20
Damien
My mind replays the things Lucia told me this afternoon. Pity flickers through me every time I think of the years she spent living with Callum.
My brothers and I always kept a tab on her, so we knew she’d dropped out of school soon after we’d been eliminated from the picture. She’d been homeschooled and that was the end of her education. We wondered about her decision to not go to college but decided it had been her choice.
It was Callum , I realize. He must’ve been the one to forbid her, forcing her to stay a prisoner at home and under his watch.
The revelations happening since the moment we stole her are surreal. The facts are getting stranger than the ideas we’d built in our heads. If what Lucia told me is true, Callum is a bigger bastard than we’d anticipated.
“Is Leon home yet?” Lilja’s voice sounds at the door of my office.
“Not yet,” Mikhail says, lying in a boneless heap on a couch nearby. He’s immersed in his phone while I stay buried in my thoughts.
“What’s taking him so long?” Lilja mumbles, coming into the room.
I’m surprised to see her dressed in black leggings and a cropped denim jacket this late in the evening. “He promised to tag along with me for a race in Murdock Valley. It’s already past nine P.M. If we don’t leave now, we won’t get there in time.” That explains the ridiculously heavy makeup she’s painted all over her face.
“Leon’s got more serious shit to do than race bikes at the moment,” Mikhail mutters, keeping his gaze locked on his phone.
“Yeah? Like what?” Walking inside the room, she sinks into the couch and snatches Mikhail’s phone out of his hand.
“Oi!” he shouts. “Give it back! I’m working.”
She holds her hand back, refusing to give the phone back. “What are you up to, brother dear?” she sneers. “What’s all this secrecy about?”
“It’s not for you to know!” Mikhail grabs her wrist to take his phone and soon, they’re both locked in a wrestling match.
I rub my forehead, trying to drown their incessant curses as they fight and tear at each other’s hair. My glance falls on the wall-mounted clock in the corner.
Leon should’ve been back home by now or at least, sent me a text to tell me where he’s stuck. The last message he sent me was at noon, informing me he was scouting the Morelli estate.
“Fucking hell, Lil!” Mikhail’s screech breaks me out of my thoughts.
Looking his way, I find him on the floor with Lilja beating a cushion on his face. The phone they’d been fighting over lies forgotten on the couch. My siblings love being a pain in my ass during the direst of situations.
My vibrating phone catches my attention. Picking it up, I glance at the flashing screen.
“Leon,” I say, answering immediately.
My siblings freeze on the floor, both of them staring at me.
“They’ll attack us at any moment,” Leon’s voice is heavy with urgency.
“Who’s about to attack us?”
“The Morellis,” he says. “I’m guessing Mikhail didn’t give you any info about them rallying their men to attack us.”
“Yeah. He said that everything was quiet on the streets. No one has been recruiting soldiers anywhere.”
“That’s because the Morellis are bringing in men from Chicago,” Leon says in a bitter tone. “I’ve been scouting Gabriel Morelli and his sons the whole day and just beginning to understand what they’ve been planning. To avoid being detected, they’re getting their forces from Chicago. On the surface, everything looks calm as glass but they’re planning a fucking rebellion underneath it all.”
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m at Morelli Mansion,” he mutters. “I need to stay here to find out more about their plans. Besides, we’ll need more info.”
“Info for what, Leon?”
“We can’t let this go without a retaliation of our own. Any group that wants to shake hands with Callum Baldwin must know of the consequences they’ll face.”
I rub my face and stare at Lilja and Mikhail with a desperate look. They eye me curiously, noticing the change in my emotion.
“Don’t worry,” I say. “We have good security around our grounds. We’ll be fine.”
“No, Damien,” he says in a deadly grim tone. “Our grounds are not secure. Callum threw a wad of cash with his contact card near the gates when he was leaving. There are two traitors among our guards who’ll be letting them inside any second. They’re probably doing so as we speak.”
“What?!” I bark.
“Listen to me,” Leon says in a grim, commanding tone. “You’ve got to stay calm. You know why they’re coming. Lucia’s going to be their target. They’ll be aiming for her. No matter what happens, make sure you protect her. I don’t want her ending up in Callum’s hands again.”
My mind whirs while Leon continues warning me. I have to ensure my family’s safety as well as Lucia’s from whatever is about to happen.
“No matter what happens, you’ve got to protec—” Leon’s voice is drowned by a sudden explosion.
“What the hell was that?” Mikhail shouts, hurrying toward one of the windows.
“It’s started,” I tell Leon. “Don’t come back here until I call you back.”
“But you’ll let me know if you need me?” Leon asks hurriedly.
“Yeah. Just stay alive.”
Soft chuckles sound on the line before it gets disconnected.
The windowpanes rattle as more explosions go off, each sounding as if they’re getting closer to us.
“There are people out on the grounds,” Mikhail says, staring out of the window. “They’re fighting and shooting at each other. Just what the fuck’s happening here?”
The thunderous roar of gunfire assaults my ears. They’re closing in and will be inside the manor within minutes.
“Mikhail, stop!” I shout, spotting my brother racing across the room to get to the door.
Whirling around, he eyes me with astonished silver eyes. “What’re you stopping me for? I’ve got to see what this is about.”
“I’ll tell you. Just get back here.”
He glances at Lilja’s grim expression before moving toward me. All the while, explosions and gunfire rain outside our home.
“Leon warned me just now,” I tell them. “We’ve been breached.”
“What?” Mikhail shouts. “I didn’t hear anything about an attack on our family.”
“Listen to me very carefully,” I say in a low, commanding tone. “They’re here for Lucia. Callum Baldwin shook hands with the Morelli family to get back at us. He’s even made traitors out of our men.”
“The sleazy mob families have needed a kick up their asses a long time ago,” says Lilja. “Same with the men who guard our home. Everything’s been too quiet lately. They’ve forgotten the consequences of biting the hand that feeds them. It’s time to remind them not to fuck with the Volkov Pack.”
“This is crazy! How did they go undetected by my network of spies?” Mikhail looks disturbed but there’s no time to explain everything to him at the moment.
“We’re heading toward the southern quarters,” I say, injecting fierce dominance in my tone. “Mikhail, be ready to face them on the first floor. Lilja, second floor. Anyone who makes it past you guys, faces me. Remember. Their target is Lucia. She’s the prize. We defend her.”
“Are we allowed to kill the bastards?” Lilja asks hopefully.
My baby sister looks extremely excited about the prospect of being on the frontlines. She’s rearing to go tear some heads off.
“Be careful, Lilja,” I warn in a grim tone. “I don’t want a scratch on you. One single scratch or bruise and you can forget about the Harley I ordered for you.”
A pout forms on her lips immediately as she glares at me.
“Same for you, Mikhail,” I say. “No matter what happens, you must stay alive.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “We’ll be fine. Stop nagging.”
Getting to my feet, I glance at them both. “Let’s go, then.”