Page 12 of The Tsar's Obsession
Italians, for one. Colombians, second. And I was pretty sure Polina was about to deliver the news I suspected.
On days like these, I regretted coming here. Regretted leaving home and restarting all over. I should have just brought Mia back to Moscow; problem solved.
Our little office was inconspicuous, tucked away on a quiet street in East Harlem, the three-story building once belonging to some Catholic parish. The irony of who entered that building now and what it once was wasn’t lost on me.
Polina’s perfume filled up my office, giving me a headache in the process. Her updates were taking forever, and while I listened to her words, mentally, I was somewhere else.
With Mia. For her, I did it all for her. I uprooted my entire life, moved a stable and profitable business, gave up my undisputed position back home, and transported everything across the Atlantic Ocean, so I could be here with her, so I couldgether.
It was worth it because, really, she was the reason I was the man I became. I had been possessed with the image of making her mine, and I changed myself, improved myself, and made myself worthy of her.
I had thought about it so many times. What would she havesaid if some Russian criminal approached her and asked her out on a date? But now, I wasn’tsomecriminal, no. In fact, I wasn’t a criminal at all! I was a businessman, an investor, and an entrepreneur. A banker even!
My journey to the top was littered with corpses, sins, and mistakes. But not now. Now, all that was in the past; now I was just the man in control. In power.
“Danila called from Moscow,” Polina startled me out of my thoughts with her raspy voice. “Both Ivanov and Rubenstein have placed their men in the Ministry of Finance. Since none of us are there, they’re infringing on our territories,” she huffed. “It was a mistake coming here, Kirill.”
Polina had been with me for a long time. She was sixteen and I was nineteen when our paths crossed. A very unorthodox partner—a woman. Women had no business in my world; everyone knew that. They were mostly used as leverage, as bait, the perfect point of pressure.
There were only a few that were strong enough to withstand the brutality and make a name for themselves throughout the years. Polina was one of them. But I liked working with women. They were easier to get along with, and unlike men, they weren’t as impulsive and emotional.
Polina was my quality control, and like a damn bloodhound, she could sniff out deceit from within our ranks. In the almost sixteen years of working together, she had made a mistake only twice. Undoubtedly, her record of success was impressive, but she was wrong now. It wasn’t a mistake.
“That opinion serves no one. We’re here now—work with it. Danila is a smart boy; he’ll figure it out.” I stood at the window and looked down at the alleyway where my car was waiting for me. “What are these whispers I’m hearing about The Skhodka?”
Every year, I held a meeting with all my top men—The Skhodka. Like it was in the past, I continued the tradition, and this year, I proposed we do it in New York.
Modern Russia wasn’t like the Soviet Union. We didn’t have the samestructure or laws as before; we didn’t follow the Thieves’ Code anymore—we merely lived in its shadow. And I was the enforcer.
Polina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She should have opened up with that, not some drivel about Danila, who was in charge back home. I texted him almost daily and knew all his updates before she did.
“Some…a few don’t want to come to New York for it. Not now,especiallynot now. Some are proposing Split or Budapest.”
One thing about being in charge and at the top was the never-ending pushback. Sure, there were entire battalions that were loyal and would kill for me, but there were always a few that pushed the envelope. Always a couple of men who thought they could do what I did— be better, smarter, more violent.
“Split? They can’t combine this with a vacation. Most of them own real estate here anyway; what’s the problem with New York?” I finally turned to her, the shine of her jewelry blinding me. “Who’s spreading these words of nonconfidence?” Someone was blatantly defying me. Someone close, someone who I trusted.
“I’m not sure yet. I’ve already put out feelers. Why are we here, Kirill? I mean, why are wereallyhere? You gave up so much with this move, and this year hasn’t proven to be anything to write home about. Literally.”
Something was going on with Polina. Usually talkative and upbeat, she looked dejected and frustrated. She’d alsoneverquestioned my judgment before. She owed me her life, and she never forgot the favor I did for her.
“Give it time, Polina.” I shrugged in my chair and played with my lighter. “What’s going on with you? Why are you so…” I wasn’t even sure what she was.
Chewing her lips, her eyes finally met mine. “Dmitry told me. Why you moved us all here? Started from scratch? Gave up literal billions back home. For some broad?” she asked in mild disbelief. “What, you can’t find quality pussy back hom–”
“Enough!” I threw my lighter down on the table with a loud clang. This was unprecedented. Notoncehad she allowed herselfto speak this way to me. “Careful with your words, Polina. I understand the transition hasn’t been easy for you. Go home then.” Fucking hell, personnel problems were growing at an alarming speed. “I’m not holding anyone hostage. If you feel this has been a mistake, go home and don’t come back.”
Dead silence fell between us, and Polina’s pale cheeks turned burgundy to match her dyed ginger hair. Her bottom lip trembled, her tears were imminent, and that unnerved me because I’d never seen her cry. Not when she’d killed her father, not when the love of her life betrayed her, not when she was shot in the knee.
“I’m sorry.” The whisper turned into a squeak, and she cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m faithful to you. Only to you. At least introduce me to your…to your girl?” Why on God’s green earth was she so interested in Mia?! And Dmitry—what a gossip queen!
“Vet every single point of contact with the cartel.” I changed the subject, and Polina nodded, gulping down hard. “I’m going to the Bahamas in a few weeks, and I need your best and strongest to travel with me. Triple check everything and everyone. I don’t want even a hiccup to go unnoticed.”
Her tall silhouette obediently exited my peripheral vision as I swallowed my feelings of unease and annoyance. I headed down to my waiting car to go seeher—the whole reason for being here.
It would all be worth it. The change, the doubts, the uncertainty—I would have my light. I would have my sunshine.
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