Fourteen
Vito
We make it to Nashville with no problems at all.
As our convoy pulls into the O’Malley compound, I can finally breathe a little easier now that we’re not out in the open and completely exposed.
Grandfather Silas’s nurse and Loretta both are looking at the large house in pure awe as we pull up around the front of the house.
Standing at the front are Mason, his wife Lawson, his sister Malia, her husband Theo, and Mr. O’Malley.
“I look like a bum compared to everyone else around me,” Loretta whispers, patting her hair down.
“You look beautiful, and I can promise you those women will not judge you,” I tell her as the doors are opened.
Grandfather steps out the door first. “O’Malley, my friend, it’s so good to see you.”
Climbing out behind him, I can’t help but smile when they embrace each other.
Andre comes to stand beside Grandfather Silas, shaking hands with everyone and kissing the women on their cheeks. I follow his lead, doing the same. Loretta stands behind me with her head down, doing her best not to draw attention to herself.
Mia leans around me, looking at Loretta and smiling wide. “Hi, I’m Mia, and this blond twig right here is my best friend and sister-in-law, Lawson. The men didn’t tell us that the Kardonis’ were bringing women with them.”
Loretta looks up at her, giving her a small smile. “Hi, I’m Loretta, and I’m a friend of Vito’s.”
The little nurse gives them a small wave. “I’m just here to take of Mr. Silas, pay me no mind.”
Andre goes stiff beside me when she speaks, a dark look spreading across his features. Oh, it looks like Grandfather Silas was right. Andre has fallen hard and is just being an ass about it.
“Oh yay! Are you ladies going to be staying and attending the Halloween party tomorrow night?” Lawson asks, smiling sweetly at her.
Loretta looks up at me with an eyebrow raised. “I wasn’t aware there was a Halloween party. Hell, until this morning I didn’t even know I was coming on this trip. Is there a thrift store where I might be able to get some things and maybe an outfit?”
The little nurse looks down at her hands, murmuring, “I’ll be with Mr. Silas that evening, but thank you for the invite.”
Grandfather turns to look at her. “What do you mean? I’m going to that party, which means so will you. Did you not bring anything for a fancy party?”
She just shakes her head, not looking up at any of us.
I watch as Grandfather Silas glares at his grandson.
Lawson and Mia look at each other before turning back to the three men standing behind them, completely ignoring the battle of wills going on between Grandfather Silas and Andre.
Theo and Mason shake their heads in defeat while Mr. O’Malley just stands there smiling.
The men don’t say anything before the two women turn back to Loretta and the nurse with the biggest smiles on their faces.
“We’re going shopping!” they say excitedly at the same time.
Loretta and the little nurse look at each other, both of them turning red.
My sweet Blood Rose looks between the two women. “I have limited funds. So as long as it’s somewhere that you don’t have to have a six-figure income, then I’m down.”
The nurse shakes her head. “I’m here to work. I’ll just make what I brought with me work.”
Andre spins to the woman. “Go shopping. Grandfather will be with me and Vito the rest of the day.”
The little nurse glares at my cousin. “Last time I checked, you only sign my paychecks. There are only two people in this world who can bark demands at me, and lucky for me, that is not you!”
Andre’s face flashes with so many feelings when she says this that I worry he is going to have a fucking stroke.
“Go have fun,” Grandfather Silas tells her softly. “I’ll be okay for a few hours. You haven’t had a break since the day you started. Go and enjoy, dear. I will be okay.”
“You see, it’s settled. Come on, ladies. Let's go get ready, and then we can find you something that will make these men swallow their tongues.” Mia laughs, going to her husband and hugging him.
I pull Loretta to my side, whispering in her ear, “Stay close to them. We’re far enough away that I don’t think anything will happen, but we’re still not that far.”
Loretta gives me a subtle nod before letting go of me and turns to face the women.
Mia links her arm through the arm of the nurse, and Lawson then links her arm with Loretta’s, pulling her toward the house and talking a mile a minute.
Loretta looks back at me, and I give her a slight nod that everything is okay.
As the women pull them through the front door, we just stand there and watch.
“That woman is going to be the death of me,” Mason mutters, rubbing a hand down his face.
Silas and Mr. O’Malley chuckle, shaking their heads.
The need to protect Loretta claws at me. “I’m not questioning you or your men, but what does protection look like?”
Theo growls. “Mia has several men on her at all times. Lawson not only has our men on her, but she also has several men from the Russians on her as well.”
I cough in surprise. “Why the fuck would your wife have Russians on her?”
Mason smirks at me before looking around. “How about we head inside to my office?”
“Lead the way,” Andre says. The way he is moving and the words he says let me know he is on edge and needs to not be out in the open.
I step up on his left as he lets Grandfather take his right, signaling our men to close in around us.
Don’t get me wrong, the O’Malleys are friends of the family, but the Russians aren’t always the easiest to deal with.
As our men closed in around us, Andre relaxes just enough to be able to breathe.
We step into the very large plantation home that still has quite a bit of the original Southern charm, yet it’s updated.
Mason leads us down a hall before taking a right and continuing to lead us past pictures of the family, both present and past. Mason opens the door at the end of the hall leading into a large office with a small conference room table.
I wave for our men to wait outside in the hall. Unable to stop the need to make sure Loretta is okay, I turn to two of the men. “Link with Mason’s guys to help with protection detail for the women.”
They both give me sharp nods before turning to walk back through the house. As I step through the door, Theo closes it behind me, speaking for the first time since introducing himself.
“If you’re this cagey about her being out, I pray for her sanity and yours that she’s never taken right out from under your nose because then you will have to live with the knowledge that nothing will ever be safe enough.”
I wish that in that instant I had seen his words to be the foreshadowing that they were for how our trip was going to end.
“There is an asshole with a lot of power sniffing around her. We’ll talk more about that as we go through the meeting,” I state, my chest tight.
“What can I get you gentlemen to drink?” Mason asks from the wet bar to the left of the table along the wall.
Everyone calls out what they want as we all take our seats at the table. Once drinks are served and everyone is settled, Mason kicks off the conversation.
“Andre, it’s nice to see you finally leaving the farm,” Mr. O’Malley speaks first.
“It has been nice being out,” Andre nods. “Now let’s start at the beginning of things. Should we be concerned about the Russians? Everyone knows we don’t always mesh well together.”
Mason takes a long pull of his drink as he leans back in his chair. “There won't be anything you need to worry about with the Russians. The only reason they have guys close is because Lawson’s uncle is Yuri and Luca’s father.”
Andre chokes on his drink. “You married the one and only princess of the Russian Bravata? What the fuck?”
“When she came into our lives, she didn’t even have any idea who she was. By the time anyone figured it out, I was already sunk, and she was mine. So here we are.” Mason shrugs.
“Yes, and to say that it has been lucrative is an understatement,” Theo cuts in.
“Have you finally officially joined the family?” I ask Theo because, although he may have married the Irish princess, he has always said that he is a tech man, not a Mafia man.
“Nope, just handle the tech side of things. And you tend to learn some things about what’s really going on when you do,” Theo smirks.
“I’ll have to remember that in the future,” Andre grins.
We spent the next several hours going over what our futures look like. Working through all the ins and outs of what is mutually beneficial for us all. Before we realize how long we’d been there talking, there is a soft knock on the door.