Chapter 25
ALONZO
“A piece of advice, man, but if you’re going to get back in her good graces, you’re going to have to be smarter than you’re being right now,” Zakhar offers as he climbs back to his feet and brushes himself off casually.
Like he wasn’t just taken out by a giant dog that would happily take him apart at one simple command by his mistress.
I can’t tell if I want to knock him down again or punch him for thinking he can tell me shit about my relationship with Rori. And I don’t need his advice anyway. Rori and I will figure this out.
I won’t accept any other option.
“Fuck off.” I shut her door quickly, intent on catching up with her. I said I was going to have this out with her tonight, and I damn well will. All this other bullshit is just a temporary distraction.
Zakhar sighs and I hear him following me. “See, I hear that said to me daily, and I don’t listen to them either. Look, just let her cool off, because right now she’s liable to shoot you and set the dog on you. Again.”
I keep walking. Rori can do whatever the hell she wants, it’s not going to push me away.
“Jesus, you Italians are as stubborn as we are,” Zakhar huffs. He lets out a sharp whistle, and I turn my head to glare at him, but he just grins. Did he just try to signal me like a fucking dog?
If I had the time, I’d beat his ass.
When I reach the end of the hallway, I automatically head for the stairs that will lead to the lower level, but I stop when I see the wolf waiting for me at the top of the stairs, watching me with a look that I can’t quite tell if it’s a warning or just inquisitive.
I turn to glare at Zakhar. I guess I know why he whistled before. Asshole. He smirks at me and says something in Russian to the damn wolf, who sits, like she’s ready to play guard. “Looks like you’re fucked going that way, man.”
I really want to punch him in the face. I’d probably get a thank you from Ilya too. If he thinks this is going to stop me, he’s wrong.
“Fucker is going to get himself punched in the fucking mouth,” a voice gripes coming down the hall behind us. I glance behind Zakhar to see Oleg storming toward us, face twisted in irritation. When his eyes connect with mine, he sneers. “Why didn’t you punch the whining asshole harder?”
“Next time I’ll knock him the hell out.”
“Should have done it this time. He bitched at me about you and allowing you to stay.” Oleg glances around me and sees Freya at the top of the stairs. He arches a brow at Zakhar expectantly.
“Lover boy here is insistent on following the hot assassin when she’s ready to send her dog after him or shoot him in the nuts. Just saving him from that horrible fate.”
“I’d have thought you’d want his giant ass out of your way and you’d have a shot with her.” The wicked grin he gives Zakhar makes me want to punch him out too. What is it with these Russian dicks?
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I wish Alessio was here to run interference. He’d at least handle all their bullshit while I got shit done.
“Both of you get the hell out of my way.” I seethe.
“If he has a death wish, just let him do it,” Oleg tells Zakhar. “Not like we need him anyway. They’ll see him coming a mile away, and send the fucking animals after him for a buffet.” Zakhar snorts out a laugh.
I’m out of patience. There has to be another way downstairs.
No self-respecting criminal only has one entrance and exit to a lower level.
I stalk toward the other hallway, ignoring their continuous laughter as they follow me, only to stop short when I hear Zakhar let out a sharp curse, followed by a rapid course of Russian.
I turn and see the wolf quickly moving out of the way as a teenage girl stalks up the stairs, her own Russian spilling out of her in a tone that even I can recognize.
A pissed off teenager is not someone you want to be on the bad side of.
Especially not when she gets right in Zakhar’s space, spitting out whatever venom’s been brewing, making the giant Russian and the man behind him both wince, and ease back.
I want to laugh, but right now, the distraction is exactly what I need to head to the end of the hallway and find the narrow back stairway leading downstairs.
I pass groups of men, all careful to talk in Russian as soon as they sense me, but I don’t pay them any attention. My only objective is to find Rori.
The halls are simpler to navigate than Nico’s house, but I find no sign of her. I try to tamp down my annoyance, but finally, I make my way to Ilya’s office to check the last place she could be before I figure out a way to get outside and check the grounds. Maybe she took Hades for a walk.
Or she’s found another unsuspecting victim to sic him on and use their balls as chew toys.
