Precious Legacy (The Notorious Legacy #1)

Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

I leave Alanis with the promise of seeing her later, despite her protests and an achingly hard dick that won’t go away. Thankfully, as soon as I reach Haldon’s office, which is on the same level as the VIP rooms, my erection has gone and my lust has been replaced with irritation.

“All I’m saying, Bonanno, is that was a really stupid idea.”

I push open the door to Haldon’s office, my eyes immediately landing on Milo Kyrovsky who is lounging on one of the leather couches. His body is relaxed, not at all intimidated by the fact he’s in the presence of three of The Five legacy leaders.

“Is that a threat?” I demand as I pocket my gun. “Because that would be a really stupid idea.” I take a seat opposite him, mirroring his posture. The guy doesn’t scare me. The prospect of what the Russians could do is unnerving, but there’s always a solution to problems like them.

Alvaro shifts around the couch to lean against Haldon’s desk.

Since the office consumes one side of the upper floor—the VIP rooms situated on the other side—the room is large enough to hold two three-seater couches, a large table that we rarely use, and his desk. Behind Haldon, there’s a small bathroom with all the amenities he needs.

“It’s not a threat,” Milo huffs, picking lint off his suit jacket. “It’s a warning.”

“You’re the enemy, Kyrovsky,” Alvaro growls. “We doubt you’re here to help us out.”

“No,” Milo chuckles a fake laugh. “I’m not. But I doubt you want your pretty heads on spikes. So I suggest you accept the meeting.”

“Meeting?” My brows furrow, my gaze shifting to Varo and Haldon.

Haldon cards his fingers through his hair, ruffling the brown locks. “Apparently the Federovs want to meet with us, to discuss the docks.”

“And the fact you’re no longer distributing their liquor,” Milo adds boredly. “Might I remind you that this is a legacy agreement. Your fathers agreed to this and?—”

“That was before you started fucking with my businesses. With our territory.” I’ve only been in the room for two minutes, and I’m about ready to put a bullet in this guy’s head. The whole point of working with the Russians was to forge some amicability. Since they’ve taken it upon themselves to overstep, we’re well within our rights to withdraw any previous agreement. It’s not like we need their business. We can run shit like we always have, like our fathers did. If anything, the Russians are the ones in trouble, they’re just too stubborn to admit it.

“Look,” Milo pushes off his seat to round the couch. “Don’t shoot the messenger. The Federovs want to see you tonight, and I’d suggest you take the meeting.”

His eyes never leave Alvaro’s, which concerns me a little, because I can’t figure out that look in his own. I’ve always managed to be observant, like my father. I’m good at picking up cues, like Alanis for example. I noticed how uncomfortable she was to be here, and I’ve made a note to address that with her at some point. I know it wasn’t just the idea of meeting me here, it was something else .

Milo’s gaze is laced with something mysterious. He’s not looking at my best friend with disgust or irritation. If anything, he gets off on winding Varo up, which only cements my suspicions. These guys wanna fuck.

“Where?” Alvaro asks aggressively. Even though his hands are in his pockets, I can see how hard he clenches his fists. Kyrovsky irritates him to no end, but what I don’t think he realizes is how obvious his distaste for the Russian compares to his attraction to him. You can practically cut the tension with a chainsaw. It’s that thick.

“The docks,” Milo answers.

“Time?” Haldon chimes in.

“Midnight.”

“Alone?” I raise a brow.

“Three and three,” he says, referring to us and the Federov brothers that will be accompanying Milo. While we’re more than capable and equipped to handle these kinds of situations, we all know how trustworthy the Russians are.

“Done,” Haldon answers for us all.

“Good,” Milo nods in affirmation before turning on his heel and heading to the door. “Oh, and Bonanno?” He spins around, hand on the knob with his lips spread wide. “Stop frowning before you wrinkle that gorgeous face.”

His cocky words leave us all gaping. Milo isn’t at all embarrassed about embracing his sexuality by the sound of things. Or, he’s just doing it to piss Varo off more. Either way, silence envelops us as he leaves. It doesn’t last long, though.

