Chapter 18
Gavril
I had fucked up big time.
Pulling the truck into the driveway, I shut off the engine and allowed myself a moment to breathe. My relationship with Naomi was fragile enough, and after the conversation we’d just had, it was far more important to me to keep her safe and secure while I tried to figure this shit out.
The Belaya Bratva was decimated. I barely had enough men to send to the mansion, much less wage a war against the FBI, which was why it was far more important for me to get to that apartment now. If I could destroy whatever evidence the fucker had on me, then I could at least ensure that the FBI wouldn’t be breathing down my neck.
This shit had gotten complicated quickly.
“Gavril?”
I heard the question in Naomi’s voice but opened the door instead, noting Ivan was hovering nearby. “I want you to tell me who I have on premises,” I said to him in a low voice. “I want everyone gone in ten minutes except the guards that are left. That includes you and Vera. Do you understand me?”
The older man rose to his full height, his jaw clenched. “I hear you, Pakhan, but I don’t agree with your decision. Allow me to stay and protect the missus.”
He knew why I was doing what I was doing. There was a war coming, and as much as I needed all hands on deck, I wasn’t wanting to risk losing those that were loyal to me any longer. Ivan had been loyal to me for years, as had Vera. They deserved a fighting chance. “Do you understand what you are asking?” I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.
He nodded, and I sighed inwardly. “Then you better get yourself some weapons, old man. You are going to need them.”
Ivan inclined his head and walked off as Naomi came to my side, her face pale. “What now?” she asked softly.
“We go inside,” I growled, moving to the steps. Vera was hovering near the doorway, her face pinched with worry as she saw me. “What do you need, master?” she asked immediately.
“Send some food up to my wife’s suite,” I told her. “And send everyone else home immediately. Those that choose to stay need to know that their lives may be on the line.” I heard Naomi’s gasp but ignored it, clenching my jaw against the wave of uncertainty that my words brought. “That includes you, Vera.”
Vera also straightened, her own jaw clenching tightly. “I would rather stay and serve you.”
These fucking people were going to be the death of me. “Fine,” I answered tightly. “But if you choose to leave, I will not hold it against you.”
I turned to the Bratva guard that was normally stationed at the gates. “No one is to get up that driveway,” I told him. “How many men do I have on site?”
“Ten,” he replied immediately.
Fuck me. Ten men to guard the most precious thing in my life. That was what I had to work with. “Make sure all the perimeters are moved closer to the house. I don’t want anyone coming within two feet of this front door.”
“Yes, Pakhan.”
“Put two men at the gate,” I continued, handing out orders like they were written in front of me. Never before had I had to protect my home like this, and with the smallest number of men on hand, but I was going to have to make it work for Naomi’s sake. “Give them the guns from the weapons room. I want a launcher in the guard station in case they try and ram the gates.”
I heard Naomi’s swift intake of breath, but there was no time to comfort her. She needed to know what could be coming for us, for her, and that it wasn’t just a man with a gun.
“Yes, Pakhan.”
“Tie all the security cameras to your cell phones,” I finished. “If they take out the grid, I want you to still have eyes on the property.” The additional precaution had been something that Anatoly had set up years ago, knowing that all it would take would be a cut of the wire and we would be blinded to what was coming. Now all the cameras had battery backup for that reason. “Oleg is now in charge. All calls go through him.” He was all that I had left in my senior ranks. I didn’t know what state Pavel was in, but he couldn’t very well give orders if his fucking leg was being operated on.
I wanted to ensure that everything was in place before I left the premises in the event that I didn’t return. It was my responsibility as Pakhan to give orders, and hell, I was going to give them today. “Drop the shades,” I told Vera. “The metal ones. I don’t want anyone seeing inside the mansion.”
“Yes, master,” she replied as the guards headed out to do my bidding. I had equipped the house with bulletproof shades years ago instead of glass, ones that could be dropped with the flick of a switch. The glass was good, but it didn’t hide what was going inside.
“Lock all the doors,” I added. “And pull the guns out. You might need them.”
Reaching out, I grabbed Naomi’s hand and all but rushed her up the stairs, knowing I didn’t have much time. Word was already likely spreading like wildfire, and Hampton was going to find out soon, if he hadn’t already, that I had won round one. I had to get to that apartment immediately.
I didn’t say a word to my wife until we had reached her suite, letting go of her hand to walk to the bathroom so I could quickly sponge off some of the blood from my body. She followed me in, and as I ran the cloth under the water, she took it from me. “Talk to me, Gavril,” she begged, wiping my face carefully, concern on hers. “Tell me what you need.”
Hell, I needed things she couldn’t give me. I needed manpower. I needed for her to go to a safe location so that if shit went down, at least I could die knowing she was taken care of.