32. Ilias
ILIAS
T he last few weeks, I’d been trying to keep us at home as much as possible, but today, Galena had not only insisted that I go into the office, but she wanted to go as well. I’d rather stay with her at the brownstone, where I knew it was safe. However, what my wife wanted, I’d give her.
We’d been living in a little cocoon on a mini-honeymoon where I was learning all about my wife.
I watched her sketch in the mornings. Fucked her in the afternoon, or she would surprise me in the shower and drop to her knees and take my dick into her mouth until I came like a teenager.
In the evenings, we’d watch a movie and then I’d fuck her all over again. I never wanted it to end.
Scarpato was being slippery as a damn eel. We’d turned over every rock we knew of, but hadn’t found him. I had no idea how he was doing it. Still, I couldn’t be upset about the lazy mornings or the early nights. I’d been enjoying the hell out of spending time with Galena.
The morning air carried a bitter chill; the skies were still struggling to transition to spring, as if winter was gripping it so tightly that it was choking it.
I was ready for warmer weather, but I knew some New Yorkers would be happy to stay away from the hot temperatures that could soar in the summer.
Galena was already waiting at the bottom of the brownstone steps, her hair gathered in a clip at the nape of her neck, trying to tame those moon-silver curls of hers.
I would have told her it was a waste of time, but I loved her hair regardless of how she did it.
I’d kept my head on the swivel as we waited for Spiros to pull up the Range Rover, keeping her close to my side between the guards.
This whole business made me edgy. Finally, as the Rover pulled forward, I tucked her safely into the car before moving to the other side.
Lately, I’d played more and more with the idea of turning operations over to my brothers.
I had enough money to do anything Galena wanted to do, and all I could think about was spending every second with her.
She’d mentioned she’d like to travel, and I wanted to make that dream come true for her.
I wanted to make every dream she had come true.
We’d spent our nights curled on the sofa watching movies, or while she read her books and I worked.
During the day, she’d sketch near the windows, the light falling over her while she curled up with a blanket, the pencils scratching against the paper.
Most days, the house was filled with company.
Apparently, we were now the house to hang out at.
Theo was having a blast with a new family member to dress up.
However, I had to give her credit for exercising restraint when it came to Galena’s wardrobe, keeping it more in line with her style than Theo’s flamboyant one.
Today, Galena wore emerald green high-waisted slacks that made her ass look incredible, paired with a cropped beige sweater with startingly hot pink polka dots.
“You know,” she said casually. “Theo sent me a leopard print coat that was supposed to go with this outfit.”
My sister couldn’t resist sending some outfits with color-coded hangers so Galena would know which pieces went together.
My wife laughed and said it was better to have someone like Theo give her ideas since she had never been much for styling herself.
I was just glad she wasn’t insulted. My sister was … enthusiastic about all things fashion.
“And you didn’t wear it?” I chuckled, sliding into the seat next to her, as she clicked her seatbelt into place beside me.
I gave Spiros a nod through the transparent partition, indicating that he should proceed.
The Rover was one of my favorite vehicles.
Often, I’d drive my own car, but now that Galena was in my life, it was better to have her safe and sound.
“I figured I’d save it for a special occasion.” She sent me a wink, linking hands with me on the seat.
"You sure you’re up for this?" I asked, weaving her fingers in mine. Hers looked so small against my larger ones. She felt fragile, but I knew that was an absolute lie. She’d proven time and again how strong she was.
How resilient. Galena had come a long way since I’d first laid eyes on her at that diner.
Lately, with Sloane, I’d seen a whole new side of her come out as she fought to learn all the techniques that she would need to protect herself. Vaso had her at the range as well, working on her shooting skills. I’d gone with them, but Vaso was the more proficient out of the three of us.
"Yes," she said, calm and resolute. "I want to see you in your element in your fancy office.” She lifted my palm and kissed it, giving me a little smile. “Maybe I’ll get to meet Keelie.”
