Page 32 of The Russian's Forced Bride
“You’re not gonna like this.”
That was the first thing Cassandra—who was still dressed in her navy-blue work outfit—said as I entered the conference room where Maxim had suggested we meet, a floor below my office. The hum of servers filled the room as Maxim appeared to be working on something at one of the seats around the sleek, wooden, rectangular table at the center of the room.
A declining graph was projected on the smart board, and at a glance, I knew I wasn’t going to like what I was about to hear.
I ran a hand through my hair before grabbing a seat across from Maxim and settling into it.
Maxim acknowledged me by briefly standing up, and after I nodded, he sat back down. I pulled out a cigarette from the breast pocket of my suit jacket and took a long drag—trying to calm my nerves—but it didn’t work. The musty taste that once helped me feel calm now only deepened my anxiety.
Meanwhile, Cassandra went up to the smart board, using a pen to point at the start of the graph, which was highlighted in green, and then began to decline by the minute in real time.
“We have two fronts,” she started out by saying. “Our laundromats at Coral Way and Little Havana have had revenue drops of over 70% this week, and even now, it’s still decreasing.”
She then swiped the page to reveal a new slide centering on each of the locations she mentioned. “We’ve been flagged for several violations, sir. Nothing like we’ve ever seen before.”
I drew in a sharp breath. “Violations like what?”
“Local inspectors flagged us for the craziest shit, Boss,” Maxim—whose attention had drifted from his laptop—now said, slamming said laptop shut. “Complained about our pipes, water heaters, and the strangest part is these were all reported anonymously.”
“These fuckers used city departments to throttle us, and it didn’t stop there.” Cassandra moved to a slide showing yet another declining graph with numbers dropping sharply.
“Vendors are suddenly backing out, saying they’ve been warned off,” Cassandra claimed.
“Threatened, even,” Maxim added. “Our closest vendor for the Little Havana laundromat said he had received an anonymous call—threatening to shoot down his family if he didn’t stop working with us….”
My eye twitched at Maxim’s words.
Joaquin Saavedra was playing a dangerous game with me. He must’ve forgotten I wasn’t just in charge of the Bratva business for nothing. I was a businessman as much as I was a killer, and I didn’t shy away from having blood on my hands.
It didn’t matter that I hadn’t killed in years. I was ready to delve back into that blood frenzy if he pushed me too far. And it didn’t matter if he was hiding either. I was going to force him out.
A dark laugh escaped from my lips. It was manic, almost psychotic, because it all felt like a sick joke. Never in my thirty-eight years had I been pushed so far against the wall.
Joaquin was clearly sending a message.
I hear you loud and clear, bastard.
I stood up from my seat, hands on the table as my mind raced, considering several temporary options until we could finally get rid of Joaquin once and for all.
I pointed to Maxim. “Funnel Miami operations through the second-tier fronts in Homestead and Hialeah. Cash is redirected from Little Havana for now. Keep the money moving.
Maxim nodded and began typing away on his laptop while I directed my attention to Cassandra, who had her iPad ready.
“Clean those inspectors. Cass, call our people at the county office and make sure reports about this shit disappear by tomorrow morning.”
“On it.”
“And Maxim, there’s one last thing I want you to do for me.”
Maxim’s attention sharpened before I continued, my eyes locked on his so he knew just how serious I was.
“Find out who made those anonymous calls. I want their names, addresses, pets, and even what they had for breakfast. When you get that information, I want you to send some of our men to kidnap them and bring them over to Matvey for interrogation. Do you understand?”
Maxim nodded, but I wasn’t satisfied with a nod.
“Use your words, Maxim. Do you understand what I just said?”
“Da, Boss,” Maxim sharply replied.
