Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
ANYA
“ W hat was your mom like?” Erik asks as we walk through central park. When he invited me out today, I realized it was a date. I’m on an actual date with my husband. I never thought we could get to this point, yet here we are.
“She was kind. Always made me smile and laugh. She’d read to me every night. Very giving.”
“What was she doing with your father, then?”
It takes me a second to realize Erik is joking, but when I see his smile, I smile back. “I have no idea. I think it was an arranged marriage. Like us.”
“It’s common in our world.”
“I’m not sure she was happy with him. Whenever he’d enter the room, her smile would dim a little. But I only knew her until I was ten. We never reached my teenage years. We never fought because I was still just a kid. So, I’ll always think of my mom as perfect. I never got to see her any differently, which saddens me. I wish she were still around so I could see her as a human.”
“I can understand that. My parents died when I was in my twenties. They had to put up with me as a teenager. I was a little rebellious.” He flashes me a secretive smile.
“I’m sure.” I sidestep a kid who runs past us. The boy laughs as he runs into his mom’s arms. Pure innocence. Not a care in the world. “But the man I know now doesn’t seem rebellious. You’re too practical for that.”
“I became the man my father wanted me to be once I turned twenty. He expected me to shape up and take over, so I did. I was growing in the business, finding my way, when he was murdered.”
“Shot, you told me.”
He nods, his eyes far away, reliving the memory. “I was the one who found them. They were at their home. Shot in their bed. I never called the police. That was something my father instilled in me. Never get the police involved. I called one of my father’s men, and he helped me.”
“Did you ever find out who did it?”
“No. I had my suspicions it might have been the Mafia. There was a man named Antonio De Luca. I know he and my father had it out.”
“What happened to him? I don’t recognize his name.”
“You would’ve been just a kid when he was in power. He was shot by his mistress of all people, so that dealt with that. His power crumbled and for years; men battled over it. It wasn’t until Dante took over a few years ago that the Mafia started to become strong again. He rallied men to his side. I rallied men to my side. And we’ve been at each other’s throats for years. Always missing each other.”
“You’ll get him.” I shudder at the memory of Dante smiling at me. “He scares me. I think he wants my sister.”
“I know. He’s alluded to it.”
“We have to protect her at all costs, Erik.”
“We will. I’ll make sure to kill Dante. It has to happen.”
We will , I notice he says. Not him. Not I. We . We’re in this together, and it feels pretty good to have a partner I can lean on. I don’t have to go at this world alone anymore. I don’t have to pretend to be so strong.
“I’m sorry about your parents.”
He shrugs, acting nonchalant, but his eyes tell a different story. “It was over a decade ago. I wasn’t close with my father. We butted heads, but I respected him. Didn’t make us friends, though.” He motions to a bench, and we take a seat, watching the people around us, walking through the grass, having a picnic for lunch, enjoying the beautiful weather. None of these people live in the dark world we do. I feel a flash of jealousy, but it’s pointless. I’m a Bratva wife, and I’ve learned to accept that now.
“Your mother?” I ask. “Were you close with her?”
“She could be cold, but she doted on me. My father thought she was making me too soft, so he kept us apart for many years. My mother and I had just started to rekindle our relationship when she died.”
“That must have been hard.”
“It was.” He scoffs softly. “Listen to me. Baring my soul to you. I’ve never spoken this way with anyone before. In the past, I would’ve died before revealing such personal things about myself.”
“Why?”
“Because when people know your weak spots, you become vulnerable. It puts you at risk.”
“Are you worried I’m going to use your parents against you?”
“No. Not now. Not when I’ve seen too much from you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask breathlessly.
“I’ve seen your secrets. Your father. Your sister. You can’t hide from me. So, why should I hide from you any longer? Where would it get me? Nowhere. It would just keep the wall up between us, and honestly, I don’t want that wall between us any longer.”
“Neither do I.” I find myself inching closer to him. Being close to Erik isn’t scary anymore. Instead, it’s surprisingly comforting. “You trust me enough to share your secrets with me?”
“I’m starting to. And do you? Trust me?”
I look at Erik’s handsome face. How easy it is to like his face. And how much I hated his face when I first met him because it was the face of a monster. While Erik does bad things, he’s not a monster to me, and as a Bratva wife, that’s all I can ask for.
“You gave yourself up to Dante to save me. You almost died trying to save me. If I can’t trust you now, then when will I ever be able to?”
He lets out a shaky breath. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard Erik sound a little uncertain. “Good point.”
