21. Maxim
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
maxim
By the time Cora and I arrived, the wedding reception was already in full swing. The lavish ballroom at The Plaza had been transformed into a dream of silver and gold, with glittering chandeliers casting a warm glow over tables adorned with elegant centerpieces. Cora clutched my hand, her nervousness almost palpable beneath the radiant smile she wore as we entered.
She looked like a princess or an angel walking down the aisle. Her dark hair floated in dark waves around her face like a storm, and her eyes set on me like I was her destination.
I hadn’t been in a church since … well, never. I was surprised that I didn’t burst into flames on the altar where I stood.
I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You look stunning, zayka.”
Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. “You don’t clean up so bad yourself.”
As we were announced, the room erupted into applause, a mix of familiar faces and powerful allies filling the space. Dimitri was the first to approach, and his wife, Hollis, was at his side.I’m sure to give me shit. He already had a mocking grin on his face.
“You made it,” Dimitri said with mock surprise, clapping me on the back. “I thought Lev might have dragged you off to some interrogation chamber again.”
“Not this time,” I replied dryly.
Hollis hugged Cora, her energy infectious. “You look like a princess,” she gushed. “Maxim, you’re lucky she said yes.”
I chuckled, giving Cora a grin. Hollis had no idea that Cora hadn’t had a choice in the matter.
“I’m reminded every day,” I said, earning a laugh from the group.
Pike and Natasha had joined us, Pike with a drink in hand and Natasha looking effortlessly regal in a deep burgundy gown splashed with flowers. It had been such a sweet gesture from the girls that they’d stepped in as bridesmaids for Cora.
“Maxim, I’m shocked,” Pike drawled, his grin devilish. “You’re smiling. I’m not sure I’ve seen that expression on your face before.”
“It’s been known to appear,” Natasha cut in, elbowing him lightly. “Not that often, but sometimes.”
“Come on, let’s get seated so they can get this dinner going,” Conall said grumpily.
Cora shot Conall a dark look as I helped her into her chair, making it clear that she didn’t appreciate her brother’s high-handed attitude. He’d acted squirrely all day, stiff as a board, his shoulders all square, and grumpy as all get out. Neither Cora nor I had planned this wedding, so it wasn’t as if we had a say, but we did as he asked, even as I sent him a glance that told him we needed to talk.
Unfortunately, my glare didn’t work since he was off trying to talk to the Santelli girl. Ever since her accident, he’d been obsessed with her. Angelo was blind not to notice.
For now, I wanted to focus on my new wife.
I glanced down at the ring on my finger and then at the vision next to me.
A wife.
The night unfolded in a blur of laughter, food, and the kind of banter that only close family could manage. After much debate, the cake—a towering masterpiece of white and gold with sugar flowers cascading down the sides—was ceremoniously sliced.They’d set aside the cake topper for us, and Cora eyed it with discomfort.
“You cut it,” Cora whispered, eyeing the knife like a weapon.
“No, we cut it,” I corrected, guiding her hand with mine as we made the first slice.
“No smashing it in my face,” Cora said as I picked up the small piece of cake in my fingers as my cousin had instructed me.
“I would never.”
Her lips parted for me as I placed the bite in her mouth, her tongue darting forward to catch a few crumbs. Brushing the edge of her cheek with my thumb, I stood back while she picked up the slice she was supposed to feed me.
It was a weird tradition, the whole cake slice thing. I wasn’t sure who had thought it up. As she turned to me, I caught her eye and saw the moment she decided — oh, my naughty little zayka. Bending to accept my bite, I wasn’t surprised when she smashed the cake in my face full-on.
She spun away, laughing like a maniac, her dark hair swinging in a curtain around her and those eyes sparkling with mischief. What was a man to do? Grabbing her by the waist, I dug my hands into her hair and kissed her like she was the air I breathed, smashing my frosting-covered face into hers and licking vanilla into her mouth.
Servers were passing out the cake by the time we’d come up for air, but the cake wars had already begun because Ronnie was the first to grab a slice and smash it into Eli’s face, causing an uproar of laughter.
“You’re dead,” Eli muttered, wiping frosting off his nose.
“Not if you can’t catch me!” Ronnie darted off, leaving Eli to shake his head in exasperated fondness.
