Chapter 19 Stan
NINETEEN
STAN
THE FOLLOWING DAY
I hated leaving her.
But…
Because I needed to make men pay for daring to see her as my weakness.
Because I had a city that was on the brink of war.
Because I had siblings who needed me to get my head in the game so that we could retain our position in New York and keep our families out of danger.
…my choices were limited.
She had brightened up being clucked over by her mom and watching hockey games back-to-back, but she was so far from fine, it physically pained me to get out of her bed.
I kissed her on the temple after spending the night with her resting against me, letting her dictate which way she could lie comfortably and shifting around her, and it fucked with something deep inside me to go.
But her safety, our safety, her fucking family’s safety hinged on it.
So, I showered and changed into the suit Luigi had brought over last night.
Then, after a prolonged kiss and a hug that I needed more than she did, I took my leave.
Just as I always would to keep the people who mattered to me safe.
And for my pains, the second I opened her front door, I was met with a fist to the face.
Immediately, I ducked as a set of brass knuckles skimmed over my cheek. I slapped my hand around the knuckles, dug my fingers in deep, then used my hold to break the wrist in question.
All without looking at my original attacker.
When Cade growled in pain, I thundered, “Your sister’s resting, dammit. If you want to fight, let’s take it outside.”
Glowering, he cradled his wrist against his chest. “You have no business being here.”
Before I answered the idiot, I gently closed the door behind me, not letting it make a ‘snick’ sound.
“Yes, I think you’ll find that I do. I deserve a broken nose, a broken back, and, fuck, a broken everything for what she’s endured because of me.
You will, however, not do this on her doorstep. Capisci?”
“Cade Shaun Frasier, you are such a dumbass.” Neev, on the verge of heading out for a jog, stepped downstairs in workout gear. “But did you have to break bones, Stan?”
“Haven’t they taught you that the best way to prevent a fight is to anticipate future battles?”
Both siblings blinked at me.
“You must have been a helluva good time growing up,” Neev joked before her expression softened. “How’s Kitty?”
“In pain. Resting.” I glared at Cade. “Hopefully.”
“You have to go?”
“He’d better be heading out to make this shit right.” Cade’s pain was audible, but I had to applaud him for shielding it well.
I sent a cool glance his way then, ignoring him, informed her, “I’ll make the men who hurt her pay for daring to think they could.”
She took a drink from her water bottle. “See me out?”
“Sure thing.”
“Get your ass to the ER, moron. Want me to call Belle?”
“No!”
I stepped aside from her brother, who was grumbling about wives that’d kill him and treacherous sisters, then hid a smirk when that earned him a slap upside the head.
Since Neev walked off with no retaliation, I relaxed my guard before allowing her to take the final set of stairs first.
“Lucas might be waiting for you on the front stoop. He has more brain cells than Cade does,” she cautioned when we made it to the foyer. She didn’t wait for a response, simply dipped her head outside, looked left, then right. “All clear.”
I arched a brow at her. “You’re on my side?”
She studied me a second. “Do you have two minutes?”
“For Kitty’s sister, of course.”
“Good answer.”
When Cade didn’t follow us, I asked, “Where is he?”
“Going down the fire escape. Fastest way to reach his car.”
I held up a finger at Luigi, who was waiting for me. Unless… “Do you want a lift somewhere?”
“No, I’m fine. But thanks. I run to the park and back.” She beckoned me away from her building, two doors down, stating, “Ma can hear from her window if we talk out here.”
“Ah. What is it, Neev?”
“Kitty’s really strong, Stan—”
“I know she is.” A fitting bride for a Valentini. ‘Strong’ didn’t begin to describe her. She was a warrior.
“I-I’m guessing she didn’t take being kidnapped lying down—” Her eyes flared. “Oh, my god, they didn’t rape her, did they?”
“No,” I immediately soothed. “There was an attempt but she stopped it.”
Her shoulders drooped. “Thank fuck. I … I feel like I’m going to see you around for the foreseeable future—”
“You’d be right in thinking that, Neev,” I inserted.
“—and I don’t want you to believe her press.”
“Meaning?”
“She’ll regroup. That’s what she does. Then, she’ll process it far faster than is healthy and she’ll become mulish and her defenses will rocket up around her. I-I want you to stop that from happening.
“I’ve never seen her act the way she does when she’s around you and I like it on her.
She’s always borne the burden of our family.
She’s similar to Lucas in that sense. It’s why he pisses her off.
She wants things her way and he has his own dictates.
The rest of us are playing monkey in the damn middle between them.