I reach Ilya’s office just in time to see Zakhar storm in ahead of me, Oleg hot on his heels with Freya running after him, and the teenager sandwiched between them looking just as irritated as she did upstairs.
She gives me a curious look over her shoulder, but she doesn’t look afraid.
Instead, she looks back and faces Ilya with all the nonchalance of a girl who has nothing to fear.
I look around and see Rori sitting at the conference table again, the same plans in front of her, while Hades stands guard, his eyes focused on Freya with an intensity that has me wondering if we’re about to see who’s going to come out on top.
Rori glances over, but her look of annoyance turns to surprise and then curiosity as she looks at the girl and listens to the conversation.
I don’t bother listening or watching the show, heading for her instead.
I ignore Hades’s growl, sitting down next to Rori, who barely even glances my way, too intent on Ilya and Zakhar raising their voices and pointing at each other and then the girl.
“Who is she?” I murmur.
“Zakhar’s daughter,” she mutters back absently.
I look at the girl again. Zakhar has a daughter?
He doesn’t look old enough to have a kid, unless he was a teenager when she was born.
I look at the girl closer, realizing that she definitely has some of her father’s looks.
The same dark hair, face shape, and blue eyes, but everything else must come from her mother.
And speaking of her mother, where the hell is she? If Zakhar’s married and hitting on Rori, my opinion of him will be in the gutter. I have no patience for men who cheat. Or women, for that matter, thinking of Pietro’s wife.
Zakhar slams his hand down on Ilya’s desk, and it’s the first show of anger that I’ve really seen from him.
I’m not sure if I’m impressed or amused.
That amusement turns to wariness when the girl suddenly gets to her feet and heads our way.
She ignores the sharp words aimed at her back as she drops into the seat beside Rori.
Rori gives her an amused smile. “Tired of men and their bullshit already, huh?” Rori jokes lightly, keeping it in English, probably for my benefit.
The girl rolls her eyes. “All the girls at school gush over how great boys are, but they’ve obviously never had to live with three overbearing ones.
I’m Mila.” She holds out her hand, and I hear a sharp intake of breath behind her.
I glance up and see all three men’s faces have gone stony, their hands near their guns.
Looks like they don’t trust Rori completely after all.
Or me. Probably smart, but I don’t kill kids.
I lean back in my seat, keeping my hands flat on the table, but they don’t relax.
They keep their gazes trained on us, ready to move at the slightest provocation.
Even Freya lets out a warning snarl when Hades gets close to Mila, who smiles down at him. “Okay to pet him?” she asks Rori.
Rori smiles and nods, giving a quick command to Hades, making him whine and wiggle in excitement. Mila giggles softly, giving his big head a good pat, making him lick her hand. Even that doesn’t relax the men watching the scene.
“Are you here to kill me?” Mila asks abruptly, looking at Rori and then me.
“No,” Rori answers calmly, seemingly unsurprised by that question, but her gaze moves to all three men, arching a brow. “Not that they believe that. I take it that you weren’t supposed to be here?”
“Nope. A…friend brought me home, insisting that this was the right place for me to be.”
I narrow my eyes at that. A friend? When I glance at Ilya and Zakhar, they both share a cold look, their expressions hard. Something’s off about this whole thing.
Rori just smiles, unconcerned. “Well, you’re here now. I’m Rori, and this is Hades, and that’s Alonzo. Now that you’re giving him any attention, Hades is going to think you’re best friends.”
“If Oleg wouldn’t kill me, I’d suggest that Freya and him have a play date or something. She’s lonely without a packmate to play with.”
“Mila, that’s enough,” Zakhar orders, moving forward. “You’re going back to—”
“No, I’m not,” Mila interrupts. Her tone is final. I barely manage to hide a smirk. Zakhar glares down at her. “I’ve already told you, she brought me home, and this is where I’m staying. If she thinks I’m safe here, then I believe her.”
“Her?” Rori repeats, her gaze sliding to Ilya. I can’t see his expression with Zakhar’s big body blocking the view, but from the slight tick in Rori’s jaw, I have to say that she doesn’t like what she sees.
