“Well a threat to you makes me angry,” I say to him.
“I understand that,” he says, “just think about all of this. Don’t lose yourself. Do the work for the bratva but live outside of it as well.”
“Thank you, papa,” I reply with great love. I love my father, deeply. He’s been there for me always, even when I went off the deep end at my own wedding.
“Take care of yourself. Fight for the love of fighting, not for the killing. Not for the need to rid your devils inside of you. You control them, don’t let them control you.”
“I will try.”
“Call me if you need me, son.”
“Thank you,” I say before hanging up.
Gah! More things to think about, more thoughts in my head. Maybe he’s right, though. Tim finds that middle ground. Can someone love me? Girls in Russia look at me ,like a payday, girls here run the other way. Everyone, but Adelina.
“Call your father,” Tim yells from the door before running in.
“What?”
“There’s been an emergency,” he yells, running his fingers through his hair.
“Okay, calm down. What happened?”
“I was out on a store run, with Rodion. As we were entering the building here, we pass an Italian. I asked him what he was doing since he was looking in the windows. Instead of answering, he pulled out a weapon and shot Rodion. He’s gravely wounded. Do you know what this means?”
“Yes, I do,” I snap at him as I call my father back.
“Son?”
“Father, there has been a shooting. Rodion has been shot.”
“How bad?” He asks and I put him on speaker and gesture for Tim to tell him.
“He’s being patched up, but we won’t know the damage until the morning if he makes it. He lost a lot of blood,” Tim says.
“Why isn’t Anton calling me?”
“He doesn’t know,” Tim lies. My uncle has been partaking in the girls too much lately. The only reason the businesses are running is because of Tim.
“Tell him to call me as soon as he’s notified. I’ll be on the first flight out. Tell all men to stand down, not to retaliate. We don’t want to start a war, just yet,” my father says.
“Yes, sir,” we both reply as I hang up.
“This is fucked,” Tim starts pacing. I agree it is fucked. My other thought is Adelina okay. I don’t know why I think that since it was the Italians who fired the shots first. I shouldn’t want to see her, she is the enemy. But after today with her, a fun day filled with laughter, I don’t see her as one.
I go to my cabinet and pull out a bottle of vodka and pour Tim a glass, he needs it.
“Look, have a seat and try to relax. I’ll text your dad and let him know what’s going on. And then we wait for my father’s instructions. I’ll also have the doctor report directly to about Rodion,” I tell him. Usually, Tim is the one calming me down, I need to step up and do the same for him. He never gets this worked up overseeing blood, maybe the fact that we grew up with Rodion makes this harder for him. Timfur is a killer, he will pull his gun faster than one can blink. This is unlike him. This must be how my father feels when one of his own is shot, that and having all that responsibility for the whole outfit. Tim is basically in charge right now because his dad is wrapped up in whatever whore he chooses for the night. I haven’t seen him since the casino and even before that.
I don’t think enemies can reach agreements once shots have been fired.
Eighteen
Adelina
There’s so much commotion around the house. People are afraid of what the Russians might do. Supposedly the Pakhan is on his way from Russia, that’s a huge deal and has people on edge. I’ve caught bits and pieces from staff and soldiers talking when they think others aren’t listening.
Katherine is making a feast to feed everyone since my father has made the house his point of operations until this gets settled. I’ve been snatching things off plates as the people come to take them to the study and the guardhouse. Katherine keeps glaring at me, but it’s with love.
