“Conditions too good to think about the consequences?”
Tayte relaxed back in the seat and studied me for a long moment. “No. I thought about them long and hard. He threw a cherry on the top, I couldn’t refuse and he knew it. I love you Yannick, but this was more important than anything.”
“Oh?” I thought I knew, but I waited for his words.
“Sasha.” Well, I hadn’t been expecting that name. Irina’s yes, his brother’s, no. Sandir had been way off the mark, this wasn’t about Irina at all and I kicked myself for forgetting about Tayte’s family. We hadn’t seen little Sasha in a long time and he never cropped up in conversation, easy to forget when Tayte all but refused to talk about him. It was like they had shipped him back to Russia and never a word was to be mentioned of him again.
“What about Sasha?”
“He’s here.” Tayte smiled, any guardedness gone. He loved his brother more than anything and yes, Lev knew how to play our strings to perfection. I’d met Sasha a few times, when he’d been a child and then when he’d grown into a young man. He was the polar opposite of Tayte, from his looks to who he chose to fuck. I’d been fond of the quiet man, which was shame on me for not asking about him especially since I’d known life back in Russia had never been great, knew Tayte refused to set foot on Russian soil ever again.
“Better than Russia.”
Tayte nodded. “He’s been here a while actually, a couple of months. I didn’t realise those guys sniffing around were Lev’s at the time. He never saw fit to tell me.”
“Well, we know now. They work for you, Tayte. Good guys?”
“Yes, both Connor and Emil are proving to be indispensable. Listen, Lev guaranteed your life, Yannick. Promised me you’d get to live to be an old man. I wasn’t ready to quit, I mean, what would I do? This…” He waved around the room. “Is all I know.”
“And Irina?”
Shrugging, Tayte sat forward. “That’s up to her. She’s not running this organisation, she never has, you and I both know that. Lev’s worried about her, wants her to calm down but she won’t do what you’ve done, she’s too entrenched. She’s beginning to understand I won’t play her games. Lev may have done a lot of convincing to get me into this chair, but he holds nothing over my head, not anymore, not the way he did with you, and I don’t intend to run this organisation the same. That there’s a tremendous difference when it comes to reigning Irina in, there’s a big change coming and she’s going to have to get on board.”
“Are you in love with her?” I asked, because that would have made a lot of sense.
“There are things I want, and suffice to say, Irina could give me those things. The family name for one.” He had always been good at evading and not answering questions directly, so I tried another way.
“No, no…” I shook my head. He’d said it wrong and was waiting for me to pick up on it. Rafikov had not been a name associated with the organisation since Lev had ordered the hit on Yosef. He’d wanted an Ischmov, he’d got an Ischmov, Tayte was saying something else. “Wait, you don’t mean the family name at all, you mean family. Plain and simple.”
“Are any of us getting any younger? I’m older than you, for Christ’s sake, and now I’m sitting here, who knows how long I get to before someone takes me out. Lev is dying, Yan, he’s an old man. A kid or two would be a wonderful legacy to leave behind when my maker comes and maybe, just maybe we could do this all better, safer, and without a shit ton of regret and consequences.”
If he could make it work with Irina, I wasn’t going to be bitter about it. She wasn’t my concern anymore. “Yeah. Family, a legacy. We’re a different generation, Tayte, things don’t work the same anymore. And if anyone can do this, you can.” I nodded and smiled, finding myself wishing him the best.
“If I asked, would you consult for me?” Tayte changed the topic when I wasn’t finished with the subject of Irina.
“Smooth fucker,” I grinned at him.
Winking at me, he replied. “Always.”
“Consult?” I mulled it over for a second or two. It would still be half a foot in the door, and I didn’t know if I could stomach anymore.
Noting my hesitation, he continued. “No hands dirty, all above board, legit. Some advice if I need it. The drugs are on their way out, depending on how much I can save face and find someone else in this city I trust to hand over those contacts. Those four clubs…” he shrugged. “I have plans, Yannick, and they’re not what Irina has in mind.”
“I can’t rein Irina in, she dances to her own beat. You don’t need me.”
“Yeah, I do. You’ve always been my voice of reason, talked me down off ledges. We’re friends, I want to keep it that way too. I truly am sorry for how this went, I didn’t see another way.”
“Let me think about it. When I said out, I meant out. This is a lot to ask.”
“I know. Call me when you make your decision, but Yan, I promise, it wouldn’t ever be anything illegal.”
“I’m going to give Irina a miss, you’ve suitably cooled my blood for the time being. But Tayte,” I eyed him. “Whether you’re sitting in that chair, fucking her or whatever, she goes after Jolie again and I will gladly do time. You get in my way over this and you’ll find that friendship severed. Jolie’s nothing to do with any of this, Irina had no right taking issue with
