They headed downstairs to the club with Nina two hours later and unlocked the door to the left. Both sides of the entire floor belonged to her father, and this had been one of the most successful sex clubs in the country from the time the building had opened. After what the feds had found in New Orleans when her parents had died, the government had seized this property and the one in Miami. The places she had in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco were incorporated differently, so they were still in operation.

The space was a mess, with paper covering the floor and the furniture stripped of its cushions as if they’d been looking for evidence everywhere they could think to search. Nina and Svetlana put together enough seats for everyone, and Nina stayed on the phone with their people to make sure Sacha played by the rules.

“He’s getting in the elevator,” Nina said as she checked her gun for the fourth time.

“Good, we can go ahead and get this over with.” She crossed her legs but only for a moment because of the pain it caused. The plane crash wasn’t something she had many memories of, but the aftermath was well cataloged in her head. The physical therapy she’d endured was like crawling out of the pit of hell, one slow inch at a time.

“Nicola,” Sacha said loudly when he walked in with his hands over his head as if happy to see her. “I can’t believe you fucking survived that crash. Your father showed me the pictures, and he pulled off that grieving parent thing like a Broadway actor.”

She took a step back when he moved to hug her. “It’s a shame he couldn’t live long enough to enjoy my return. That’s not why we’re here, though.” She pointed to the chair across from her, and he hesitated but finally sat down. “You don’t agree with what my father wanted?”

“How do we all know what your father wanted?” Sacha said, no longer smiling and any pretense gone. “None of us knew you were alive, so how do we just accept that he had knowledge that you were and wanted you to take over?” His eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “We talked, and he wanted me to take over the business once he knew you and Fredrick were dead.”

“But I’m not dead, am I? Sacha, your problem has always been wanting more than you’re entitled to. Your position in the business has always been to be happy with what we give you, but your mother put ideas in your head that could get you killed.”