36. Ilias
ILIAS
I couldn’t say I was unhappy with how things turned out.
Instead, I was completely elated. Watching Dino being placed into the pine box was therapeutic.
That fucker could rot. Afterwards, she curled into her seat and gazed out the window for a good ten minutes, absentmindedly running her finger over my hands in the car.
I would have wondered if she was okay if not for the sense of peace that had settled over her after her intense cry.
The house was full of good smells as darkness descended.
Evgenia was cooking up a storm, intending to leave no one hungry.
If anyone so much as breathed wrong in her kitchen, she was flaying them alive with the flat side of her wooden spoon.
She’d already bonked Kostas on the side of his shoulder and Angelo on his knuckles for trying to taste what was cooking in the pot.
I stood in the doorway of the brownstone’s dining room, sleeves rolled up, the top two buttons undone, watching Galena on the couch as she laughed at something Theo had said. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes sparkled with life as she listened to my sister’s rendition of some wild story.
Theo had her hair in space buns that wobbled precariously, but she looked radiant.
She was propped against a throw pillow, feet kicked up, hands resting softly on her pregnant belly.
Frankie sat cross-legged on the floor, painting Galena’s toenails a bright shade of fuchsia, making faces each time she smudged, embellishing the story Theo was telling, and making all three of them burst into laughter.
Frankie was only a few weeks further along than Theo, and had eased into the idea of motherhood like it was something she’d always wanted to do instead of something that she once thought was abhorrent.
It was lovely to see her glowing like this.
Cora, I’d noticed, was just to the side, snapping shot after shot with her camera and wearing a faint smile as she captured each moment.
“You’re hovering,” Maxim muttered, nudging my arm with his elbow as he juggled Vasily.
He gave his wife a soft smile. “I love watching everybody together.” He placed a kiss on Vasily’s temple.
“When we were boys, I thought that the blood oath was going to be the end of everything. I never would have imagined this, would you?”
“Never,” I agreed. “It’s like a dream. A good one.”
Angelo and Conall had already slipped out through the terrace doors, drinks in hand.
Outside the kitchen, the secluded area still looked beautiful despite the bleak weather.
Once spring and summer arrived, that’s when the space really came to life.
Right now, it was a little chilly, but I’d bet one of them was outside having a smoke.
“Where’s your brother at?” I asked. I noticed that Dimitri hadn’t come in with Maxim earlier. “I figured he’d be here trying to get in as much time as he could before he had to fly home.”
“He’ll be here. He’s meeting with Matvey Antonov to get things started. Dimitri is taking a much more active role now that I’m married and we have Vasily. Operations on both coasts are a lot to juggle.”
I nodded back at him. The Volkov Bratva was large, and it made sense to spread out some of the responsibilities.
The Antonovs had been interested in relocating some of their operations from Moscow to Jersey for the last year, but things had been hectic.
I knew that Matvey had contacted Maxim, but I hadn’t been sure that he’d still been interested.
“Oh, yeah? How do you think that’ll go?” I wasn’t sure how Maxim felt about another rival bratva coming so close to an area that he dominated.
He shrugged a shoulder as Cora caught his eye and motioned for Vasily. “Give me a minute and we’ll join the others.”
He handed the baby to Cora, who cuddled him and snuggled into his neck before reaching up to kiss her husband.
The scene made me think again about children with Galena.
I hadn’t changed my mind about it, but I was open to it if Galena was, because I’d caught her looking at Vasily too, with his cherub cheeks and dark hair. He looked like a little angel.
Maxim handed me a glass of bourbon as he rejoined me, and we stepped outside onto the terrace. The air was bracing, just before spring. In my opinion, New York didn’t have a true spring—it was either winter and shitty, or it was summer. Maxim offered me a cigar, but I shook my head. “Pass.”
“Feels good, doesn’t it? To catch that fucker,” Conall asked, leaning back in one of the lounge chairs.
We didn’t need to say it aloud. The weight had shifted. Dino was gone, the memory of his violence sealed away beneath a dozen feet of dirt and justice.
Angelo exhaled a slow stream of smoke. “Seeing that bastard in the ground was pretty poetic. How long are you going to let him marinate like that?”
Nobody was judging. I appreciated that, but they were curious. I didn’t shy away from any action that the Commission undertook, but they didn’t see me initiate things like what happened with Dino either. It was pretty dark.
I took a sip of the bourbon and contemplated the other three men. “Dino will be staying in his box just like he is. Hope he enjoys it. Any comments or concerns, you can speak your mind, but it won’t change what’s going to happen.”
Angelo raised his hands as if he were surrendering. “I don’t give a fuck if he withers in there like a prune and prays to Lucifer the whole time to let him die. If you need my help, I’m here. You know that. No judgment, fratello .”
“Don’t be an eejit, Ilias. We don’t care what you do with Dino or how you keep him in his little mouse hole. We were just curious, that’s all.”
Nodding at them, we fell into comfortable silence for a while, passing the bottle around, the smoke curling upward into the fading sky.
For a long moment, no one was a don, or a strategist, or a bruised knuckle away from a war.
We were just men who had built something, protected something, bled for the ones we loved.
