Protective

A Deep Dive

Lana

If my father ever found out that I was looking through these journals I'd be in for the punishment of a lifetime.

Everything my father wrote was absolutely embarrassing but I simply couldn't rip my eyes away from the pages. It felt so strange to be reading his innermost thoughts from so long ago.

My whole life I knew just how much he adored my mother and here I was reading that before he met her, he didn't even want to marry her at all.

My father just told me that I am engaged to be married to a woman by the name of Diana Novikov. The daughter of Evgeny Novikov, a drug lord in the motherland.

The absolute last thing I wanted was to go and get married right now, in the midst of a RICO case of all things. But he's sick.

It doesn't look like he's getting any better and he thinks I'll need the support once he's gone, but I won't. He didn't raise me to be reliant on anyone.

I laughed. It was a strange thing to laugh to but I had to laugh at the irony.

Here my father was writing about how his father raised him and he had raised Dmitri and I in the same exact way.

I was wrong. Very wrong.

I picked Diana up from the airport today and nearly tripped over my own feet when I saw her. I could tell you that she was beautiful but it was more than that.

She quite literally took my breath away.

I would have to thank my father the next time I got the chance. The old man had done me a favor.

She wasn't just stunning either, she was interesting and curious with a mind clearly as intuitive as my own and clear adoration for the color blue.

I smiled. I loved blue too. It used to be something I wore to feel closer to her, but I grew a fondness of it all on my own.

Dmitri sometimes talked about how much I reminded him of her and I envied that. I envied his memories of her.

All I really had were the pictures and paintings of her and my father was right. She was breathtaking.

Maybe I was biased or maybe I held her so high on a pedestal that I couldn't see any flaws but I didn't really care if that was the case or not.

Father's condition is getting worse and he wants to move up the wedding, but I don't think that's a good idea.

I haven't discussed it with Diana yet but it has only been a few weeks since we've met and marriage might be inevitable but it doesn't mean we can't take our time.

There were things I was still planning for the organization, starting with aligning ourselves further with the Cosa Nostra.

Without a doubt the others couldn't be trusted, Manuel and Akio despise me and Seamus had already aligned himself with Manuel a long time ago.

That left Marco. I knew enough about him to know he wasn't very invested in the business at the moment but didn't plan on pursuing anything else either.

I could work with that. I could work with him.

I could sense that I needed an ally in this house. I didn't know where the hit would come from or who would be on the other end of it but I knew it was coming and soon.

_______
Yeremy

"The runway is almost ready, Mr. Maximoff."

"Almost ready," I raised an eyebrow, "I was told it would be ready by today. Why the delay?"

The worker squirmed in their seat as I took a deep breath. I couldn't say two sentences in this country without someone thinking I was going to kill them.

Is this how Dmitri felt? Hell, I know this is how Mikhail felt?

It seems like everyone that knows who I am, knows who I am and what I did.

Just because I killed the men that killed my father, it didn't mean I'd kill everyone that inconvenienced me slightly.

"What is taking so long?"

"The city has halted construction because of a permit," he read off the screen, "Someone should have contacted you about this."

"Well no one did," I frowned, "Don't let that happen again."

I pulled my phone out my pocket, "Get me a meeting with Zarkova."

I turned around and headed straight for the elevators, that slimy bastard had something to do with this and there wasn't a doubt in my mind that he wanted something in return for continuing construction on my runway.

I needed that runway to export and import from Brazil, Colombia, and now the States. That way I didn't have to pay a few someone to turn the other cheek at the airport.

As I had discussed with Elijah, boats wouldn't be enough. It was too much product to carry on a ship and that could draw too much attention. I'd have to split it though planes.

I stormed into the building, rushing past his secretary who was yelling something before I burst through his door.

He was on the phone but he smiled at the sight of me. Did this guy want to die?

I pushed the button and hung up the call, looming over his desk, "Why are you throwing permits around at my site?"

He adjusted his tie and leaned back in his chair, "Yeremy Maximoff. I don't think we have an appointment," he pointed to a chair, "Why don't you take a seat so we can discuss this?"

Yeah, he absolutely wanted to die.

"I paid you," I sat down, "What more do you want?"

"Your services," he folded his hands, "I'm having a problem and I'd like you to handle him for me."

"That's not my business," I said, "I'm not for hire, minister. I don't do that. If you have that kind of problem call someone else."

"I don't think you understand that situation your in, boy—

I pulled a gun from the inside of my jacket and pointed it at him, "Watch yourself, minster. I'm not one of the little thugs you deal with. If I kill you, no one in this country will bat an eye."

"This isn't how business is done—

"I don't give a shit how business is done," I rolled my eyes, "You get those permits or I'll end you and your entire fucking family, you understand me?"

I put my gun away and stood up, "I don't know who you do business with but I paid you to turn the other cheek. You don't ask for a fucking favor after trying to back me into a wall."

"Yeremy, I need this done," he stood up, "Or I won't be here to take your bribes and it'll be someone much more law abiding."

I furrowed my brows, "I didn't realize an election was coming up."

"It's not," he sighed, "This man is looking into corruption. He traced something back to me and he won't stop digging until he uncovers everything."

"So why not go to one of your other connections," I folded my arms, "I'm sure there are plenty of gangs that have you in their pocket."

"They can't pull something like this off," he shook his head, "They're too messy, but you—Mikhail Petrov trained you. Everyone might know you killed those four but no one can prove it. You're undetectable. I need that."

I sighed, "If I help you with this then everyone else will want a favor. You need to give me something in return and it can't be resuming construction on my runway."

I already had a reputation I didn't like. I didn't want one where people thought they could threaten me into favors.

Doing something in exchange for something else, however. That wasn't anything that made me look weak.

"What do you want?"

"I want information on Petyr Orlov."

- - End of Chapter - -