Haldon is the first crack up, pushing away from his desk to clap Alvaro on the shoulder while he laughs. “Why don’t you just get on your knees already and suck his cock?”

“Fuck off!” Varo barks back, shrugging out of Haldon’s grasp. A small blush forms on his cheeks, so similar to his twin’s that it’s uncanny.

I stifle my own laugh, covering my mouth with my fist. Haldon is right, though. After our first encounter with him last week, Milo is definitely pushing Alvaro’s buttons. It’d be a lot funnier if he wasn’t the enemy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of emotion from Varo. Sure, he’s got a temper like his dad—don’t we all—but Varo doesn’t date. He doesn’t entertain any kind of attention from anyone, too focused on keeping his father’s legacy in perfect condition. It’s pretty refreshing to see the guy who’s usually so uptight have his feathers ruffled for once.

“Alright,” I groan, stretching out my legs and eager to change the subject. “What’s the plan here? The Russians aren’t going to play nice.”

Alvaro slumps down on the seat opposite me, kicking his feet up on the coffee table between us. “If we give them the docks, we can’t monitor shit. All sorts could be coming in and we’d have no control.”

“So we negotiate, introduce sanctions or taxes or something,” Haldon suggests.

Scrubbing my hand across my chin, I consider the options. “Taxes could work. We need to know what they’re bringing in though. In Cali, there were rumors of the Russians bringing in women to sell them off.”

As I look between my best friends, I know the same thought flashes through all our minds. We might conduct illegal businesses, but there’s a line to what we’ll entangle ourselves with, and none of us are comfortable with human trafficking.

“You think that could be why they want extended rights?” Haldon inquires.

I shrug. “It’s a possibility.”

Varo looks uneasy. Since the docks are his domain, the decision is really up to him. We run New York City like our fathers did. We each have our own areas of expertise, responsibilities and territories, but ultimately, we help one another. We can advise each other, but the decision on what happens in our individual territories is up to us.

“Let’s see what they have to say,” Varo suggests.

“Sure,” I agree.

“As long as you can think straight,” Haldon laughs.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Varo scowls.

“It means, bro…” I lean forward and look him dead in the eye. “Stop eye fucking Milo Kyrovsky.”

“Fuck you both!”

Haldon and I burst into laughter. I’d forgotten how much I’ve missed these moments. Five years has changed so much, but some things haven’t changed at all.

“Speaking of eye fucking,” Varo mentions, kicking my foot underneath the coffee table. “You and Lani. What’s going on there?”

Shrugging, I dart a gaze at Haldon, who just smirks back at me. “Let’s just say I’m pushing all the right buttons.”

“Okay, too much information!” Varo bellows, standing from his seat. “Let’s make sure the girls get home and then we can head over to the docks.”

A fter dropping the girls at Alanis’ apartment, it takes us forty minutes to get through the city and over to Brooklyn. The docks of the Navy yard sit on the edge of the East River. During the summer, it’s a picturesque landscape where you get an awesome view of the sun setting over the city. In the winters, the air turns bitter and crisp. The weather is unpredictable and relentless. I’ve always preferred the weather in California to here, which is why I’m grumbling the whole way from the car to the docks.

“Thought you were harder than this,” Varo comments, shoving me with his shoulder as I pull the collar of my coat over my neck.

“Me too,” I retort.

We all walk silently in sync. As promised, it’s just the three of us, though we have men on standby should this meeting go sideways. I’m hoping it doesn’t, but it’s better to cover our asses than have them handed to us.

Ahead of us, the Federov brothers, Vadim and Konstantin, stand together. I’ve only met the men once or twice. Since they never had any direct involvement with my businesses until now, I’ve never had the need to speak with them. But twenty years has aged them, and they look like they’ve been involved in one too many altercations. One has a scar across his face, while the other clutches a cane close to his side. Like all organizations, there comes a time where the mantle has to be passed down. If you fail in passing the legacy on, you run the risk of destroying everything you’ve built.

