Their Vengeance: Siren's Revenge Book Two

15. Yana

Fyodor’s Rules #25 - Parties are a battlefield, navigate them as such.

Finally, it was time for the engagement party. The tension in the penthouse was overbearing, and I was glad the evening had arrived. We had spent the last few days repeatedly going over everything until we could all recite the plan in our sleep if needed. I wasn”t mad about the preparation—it was important. There were so many things which could go wrong. It was important we minimized as many of them as we could.

The vehicles were all set—one for each group—although Lukas wasn”t happy his gear had been assigned to the Escalade. He wanted to take his bike and claimed it would be faster. His team was already in position, having scouted for spots to hide ahead of time. They had been arriving over the last two days to avoid drawing attention, the way a van of heavily armed men was bound to cause. We all had a change of clothes in the vehicles, as well as our weapons. I also had a few knives on me, strapped to a thigh holster under my dress. I wouldn”t have felt properly dressed without them.

My only genuine regret was I hadn”t been able to tell Fiorenza’s granddaughter what was happening. I met up with her twice more so we could go over the details for the party, and each time she seemed a little more morose. Almost like she was trudging to the gallows. Nikolai hadn”t explicitly said he was calling off the engagement after we dealt with Fiorenza, but I planned to put my foot down on this issue. Fiorenza had ruined enough lives with her schemes and her games. I would not let her ruin another one if I could do something about it.

I wanted so badly to tell Anetta freedom was within her reach; she only had to put on a smile for a little while longer. But even though she seemed to want to get out from under Fiorenza”s thumb during our conversations, I couldn”t guarantee she wouldn”t tell her. I had been tempted to use my Siren abilities, but even they weren”t always proof of a person’s intention. Survival instincts often overwhelmed them. And if there was one thing which fucked up a good plan, it was people doing stupid shit when they thought they were in danger.

I wasn”t sure why I cared about her so much, but I did. Hopefully she would forgive me after all of this, I could use some girlfriends. Or any girlfriends, for that matter. And she was going to need all the friends she could get if she wanted to go against the wishes of her family. Of course, once Fiorenza was gone, her family may change their mind and let her marry her mystery beau.

It was times like this I was glad I didn”t have a mother meddling in my love life. Of course, if my birth mother could see me sleeping with all four of my adopted brothers, she would probably have a heart attack and die. And good riddance to her.

The boys had left me alone for the afternoon when I said I needed time to get ready. Maybe they were so used to Pasha, who had begged off at the same time. The rest of the boys had been on the phone, going over the plan one more time with Fyodor. He wasn”t coming to the party. He instead lay in wait for his sister to make her way home, as we were not completely sure which route she was going to take. Pasha had set up a tracking program to follow the route she took to the party. We then hoped she would take the same one home. Mostly, we crossed our fingers she didn”t travel with Ksenia. Our plans worked best if they were split up.

After a long soak in the bath, I took my time getting ready. It had been too long since I’d really luxuriated in the process. Shaving, lotion, all of it. Plus, all of my makeup was back. I set my hair exactly the way I wanted; I was glad this charade hadn”t included changing the way I dressed. My clothes and shoes were so important to me.

The dress Pasha had helped pick out was laid on the bed. My shoes were the first thing I put on, wanting to feel their power as I picked out my undergarments. I would have to go shopping for more of those soon. I wasn”t sure what it was about expensive silk and lace that made all the men want to tear it, but I hadn”t been able to wear a single pair of panties I brought with me more than once without them being ruined.

The dress we picked out was red silk. The skirt was full, with petticoats underneath, so it flared out from my narrow waist. My knives were impossible to see under all the layers of fabric; I made sure the skirt had a pocket I could reach through, and I had cut slits into the petticoats so the knives were easy to access if I needed them.

The top half of the dress looked almost like a waistcoat. My arms were bare, and the lapels drew the eye down from my throat to my cleavage, then to the buttons which held it secured. I liked the tight fit and wore nothing around my neck. I wasn”t wearing a hat because we were inside, and had curled my hair, pinning it up carefully into an elegant knot at the base of my neck.