“But you don’t fully trust me yet? Do you think I’ll hurt you? Is that why you were so cold to me when we first got married?”
“I’m not worried you’ll leave. Not anymore. It just takes me a while to warm up to people.”
“Erik, we’ve known each for a few months now.”
“I know.” He slides his arm around me and tucks me into his body. “And I trust you. But that doesn’t make it easy for me to spill my secrets.”
“I get it. It’s taken me a long time to trust you with Nadia, but you’ve shown you don’t want to hurt her. I’m still not happy about her being betrothed to Viktor, but a betrothal isn’t a marriage. It’s not set in stone. Things can change. When she turns eighteen, she’ll have more rights.”
“Right.” It’s clear from his tone he doesn’t believe me. And that’s ok. I just need to believe Nadia will be fine because the alternative is too much to bear. “You’re so protective of your sister. When did that start?”
“When our mother died. Someone had to take care of her. Our father wasn’t going to do it. That’s why sometimes I treat her more like my daughter than my sister.”
“Completely understandable. If I’d known all of this when we first married, maybe I would’ve tried harder to help Nadia.”
“Or you would have just used it against me,” I say.
“Probably.”
And that’s the sad part. Erik was a monster when we first met. A cold, practical, calculated man who only did things to help his own interests.
But he’s not that man anymore.
“Will we ever get to a point where we fully trust each other? Irrevocably?”
He meets my gaze, piercing me with his intense eyes. “Only time knows.” His phone rings, startling me and making him pull away. I feel instantly colder not being in his arms. “It’s your father.” He puts the phone on speaker. “Sergei?”
“We need to act fast.”
“Why? For what?”
“To strike against Dante.”
Erik sits up straighter. “Do you know where he is right now?”
“No. But I’m sure he’ll make himself known.”
“How?”
“I took the girl. Aria. I have her, and I’m going to use her against Dante.”
I gasp. Erik shakes his head for me to be quiet. Now is not the time to get into an argument with my father. So, for once, I keep my mouth shut.
“You kidnapped her? Damn it, Sergei. We agreed not to do that.”
“I don’t work for you, Erik. I work with you. And I made this decision because I believed it to be the best one. I’m not going to hurt the girl. I’m just going to use her to draw Dante out, and once he shows, we can kill him, and I’ll return the girl to her family.”
Erik holds the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. “Ok. Where are you?”
“I’m at one of my apartments. It’s not safe to say over the phone. I’ll text you the address.” Then he hangs up.
“I can’t believe my father kidnapped a girl!”
“I’ll handle this. I’m taking you home. It’s not safe for you to be out right now. I’m not sure if Dante knows Aria is missing, but he’ll find out soon enough, and if Sergei is correct, Dante will be pissed she was taken. After I get you to safety, I’ll deal with your father. Don’t argue with me, Anya. You know I’m right. The safer you are, the better I can think.”
I want to object. I want to scream and fight. Even though Aria is a Mafia daughter, she’s only twelve and doesn’t deserve to be kidnapped.
But Erik is right. There’s nothing I can do to save the day. Erik can help her. Erik can stop Dante. He’s the one who can put an end to this fighting so no more girls are kidnapped.
“Ok,” I say.
“Thank you.”
Erik is silent as he takes me home, but the moment we’re through the front door, he tells me not to leave. “Make sure everything is locked. Jerry will protect the gate out front. I’m going to send over a few more guards in case Dante shows up. Sergei doing this is asking Dante to go on a rampage, and I can’t risk that.”
I grab Erik’s hand before he leaves. “Just … stay safe. Don’t almost get killed again.”
“Would you miss me?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly.
Erik grabs my face and kisses me before leaving. I hate feeling powerless and helpless, but this isn’t my fight.
This is up to Erik, and I have to trust him to put an end to it.
ERIK
I speed over to the address Sergei gave me. It’s a high-end apartment that looks like any other high-end apartment in Manhattan.
But what’s unusual is the girl tied up to a chair in his living room. She’s tiny. Skinny. Clearly twelve from how young and innocent she looks.
And yet there’s a defiant look in her eye. An upturn of her nose.
“You’re going to regret hurting me,” she says, glaring at Sergei as he paces the room.
“Oh, shut up,” he hisses.
To my surprise, Aria sticks her tongue out at Sergei, not looking afraid at all. He backhands her across the face.
I storm across the room and grab Sergei, pushing him away from the girl. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? You should’ve jumped at this chance. This girl will draw Dante out, and we can finally kill him.”
