Maisy the Slav (New York Mafia Vengeance #4)

CHAPTER 1

ORION

“She better not find out,” Logan groans.

“If she does, it’ll all be over,” Kai says quietly, almost to himself, dragging a hand through his blond hair.

“Be clever about this,” I cut in. “Go separately. One by one.”

Logan lifts his head, eyes wide now. “We’re actually doing this?”

“I already did,” I say simply.

They both stare at me like I’ve just said I shot God.

Kai lets out a sharp breath. “You went to her place?”

“Don’t look at me like that,” I say coolly. “It’s done. And if either of you start acting like jittery schoolboys, Maisy’s gonna see right through you.”

“I’m not sure if I’m able to be as cool as you are, Orion.” Kai shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “That lawyer shit sure comes handy in situations like these. She’s gonna read me like a damn book. I can see the title now: Visiting Indra’s Lair .”

Logan cuts me off. “Don’t say her name. You say it, and Maisy will hear it somehow.”

I chuckle at their absurdity. “Come on, she’s not a psychic. She may suspect . That’s different.”

“No, man,” Logan mutters. “You don’t get it. That woman’s like a goddamn prophet. You lie, she smells it.”

“Why the fuck are we going down this road, Orion? Isn’t it easier—” Kai starts, but I cut him off.

“It’s not. We talked about this; it was unanimously agreed, remember?

” I stay silent until I see them nod. When they do, I continue.

“Now stop being such cowards and get a grip on yourselves, men. We still rule New York. We still run everything from the courts to the docks. We’ve bled for this power. Don’t you forget who the hell we are.”

I deliver my words just like I’m in court. To the point, with power. Except I didn’t count on the bedroom door creaking open. All our heads snap to the doorway. Every muscle in my body is primed in that direction, and I know it’s her.

She doesn’t step fully into the room, just enough for us to see the light catching her black curls. She looks innocent. Gorgeous. “Dinner’s ready,” she says softly. “You boys done plotting?”

We’re not doing anything wrong, yet my heartbeat’s a war drum now. Me, of all people. It’s absurd.

Kai stands quickly, too quickly. “Hey, baby girl, just talking business. Nothing big.”

Her gaze flicks to him. Stays. His shoulders twitch. “Hmm,” she hums, then looks at Logan. “You okay?”

He nods slowly. “Just tired, sweetheart.”

She tilts her head and smiles lazily. Dangerous . “You all smell like secrets.”

“We’ll join you in a moment, darling,” I assure her calmly.

She lingers, narrowing her eyes at me, then turns and disappears into the hallway.

Kai’s the first to speak, whisper-thin. “Told you. She knows.”

MAISY

The woman in the mirror is almost a stranger: crisp white shirt, neat ponytail, not a hint of the chaos that usually clings to her, like the children’s sticky fingerprints.

Her turquoise cardigan adds a rebellious splash of color to her otherwise corporate armor.

I catch her smiling. Two whole days of freedom stretch ahead, unmarred by juice spills and urgent cries of ‘Mom!’

Having to look after six children sometimes messes with your lifestyle. Luckily, I can afford to have them taken out for a day or two with Sasha, their nanny, and a few of their bodyguards.

Of course, Sasha is not alone; she has her family joining her. They have Lisa’s daughter, Mia, with them too. Mia loves the fact that she’s the eldest of her cousins, and she tortures them in her own sweet way.

But I push away the familiar pang of mom guilt. Because today is an important day.

I clear my throat and enter the dining room through the back from the corridor. There is another entrance on the other side of the room through which more of my guests, all women, enter.

“Good morning.”

I make my way to the head of the table, my gaze sweeping over the room.

The women murmur their greetings, each one in her own quiet way.

I’ve braced myself for just a handful to show up, expecting embarrassment, maybe even ridicule.

Instead, the eyes of around twenty women meet mine.

Some are seated, others standing, all watching. No pressure .

Except, there is pressure. A lot of it. I took it upon myself to gather the wives, sisters, and girlfriends of every man in the family—whether they’re a Delgado, a Vitali, or a Carte.

The reason is that I’ve noticed most women in the mafia world, women like me, are treated like background noise. I certainly am not. My men know my worth. From what I’ve seen, most women are kept on the sidelines, watching as the men handle the business.

Well, it’s time we show them we can take care of New York as well.