“Galena surprised me,” Maxim said suddenly, voice low. “I mean.” He chewed on his lip for a moment. “I don’t really know her.” He looked through the glass at the women there in the light. “I want to.”
“She wants to get to know you, too. She’s excited to have family, but don’t worry.
These things take time.” Galena was thrilled to have brothers she’d never known about, but I knew that they still intimidated her.
I was positive that they’d get there with time and patience.
Maxim was a likeable fucker. He’d win her over.
“She’s got steel in her,” Angelo said. “Like Theo. She’s going to be great.” Angelo nodded his head like he’d decided how things would go, and I hoped he had the power to make it so. I was tired of my liakáda being hurt or afraid. I never wanted her to feel that way again.
We stayed out there for a while, long enough for the laughter to drift out to us.
Theo’s voice carried high and bright enough to draw us back inside into the kitchen, where Evgenia caught our eye as we came through and closed the doors behind us.
Everything was toasty inside, and it seemed like there was a lively discussion happening.
“You think pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza because you’re Russian and bitter,” she was saying to Galena with a grin.
Angelo snickered as he shot a look at me.
The pineapple on pizza debate raged loudly in every family, even ours.
One thing everyone agreed on was that pizza was amazing.
Angelo had a spot in his territory that was killer, and we all went there without shame.
Donna’s Pizzeria was hard to beat, and I was pretty sure that between the four of us, we’d bought thousands of pizzas from that one little spot.
“It’s a crime,” Galena shot back in mock outrage. “Pineapple shouldn’t be on pizza. Ever .” She wrinkled her nose.
“You take that back,” Theo gasped. “I’m pregnant. That’s hate speech.” She was rubbing her belly protectively, and I had the urge to roll my eyes at her dramatics. From here, I could see that Kostas was holding up the phone. “You agree, right, Poll?”
Ah, I saw now. They must have included Polina on a video call. That brought a pang to my heart.
“Well …” Polina hedged. “To be fair. I don’t like toppings, so it’s cheese or nothing. I’m not going to take a side on the pineapple issue. Sorry Theo. I still love you.”
Frankie snorted. “Theo just always wants an excuse to eat eight slices. Galena, don’t listen to her.” Frankie smacked her on the arm playfully. “I’m pregnant too, and I’m not pulling that card. You’re so dramatic.”
“Leave her be. I don’t like pineapple on pizza either, Galena,” Cora chimed in support.
Evgenia’s voice followed, dry and sharp, “You’re not having pizza right now. You’ll eat what I give you, or you’ll starve.”
“Wow, Evvie, you’d never let anyone starve. Don’t tease them,” Polina chided. “Okay, guys, I need to feed my crickets. You enjoy yourselves, okay? Galena, it was nice talking to you. Hopefully, I’ll meet you in person soon.”
“I really hope we’ll be able to spend some time together soon. I’m super fascinated by your research project. I can’t wait to hear what you find out.”
The girls said their goodbyes, and Kostas hung up the phone, looking thoughtful as he set it down.
We had a lot to discuss about our youngest sister.
I wasn’t sure she would want to come home before finishing her schooling.
Her research was well underway, but I’d love for her to be home now.
Of course, if Galena and I were going to travel, I suppose that was a moot point.
Dinner was loud and messy, just the way it should be. Evgenia laid out a feast that could have fed three armies—roasted vegetables with lemon and olive oil, meatballs the size of small fists, and warm loaves of bread fresh from the oven.
Later, once the plates were cleared and the wine had settled in our veins, and we had finally kicked everyone out, the couch became a nest of tangled limbs and throw blankets.
We put on a rom-com, which Theo insisted was a classic and had to be the sappiest story ever.
I didn’t care because Galena was curled up in my lap, her breath slow and warm against my neck as she giggled at the guy in the movie, who proceeded to miss every clue that the girl was into him, and gasped when she finally had enough and cornered him on her own.
She had one arm wrapped around my waist, her fingers tracing the buttons of my shirt like she was memorizing them. I felt her shift, just enough to look up at me. “You’re not watching,” she whispered.
“Why would I?” I brushed a piece of hair from her face. “I’ve got the best view right here. That guy is as dumb as a bag of rocks anyway. I’m not. I’m smart enough to know what’s right in front of me.”
Her cheeks turned pink. She pressed her face against my chest, pretending to be embarrassed, but her hand gripped my shirt tighter. “I’m really happy,” she said quietly. “Maybe it’s wrong after what happened earlier.” She bit the corner of her lip between her teeth.
“I’m happy, too.” I tucked a blanket around her shoulders and drew her closer.
“I don’t think it’s wrong to be happy right now.
A chapter has closed in your life, and you had the power to do that.
You righted a wrong. You shouldn’t be sorry for that.
” My teeth ground together in fury that her conscience twinged even the tiniest bit.
I didn’t move. I didn’t need to. The credits rolled, the wine faded, and my heartbeat slowed to match hers.
The city buzzed beyond the windows, but in our corner of the world, all was still.
I would make sure with every breath in my body that we would keep our peace.
I’d bury any person who tried to take it away.