Mob Boss Series Book #1: The Russian Heir

Chapter Twenty: On The Inside

Bryce's POV
"The Romanovs are not everyone's cup of tea." Alexei began without looking at me. It's 6am in the morning and I have just come from my swim. I'm freezing and I want a hot shower and a quick cuddle with my wife before breakfast. I don't want a history lesson.

"Is this the part I am supposed to ask you why that is?"

"Yes. And you're in luck because I'm in a mood for story telling!" He smiled at me. I sat on the pool chair. He draped a towel over my shoulders. He snapped his fingers. "Tea."

"Can't this wait?"

"No." He answered flatly. "Your great grandfather used to work for Popov. The name Romanov had no weight in our world. It meant nothing. But your grandfather was a man cracking for power. He wanted his name to mean something. So..." He nodded.

I hate it when he leaves off stories like that but that is how he tells them.

"What's the point of the story?"

"The point is, the Romanovs have never been anyone's cup of tea. We made alliances with a family or two but the majority were never on our side. When your great grandfather made your father his heir, a teenage boy, it was the talk among the families. Terrence knew of the low expectations they had for him that is why he strived to be the kind of man you don't even want to give a bad look. When he made friends with the Italians, it helped to foster his place even further. Bryce, you understand that we don't function like the Mafia. Your uncle Marcelle runs things with absolute power. He is the last day on most things. On our side, the families have a say in everything and can overrule you. You know that, right?"

"I do. I still don't get the point of this conversation."

I was given a hot cup of tea. Alexei took one too.

The sun is just beginning to come up.

"After the incident with your father, the families that were against us wanted to put someone new in your father's place. To them it was the end of the Romanovs."

"So why me? How am I the boss?"

"Because every family against you had something to lose. If they didn't comply with letting the Romanovs continue as the bosses, they had things to lose."

"Things like what?"

"I don't know. She never said."

"Who are you talking about?" I sipped the milk tea watching Alexei carefully.

"Your grandmother put you on the throne."

My wrist grew weak as I nearly dropped the tea cup. "What?"

"You should be dead or you should be a nobody. When she stroke out with your father, she turned her attention to you. The Russians are the only ones she has never been able to reach an understanding with. She badly wanted to get at least two thirds of the families to join her. But it never worked out. Not even your father agreed with her for reasons only he can say. She worked tirelessly to find leverage on most of the families. Because if her, you are the boss without opposition."

I placed the cup beside me on the wood surface. "I thought..."

"It was your own power? No. You are powerful now but then, you needed someone's shoulders to step on. You needed to be lifted up."

"Why didn't she say anything?"

"Have you ever known your grandmother to brag or enjoy the limelight? She works in the shadows. I'm telling you all this because-"

"I said no to her. You want me to say yes because I should be grateful!" I got on my feet to give the old man a hard look.

"No. I'm not telling you this so that you say yes to her. I want you to understand two things. One, these ill feelings you have towards your uncle's family, are valid but destructive. SK your father and he will say the same thing. Alliances are what kept him in power. When his and Balotellis broke, they saw weakness. Who are your alliances Bryce?"