The fake engagement ring was heavy on my finger, but I’d gotten so used to wearing it I didn”t fiddle with it anymore. It had a diamond at the center, with ruby and obsidian shards surrounding it. It looked dangerous, like a weapon, but was exactly the sort of ring you would expect from someone like Alexei.

Once my makeup was perfect, and my perfume had warmed on my skin, I finished getting dressed. Lukas had given me his room and bathroom for the evening, saying he would get ready with Alexei. If the boys expected me to stay here after all this was done, I was going to need a room of my own. I hadn”t brought up the subject, in case the reason they hadn”t raised it was because they didn’t plan on asking me to stay. It was a conversation we had all been putting off; no one wanted to bring the topic up.

I stepped out of the bedroom and found all of them waiting for me. Alexei had dressed to match me. Black pants and shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbow, and a red tie made of the same silk as my dress. He had looped it loosely, and I wouldn”t be surprised if it was undone by the time we got downstairs. I knew he could get dressed up—I had seen photos—but ties didn”t seem to be something which stayed with any of his outfits for long.

Lukas looked almost the same as Alexei, dressed completely in black from head to toe. Though he had a jacket on, and I was sure it covered at least three guns. Nikolai was beside him in an expensive-looking black suit, although he wore a gray shirt, the tone matched to his silver eye, making it shine in the light.

Pasha was the best dressed, but it had never been a doubt it would be the case. His suit was a powder blue that made his hair look white. Glimpses of his tattoos peaked out at his wrists, alongside his black shirt which shimmered in the light. His hair was swept back like always, the fade on the sides freshly done. An immediate craving to rumple him up hit me, but knowing he would appreciate it about as much as I would have kept my hands by my sides.

I couldn’t stop myself from doing a twirl as Pasha whistled at me, drawing all the boys’ attention as I sashayed into the living room. Each one gave me a compliment, delivered with a kiss to my cheek until Alexei took my hand and settled it on his arm. We then moved as one to the elevator. There was no waiting, last-minute pep talks, or goodbyes. It was time. Everything which could be done had, and now we had to hope it was enough.

The elevator ride was short and silent. Nikolai stepped off first and made his way outside to wait for his soon-to-be fiancée. We made sure we were down here before the Italians arrived. I didn”t want his date to wait, having to field unwanted congratulations awkwardly on her own.

A server handed me a glass of champagne as we stepped into the ballroom. Everything looked perfect. We’d opted for a black and white theme—simple and elegant. It would match whatever anyone wore and wouldn”t look like it favored either couple. There had been a lot of discussion about whether to hold the party in the ballroom or the bar of the hotel. But the large number of people who had responded, invited or not, had decided for us. It felt like everyone in the Chicago Underground was coming tonight. And when we arrived, some of the guests were already here.

It reminded me a little of the Masquerade. The Irish families gathered around the bar, talking and drinking. The Armenians were in a corner, not socializing with anyone else, and barely talking to each other. Some of the Bratva were already here, and I was glad Alexei had returned the armband which hid my scent. I didn”t want any of the werewolves to recognize who I was and give the game away too early.

Alexei and I were immediately surrounded by people congratulating him on finally finding a woman who would put up with his wicked ways. More than a few jabs were made about him having to go overseas to find a woman who could stomach them, but he just laughed, taking it all in his stride. I was introduced to people at such a dizzying speed I was glad I had met most of them previously, otherwise there was no way I would have remembered them all.

The congratulations didn”t stop with the Bratva. It felt like we had barely navigated our way through them when we were surrounded by the Irish, passing us drinks and calling for toasts and shots. It surprised me to see how much more accepting of Alexei they seemed to be. Maybe it was their fae nature, or perhaps he socialized with them more often. Either way, there was a lot more genuine cheer, and a lot less backhanded compliments and insults. Also, there were a lot more wishes for happiness and children than I was comfortable receiving. I would have to make sure my contraceptive magic was up to date in case one of the fae blessings found a way through.

The Armenians didn”t move from their place in the corner. And even being the social butterfly I was, I was glad for the break in conversation. I had waved off the offered drinks by holding onto my champagne, but Alexei hadn”t been so lucky. Though I had faith in his ability to hold his liquor. And as long as he avoided a repeat of what just happened, we should be alright. He couldn’t get sloppy when we had a job to do, and he clearly knew it.

