Chapter 45 #2
I’m about to smirk when he opens his mouth to continue. “You should be flattered. He wanted us to deal with the most resilient family first.”
“Gosh,” I remark. “That is flattering. What’s he going to do when he finds out his soldiers have been hanging out in sex clubs with other men on his watch instead of ‘dealing with’ the opposition?”
He shakes his head with a soft patronizing chuckle. “That is not going to happen.” His fake smile falls. “I will kill your entire family before Morosov gets wind of my… activities.”
“You’re not doing a very good job,” I say, jerking my head toward the site where my brothers are hunting down his.
“No,” he hisses, pointing a long-nailed finger at me. “Your family. You. Your mother. Her.”
The jerk of his head confirms he means Bambalina. She’s still lying on the back seat of the car, half-conscious. Or possibly wholly unconscious considering I’m still standing outside holding the blanket. My heartbeat rachets up a notch.
“Such a shame about Alessio,” he continues. “He was going to do the job for us, you know. He would have done anything to keep the Bratva on side. Anything. Including marrying your stepsister.”
“Shut your mouth,” I bark. Bambalina has heard enough for one night. She doesn’t need to know what an asshole Alessio was too.
Orlov snaps. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play, I’ll just kill h—”
I’m about to throw myself at him when his shoulder explodes, knocking the gun from his hand and his body to the ground.
Bracing my hands on the trunk, I glance about searching for the source. I didn’t hear any footsteps and the shouting is continuing beyond the cabin. None of my brothers are anywhere to be seen.
Then a desperate sob from inside the car pulls me to the door. Lina is still lying where I left her but my pistol is in her hand, shaking like a tree in an earthquake. I look down at the man on the floor, then back at her in disbelief.
Her cries escalate and she drops the gun to the footwell. I dive into the car and pull her into my arms, wrapping the blanket around every possible inch of her.
“Ha—, have I k-killed him?” she stammers between choked breaths.
“No baby, he’s alive. You didn’t kill anyone. But he won’t be getting up anytime soon.”
A pained groan rises up from the ground as if to demonstrate the point.
In the distance, another series of gunshots rings out from the direction of the cabin, then Cristiano’s voice cuts through the dense, frosty thicket.
“All clear!”
I lower Lina to the seat, wrapped in the blanket. Before I release her, she presses small, cold hands to my face, holding me there for a moment.
I stare deep into her eyes. “I will explain everything, baby, I promise.”
She nods then pulls me down to her lips. She doesn’t kiss me. Just presses my warmth against her, slipping a small breath into my mouth. I’m not yet forgiven, but there’s an understanding. We’ll talk. We’ll figure it out. We’ll find our way.
Then I step out of the car.
My three brothers, Cristiano, Benito and Augie are silhouettes against an orange blaze. Three tall, dark figures walking away from a burning building toward the car.
My gaze narrows on Cristiano. “I thought you’d quit smoking.”
“The asshole back there hadn’t,” Benito says as soon as he’s in earshot. “Couldn’t let his vintage Dupont go to waste.”
“Who’s this?” Augie says, toeing the Russian on the ground.
“This is Mikhail Orlov.”
“Why haven’t you killed him?
“I didn’t want him to miss the fireworks,” I shrug.
As the cabin burns amber, I stand over the guy on the floor and pull up the email with all the video footage from the club and a wealth of evidence that the Russians are behind the recent murders across the City.
Just one click and right across New York, encrypted files will hit the inbox of every person that matters. Within an hour, the Bratva’s hierarchy will implode from the inside out. I turn the screen toward him, my thumb hovering over the ‘send’ button.
“Hey Orlov, are you ready for the world to see what kind of men you really are?”
“No. N-no, don’t. Please.”
I’m about to place my foot on his neck, then remember Lina behind me. I nod instead to Benito to let him do the honors. He loves a bit of gore.
Just before he presses down, he looks to me for some parting words.
Knowing just how chauvinistic this army is, I know exactly what to leave Orlov with. I press the button, then return the sick smile he gave to me only moments ago.
“By the time the first morning papers come out, the world is going to know what you and your men did, and I’ll make sure everyone who matters to you knows you were shot by a girl.”