“You’ll never get to him,” Aria seethes. It’s impressive for someone so tiny.
“Are you ok?” I ask her.
She scoffs. “Like you care.”
“I do, actually. Unlike my colleague here, I don’t go around hitting twelve-year-old girls. So, are you in pain?”
“No.” It’s an obvious lie. I can see by how she clenches her jaw. A red welt is already appearing on her face. There’s no way she’s not in pain, but she doesn’t want me to know it. It’s funny. This little girl reminds me a lot of Anya. Feisty, spirited, brave. Doesn’t want anyone to see her fear.
“Good, then,” I respond. Getting Aria to admit she’s hurt won’t happen, so I’m not going to waste my breath. “Sergei, you have to let the girl go.”
“Why should I? I have her now, so don’t bitch about it. We can use her. Let’s draw Dante out. I left a message for her father, telling Dante to meet me down by the docks if he wants her back unharmed. I told him to meet me at nightfall. In a few hours, he’ll be dead. It will be perfect.”
“Or stupid. Dante is pissed. He now has incentive go on a fucking rampage. We were close to finding out where he lived. It would’ve been better to do a sneak attack on him. Now, he’s expecting us, and because you kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl, more men are going to be angry, which means more trigger-happy folks and more chances of someone dying.”
Sergei gets right in my face and points his finger at me. “I did what needed to be done. You should be thanking me. The goal is to kill Dante, and that’s what we’re going to do. Who cares who else we hurt in the process.”
“I care,” I realize as I speak.
He takes one look at me and scoffs. “You’ve gotten fucking soft. I swear, it’s because of my daughter. I never should’ve married her to you. It was a mistake. You’re not the fucking boogeyman any longer. You’re nothing but a pussy.”
I stand tall before Sergei, towering over him. “Leave. Cool down.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to talk to the girl and see if she can tell us where Dante lives. We still might be able to do a sneak attack on him.”
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” Aria says.
“You’re going to have to torture her, Erik, and you know it. If you want any information out of her. Are you prepared to do that? Because I am.”
“I’m not going to torture a twelve year old.”
“She’s not innocent. She’s part of the Mafia. They’re never innocent. They’re born witches right out of the womb, and you know it. She’ll grow up to hate the Bratva, and she’ll marry an Italian who’ll want to destroy us. You know how this works. It’s the fucking circle of life. So, either torture the girl for information, or we’re doing it my way.”
“Or there’s another option.”
“What?”
“We’re done.”
Sergei blinks, then scoffs. “You can’t be serious. We’re not done.”
“We’re done, Sergei. You went against my orders with Aria.”
“And you went against my orders when you went after Dante to save Anya.”
“You’re terrible to your daughter. Both of them. When we first teamed up, I was able to overlook it. I didn’t care about Anya then, but I do now. I can’t work with you anymore, Sergei. Not when you’re putting my entire plan at risk over this.” I point at Aria. “This was a stupid mistake, one I have to correct. Because now, I won’t have just Dante coming after me. I’ll have the entire fucking Mafia coming after me. No one likes it when their kid daughter is stolen. You just made things worse. Even if I kill Dante, more men will be angry with what you did. So, thanks for that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Once we kill Dante, his men will scatter. They won’t have a leader to follow. We’ll be able to pick them off one by one.”
“We’re done. I won’t hear it anymore. You refused to stop hurting my wife after I’ve told you to stop. You kidnapped Aria when I told you not to. You want to do things your way. If that’s the case, I can’t be a part of it. So, we’re done.”
“Then I’m taking the girl. You don’t get to question her.”
I step in front of Sergei. “I do. Get out. Now.”
“This is my apartment.”
“Then go wait in the fucking kitchen. I’m going to ask this girl where Dante lives, and if she refuses to tell me, I’m going to bring her home. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Dante will be there. Where did you find her anyway?”
“I picked her up from her school. I don’t know where she lives.”
I grumble under my breath and turn to Aria. “Tell me Dante’s home address. If your father is close with Dante, surely you’ve been to his home.”
“I won’t tell you anything,” she says with a fierceness in her eye that reminds me so much of Anya, and I can’t help but smile.
I crouch in front of her. “I know a woman a lot like you. She’s brave. Fierce. Even though you’re twelve, I’m sure you can withstand a lot of torture before you crack. But you will crack. Now, I have no desire to hurt you. And I won’t, but the man behind me will. He’s already hit you. He’ll do it again. He will fight me if I try to bring you from this apartment. So, why don’t you spare us all the pain and tell us Dante’s home address.”