He”d just returned from the bar—holding a whiskey glass with water over the ice designed to look like vodka—when the background music faded away, and the room fell into silence. Everyone”s attention turned to the doors. The Italians always enjoyed a grand entrance. It was easy for them to do, with wings spread out as they stepped through the doors and halos glinting in the lights. If I didn”t know better, I would have thought they were a heavenly host here to bless us this evening.

But they were all sinners, every single one.

Fiorenza was amongst the last to enter the ballroom, and she didn”t descend to floor level with the rest of us. Instead, she stayed at the top of the stairs. Her voice rang out over the room, like a town crier announcing the news. “Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to announce the official engagement of Nikolai Sirota, and my granddaughter, Anetta Conti.”

Nikolai and Fiorenza”s granddaughter stepped into the ballroom, where polite applause greeted them.

Nikolai had his hand on Anetta”s back, urging her forward slightly before he raised his hand. “Thank you all. I’m sure there will be many well-wishes passed on tonight, and not only to myself. I am so glad my little brother has found a fiancée of his own. So let us drink. Not only to my happiness and Anetta”s, but also to Alexei and his fiancée’s, as well as your own.” There were more cheers at the idea of drinks, and the Italians gathered around Nikolai and Anetta to offer their congratulations.

I took the moment to look around the room. “I can”t see any of your family, Alexei?”

The grimace on his face was interrupted as the doors to the ballroom were thrown open again, and the Grandmother”s Children spilled inside. They were all grinning as they moved through the crowd, ignoring the whispers which followed them. Darya and Sasha beelined straight toward Alexei and me. They ignored Nikolai, something I was sure Anetta was grateful for, judging by the look on her face.

“Finally, we get to meet the woman in your life, little brother.” Sasha”s voice was saccharine with fake joy as she took my hand, her nails digging into my wrist. I had enough experience with men pulling me toward them in a handshake, that I managed to twist my hand free before she drew blood, but only barely.

“I haven”t introduced you both to Adrienne. She’s from France.” Alexei sounded as though he would rather do anything else than introduce me to them, but they didn”t seem bothered by his attitude.

“It is nice to meet Alexei”s other family.” The two cooed over me as I responded, while trying to get into my personal space. It required another deft twist and deflection from me, but I wasn”t fooled for a second. I knew enough about witches not to let them get close to my hair or allow them to grab hold of me. We were going to have enough trouble with them later without them having pieces of me to use for their hexes.

Both smoothed back their pouts, and Sasha was the one who spoke while Darya glared at me. “I am sure grandmother will have so many questions for her. We will bring her back!” They wrangled me from Alexei”s grip before I realized what was happening.

Shooting a look over my shoulder, Alexei looked as shocked as I felt. Though there wasn”t much which could be done about it now. A muttered command to please not touch me worked, and they guided me by crowding me instead. Soon I stood in front of a woman who looked so old I was surprised she was still alive.

She was seated and looked up at me over the rim of her glasses. Wrinkled, gnarled hands gripped tightly to a wooden walking stick, which she tapped against the ground twice. Darya and Sasha immediately rushed off as though the very sound had driven them away.

“Hmm, you are the pretty young thing my grandson has trapped, aren’t you?” Her tone wasn”t one that invited argument. Even though I could feel my hackles rise at her tone.

“My name is Adrienne, Madame. Alexei has spoken little about his family, so I am glad to meet you.” I put on my most demure, innocent expression and ignored the way she scoffed at my answer.

“If you know what’s good for you, girl. You will be on the first plane back to wherever he bought you from. There is no future for my grandson except death and pain. You’re too pretty to follow him there.” There was such a serious note to her words, I was immediately worried she was weaving magic into her conversation.

I wasn”t sure what to do, but I didn”t want to use my powers and risk her discovering my identity. So instead, I took a step back.

“Thank you for your words of wisdom. I will take them to my heart.” Bowing my head as deeply as I could, I meekly backed away. It must have fooled her, because she looked satisfied as she turned to someone else. I escaped back to Alexei and Pasha, while Lukas sent me searching glances from across the room.

“I can”t wait for this party to be over.”

Agreement echoed around me as a fresh glass of champagne was pressed into my hand. This night couldn”t end soon enough.