Then Benito presses his foot in just the right place and we each relish the loud snap as his neck breaks.
As Augie pulls the body away from the car, I turn to Cristiano.
“It’s done. New York is ours.” I can’t keep the note of ‘I told you so’ out of my voice.
He nods, a proud grin spreading across his face.
“It’s going to get ugly again before it gets quiet,” Benito says, with a hint of optimistic glee.
“It always does,” Cristiano says.
“Is it over now?” A small voice sounds behind me and I spin around to see my girl standing in the frost on bare feet, a thick blanket clutched around her. Color has come back to her cheeks and her eyes are sparkling.
“Yeah,” I whisper. I can’t manage anything else—she’s stolen my breath.
Without warning she falls into me, her fingers groping through my hair, pulling my lips down to hers. The need to taste her is more intense than any trigger I’ve ever pulled, and the world around us simply disappears when our mouths clash.
The blanket falls when she loops her arms around my neck and wraps her legs around my waist.
I push her back against the car and grip her face in my hands, recalling everything I’ve missed in the last twenty-four hours.
We’re both breathless when our lips detach, then she peers over my shoulder and flushes a deep red.
“Oh, um…” She unwraps her legs and drops to the ground, her feet landing on the discarded blanket. My heart stills when I realize what we’ve just done.
Benito is the first to speak.
“What. The. Fuck?”
I can’t help the smile pull at my lips as I stare back at Lina. Even a swipe of my thumb doesn’t rub it away.
“Shit,” I murmur, turning to face them all. “Yeah, so about that…”
Benito folds his arms. “This is why you came at me the other night?”
Cristiano shakes his head. “What’s going on, Nicolò?”
I reach behind me and take hold of Lina’s hand. It’s cold but not trembling. It’s time and we both know it. I’ve lost her too many times already—I’m not losing her again.
“We’re together.” My shoulders float up as I release the heaviness of denial.
Cristiano squints. “You and Bambi?”
Lina steps forward. “Yes. Me and Nicolò.” She looks up at me with eyes I want to dive into, and I stroke the back of my hand down her ripened cheek.
“Since when?” Benito asks.
Lina darts her gaze to him. “Since the night of your engagement party, officially.” Then she looks back at me. “But it started a long time before that.”
I brush my thumb over her lips. It feels so good to finally be open, to be able to touch her freely. For everyone to know she’s mine and I’m hers.
And God, I’m so hers it isn’t funny.
Cristiano’s voice softens. “While you were at the Bellucci’s?”
She blinks up at him. “Yes.”
He thins his gaze on me. “This why you killed Dario?”
Lina flinches beside me and I squeeze her hand in apology. “One of the reasons.”
“What other reason did you have?” Benito grits out.
“He was our mole. The tracker showed his movements close to Bratva territory so I bugged his phone. He ran off a list of our biggest shops like a telephone directory.”
Cristiano huffs out a breath. “You always had a bad feeling about him and I didn’t listen. There’ve been a lot of times when I haven’t listened. I’m sorry Nicolò. You’re a good, loyal capo. I’ll do better as your don.”
My first inclination is to tell him not to worry about it—he’s already an incredible leader, even if he doesn’t always get it right. But, the woman standing next to me gives me purpose and I can’t bear for her to be taken from me again.
“There is one thing you can do,” I say, cocking a brow.
Cristiano nods once.
“You can support us when I speak to Mom and Tony.”
He runs his tongue along his teeth while thinking. “I will, but let me speak to Trilby first. It might go better if she’s on board too.”
I hug Lina to my side and her fingers curl into my shirt. It’s happening. We’re taking this thing out into the open. And while I’m nervous about how our families are going to react, I’m also excited about the future.
“How soon can you speak to Trilby?” Lina asks, hopeful.
Cristiano’s eyes widen on her then he glances up at me.
“When do you want to tell everyone?”
I look around at the light filtering through the trees, only slightly muffled by plumes of smoke from the burning building.
New York is ours once more, the sun is coming up and it’s a brand new day.
“Well,” I shrug, unable to wait any longer. “There’s no time like the present.”