“I doubt Nikolai will approach any of you,” Shura says when I gesture for him to chime in. “Our alliance is too strong to pick apart now. Our investments run too deep and he knows that everyone here has his reasons for spurning what he has to offer.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Luca says. “You think he’s shoring up alliances?”
“He will if he’s smart. He has to match our strength,” I say. “Finding new friends is the only way he has a prayer of lasting.”
“Who does he have to turn to?” Cevdet scoffs before answering his own question. “No one of consequence. All the major players are sitting in this room.”
Luca and Bujar nod their agreement. But one glance at Shura tells me he’s the only one here who thinks the way I do.
Nikolai Rostov is not to be underestimated.
“Before we jump into the
