16. Ilias
ILIAS
F ortune's private lounge was empty, still smelling of residual smoke from the previous evening. I hated to duck out of the house, but there was business to discuss and I needed to settle a little after the bombshell news that Kostas had dropped on me. I’d left a couple of men on the doors just for safety and set the alarm.
I had slept fitfully last night, especially after the heavy kissing session with my wife.
Fuck. I was in deep. She was like kissing sunshine, and I just wanted more.
I wanted to lick her up and do wicked things to her.
I’d barely been able to keep myself from letting her go to her room last night.
I had to stop myself from thinking like that.
It wasn’t productive. Last night, I had to jack off more than once to take the edge off, which apparently was going to be my foreseeable future.
I had no idea what I’d been thinking when I agreed to my whole little plan, but I had only myself to blame and nobody else.
Conall had kicked his shoes up on the edge of the poker table, balancing a glass of orange juice on his stomach like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Angelo leaned back in his chair, one hand curled around his coffee cup while he watched the smoke from his cigar curl toward the ceiling.
Maxim, as usual, looked like a war god in a tailored suit—except the buttons were undone, and his suit jacket hung over the back of one of the chairs.
His sleeves were rolled up, and that was about as casual as he ever got on a work day.
Me? I sat at the bar, nursing a shot of ouzo and feeling more edgy than I’d been in weeks.
“You look like shit,” Conall smirked at me. “How’s the wife? Is she eating?” Conall asked. “Frankie wanted to send something over. Women bond over food and trauma or some shit.”
“She ate,” I said. “Evgenia made tons of stuff. You know how she is.” That was no lie. Evgenia made more food than we could eat. I frowned at him. “Did you get yelled at because you wouldn’t let your wife walk around the house by herself?”
“Fuck off.” He frowned back. “I’m just being careful. She could fall.”
"You're an idiot. Theo and Frankie laughed about that shit all night long.” Angelo chuckled at Conall, then turned his attention to me. “So, what’d Evgenia make? That thing that weighs eight pounds and could stop a man’s heart?” He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that’s comfort food. I love that dish.”
“Mousakka. She had two servings,” I muttered, mouth twitching. “I think her appetite is catching up to her, or she just really likes Greek food.”
Maxim cracked a faint, tired smile. “Maybe I’ll admit that you have a really good cook. I’m going to have to introduce my sister to some classic Russian fare, so there is some fairness. I can’t have her turning into some Greek or some shit.”
“I’m going to guess that her mother cooked for her,” I said. “Not sure it would be a great reminder for her, but you can decide.” I wasn’t trying to be a dick, but it was my job to look out for her. If giving her a little space would help, I would do it.
Maxim rubbed a hand over his jaw and nodded. “Fuck, I didn’t think about that. ”
Angelo broke the tension first. “So, how’s it going having her stay at your place?”
I nodded. “Fine. It’s only been a couple of days, but I think it’ll be okay.”
Conall snorted. “That’s a win. Cora told me Galena is a fighter. Frankie and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Understatement,” I muttered. “She’s definitely a fighter. She’s amazing.”
“She has us now,” Maxim said quietly. “She’s a Volkov. She’s family.” There it was. Maxim’s words landed hard, like I had forgotten that she was his sister.
“She’s an Anthakos now.” Maxim frowned as he looked at the band on my finger.
He’d had a meeting with the Antonov Bratva that was setting up in Jersey that he couldn’t get away from last night.
I’d offered to reschedule, but he said it wasn’t necessary since we weren’t doing a ceremony.
“Anyway,” I continued briskly, “we got through the first round of photo IDs. Kostas helped set it all up.”
They all sat up a little straighter at that.
“And?” Angelo asked.
“We got a hit,” I said. “Galena recognized one of the men.” The mood shifted immediately .
“Who?” Maxim’s voice was quiet, lethal.
“Ricky Vairo.” I let the name hang there for a second, but it was obvious nobody recognized it.
“A minor player, but he works with Scarpato. Kostas got confirmation on it this morning. It’s why I asked you to meet me here.
” Maxim had already started to open his mouth to give me shit about not texting him immediately last night. I could tell.
“Motherfucker,” Conall muttered, sitting up and pulling his shoes off the table.
Angelo’s jaw flexed, and the mood in the room ratcheted up. “There were three of them, right?” Angelo asked.
“Yeah. That’s what she said. We’ll do photos of the rest of his crew today, now that we know who he’s with. The information we have shows he’s working with Dino’s Staten Island operation.”
Maxim stood. “He’s a fucking dead man. We’ll pick him up tonight. Send me a photo of that joker.”
“No,” I said. “We’ll get him. But we do it right.
We need to take down all three of these fuckers at the same time.
If, for some reason, they are all working with the Scarpato famiglia , we need to nail them and scoop them the same night before Dino gets wise.
That might make it easier when it comes to the retaliation that’s bound to happen. ”
Angelo nodded. “You think there’s any chance that Scarpato was behind the attack on Galena and her mother?”
The thought had already crossed my mind that he could be involved.
“God help him if he was.” I could practically feel Maxim’s jaw crack from here, and Angelo had already pulled out his favored brass knuckles, spinning them around.
“The guy is a sleaze, and he came to me with a business proposition just a few weeks ago. I made him jump through a few hoops, but it doesn’t feel right.
Something is off. If he was behind this all along…
” Just the idea that he’d set it all up made me enraged.
“God won’t be helping him,” Maxim ground out. “I’ll burn his mafia to the fucking ground if he was part of it.”
“Nobody will be stopping you, fratello .” Angelo grinned back at him in a manner that would have me shivering if it were directed at me. They’d have to get in line because if Dino were involved, I’d be murdering that son-of-a-bitch myself.
Conall leaned back. “How’s she holding up with going through the photos and all that business? ”
“She’s... dealing. She’s brave, but it must still be a lot to be dumped on someone. I told her she could meet the rest of you when she’s ready. Frankie and Theo are already planning something. I know how they are.”
“I’m sure,” Conall groaned. “They’ve been crazy since they’ve gotten pregnant.”
“Like you don’t love it.” Angelo rolled his eyes. “My wife is amazing at whatever she plans, and she can be as crazy as she wants. You better be treating my sister good.” He gave Conall an eagle-eyed glare.
He acted like he didn’t mind my sister’s complete lunacy, but maybe he didn’t. Angelo seemed to enjoy my sister’s brand of chaos, which was a good thing because I would kill him if he hurt her feelings, even if he was one of my best friends.
“I’m not saying anything,” Maxim muttered.
I sipped my drink and relaxed a little now that I’d talked with the guys. Things would work out. We had plans, and Galena would identify the other two. It was only a matter of time. My gut told me they were part of Scarpato’s crew, which didn’t bode well for Dino.
Galena didn’t know it yet, but she had an army behind her.
Not to mention everybody else who was rooting for her.
And the man she’d identified? He was as good as dead.
If she wanted to help, I’d stand behind her and help her pull the trigger.
She didn’t know it yet, but I’d bury the bodies where they fell if she wanted.