we kill Anton and handle the Kozlovs. I will call war upon them for whatever part they’ve played against us. And if the Romanos were in it, too, they can take this as a message that they’ll be next.”
Half of the room cheered my cutthroat remarks. Those who weren’t as vocal in agreement would go along with it anyway.
I didn’t blame some of the men for being nervous about focusing too much on only half of our problem, but at the same time, it seemed more foolhardy to do nothing for now and wait. It wouldn’t be feasible to take out all of the Kozlovs and the Romanos at once.
Saul was contemplative, though. I noticed him watching Maxim, picking up on how our older brother seemed uneasy to choose one way or another, whether we should go after Anton Kozlov with the full force of the Ivanov Syndicate now or wait.