That had been a running joke. Vaso and Kostas had told me in great detail what a pain in the ass my assistant had been for them, which was news to me because I’d been clear with HR that she should be fired.
I was pretty sure that they’d followed through, but you never could tell with my brothers.
Vaso was always looking for a hot piece of ass, so if she were there at the office as his assistant with benefits, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Ha ha. I hope HR did their job.” Giving her a considering look, I plunged into the topic that had been on my mind, “I’ve been thinking that I should take a break from work.
Maybe we could do some traveling. There are all sorts of places I’d love to show you.
Maybe there are some that you’d like to see?
” Her eyes lit up. “We could be gone a few months.”
“What about your company? Your work?”
“Kostas and Vaso can hold down the fort for me while we’re gone.
I’ve been doing my share.” I rubbed my thumb into the meaty part of her palm.
She’d been sketching birds this morning before we’d left, and I’d found that she liked her hands rubbed afterwards.
“We can find you all sorts of new sights to sketch. What do you say?”
“That sounds amazing. I would love that, but what sounds even better is being able to spend time with you wherever that is. You don’t need to do special things to keep me happy.
Fancy clothes or fancy jewelry.” She fingered the additional wedding ring that I’d placed on her finger a few days ago to go with her band.
I’d had it designed to resemble a little sun, with a large solitaire in the center and accents on the rim to remind her she was my sunshine.
“Although I do love my new ring, even if it is a little ostentatious.”
“It’s my pleasure to do all those things for you. My liakáda. Nothing is too much for you.” Leaning forward, I let my mouth say the rest. “We’ll have to start making a list of all the places we want to go.”
“I can’t wait.” She gave me a shy smile, and then frowned. “What about Scarpato?”
My guess was the bastard was hiding in some dark basement somewhere, waiting it out.
After some half-hearted attempts at assassinations, it seemed he’d given up.
Maybe he was planning something? Vallone and Cardoni had worked together to gather what was left of Scarpatos’ crew and combine them into their own.
They’d even divided up the territory between them in a way they’d both agreed to.
Then, in a moment of good judgment, they brought in Nico Balestra to help manage some of it, which I thought was a smart move.
Overall, we were hoping Dino would be pissed that the other famiglias had taken over without a hitch, but we’d been disappointed.
“We can start planning our destinations while we’re looking for Scarpato, and think about whether we stay in the city until he surfaces or if we go about our lives.
I’ll follow whatever you think.” I squeezed her hand tightly.
We’d talked about Scarpato many times. How much we both wanted him caught, but I knew that she wanted justice for herself and her mother.
It ate at her that he was still out there.
It was one thing if I wanted him to pay for what he’d done, but her vengeance was rooted in a personal experience.
I wouldn’t rob her of her revenge. “Either way you decide,” I held her gaze. “We’ll get him. I swear it.”
Pressing her hands to my cheeks, she leaned her forehead against mine. “Let’s go ahead and go. They’ll call if they get Scarpato. I don’t want to spend my life waiting to see if he’ll pop out of his hole.”
“You’re sure?” I couldn’t hide the hopeful note in my voice. I’d been hoping that was her decision. The last thing I wanted was to wait around for Dino. It’s not as if we’d stop looking. The search would go on, but we didn’t need to be here for that.
“I’m sure.” She nodded.
The city blurred past us in streaks of wet gray and glass, the Rover eating up pavement under Spiros’s steady hands.
Galena had just curled against the edges of the console that separated us as close as she could, our fingers threaded together, when the sound hit me—off rhythm, wrong, and much too close.
A screech of tires.
A roar of an engine.
I didn’t have time to process more than the flinch that rocked through Spiros’s shoulders before the world tilted sideways and a brutal force slammed into us from the left.
Incredibly hard, fast, and deliberate. The Range Rover groaned under the impact, the frame shrieking as metal met metal.
My body lunged toward Galena instinctively, but the seatbelt yanked as it activated, pulling us back against the seats.
I tried to shove her down across the console and shield her with my body as much as possible as the airbags deployed.
Glass shattered like gunfire.