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A moment later, the man arrived and inserted the flash drive into the laptop. Silence fell in the room as he played the audio file from Darnell’s office.
Luca shook his head disapprovingly after listening to the audio. “You’re playing a dangerous game, boy,” he said to Cillian.
Cillian laughed manically, rubbing his stubble. “I only retaliated. Was I wrong to do that?”
Matteo narrowed his eyes on Cillian. “What do you mean you only retaliated?”
Cillian made a call to one of his men outside.
His right-hand man, Owen, entered the room, holding a burner phone and CCTV footage of Ilya in one of Cillian’s warehouses.
Something was wrong—Lev could feel it rattle his bones. Cillian had come prepared, but that wasn’t the problem. Why did Ilya go to the warehouse alone? And how come he’d never mentioned it?
“That is proof enough that the Bratva invaded my territory first.” Cillian turned to face Lev. He had a triumphant smile on his face. “You must’ve thought you could take me down with a mere audio recording, but you’re wrong. You’re no match for me, Nikolai. I am not Dostoevsky.”
“How the hell did you get that footage,” Lev asked, almost growling with rage. Did Cillian set Ilya up? That was the only sensible explanation he could muster.
He wouldn’t know unless he asked Ilya himself.
“The Bratva overstepped their boundaries first. They invaded my territories and attacked my warehouse. It’s only right that I fight back and protect my family.” He looked at each of the men. “Does anyone have any objections?”
The other two men thought for a moment, and then they whispered something no one else could hear to each other.
Luca was the first to speak when they returned their attention to the room. “Turns out this is more complicated than it appears.”
“Make peace within yourselves or fight it out. We will not intervene regardless of what choice you both make.”
With that, the two older men got up and left the room.
Once they closed the door behind them, Cillian got to his feet. He smiled smugly as he smothered his suit. “The next time we see, it will be with my bullet drilling a hole in your skull, Nikolai. I hope it is soon enough.”
“Don’t be too hopeful, Moore. I’ll get to the bottom of whatever stunt you pulled here today.” He raised himself to his feet and inched closer to Cillian. “You better be ready for me.”
He turned around and started for the door before Cillian could say anything more. His nostrils flared and his fist tightened with rage that he could barely curtail.
Konstantin and Ilya rushed to him as soon as he left the room. “What happened?” Konstantin asked.
Lev ignored him and headed toward the elevator. His men followed him downstairs, where they got in their cars and drove back to the mansion.
“Ilya. Konstantin. Follow me,” Lev ordered when the car stopped at the mansion. He stepped out, turned away, and walked to his study, not caring if the two men were behind him. They had to be if they liked their heads on their necks.
He’d already settled in his mesh chair when the two men entered the study. They took each of the two swivel chairs across his desk.
Lev’s brows quirked as he asked, “When were you going to tell me about the little visit you paid Cillian Moore?”
Konstantin lifted his head. His dark eyes gleamed with confusion, and then slowly, he craned his neck to Ilya.
Ilya stood up immediately and kept his gaze fixed on Lev. “I’m sorry I hid it from you, Chief. I couldn’t bring it up until I was certain what happened that night.”
“Explain yourself,” Lev ordered, his patience running thin.
Ilya had put him in an awkward spot by keeping such a vital piece of information from him. Whatever his excuse was, it better be worth it.
“I received a text the night before the attack from a random number.” He took out his phone, scrolled through it,and placed it on Ilya’s desk. “I thought our men were being attacked, but there was no one there when I arrived.”
Lev dragged his attention to Konstantin. “Did you know about this?”
Konstantin shook his head.