The Five succeeded in directing us three into our roles, giving us enough guidance to ensure their legacy lived on. But it’s obvious the Russians don’t follow the same rules. Greed does that to people; to desperate people. Every ounce of power feeds their ego. Every inch of freedom grants them more authority.

Milo approaches us, his tall figure eating up the glow of the floodlights planted around the area. “Thanks for meeting us,” he beams, holding his hand out to Varo.

He takes one look at it before refocusing his gaze on the men ahead of us. “It’s not like we had much choice,” he grumbles.

“Formalities,” Milo responds, holding his hand out to me.

I take it, shaking it firmly. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

We turn and follow Milo as if he’s an executioner walking us to our deaths. In any other circumstance, he might as well be, but from the look of the Russians, I think health is on our side today. He introduces us to Vadim and Konstantin, and I note the differences between them both. Konstantin leans against his cane, holding his hand out to shake Haldon’s first.

“Thank you for agreeing to come here.” Konstantin smiles as he shakes our hands. “I understand there’s animosity that has settled between us and I want to clear that up.”

“Going after my businesses doesn’t just cause animosity, Federov.” I dart my gaze between Konstantin and Vadim, not really sure who to address. By the looks of things, neither hold power over the other.

“But you can’t fault us for trying,” Vadim laughs. I can tell already that he’s going to be the problem here. The arrogance that oozes from him irritates me and proves exactly why we need to set boundaries tonight.

Konstantin carries himself with more elegance; a calmness that projects through his words.

His brother looks like a loose cannon that I really don’t want to cross.

“You know your boundaries,” Varo reminds them.

“Of course,” Konstantin answers. “Though we would like to discuss the extension of our permits.”

“You don’t have any,” Haldon states.

“But we would like that to be a possibility,” Konstantin replies, gesturing to the docks with his cane. “Our supply has increased, and we’d like to be able to use the docks more frequently.”

“In exchange for what?” Varo asks.

“Whatever you’d like.” Konstantin answers. “Increase our taxes if you must, but you look the other way.”

“Look the other way?” Haldon shifts beside me. I can practically feel the unease rolling off him. “What are you bringing in?”

“That is what ‘looking the other way’ means. No questions, no paperwork. Allow us to use the docks freely.” Vadim bounces his assertive gaze from Alvaro, to me, to Haldon. We must all wear the same expression, because he laughs deeply. “Don’t look so worried, boys. None of our imports concern you. And we’ll let you off about not distributing our liquor in your clubs, even though you’ve taken your cut.”

“Careful, Federov. You’re close to treading the line that separates business and personal,” I warn.

Another deep laugh fills the space between us, this time from Vadim. “You’re just boys,” he scoffs. “What would you know?”

And there it is. He just made this personal.

I feel Alvaro shift beside me. We’re so in tune with each other that I notice the change in his temperament just from the way his breathing changes.

“A lot more than you think,” I challenge him, taking a step forward.

Vadim counters, though not as close as I think he wants. He has an edge of danger about him that could turn lethal, given the chance. “You accept our terms, or we?—”

“Enough!” Konstantin barks at his brother. “This is a request. One we hope you’ll consider.”

“And if we don’t?” Varo challenges.

“Let’s not think about that option just yet,” Konstantin warns with a wry smile.

Varo sighs reluctantly. “Fine. We’ll consider it.”

“Much appreciated,” Konstantin replies before passing by us.

It takes a second for his brother to follow. Giving us one last glance, which I’m sure is meant to intimidate us, he storms off into the darkness.

“I hate to say it,” Haldon huffs. “But we’re gonna need to bring in the big guns.”

Alvaro lets out a groan, while I’m more than content with Haldon’s suggestion. While it’s not the first time we’ve had to deal with turf wars or any kind of kick back, it’s the first time we’ve had to deal with crime bosses who are equally as fierce as us. We’d be idiots not to heed the words of one of the most dangerous Russians I’ve ever met. Men like him are more trigger happy than most. Bringing in our fathers isn’t a bad idea.

It’s just one we all hate to admit is necessary.