When I shared my idea with my men, I expected hesitation—maybe even doubt. Instead, they lit up like I’d confirmed something they already knew. Logan grinned, Kai leaned back with a low whistle, and Orion—of course—smirked like he’d been waiting for that moment.

“Pay up,” Orion said, extending his hand toward the other two. Logan groaned while Kai dug into his pocket, both of them chuckling.

Orion turned to me. “We had a wager on when you’d finally make your move to do something for yourself.”

I do love their support, even if it comes with smug grins and the unsettling realization that they sometimes know me better than I know myself.

“I’m grateful you all could make it,” I say to my guests now, my voice steady despite the nerves. My eyes follow Lisa, Orion’s sister, as she moves gracefully through the crowd, pouring coffee.

“Your email made sense, Maisy. I want in,” Angelina, Uncle Colletti’s daughter, begins. “You all know my husband, Adam, is a useless prick. I could easily take care of the business better than him, but my father keeps dismissing me. I think I’ve had enough of it.”

The women around her agree noisily, and the accord spreads throughout the room.

“Absolutely, Angelina. This shouldn’t be an issue in the twenty-first century,” I reply. “But it’s up to us to make ourselves visible.”

A ripple of approval moves through the room, soft murmurs and nods of agreement. The tension in my chest eases, and just like that, my nervousness completely melts away.

“Everyone, come and sit at the table if you can. It’ll be a squeeze, but we’ll manage. I have a few discussions planned so we can find the right way forward. And if you have any ideas, speak up. This is our project. Our little club.”

The room buzzes with energy as Leila brings in more chairs to add to the twelve already circling the table. I look around and, glancing to the side, I see Orion, his figure framed in the glass panel of the back door, watching.

“Check the table sections and sit in the one you like,” I continue, determined not to get distracted.

I’m hoping they won’t interfere, but just as everyone sits down and the room gets quiet, the back door opens and Orion, Logan, and Kai enter in their full glory. How they still manage to make me weak in my knees, I don’t know.

Orion is in a suit, waistcoat over his shirt, his sleeves rolled up, wearing his rings and watch. Cleanshaven, hair slicked back, eyes to get lost in. I get butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me.

Logan is in his chinos, with a white coat on top. He must have gotten a call to head to the ER. He saunters toward me with a mischievous smirk that gets me every time.

And then Kai, walking behind them in only his sweatpants, his six-pack on show. His messy blond locks and his yawn tell me he’s barely awake—except when my eyes drop to his crotch, I see a distension in the material that tells a story of one member that’s fully awake.

Saturdays are usually lazy and lusty in our house, especially when we have the place to ourselves, but this morning, as I was getting dressed, I had to push back. I wanted to play too, but I had other things on my mind.

I look at them with a smile and tilt my head, hoping they’ll understand my silent message: This better be quick .

Some of the women ogle, rather defeating the premise of women empowerment. But Lisa, as always, saves the day by distracting their attention away from us. “Ladies, do any of you have any other ideas for a group we could add to the table?”

I approach Orion and whisper sharply, “What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a man miss his woman?” Orion’s low voice sends a chill down my spine, even though I’m still annoyed.

I glance back around the dining room. The women are engaged in conversation, with Lisa expertly managing the different groups. Still, this isn’t how I planned my morning to go.

“Logan, don’t you have to go to work?” I ask, hoping he’ll be the reasonable one.

“I do. Which is why I get to go first.” He takes my hand and leads me out of the room, toward the staircase.

I don’t resist; I’m not going to make a scene.

I know I’m safe. They just have some silly game in mind.

Orion and Kai follow us closely, with Kai still half-asleep but somehow radiating burning heat through his sweatpants.

“First?! First what? No. Logan, I must go back,” I protest, but for some reason, my feet follow his up the staircase.

“Five minutes,” Logan promises with that dreamy smile that always means trouble.

The second-floor landing has a custom storage space built under the upper portion of the stairs—it’s more of a hidden room, really, with a door that blends into the wall paneling. They built this space to conceal their arsenal of weapons. Orion opens it with a knowing smirk.

“In here? Are you crazy?” I yell, my pulse quickening at the thought.

“Need to remind you who’s really in charge,” Kai mumbles, suddenly looking more alert. I’m reminded of how they teased me earlier, saying that I’m ‘taking over the family’ by calling this meeting.

“Let me go!” I try to push back as they guide me into the space. “I’m only trying to empower the women, not take charge. There’s a difference!”