She spits in my face.
“I’m impressed,” I say, chuckling as I wipe her spit off my cheek. “But, Aria, you have no power here, and you know it. I hate that this is how you’re going to learn that lesson. You’re tied up. Your father doesn’t know where you are. Dante doesn’t know where you are. You’re on your own. If you want to save yourself, you’ll give Dante up.”
“How do I know you won’t just kill me?” she asks. For the first time, I hear a waver in her voice, reminding me she’s just a kid.
“You don’t. But I’ll make you a deal. I’ll bring you back to your school as a sign of good faith, and once you’re there, you can tell me where Dante is. Fair?”
She slumps in her seat and blows a piece of her hair out of her eye. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”
“You’re not.”
“Who’s the girl?”
“What?”
She huffs like I’m her biggest annoyance right now. “The girl I remind you of?”
“That would be my wife.”
And just like that, all the fight leaves her tiny body. “Ok. I’ll tell you where Dante lives. But don’t kill my father.”
“As long as he stays out of my way, he’ll be fine.” I turn to Sergei. “You heard all of that. I’m taking her back to her school, and she’ll tell me where Dante’s home is. I’m going to surprise him.”
“So, are we still working together?”
“No. I don’t trust you, and I need to be able to trust the men I work with.” I untie Aria as Sergei’s face scrunches into something vile.
“I can take my daughter back,” he threatens.
“You and I both know you can’t.” I finish untying Aria and take her arm. “Now, Sergei, get out of the way.”
He glares at me for a long beat before stepping out of the way.
Aria is silent on the drive to her school. The only words she speak to me are directions to her school. We make it there within thirty minutes.
“See? There’s your school. I’ll let you out, but first, give me Dante’s address.”
“How do you know I won’t lie?”
“Because then I will go kill your father.” It’s mean, but I need to make sure Aria tells me the truth. She may be a brave girl, but she’s still only twelve. She won’t be able to call my bluff.
Her eyes widen, and she nods. Suddenly, she looks so young and fragile with her pale skin and blonde hair. “Do you have a phone?”
“Why?”
“So I can type down his address. Duh.”
“I don’t trust you with my phone. So, here.” I grab a napkin and pen out of the glove compartment and hand it to her. “Write it down.”
She glares at me before she does as I say, then hands it back. “There. That’s his address.”
“Good. Go into your school and call your dad to get you. But if you warn him about me coming for Dante, bad things will happen to him.”
“Ok. I get it. You’ll kill him. You’re just as bad as the guy who kidnapped me.”
“I’m not. Trust me. But I used to be. I used to be worse, and I can be a lot worse again. So, do as I say, Aria, if you want your father to survive.”
She scrambles out of the car and runs to the school. I drive away as fast as I can without drawing any suspicion.
Aria is safe. That’s something Anya can be proud of.
But there’s something else I have to handle.
Sergei put a target on his back by kidnapping Aria and leaving a message for Dante. Which means Dante will be coming for Sergei as payback, and there’s one person who can easily get caught in the crosshairs.
Nadia.
If I don’t get her to safety, she could get hurt, and Anya would never be ok again.
I arrive at Sergei’s home and pound on the door. After a few minutes, the housekeeper opens.
“Yes?”
“Is Sergei back?”
“No, sir.”
“Good.” I pass her and head into the house, calling out for Nadia until she appears in the hallway, looking shy and afraid.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m getting you out of here. Come on. Let’s go.” By ending things with Sergei, I know he’s going to keep a tight leash on Nadia and never let Anya see her again. I can’t do that. I need to do what I should have done much sooner.
Bring Nadia to live with Anya and me, where she’ll truly be safe.
“What? Why?”
“Because your father fucked up, and I’m done with him. So, if you want a chance of seeing Anya again, you need to come with me right now.”
“You’re … not going to hurt me, are you?” She looks at me like Anya once did, like I’m an untrustworthy monster.
It’s up to me to change her perception of me.
“I won’t hurt you, Nadia. I just want to see you safe. We need to leave before Sergei returns home. He won’t let you leave with me, and you know it. Come on.”
Finally, she walks over to me, looking more sure.
I open the front door and freeze when I come face to face with Dante.
“Didn’t expect me, huh?” He punches me in the face before I can react, sending me sprawling to the ground.
My vision goes black, and the last thing I hear is Nadia screaming.