Page 21 of The Enemy Protector
“I’m listening.”
“Not here,” he says again. “Perhaps we could meet. Somewhere private.”
I consider this. Meeting with Yuri sends its own message—to him, to Mikhail, to Sofia, if she ever finds out. But refusingoutright tells him I’m already picking sides, and I’m not ready to show that hand.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“I look forward to our partnership, Sokolov.”
He walks away, already moving toward Castellano. Making his rounds. Building his coalition.
I watch him work the room for another thirty seconds before I turn to Kirill.
“Car.”
We’re out the door and in the SUV before I speak again.
“I want surveillance on every conversation Yuri has for the next seventy-two hours. Everyone he meets. Everyone he calls. Anyone he so much as nods to on the street.”
“On it,” Kirill says.
“And find out if Sofia knew about the meeting. If she knew Yuri was ‘representing’ the family today.”
Kirill pulls out his phone and starts typing. I stare out the window as we move through traffic.
Yuri made a mistake today. He showed his hand too early. He’s desperate for legitimacy, which means he doesn’t have it yet. Moscow is watching. Waiting to see who emerges as the stronger candidate to fill Mikhail’s place.
And he just told me exactly what he’s willing to trade for my support.
“Boss,” Kirill says, still looking at his phone. “Sofia’s at the gym. Been there forty minutes. Nothing unusual.”
“She doesn’t know,” I say.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because if she knew Yuri was sitting in her father’s chair at that table, she would have shown up to remind everyone whose chair it is.”
Kirill considers this. “So Mikhail didn’t tell her, or he didn’t send Yuri?”
“Mikhail is playing his own game.” I lean back against the seat. “The question is whether he’s backing Yuri or testing Sofia. Seeing if she’ll notice. If she’ll fight back.”
“And if she doesn’t notice?”
Then she’s not ready, and Mikhail knows it.
I close my eyes and see her face. I know exactly where I’d stand if it came to gunfire.
Between her and it.
That is the problem.
That kind of instinct is dangerous. It makes me vulnerable. It makes me predictable.
It makes me weak.
“What are you thinking?” Kirill asks.
“I’m thinking Yuri just offered me everything I need to eliminate the old Baranov family business as competition. Full access to their distribution network, their contacts, their infrastructure.All I have to do is back his claim and let him remove Sofia from the equation.”
