Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4) by Nancy Haviland

was nine, when, for a while, Vasily’s visits had trickled to almost nothing. Alek now knew that was because his uncle had met Kathryn. Things were never the same after that.
    “I know it bothers you when I ask,” Vasily continued, moving on, “but can you tell me if Maksim has mentioned anything he might be doing to find our problem?”
    A grave silence descended between them. It had nothing to do with ratting out his friend. “What’s going on? Have you learned something?”
    “Answer my question.”
    He barely stopped his eyebrow from popping when Vasily barked at him in a way he rarely did. “No. From what he told us, you ordered him to keep his nose out of it, and he is. If he’s taken it upon himself to dig, he hasn’t shared that with me. I can’t speak for V or Gabriel, though. You’ll have to ask them personally.”
    “I have, and got the same response.” He sipped his coffee and then got up and went to the bar. He brought back a bottle of Stoli and two glasses. He poured one and hovered over the other, raising his brow. Alek shook his head for the first time in a long while and took another bite of his apple. He wanted a clear head tomorrow. “I’m having a hard time believing he’s let it go,” Vasily murmured.
    “Why are you holding him back from this one? If he starts up, I’m sure he’d put the pieces together as only he can and you would have this fucker sooner rather than later.”
    “I don’t want you sharing what I’m about to tell you.” Vasily tossed back the shot then sat forward, rolling his empty glass between his hands.
    The artistically done setting sun on the top of his right caught Alek’s eye. On its own it would signify freedom. Vasily’s had a thick strike through it, which meant he’d never be free of this life. If he could walk away, would he? Alek had never asked because he wouldn’t have wanted the question to imply he was seeking the information for his own benefit. As violent and sometimes corrupt as their world was, it was all Alek had ever known, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to find a home anywhere else.
    “Lucian has gotten himself involved.”
    Lucian Fane was the single most powerful of all the leaders. In complete contrast to Vasily, the Romanian ran his legitimate business empire side-by-side with his not-so-legitimate one, and he had enough heavy hitters in his pocket to save him from having to completely hide that fact. He was feared, and rightly so. Lucian’s ruthless reputation was well-earned from actions taken when deemed necessary. There was no such thing as a warning from the Fane camp.
    Reaching across to pull a napkin from the pretty dispenser Sacha had brought home one afternoon after a trip to Chelsea Market, Alek wrapped up his apple core and was tempted to take a shot of the vodka after all.
    “What is it about the situation that interests him?”
    “Our associates are drawing away until this is dealt with, and that’s being discussed. Lucian doesn’t want the attention it’s bringing to our deals.”
    “I’m surprised he hasn’t pulled out.”
    “He’s confident his reputation will make it so our problem doesn’t target him or the business we’re doing with him, namely the four cargo ships he is now monopolizing.”
    Alek was properly impressed. “Four?”
    “He’s moving a lot of product between here and Europe; steel, construction equipment, building supplies that are going out weekly. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was building his own fucking city.”
    “Wouldn’t shock me,” Alek murmured, his business side tingling to get involved. The Romanian would certainly be able to afford it. “I see Gotham when I picture it.”
    Vasily smirked. “The vampire-turn-bat thing. Yeah, that gets me a lot too when Lucian is in the room. Must be his heritage. Never joke about that with him. He’s…sensitive.”
    “I’ve seen his ‘sensitive’.”
    “It’s pretty impressive. To people like us, I mean.”