Chapter 19
Aurora~
Isaak Morozov and Dima Sergeev were their names, and it was clear that they didn’t appreciate their new assignment any more than I did.
If I wanted to ever leave the house without my husband in tow, then Isaak and Dima were my new guards, and all I could think about was Marco and Georgio, and how the two Russians could never replace what I’d had with my previous guards.
Nonetheless, when I had announced that I was going to visit with my father, Viktor had immediately forbidden it.
However, after explaining to him that I wasn’t going to just quit on my father without working out a plan to have someone else take over his gambling interests, Viktor had reluctantly agreed to let me meet with him.
So, soon afterwards, I’d been introduced to Isaak and Dima, and Viktor had informed me that I was to go nowhere without them if he wasn’t available to escort me himself.
When I had pointed out that I didn’t need any guards, he had vehemently disagreed, reminding me that we still had enemies who were not family.
Ha. Ha.
At any rate, my new guards had escorted me to Ivory Street, which was a border street between our territories, and then that’s when Marco and Georgio had taken over, and even though I wasn’t an emotional person by most people’s standards, I’d gotten all the feels when I’d seen my guards waiting for me by the Bruno Café.
The reunion had been quick but sweet, and now I was sitting at Olga’s with my father, Olga’s being my favorite Italian restaurant in the city.
We were also housed in a private room in the back, my father’s guards present, my guards stationed outside with our vehicles.
“So, how are you being treated?” my father asked, getting straight to the point.
“I’m well,” I assured him. “I don’t eat or drink anything that I don’t personally see prepared, and I don’t ever leave the bedroom, but I’m good.”
“Why is that? Why don’t you leave the bedroom?”
“Because I don’t need to,” I answered easily. “The morning after our wedding, Viktor gave me a tour of his house and the grounds, and that had been enough for me. I know everything that I need to know about the place without having to wander about the hallways.”
My father let out a low chuckle. “It helps when you have a photographic memory.”
“Yes, it does,” I agreed, grinning. “However, with the Korolevs and me not trusting each other for even one second, Aleksei Korolev has ordered me to cut ties with all Marchetti family business, and that’s what I’m doing here today, Papa.”
He gave me a terse nod as he said, “This is not unexpected. In fact, we already figured as much.”
“I think that Carlo would be a good replacement,” I stated, knowing that my father actually appreciated my input when it came to family business.
“He’s been working with me long enough to understand what is expected, and he doesn’t have an ego.
He’s not going to want to take over and upend things just to put his personal signature on the profits. ”
My father smiled at that. “Out of all my nephews, he’s certainly the most modest.”
“More importantly, he’s smart,” I said. “Carlo is smart, and his business-minded mentality is what you need to keep operating without any headaches.”
“I agree,” he replied. “If I’m being forced to replace you, then I think Carlo is the one for the job.”
Giving him a pointed look, I said, “Well, my husband has graciously given me the entire day to support you in any way that I can, so I say that we meet with Carlo after lunch.”
My father let out another chuckle. “Tell me, how are you really getting along, Alba? Besides the incident at the reception, how is your new husband treating you?”
“I’m not sure what to make of him,” I admitted. “While I don’t trust him, and probably never will, he seemed...seemed bothered about the fight at the club. When I dared him to shoot me, he seemed to take that personally.”
“Perhaps he’s just a good actor,” my father suggested.
Of course, that wasn’t the entire truth, but I could hardly tell my father that Viktor Korolev made it a point to worship my body every night, and that when he wasn’t busy doing whatever it was that he did for his family, he had me in his bed, introducing me to things that I never imagined possible.
If Viktor wasn’t working, eating, or sleeping, then he was buried inside me, and each time seemed more feverish than the last. It was like he couldn’t get enough of me, and truth be told, I was beginning to feel the same way whenever he put his hands on me.
“Aren’t we all?” I quipped. “I mean, how many times have you pretended that everything was okay when all hell was breaking loose behind closed doors?”
“This is true,” he grinned. “I just...I just don’t want you getting in over your head, Aurora.”
“Papa, the last thing that I’m going to do is lose sight of why I’m married to a Korolev,” I assured him. “I’m not interested in falling in love with a man whom I will never be able to trust completely.”
“And you think it’s possible to fall in love with him?”
Yes.
However, I’d die before ever admitting such a thing, especially to my father.
My love wasn’t a fleeting thing, and the proof was in how I had married Viktor in the first place.
I’d do anything for my family, and falling in love with Viktor would threaten that.
Yeah, my future children could pose a weakness that I was going to need to work through, but a mother doing the unthinkable for her children was understandable.
A woman compromising all that she was for a man, not so much.
“Can you imagine if I ever did fall in love with him?” I posed. “It’d be a disaster.”
My father gave me a solemn nod. “We all know how deeply your love and loyalty lay, so I could see falling in love with a Korolev presenting potential problems.”
“Well, as of right now, Viktor grants me the respect that I deserve as his wife, and they’re looking into allowing me to head up their prostitution ventures,” I told him.
“They have no one overseeing that part of the family business, and it’s the only thing that can put me in a position of authority without giving me a peek into everything else that they’re involved in. ”
“Wouldn’t want a spy in their midst,” he grinned.
“Especially, after showing my hand too soon,” I grumbled. “They know that I can fight and speak nine different languages, and that’s enough as far as I’m concerned. They definitely don’t need to know that I have a photographic memory as well.”
“Among other things,” he remarked pointedly, reminding me that I was still Astaroth.
“Something that I have every intention of continuing to pursue,” I replied seriously. “I’m always available if you need me, Papa.”
“And what of your new guards?”
“They refuse to speak to me, so I’ll need you to do a full background check on them,” I answered. “Isaak Morozov and Dima Sergeev.”
“Anyone else?”
I shook my head. “No, just them for now.”
“Well, if we only get you for a day, you will need to make it a point to visit your brothers after we go and speak with Carlo,” he said. “They miss you quite a bit.”
That made me smile. “I miss them, too.”
“Santino is worried, though he claims that he’s not,” he added. “Stefano keeps assuring him that you can hold your own, but you know Santino.”
“It’s the lack of control that’s bothering him,” I chuckled. “While I have no doubt that he’s worried about me like any good brother would be, Santino knows better than most that I can take care of myself.”
“It’s your disregard for your own life that keeps us up at night, Alba,” he said, and not for the first time. “We all know that you can take care of yourself if needed.”
“Well, just know that home is the first place that I will run if anything unforgivable happens,” I assured him. “While I have no problem sacrificing myself for the greater good, I’ve no plans to become a martyr just yet.”
“Regardless, we will still be expecting your daily check-ins, Aurora,” he said, though not surprisingly.
“Of course.”
“Okay, let us eat, and then we can go tell Carlo the good news,” he grinned, and I loved how he automatically assumed that Carlo was going to welcome the extra responsibility. Granted, he probably was, but not everyone was cut out for this kind of life, blood or not.
I also wasn’t ignorant of the fact that we’d be killing two birds with one stone by me visiting as many people as I could while I was here. My father wanted everyone to see that I was doing fine, and that the alliance with the Korolevs was also going well, though he really couldn’t know that.
Nonetheless, I’d been assigned with keeping the family from a needless war with the others, and that’s what I was going to do. I’d given my word, and even the Korolevs couldn’t make me go back on what I had promised; no one could.