22. Ilias
ILIAS
I stood beside Galena near the pier, the wind ruffling her hair, lifting strands around her face until she had to brush them away.
Two of my guards shadowed us discreetly, trying their best not to be too noticeable and blend into the background, but they were ready for anything.
I wasn’t about to take chances, not with her.
It was cold as hell, but Galena wanted to get out of the car and take a short walk, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop her, especially when I told her we could get out.
Still, with Scarpato breathing, I was concerned.
Who knew what he would do now that we were taking his little kingdom apart piece by piece?
I wasn’t sure what he thought would happen once we found out what he’d done, but he couldn’t have believed it would end well for him.
There was no way he would have beaten all of us.
Maybe he thought Galena wouldn’t say anything, or he thought that I wouldn’t care.
Either way, he had miscalculated, and it was going to cost him everything. I’d make sure of it.
She hadn’t said much on the ride over, and I wanted to press her on how she was feeling, but I’d learned to try to be quiet and watch her closely instead.
To watch the tension in her shoulders, the way her eyes never stopped scanning.
She was like a mouse that had spent too long in a trap, and even though I wanted to reach for her, I knew she needed the space to come to me.
I wanted to be the harbor that she turned to, but I knew that to do so, I needed to show her that I could be there for her in any way she needed me to be.
“You talk to Katie?” I asked quietly, eyes forward, watching a jogger pass us, oblivious to the danger that lingered under the city's skin. Her friend from college had been on her mind, and I knew it had been one of the numbers that Kostas had programmed into her phone.
The smile crept over her face. “I did. We’d only been emailing, so it was nice to hear her voice. She’s been my one friend that I’ve kept. ”
“I hope you invite her to the brownstone when you think the time is right. Friends are important.” I knew that better than anyone. My friends had formed the cornerstone of who I was.
Galena nodded. “I will.” She fiddled with the band on her finger, and it reminded me that I wanted to find her another ring to go with it.
One that fit her personality. “I haven’t told her everything yet about this.
You. My brother.” She turned her head slowly.
Her gaze met mine, direct and unswerving.
“What do I tell people about this stuff? Nothing right? She can’t know about all the mafia things? ”
“No, nothing,” I confirmed. “It’s safer that way.
” I rubbed my thumb over the fleshy part of her palm.
“I have two sisters you haven’t met. Theo, who is married to Angelo.
She knows all about everything, obviously.
My other sister, Polina, is the youngest in the family.
” Looking over at my wife, I had the realization that Polina and Galena were essentially the same age, which made me feel a bit like a cradle-robber.
My gut clenched a little. “She was really young when my father died, and we’ve always kept things from her about the world that we live in.
It always seemed like the right thing to do.
Now I’m not so sure it was the right choice. ”
“How have you managed to do that when she’s your sister?” Her incredulous look told me that she didn’t think it was a good idea either. “It’s pretty much part of who you and your brothers are.”
“I sent her away to a private boarding school most of the time. Kept her in as normal situations as we could. We had strict rules about what we could talk about.” I cringed a little now that I was saying it out loud to someone else.
I hadn’t allowed Polina to come to Theo’s wedding, and both my sisters had been furious, but things had been unstable to say the least.
“I’m not sure I can have a friend who only knows part of my life. That feels like holding myself back. I’m not trying to judge or anything, but it would seem like I was betraying her. Being dishonest.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that. You can tell her what you think is appropriate. I’d ask that you be discreet if there are any business deals we might discuss. That information wouldn’t be safe for her or us.”
She gave a nod, but I could tell that this new situation she was facing was going to be difficult for her.
I wasn’t sure how to make it any easier.
Being part of this world was filled with all kinds of grey areas to navigate that were unexpected even for someone who had grown up straddling the line, let alone someone new to it.
“Ask me whenever you have questions or come to me if you’re worried. I’ll help you figure it all out.”
“I will.” She gave an inhale as I bent to give her a light kiss. I followed her as she stepped closer to the water's edge, her arms folded across her chest against the wind. “You said there were options?” she asked without turning. “For Vairo and Bello?”
Ah, her mind was obviously turning to the men tied up in the warehouse, and what came next. I wouldn’t mind letting them sit a bit longer, but if she wanted to discuss it now, we could. Maybe that was what had her keyed up in the car.