“A pain in the ass that has no right to stick her nose in my business,” Ilya retorts, and I can practically feel the hostility rolling from him.
Sounds like there’s more to the story there.
“Either way, I’m here, and if you send me back, I’m just going to make my way back home again,” Mila continues, glancing up at her father, almost like she’s daring him to try her. Damn, this kid has sass in spades. I like her.
“If you really don’t want her here, I can call in favor to get her to New York,” I find myself offering.
“No,” Zakhar and Ilya both snap. I shrug, unfazed.
Rori glances at me with a strange expression before she looks back at Mila again. She takes in the girl, drumming her fingers on the table softly. “This friend, she give you any instructions to follow?” she finally asks the girl.
“Just to stay out of the way and that everyone in this room is trustworthy, so listen to what they say and keep my ass out of trouble.” Mila smirks. “I don’t know what would give her the impression I would cause anything like that.”
Oleg snorts. “Yeah, tell that to someone who doesn’t get phone calls about you weekly for the shit you do at that school.”
Mila shrugs. “I told you what would happen if you sent me to that private boarding school, but no one listened.”
“You still haven’t told us how you got from there to here,” Ilya points out tightly, moving to stand on the other side of his niece. “Considering that’s a nine-hour flight and I haven’t heard from the school that you’ve gone missing. Who will be getting a fucking earful from me and your father.”
Mila pauses at the warning, but she must figure that the consequences aren’t terrible. “You probably don’t want to know that. I’m safe, and they won’t miss me for a few days, then they’ll probably call you. Depending on how things shake down here, I might be back by then and it won’t be a problem.”
Rori snorts out a laugh, earning a quelling look from the two furious men, but she ignores them. “Damn, you and I are going to get along just fine,” she tells Mila with a wicked grin. “I might even be able to give you a few tips.” She wiggles her brows, making Mila laugh.
“Over my dead body,” Zakhar snaps, glaring at Rori. “Mila, go to your room. We’ll talk later. Oleg, keep Freya with her.” Oleg nods, and Mila shrugs, getting to her feet, clearly seeing that now is not the time to push her father or uncle.
Once they’re gone, Zakhar and Ilya round on us. “Touch her, and I’ll kill you,” Zakhar hisses with a warning at Rori.
I bristle, ready to defend Rori, but she says calmly, “If I wanted her dead, she’d already be dead, and I’d have killed you all before you had a chance to process it.
” Zakhar’s face contorts with rage, and I brace, ready to jump in.
Damn it, Rori, what the fuck are you doing?
“Lucky for you, I never kill kids, and prefer them over the majority of adults. The only thing I now need to factor in is making sure that she’s always protected. ”
Ilya glares at her. “You think that we’re not capable of protecting her?”
“You can, but we both know that until we know who the other assassin is that will be brought in to replace me, she’s vulnerable, especially in this house.
Once they find out she’s here, if they haven’t already clocked her being brought here by this unnamed friend, then she’s fair game to them.
” Her tone is cold, harsh even. The reality of the situation is stark, and I feel my gut tighten at the realization of the danger that girl is now in.
“I’m one of the few who have scruples about children; most don’t.
If you want your daughter safe, then you figure out a way to get her the hell out of here, or you ensure that she’s put somewhere no one can reach her in this house until everything is finished. ”
Ilya and Zakhar say nothing, but they turn and storm out, orders already being barked.
I look at Rori. “You think she’s actually in danger?”
Rori cocks a head and looks at me grimly.
“She was in danger the minute this friend went and picked her up at that school. Now, I just have to make sure she stays alive, because if she doesn’t, then not only will Zakhar and Ilya kill me, but so will her friend.
She’s here to be put under my protection and as a warning. ”
A chill skitters down my spine. “A warning?”
It clicks. My gaze sharpens on Rori, and she gives a barely perceptible nod. I don’t know what the hell kind of game Tatiana’s playing at, but I’m going to kill her. She’s put an even bigger target on Rori’s back with this stunt, and now I’m going to have to watch it from every angle.
Damn it all to hell.