38. ALESSIO
The call comes in the middle of the night and I quickly rise, taking the phone into the bathroom so that Sienna isn’t disturbed. “Lazaro,” I say quietly as I shut the door behind me. “What’s the status?”
“Leonardo’s men caught up with us as I was getting Amara out of town. We are pinned down in a small abandoned town not far away, and trapped in an underground bunker until we can get some back-up,” Lazaro explains grimly. “We have enough food and water down here from whoever used it before, but we’re going to need someone to get here as fast as you can. I also saw a couple of Marco’s soldiers when we were racing out of town, so it won’t be long before they come searching too.”
“We’ll have someone there as fast as we can,” I promise him, my mind already spinning into overdrive. “How is Amara?”
“She’s fine,” he replies tightly. I arch a brow at that, but decide to leave it be for now. There’s something in his tone, but I can’t quite determine what it is. Either way, it’s not important. What is, is getting to him before Leonardo and Marco’s men find them.
“Good. Keep her that way and we’ll get to you. Send your coordinates to your father and we’ll have someone on their way to you within a couple of hours.” I hang up and leave the bathroom, going into the walk-in closet and pulling on a pair of sweat pants and black t-shirt, before I slip out of the room. When I walk out, I see Mario standing guard. “She’s asleep,” I tell him quietly. “Make sure that she’s not disturbed.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies quietly, and I turn away and walk down the stairs, already sending out a message to Nico, Dante, and Alonzo to meet me in Nico’s office.
When I walk in, the room is empty and I pull out my phone to call my father and let him know of the new development. “Early morning for you, son, by my calculations,” Papa remarks when he answers. “I assume that means this isn’t a social call?”
“‘Fraid not.” I repeat what Lazaro relayed and finish by adding, “But we have Amara, which means we’re ahead of Leonardo and Marco again. We just need to get them back here as soon as possible.”
“Who will you send?” Papa asks.
“I’m not sure yet. I’m waiting on Nico and Dante to get down here so we can formulate a plan, but if necessary, I’ll go and get them and bring them back.”
“And why not Alonzo?”
“I could send him, but that would leave us with no one to keep an eye on the latest addition.”
“The bounty hunter and her beast,” Papa summarizes in amusement. “Yes, I’ve heard. We’ve looked into her, and there is nothing to indicate she’s a threat to any of us. Her family does indeed work for the Belovs, but she’s been marked by them as an untouchable unless ordered by one of the higher ups.”
I arch a brow at that. “Why?”
“My contact wasn’t clear on that, but evidently she’s done something to warrant the protection, though something not direct, considering that by all accounts she’s never worked with them, for them, or even dealt with them in any way. Could be that her father or brothers put out the word, but I doubt that would get very far without the backing of someone higher up. I have Aurelio on it. He’ll find it.”
If anyone can, it’s him and the men he has at his disposal. “Has there been any luck on finding the twin?”
“Not yet, but he’s close, according to Aurelio. There were four baby girls abandoned in New York on or slightly after the birth date. All four went into the system, but three of them were adopted out. The fourth one seems to be a dead end considering she’s blonde with blue eyes, so he’s tracking down the other three.”
“Good. Oh, and speaking of women, you may want to tell the staff that when we get back, there will be a wedding to prepare for as quickly as possible,” I add smugly.
Papa chuckles. “You finally convinced her to marry you. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or offer her my condolences.”
“Fuck off,” I huff, making his chuckle turn into a full on laugh.
“She will be an excellent wife to you, Alessio, I can already tell. I could not have chosen better for you myself.”
His blessing hits me in the chest and eases something inside me I didn’t know was there. “Thank you, Papa. Though you may not be saying that with the havoc she’s going to create when we get there,” I add with a smile as Nico, Dante, and Alonzo walk into the room. “Ah, the Sleeping Beauties have arrived.” I put him on speaker.
“Fuck off,” Nico growls at me. Dante just looks at me expectantly, while Alonzo has a cool expression on his face. I arch a brow at him when I clock the bruise on his jaw. Said jaw clenches ever so slightly, but he gives nothing else away. I smirk. Clearly someone has had a disagreement of some kind with a certain blonde and isn’t too happy about it. “What’s going on?” Nico barks.
I give him a quick run down. “Alonzo, I want you to go and get them and bring them back,” I finish, looking at our Enforcer. “Take two of our men and ensure that someone is ready to take over in your absence.”
“What about Rori? Who will watch over her?” Dante asks.
Papa quickly relays the information he gave me and finishes by saying, “I see nothing that would indicate she’s of any risk to any of us. I think her contribution to what happened earlier should also be noted.”
“I don’t like someone associated to cops being in my home,” Nico argues darkly.
“Then have your men keep an eye on her, but don’t smother her. If she’s going to fuck up, she won’t do it with someone hovering over her,” Alonzo butts in tightly. “The most she’s been doing is running her mouth and being a general pain in the ass anyway.”
Nico scowls at him but glances at Dante. “He has a point,” Dante agrees. “We have cameras everywhere, and we’ll make sure we keep an eye on her. We have other things to worry about anyway, and one woman is not going to fuck everything up.”
