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She moved to look at me over her shoulder, her face brightened up. Cautiously, she lifted herself off and collapsed on the bed next to me once I was free. I covered her body with mine, kissing her neck. “You were so fucking hot there, but you also made me angry. I want to punish you so bad.”
“Later, Sebastian. We have a meeting to attend first,” she replied, kissing me back.
She was right. I had plenty of time to get her comfortable with my other toys in the bedroom.
We got dressed and then we left. Lilly was still asleep, so we’d have to see her later.
The meeting with Ed was productive enough. He offered sincere condolences to Marinka before giving us the breakdown of the business situation. Things were looking good. The new supplier from Serbia with good contacts in Mexico guaranteed a high-quality product. This was why Sofia wanted Vlad’s territory, but I was ready to go to war with her if necessary. Vlad’s allies were not to be underestimated.
I still wasn’t sure what to expect, because yes, I’d been bluffing with her. I still had nothing concrete on her. Still, that visit had bought me some time, albeit not enough. Sooner or later, she’d come back knocking at my door. She wasn’t going to give up.
Marinka was back to her normal self, at least on the outside. Deep down, she was still grieving. She was angry about her father and wanted revenge. Over the next few weeks, we all tried to settled back into a new routine. She acted like everything was all right, but I could sense it was all an act.
Marinka had become my partner in the true sense of the word. She accompanied me to the club and attended every meeting. She was thirsty for knowledge about how the business was run, and had great ideas to share. Sparky was Milo were surprised at first, but they knew better than to comment. I was impressed by how far she’d come.
On Tuesday afternoon, I and my brothers received an invitation to a party at Senator Johnson’s residence. He had just been elected and I was told that he was building connections with a bunch of influential people from all over Illinois. I was surprised at getting the invite, but this also meant the Russians and the Italians would be there, too.
This was a risk, because I wasn’t sure what he was trying to achieve. The Serbians were at war with the Italians. Tension thrived among the different groups. I was considering not attending, but apparently the senator wanted to talk business with me. I met him briefly once before at another event, and I hardly remembered him. Marinka wasn’t going to be happy, especially if she had to see Sofia there.
Was the man looking to start a war, or did he not have a clue? Maybe he was trying to figure out who he was supposed to support, but that would have been too risky on his part. Gino had several high-profile politicians in his pocket that were willing to do his bidding. Over all, I wasn’t sure what to think since I wanted to avoid any kind of confrontations with the Russians or Italians.
“We don’t have anything on her and we shouldn’t be risking going there. I don’t think your wife will stay calm if she sees that bitch there,” Milo said when we were having dinner at his house one evening. Marinka was talking to Roxanna and one of my cousins.
I was worried about her, because she locked her grief and emotions under lock and key. We’d also heard through the grapevine that Marta was planning on taking her to court to contest her husband’s will, but one of my lawyers claimed she didn’t stand a chance. Things were a little complicated, but I believed our relationship remained stronger than ever.
“I will talk to her about it. I think we should go to that party. He wants to talk to me, and this could benefit the whole family,” I pointed out.
“What if it’s a trap? The senator just got elected, so maybe he wants to prove a point. Gather us all in one place and get us arrested!” Sparky stated, slamming his fists on the table so the whole thing rattled.
Marinka and Roxanna turned to stare, their eyebrows raised.
“I doubt it very much. The senator needs powerful people in his circle. That’s why he invited all of us there. He’s testing the waters, trying to figure out who he’s going to work with in the future,” I stated.
I had good feeling about this party and always trusted my intuition. The evening was slowly winding down but we kept discussing all the options, going over logistics. It was only a matter of time before Sofia would try to get her dirty hands on Vlad’s territory. She’d push her luck and stumble eventually.
“Thank you for the lovely evening. It’s so nice to finally meet you officially as myself, not Russina,” Marinka said to Roxanna once we were ready to leave.
“Likewise, Marinka,” Milo’s wife replied. They both hugged each other and then, Pedro drove us back home.
“I need to talk to you about something,” I said. She turned to face me, looking exhausted. I hated seeing her like this—dealing with inner demons, doing her utmost to look strong when she wasn’t.
“What is it?”
“We had an invitation to a party. One of the newly elected senators is hosting it and I believed he wants all the parties from our line of business to attend,” I explained.
Pedro glanced at me through the rearview mirror. He probably agreed with Milo—that this was too risky.
It took her a few seconds to get what I was trying to say.
“Is that bitch Sofia going to be there?”
“Yes, I believe there will be a lot of powerful people from our circle, but that aside, I think we should attend. This could be beneficial for our business.”
“And you want me to promise you that I will be on my best behavior?”
“Pretty much. Sofia won’t try anything at the party. She would be there to network and we should do the same.”
“All right, Sebastian. Deal. I won’t do anything that could put us at risk, but I can’t promise I won’t spit in her face.”
