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And in truth, he didn’t. Stepping up to fill Mikhail’s shoes wasn’t a role he’d ever wanted. In fact, Ivan and Adrian had better chances of being happier as second-in-command. But this was his duty as the second son, taking charge when his older brother couldn’t.
“You’re late,” Luca said as Lev strolled to the empty seat next to him and sat. “One would think you would not keep us waiting.”
Luca was the head of the ‘Ndrangheta. He was fifty, infamous for his lack of respect for women and children. That was the reason he and the Bratva never got along beyond the point of basic civility. His sheer respect and disregard for women was something the Nikolai brothers detested.
To his right sat David Siegel, the leader of the Jewish mafia. He was the youngest in the room, becoming the leader at eighteen after the death of his father. He hardly spoke, preferring to communicate with his gun. His reputation as a ruthless mafia boss preceded him.
Lev looked the man dead in the eyes, his brows shooting up to his hairline. “Because I am not my brother?”
The air grew hot with tension.
“Your brother would not keep us waiting,” Luca said finally, after possibly considering his next words carefully.
“I am not my brother, and you will do well to remember that Lev warned. He looked at the other two men sitting around the table. “All of you will remember that.”
None of them said anything, but Lev knew they’d heard him, and they understood his warning.
Cillian strolled in next. He sat on the chair across from Lev’s, next to Matteo Romero, the capo of the Cosa Nostra. He was strong for a man who was almost sixty. The only giveaway for his old age was his almost blind right eye.
No one dared to question Cillian about his lateness, but it wasn’t because they feared him. Lev’s warning had made the room tense.
“What is this meeting about?” Lev asked, twisting his wrist to glance at his wristwatch. “I’d like for us to tackle whatever it is so I can go home to my wife.”
His wife. Zia. Things had been going smoothly with them, and his attraction to her had grown deeper than he would have ever imagined. She’d talked about them having a child, and he’d never really wanted children before now. Yet, the thought of going back home to her and their kids every night filled him with a type of happiness he couldn’t describe.
If they had a child, he wanted the kid to look like her. Dark curly hair, blue eyes, and a face that could make angels weep. But he didn’t want to push her. He would be ready to have kids when she was ready. And he would love them with every fiber of his existence.
“We received a report from Cillian about an attack on his family,” Matteo started, sitting straight and steepling his fingers in front of him. “Did you do it?”
Lev laughed before he could stop himself. This was definitely going to be more fun than he’d imagined. “An attack on his family? Did he say who was responsible?”
“I have my reasons to believe the Bratva was responsible for the attack,” Cillian cut in. “Your brother killed Dostoevsky. It makes sense that you would put a target on my back, considering he and I were allies.”
“Allies?” Lev asked, keeping his tone sardonic. “If you hadn’t specified, I would have assumed he was your master and you were his loyal dog. Or should I say you still are?”
“Watch your tongue, Nikolai—”
“Or what?” Lev smirked, amused that Cillian was already fuming. “You said you have your reasons to believe I was responsible for the supposed attack on you. Let’s hear the reasons.”
“You do not fucking tell me what to do,” Cillian growled.
“We cannot make judgment unless we know the cause of the feud between both of you, Moore,” Luca said, folding his arms. “You cannot make accusations without any proof.”
Cillian leaned back in his seat and exhaled. “My warehouse was attacked last night, and there’s only one person who would do that.”
“And that is me?”
Cillian nodded.
Good. Lev had him right where he wanted him. The lying son of a bitch must’ve thought himself to be smarter than he really was. He wouldn’t be lying to the circle otherwise. “And the proof is?”
“Someone hacked into my surveillance camera. There’s no proof,” Cillian said, pursing his lips as if that would somehow make up for his lack of evidence to back up his accusations.
“We cannot help you if you do not have any evidence to back up your accusations, Moore,” Matteo chimed in. “Backing you up without evidence would be asking to make the Bratva our enemies. We cannot afford a war with them right now.”
“I have evidence you attacked my club, destroyed my building, and injured some of my men.” Lev removed the flash drive he duplicated and placed it on the table. “Did you think buying the event planning company I work with and threatening him was a brilliant plan?”
Matteo and Luca exchanged glances. Matteo picked up the flash drive and made a call to one of his men to bring a laptop.
