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KOZLOV.
He smiled as soon as I entered his office, but I didn’t let his demeanor throw me for a second. He might have liked to pretend that he was nothing more than a big, friendly uncle, with those glittering blue eyes and that big grin, but I didn’t buy it. I knew what his reputation was, and there was no way that I was going to fall for it.
I extended a hand, keeping my eyes focused on him. I knew Mauro would be reading the room, his eyes darting this way and that as he checked that we were safe. Some of my guys were just outside the door, and if Nikita Kozlov or any of his men made so much as a wrong move, they were going to be in here to kick their asses six ways to Sunday.
I was nervous, but I made sure not to show it. A man like him, he would pounce on any chance that he saw to make me feel out of place. But I belonged here. He had invited me to this meeting, and I intended to do everything I could to make sure that we both came out of this with what we wanted.
“It’s wonderful to meet you in person at last,” Kozlov greeted me, taking my hand and squeezing it warmly. He was a big bear of a man, muscles barely contained beneath his suit. I nodded.
“You too.”
“I can only apologize for our... misunderstanding earlier,” he remarked, as he took his seat.
“The fires?” I asked. I had given as good as I had gotten on that front, and I hoped he understood with a crystal-clearness that I wasn’t here to fuck around. If he struck out at me, then I would do the same right back, and that wasn’t going to end well.
“Yes, well, I’m sure you can imagine how difficult it was when you refused to show up to our first meeting,” he explained, coolly. His voice took on an edge, and I noticed it at once. Every detail of the way that he talked and moved told me he had everything the way he wanted it, which led me to the conclusion that things were not exactly how I might have planned them.
“I can,” I replied, carefully. I wasn’t going to give this guy an inch. If I gave him the barest hint that he might be able to get one over on me, he would take that chance, and there was no way in fucking hell I’d let that happen.
“But at least it’s gotten us in the same room,” he remarked. “No harm done, eh?”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t call what had happened to my club no harm, but I wasn’t going to split those hairs with him here.
“Anyway,” he continued, after a long, awkward pause. “As I understand it, you’ve been looking to move your business to a more legitimate realm, is that correct?”
I eyed him. Slowly, I nodded.
“What about it?” I asked.
“I’m sure your late father would be proud of what you’re doing with his business,” he remarked casually. I knew what this play was – a chance to get me off my game, make me feel like he knew more about me than he actually did. Plenty of people knew that my father was out of the picture, but that didn’t mean they knew me – or what I wanted from my life, or my business.
“I know he would be,” I replied.
“Of course,” he agreed, leaning forward and clasping his thick hands on the table in front of us. I was sure that he had picked this particular office because it was small enough to leave little space between us. This was a man who had been in the game for years, and that meant he knew every little trick in the book that would ensure that he came across as the bigger man here. It didn’t mean, of course, that I had to give him the win.
“And I’m sure we can help you with that,” he continued. I cocked an eyebrow, didn’t say a word, waiting for him to go on.
“We have leverage in this city,” he explained. “As I’m sure you know. We’d be able to... manage your less-than-salubrious business dealings in a way that would allow you to distance yourself from them. You could make sure that nobody had any reason to connect you with any of that, and we could form an alliance that would benefit us both.”
He smiled broadly. It would almost have passed for warm if it had actually reached his eyes. I didn’t offer one in return. He knew that most of the men in this industry did everything they could to intimidate, and this was his way of trying to throw me off my game – by acting kind, friendly, thoughtful, even. But he was still the guy who had burned down my club, and if he thought for a damn second that I was about to forget all of that, he had another thing coming.
“You transfer territory to me, I take care of it for you, and we can become friends,” he suggested, as though it had just crossed his mind and wasn’t the result of a whole week of planning and plotting to come up with something that would give him the best result.
“We’ll support you politically, of course, and any help that you need in securing new deals or certain properties, we’ll provide. Plus protection, too...”
“Oh, so you won’t set my businesses on fire if I work with you?” I shot back, a little more flippantly than I intended to. I saw that jolly demeanor slip for an instant, but Kozlov plastered it back on before I could comment on it.
“We’ll make sure nobody does,” he promised me. I paused, considering the offer. He had a point – I still had plenty of businesses to my name that would have tied me to the underworld of this city, and if I could get rid of them without losing out on all my connections here, that would be a good thing. But this man... something told me he never put a deal on the table where he didn’t come out on top, and I was scanning this one back to front to try and work out where he was winning here.
Sure, he’d get my territory, but he would also have my ear, and that was the most important thing. For all the effort that I put into legitimacy, he would be there to remind me of who I really was. And maybe to hold that over my head, too. If he ever wanted something from me, then all he would have to do would be to threaten to out me to the rest of the world, ensure that they knew the kind of person I was and the kind of life I’d led before this. I wasn’t sure I wanted so much in the hands of a man who had been willing to attack my club when I had just skipped out on a meeting with him.
“I’ll think about it,” I replied. He nodded.
“Yes, of course, I wouldn’t expect you to have an answer for me right away,” he agreed. “A businessman like yourself needs time to consider all options, of course.”
“Of course,” I muttered back. I needed to talk to Mauro about this. I was certain that he would have picked up on things that had passed me right by.
“Thank you for your time today,” Kozlov told me. There was still something about him that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. His smile struck me as the kind that belonged on a shark, in the moments before the damn thing chewed your whole leg off.
He walked me to the door, and I was just about to leave when he caught my arm and held me back. I stiffened at his touch, ready to swing for him if he tried anything with me, but instead, I was greeted with that grin again.
“Sorry to keep you,” he murmured, making sure his voice stayed low. “But I wanted to check in with how Nadia was doing.”
I stared at him for a long moment, no idea how to respond to what he had just asked me. Nadia? How did he know that name? How did he know who she was? I tried not to let any of that show on my face. I knew that he was looking for some kind of reaction, and I wasn’t about to give it to him, not if I could help it.
“She’s fine,” I replied, carefully. I wasn’t going to give him anything to work with. Like everything else that he had done and said since I had arrived here, this was an attempt to throw me off my game, make me feel uncomfortable or out of place. I wasn’t going to let him land it. If he thought it was that easy to get me scared, he was wrong.
“Good, good,” he replied, nodding. “Well, you can tell her that she can come back from Miami whenever she wants. I’ve had one of my guys down there, keeping an eye on her, you know, making sure nothing happens to her...”
I stiffened. He must have been able to tell that he was getting to me, because I saw that smile spread out over his face, clear amusement that he had managed to get under my skin. He had someone following her? How long had that been going on? Was she aware of it? Shit, I needed to get in touch with her, tell her to look out for herself.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” I replied, as evenly as I could. I knew that he was waiting for some kind of response from me, but I refused to give it to him. All of this was designed to get me feeling like I needed to agree to whatever he suggested, but there was no way that I was going to fall for it.
“If you’re sure,” he answered, tightening his lips as though he was genuinely concerned about her. He didn’t give a damn. He just saw her as another means to get what he wanted from me, another chance for him to get under my skin and make me feel like I didn’t have any control here.
“I am.”
And with that, I turned and walked out of the door. My mind was racing as I tried to work out just what all of this meant – was Nadia in danger? Would he do something to her if I didn’t go along with what he wanted? I had no idea, but I wasn’t willing to sit around and wait to find out.
I needed to make sure that nothing was going to happen to her. Now. I knew that she had been avoiding me, but if she knew what she was facing right now – she would understand why I needed to see her as badly as I did.