Cora laughed, leaning into me as the music shifted to a slow waltz. I held my hand, and she took it without hesitation, her fingers threading through mine. As we moved to the center of the dance floor, the crowd parted, and the band played the first notes of a soft melody.
Her gown flowed around her as I pulled her close, my hand on the small of her back, her eyes locked with mine. For a moment, the world faded away, and it was just us—two people tangled in a marriage built on duty but growing into something much more.
“You’re a good dancer,” she teased, her lips curving into a smile.
“I’m good at many things,” I replied, earning a quiet laugh.“Just you wait. I’m going to show you.”
The warmth of her laugh wrapped around me as I spun her, the chandeliers above casting a soft glow over her face. She tilted her head, studying me. “You’re smiling again, Maxim. People will talk. Say you are losing your edge.”
“Let them.”
I pulled her closer as the song reached its crescendo, my lips brushing her temple.
“I’ve got to talk with your brother,” I murmured to Cora, kissing her forehead. “Stay with Hollis and my cousins. I won’t be long.” Gesturing to Lev and Kolya, I beckoned them forward. We had invited some of our partners to the wedding, and especially in such a crowd, I didn’t want any mistakes to be made.
There were still too many unknowns about the shooter and who hired the hit. Ronnie hadn’t found anything about where it originated. She said she scoured the usual places but had come up empty. Frustrating as it was, that left us on the defensive for now.
She nodded, understanding. As I stepped away, I noticed Hollis dragging her onto the dance floor, Natasha and Ronnie joining in with matching grins.
The four of them spun and laughed, Cora’s initial tension melting away as Ronnie twirled her dramatically, earning cheers from the nearby crowd. I couldn’t help but glance back again before joining Conall and the others in a private lounge off the main ballroom.
The reception was a blur of laughter and music when I caught Conall slipping away from the ballroom. His shoulders were stiff, his stride deliberate, but something in the way he moved set me on edge.
I glanced at Angelo, who was nursing a drink at the edge of the crowd. “Conall’s ducked out. Let’s follow.”
Angelo’s jaw tightened, but he gave a short nod. Ilias joined us as we moved toward the discreet exit Conall had taken.
We found him in the lounge, pacing like a caged animal. A glass of whiskey sat untouched on the table, the ice melting into a watery mess.
“Care to explain what’s eating you, Conall?” Angelo asked, leaning against the doorframe. His voice carried its usual calm, but a heat was simmering underneath.
“Not here for small talk, Angelo,” Conall shot back, his brogue sharper than usual.
“That’s fine. I’m here for answers,” Angelo replied, his voice suddenly cutting. His shoulders squared, and his spine stiffened. “What’s going on with you and my sister?”
Conall froze mid-stride, his back to us. Slowly, he turned, his eyes dark with something between regret and defiance.
“This isn’t the time,” Conall said, his tone low. “And she’s going to be my wife. That’s what’s going on.”
“ I know ,” Angelo snapped. “But …something is going on.” Angelo’s anger snapped around us.
“I don’t—” Conall stopped, shaking his head for a minute, his fists clenching at his sides. “I can’t talk about her right now,” he bit out, shaking his head. “Other things are going on right now that we need to discuss.” Conall frowned at Angelo and crossed his arms, the posture one he rarely took with us and generally reserved for meetings with people he didn’t like. I was sure I wasn’t the only one baffled by the messages being thrown back and forth between Conall and Angelo about Francesca. It wasn’t a secret that Conall and Francesca were getting married — probably soon if I were a betting man. If I knew Conall, the timeline would be fast and furious. Francesca was here. I had gotten a fleeting glance at her, but my attention wasn’t exactly on the guests.
“Then enlighten us,” Ilias interjected, stepping between them before Angelo’s temper could fully ignite. “Clearly, something is weighing on you. Spit it out.”
I wondered for a minute if Angelo would step back in, but he seemed to think better of it as he nodded and gulped his scotch, looking away from Conall.
“Some of my supply houses have been hit,” he admitted finally, his voice tight. “Six in the past two months. High-value stock and they knew exactly where to strike.”
“That’s not small,” I said, stepping forward. “And it’s not random.”
“No,” Conall agreed. “Whoever it is, they’re coordinated. This isn’t some street-level gang taking potshots.”
Angelo crossed his arms, his anger shifting into something colder. “Why didn’t you come to us sooner?”
“I wanted to keep it contained,” Conall said, his jaw tightening. “Bringing it to the Commission risks making it a bigger target.”