“Make sure she knows you’re a safe space for her, Stan. Otherwise you’ll never breach those walls she’ll build.”
I studied her, this wild child who had caused her siblings such distress, utterly unaware of the lengths her sisters had gone to in her defense, and I smiled.
Because she was worthy of their protection.
“I won’t let her shut me out,” I promised her.
“Good. She doesn’t always have to be the one who shoulders the weight of the world. I want her to know that.” She faltered then shored herself up. “Okay, I have to go. I’ll be late for work otherwise. See you around, Stan.”
“It isn’t safe out here, Neev,” I warned.
Her throat bobbed. “Really?”
“Really.”
“But Kitty…”
“Is mine,” I proclaimed. “Which makes her family mine to protect too. I will have some guards stationed with you for the time being. It’s imperative you don’t duck out from their protection. I cannot guarantee your safety if you rebel. Look what happened to Kitty…”
The constraints irked her, it was clear as day, but I saw the resignation of acceptance overtake her before she mumbled, “Fine.”
“I need your number. Here.” Once I passed her my phone, she input her contact details and then took off with a huff and no farewell.
Amused, I walked over to the car.
“To Dante, Capo?” was Luigi’s greeting.
“Se. But first, Franco, follow her.”
Dante’s replacement, one of Rory’s picks, faded out to complete his task.
Because he was a wiser man than most on my Stidda, Luigi drove us quietly toward the warehouse where Luc had stowed our enemy.
I caught up with my emails and messages, needing to make sure that everything else ran smoothly while we dealt with the betrayal in-house.
Then, I contacted my team at the lab and read through the results that showed the performance of our medications in recent tests.
Ever since news that I’d self-tested Vangelin had broken, they’d been pulling overtime shifts. Not because I’d requested it or been unable to work as many hours as I once could, but so I wouldn’t do it again.
I had a good team. I’d thought I had a good Stidda too…
Grunting, I replied to their messages. But that came to a halt when Rory sent me a file regarding the odious inventory they’d begun taking at the Nolita brothel. Devouring that as we crossed Manhattan became a priority, until Luc started a group call between us and Rory.
When I saw his black eye, my own widened. “You raided the Albanian warehouse last night?”
“Yes,” he hissed then hissed some more when Jen appeared with some steak she slapped on his cheek. “Ouch, riggina mia!”
“Stop whining. If you can come to my bed covered in blood, then you can deal with the aftermath!”
My sister-in-law stomped off, leaving Rory to whistle. “Whose blood?”
“Some of mine. You were right about them being angry, Stan.” He repositioned the steak on his eye. “Nearly got stabbed, but I gutted the fucker first.”
Rory flinched. “No dying before you meet your nephew.”
“Nice to know you care, soru,” he crooned. “Anyway, there was no chance of that. Not when I saw their stock.”
“What did you pick up?”
“I think having daughters has made it hard for me to see this situation rationally. My mind knows it’s heinous, but the hindbrain, the part of me that keeps making girl babies… seeing what I saw last night triggered something in me I didn’t even know I possessed.”
“There were girls there?” Rory whispered.
“Replenishing what we took from Nolita. They’re young, Rory. So young.” His jaw turned white. “Those fucking animals.”
“Where did you take them?”
“I cleared out our brothel in Jackson Heights and arranged a couple coaches—”
“Coaches?” I spat.
“Yeah. Plural. There were a lot of kids to move.” His mouth curled in disgust. “We transported them there last night and set a rotation of ten guards on the building. It was the best I could do until we come up with a plan.”
“Smart. Geraldine, the madam, she’s good people. She’ll look after them.”
“I told her I’d pay her an extra twenty grand this month to make sure they’re cared for. We just need to get them in the system.”
I growled, “Never mind that the system is the biggest purveyor of kids to traffickers… I’m starting to think that’s why the higher-ups are so obsessed with abortion law over here. More kids in the system fuels—”
Rory held up a hand. “Don’t finish that sentence, Stan, or I’ll need to go and kill someone. Preferably the closest man. And I like my husband.” Her shoulders sagged. “Leave this with me. I’ll talk to Rachel—” Her best friend. “See what we… There has to be something we can—”
Luc sighed. “We’ll try our best and keep an eye on them moving forward, soru.” When both of us nodded, he persevered, “On the chemical front, their product is tainted and we picked up a lot last night.”
“Dump it, Luc. We’re not poisoning our turf with that rot.”
I scrubbed a hand over my head. “How many other places do these fuckers have tucked away?”
“I’ll be finding that out soon enough.”
“They’re in Russu’s back rooms?” Rory inquired.