Nico looks unconvinced, but finally nods. “Fine.”
“Good. Oh, and I spoke with Don Parisi. There is no worry about any further retaliation due to Rafaele’s death, so myself and the others will be on our way back to assist.”
“Great,” Nico replies with absolutely no enthusiasm. I grin and he shoots me a scowl.
“Don’t worry, Boo Bear,” I tease. “Soon, we’ll all be under one roof again, and you’ll be begging for us to stay once this is all over.”
“Ab-so-fucking-lutely not,” he growls back.
“We’re growing on him,” I say proudly. I turn back to Alonzo. “Pack your shit and get on the next flight out. Keep in touch and let us know if shit goes south. Got it?”
“Got it,” he replies before heading out of the room.
“I’ll let Aurelio know the plan, and we’ll be there in twenty-four hours,” Papa adds briskly before hanging up.
Before we can continue, or even head back to bed, Dante’s phone rings. He answers it, turning away. I look at Nico, who is still scowling at me. I grin and tell him with mock sadness, “Well, Boo Bear, I’m afraid you and I are going to have to put our feelings aside, because my woman and I are going to be getting married as soon as I get her to Sicily. You’ll be invited, of course, but you’ll have to promise to hold back the tears. I won’t be able to stand it knowing you’re pining for me.”
“The only tears that will be shed that day will be from Sienna when she realizes she’s marrying an idiot,” Nico tosses back. “And if you call me Boo Bear one more fucking time, I’m going to kill you and be done with it. Then there won’t be a wedding to worry about.”
I open my mouth to reply to that, but then Dante turns around and looks at us grimly. “Giovanni was just spotted meeting with Ivan Morozov in Russian territory.”
The room fills with tension and I look at Nico. “Looks like you were right. About time we prepare for war, don’t you think?”
Because there is no way we’re going to avoid it now, and the streets of New York City are about to run red. My blood quickens with excitement and anticipation.
It’s been far too long since I’ve been in a good war, and I for one am looking forward to taking down my fair share of enemies. And with Sienna at my side, we can’t fail.
“Dante, get all the information you can,” Nico orders. “Send it to Aurelio and get their people working on it too. We need to know what we’re dealing with.”
“On it,” Dante says.
The next hour is spent talking and strategizing, before I finally head back to my room to change and get ready for what looks to be a busy day. I stop when I reach the end of the hall, my lip curling in disgust when I spot Dante kissing the hell out of Sofia, who looks like she’s trying to climb him like a tree. “Enough,” I bark, glaring at them both when they finally pull apart. Sofia smirks at me, and Dante gives me a cool stare, daring me to kill him like I want. “Do not do that shit where I can see it,” I order them. “Papa, your father, and the others are on their way. That should keep you busy instead of this .”
“Fuck off, Alessio,” Sofia snaps. “See you later, bello ,” she adds to Dante with another quick smile and then she strides off, hips swaying.
Dante watches me for a moment before saying, “She’s going to kill you one day, and I’m going to stand back and let her. The sooner you realize she’s not a little girl anymore, the happier you’re all going to be. Because I’m not going anywhere, no matter how hard you try to push me out.” Then he strides off, leaving me to glare after him.
Instead of thinking on it too hard, I head up the stairs. When I reach our room, I dismiss Mario to get some sleep and slip inside. When I see the bed is empty, I walk further in and find Sienna working on her computer. She smiles when she sees me. “I thought you would still be sleeping,” I remark as I move to kiss her.
“I woke up and realized I’m far behind,” she explains. “So while you’re doing all the mafia stuff, I’m going to try and find my balance.”
“I know you will, cuore mia . I need to spend most of my day helping Nico get things in place.”
“Any more developments?” she asks curiously.
“Lazaro was able to get to Amara, but they are currently pinned down in a bunker in some abandoned town,” I tell her as I head toward the closet. I hear her chair scrape as she follows me.
“Are they alright?” she asks in concern.
“They’re fine, and they’ll be fine for a few more days, but Alonzo and a couple of our men are on their way to get them.” I grab one of my favorite suits and strip off my shirt. I smirk when I see Sienna’s eyes taking me in hungrily. “See something you like, cuore mia ?”
“Mmm, I do. How soon do you have to get back to work again?” she asks as she advances, falling to her knees.
My cock is instantly hard. “Not until I damn well please,” I reply, my voice gravelly.
“Good.” Her hands go to the buttons of my pants. “Because it seems to me that there has been an awful lot of talk by you lately about how I belong to you, but I think it’s time for a reminder that you also belong to me. And that means you’re not to leave this room until you tell me what I want to hear. Isn’t that right, Caruso?” she purrs as she takes me into her mouth.
“Then you better get to work, cuore mia ,” I groan, my hands coming up into her hair.
She has no idea just how much I already belong to her. Everything I am, everything I have is hers, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. But I can’t wait for my sweet little rabbit to show me just what kinds of things she has in store to prove it.
THE END