“You waited until Maxim’s wedding to mention this?” Ilias asked, incredulous.
“It’s escalating,” Conall said grimly. “The latest hit was yesterday. They cleaned out the warehouse in Queens. My men barely got out alive.”
“Queens?” I repeated. “That’s dangerously close to the Oliveto territory.”
“You have any idea who is behind this?” Ilias asked, his brows furrowed.
“It’s possible it’s the Olivetos,” Conall admitted. “But if so, they’re playing coy. I’ve had no direct confrontations, no warnings. Maybe it was some O’Gara boys, but I don’t think so.”
The O’Gara’s were a small-time Irish crew that Conall had had some competition with, but my understanding was that it was all petty. Brody had been the one who had told me he’d been stamping out the threat and making sure they understood that they should keep themselves in Boston and out of New York.
“I’ve continued to have issues with Caruso,” I said. “Since our last meeting, he hasn’t popped out of the woodwork, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be helping whoever this is. This could be a coordinated effort against all of us.”
“We need to bait them,” I said. “Set a trap. Something they can’t resist.”
“Something they won’t expect,” Ilias added.
Conall frowned. “You want to use my supply line as bait? That’s risky.”
“No,” Ilias said. “Not your line. We’ll use something more enticing—a shipment from my side. Something high-profile enough to draw them out but contained enough that we control the fallout.”
Ilias ran an interesting set of businesses that were always secretive. Sometimes, he’d let us in on a piece of the action so we could all profit, but most of the time, even we were out of the loop on what he was doing. His old man was a cagey son-of-a-bitch who had bartered each of his sons off with binding blood contracts to other crime families. Ilias’s two older brothers, Vaso and Kostas, were intimidating and brooding. Both were tied to opposing families, which I bet made Thanksgiving a bit of a drag.
Angelo nodded slowly. “And when they bite, we close the net.”
Ilias leaned back against the table, his expression thoughtful. “What about our recent moves on the East Coast? Maxim? Conall? Could that play a role in their aggression?”
“Possibly,” I admitted. “But I’ve kept my expansion measured and contained to just Slavsky’s organization. I haven’t overreached into other territory. The opportunity exists since some neighborhoods in the Olivetos territory are poorly managed. They’re sloppy. Same goes for the Scarpato territory. There are areas there that could be snatched away. It just felt prudent to wait.”
“This feels more opportunistic—like someone’s trying to capitalize or test the waters,” Conall said, but he sounded unsure. “They’re a bit like hit and runs. I’ve got the footage. I’m just stumped on why they’re hitting and quitting.” He rubbed a hand down the side of his slacks. “It’s like the answer is right there. I just can’t see it. It’s a little like Cora’s shooting.”
“What do you mean?” I came to attention.
“It just doesn’t make sense. There’s an attempt, but it’s half-assed.”
That piqued our interest because I saw Angelo and Ilias look at each other knowingly. Perhaps some of this was just testing the waters. Or — a distraction?
“Send us the footage. We should see it. Let’s double down on these and Cora’s hit. Maybe this is an attack on the Commission,” Illias considered. “Maybe we haven’t been looking at all the pieces. We’ll put some bait into play.”
“Whatever you need, I’m in,” Conall said, his voice steadier now.
“Great. If we’re done, then.” I jerked a thumb towards the reception, where Cora was laughing on the dance floor, her joy momentarily lifting the shadows from my chest. “I’ve got a celebration going on that I’d like to get to.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.” Ilias shooed me with both hands, but I heard Angelo say under his breath to Conall as I was leaving …
“Maybe we can talk about my sister now, Conall?”
I should have stopped and helped, but the sight of Cora laughing with Natasha and Hollis immediately softened the edges of my mood. Ronnie was mid-spin, dragging Eli into the mix, much to his chagrin, though he couldn’t seem to deny her anything.
Cora caught my eye and broke away from the group, walking toward me with a radiant smile. “Business handled?”
“For now.” I pulled her close, resting my forehead against hers. “I told you, zayka. You’re the only one who matters.”
“Good,” she said, her hands resting on my chest. “Because I was starting to miss you.”
“I’m right here,” I promised, leading her back to the dance floor.
And as we moved to the rhythm of the music, the weight of power and responsibility melted away, leaving only her warmth and the promise of a future we’d carve out together.