“We can make it quick if you’d like. They’re pretty roughed up, so I want you to be ready for that.
Or we can drag it out even longer. I’ll warn you that Maxim is pretty bloodthirsty.
He’s voting for skinning them.” At her sharp inhale, I didn’t sugarcoat it.
“Your brother is a bloodthirsty bastard when it comes to men that hurt innocents, and make no mistake, Galena,” I paused.
“You and your mother were innocent here. ”
“What’s your vote?” Galena turned back toward me, her eyes searching mine for something. She'd been guarded on this subject, careful, but this morning she seemed different. She was more confident.
“It’s what you want that matters—whatever helps you find some closure.
” I gave her a small glance and wondered if I was about to freak her out.
“Another option is we could throw them into a grave we dug.” Her fingers brushed over the purpling skin.
Her touch was feather-light, but my whole body reacted.
Pulling her closer, I anchored her hips to me and ground her against my dick.
“Alive?” she asked.
“Yes.” I thought there was poetry in burying someone alive like these monsters.
My father had died the same death. My family thought I’d poisoned him at the table, but he had just been unconscious.
Then I carted him out, and I stuck him in a box.
Oh, I’d made sure that he had air. It was a fitting punishment.
My father loved to stick me in enclosed places because when I was small, I’d mistakenly let him know they scared the fuck out of me. Karma was a bitch.
“That sounds like something for Dino.” She shivered, but with something close to delight instead of horror. “He’d have air? Long enough for a few days? I want him to be afraid.” Her eyes glittered.
Ah, she was vicious just like me. I loved it. My heart thumped as we stood there for a breath, then another. I felt her body slide against mine. Just as I was wondering if I could take her to the car for a quickie, a sharp pop echoed down the boardwalk, unmistakable.
Gunfire.
My instincts kicked in before thought. I yanked Galena down behind the concrete barrier at the edge of the pier, covering her with my body as two more shots rang out.
My guards returned fire immediately. I could hear the crack of suppressed pistols and the sound of feet pounding the pavement.
One of my men shouted something—"East flank! "—and then another burst of fire.
The shooter was tall, pale, wearing a windbreaker, and the wrong shoes for a tourist. He was already running.
One of my guards clipped his leg, and he went down hard.
Blood stained the wooden boards. They had orders to stay with Galena, but I caught their eye before I turned to her.
"You okay?" Her eyes were wide, her breathing rapid, but she nodded.
"I’m fine. I—I think so. "
I surged to my feet, the gun I’d drawn steady. The bastard was crawling toward a bench, trying to reload. He didn’t make it. My foot slammed into his wrist, sending the gun skidding. He screamed, and I crouched, pressing the barrel to his throat. "Who sent you?"
"Fuck you,” he spat.
I sighed. "Wrong answer." I stood and drove my boot into his ribs. He cried out, curling in on himself. He could be brave all he wanted right now, but he’d talk when we got him to the warehouse. “You’ll wish you did,” I said maliciously.
He wasn’t part of our bargain with Galena, so he’d be my peace offering to the boys.
They could fuck him up as much as they wanted extracting information.
Galena hadn’t moved from the barrier, but she seemed steady. "Was he alone?"
"Seemed like it. A message, maybe. Probably just Dino being a desperate a-hole. That guy wasn’t a professional.” Sad when you thought about it, but with Galena’s life on the line, I wasn’t going to be a charity case about things.
She swallowed hard. "I'm done with warnings."
"So am I. "
We left the scene under a growing ring of sirens and onlookers, but the NYPD wouldn’t touch this. They knew better than to meddle with our kind of business. By the time we got to the car, Galena was silent again, lost in thought.
When I slid into the car beside her, she didn’t look at me—just stared out the window. My men followed behind us, the shooter tidily zip-tied in the back of their SUV. We were honestly lucky that he’d been a bad shot.
"You still want to go?" I asked softly. She nodded. "You sure?" I felt like that was a question I needed to stop asking her. She didn’t need me to second-guess her choices.
"Yes. I want to see them die. I need to."
I reached for her hand again across the console, and she took it without looking, fingers curling around mine with a quiet strength. "Then we go."