“Family is everything,” I whisper.
“Yes,” he agrees, his eyes never leaving mine. “It is.”
In this moment, something shifts between us. Not forgiveness, I haven't forgotten what I overheard, but understanding, perhaps. A recognition of shared values, if nothing else.
Agafon starts the car again, and we continue our journey home in silence. But it's a different kind of silence now. It’s less hostile and more contemplative.
Chapter 20 - Agafon
It’s a quiet afternoon at Thaw, and I’m cornered in a booth, going over the revenue and bottom line for the quarter. The crowd at this hour is always sparse, and my staff works quietly. It’s a good, slow afternoon, and Lilibeth is somewhere nearby, checking on the groceries and alcohol stock to create a list of what must be ordered.
I have my head buried in the numbers when I hear the door open and footsteps. I look up out of curiosity to see if it’s one of the regulars I should say hello to when I freeze.
How dare they set foot in my joint after they attacked our operation and killed some of our men? Does the Sokolov family have no fear or shame? Three of them walk in, and I decide not to move.
There’s only one reason they could be here: to spy. Let them. They’ll only be wasting my time, and the last thing I want is to let them get a rise out of me. If I act out, they’ll think they’re important enough for me to give a fuck about what they do.
I don’t care. They’re low nobodies.
I continue writing in my ledger, refusing to acknowledge them.
But it gets hard to ignore them when they walk right up to me. I feel their shadows over my ledger, and look up with steel in my eyes, refusing to greet them.
“Agafon Letvin,” Viktor Sokolov sniggers over me. “Working hard or hardly working?”
I keep my face neutral. “This is a private establishment. Members only until six.”
They ignore me and sit around the booth. From a distance, I see one of my men nod in my direction. If they cause trouble, the backup is there.
The air around the table grows thick.
“What the fuck do you want?” I growl.
“We thought we'd stop by, see how the mighty Letvin is doing after that... mishap at the warehouse.” Viktor's voice drips with mock concern.
I turn one lip up in contempt. “Three weeks of planning your little sabotage, and all you managed was to delay one shipment by two days and kill a handful of men in an operation of dozens.” I close my ledger with a soft thud. “Hardly worth the fifteen men you lost. Now tell me, how does Tikhon feel about this failure?”
Andrei and Alexey now look nervous at the mention of their older brother’s name. Tikhon Sokolov rules with a tight first, and I have a hunch that their cousin Viktor has embroiled Tikhon’s younger siblings into his plans without Tikhon knowing. There’ll be consequences for Viktor. For that, I pray.
Viktor's smile doesn't reach his eyes, and I know why. “We heard your brother's back in town. Nikandr, right? The family disappointment? Still cleaning himself up or back to his old habits?”
My eyes snap to him, and I feel my pen crush between my fingers as I try to contain my rage. Hearing that Nikandr is in town, especially from the very people who fueled him with drugs and now feign concern, is too much for me to handle.
Nikandr is off-limits. Especially to the Sokolovs.
“You have exactly five seconds to walk out that door,” I say, my voice dropping to a tone so threatening that Andreiglances at his younger brother Alexey in warning to remain quiet. “Or I'll carve you into such small pieces they'll never be able to identify you.”
Viktor glowers as he puts his hand inside his jacket. Stupid. I'm already reaching under my usual table for the Glock taped there when a burst of bright laughter interrupts us.
“There you are!” Lilibeth sweeps up to the booth like she owns it. “I've been looking everywhere for you, Agafon!”
She's smiling at me like we're supposed to have plans, those dimples deep enough to drown in, completely ignoring the three Sokolovs who are now staring at herlike she's the intruder.
She reaches the table and slides in next to me, still beaming. “Oh! I didn't realize you had company.” She turns that thousand-watt smile on the Sokolovs. “I'm Lilibeth. And you are...?”
Viktor recovers first, his eyes sliding over her in a way that makes me want to remove them from his skull. “Viktor Sokolov. These are my cousins.”
“Sokolov!” She claps her hands together and turns to me. “Friends of yours?”
