Chapter 45 Kratos
Tonight’s the night.
There are many things we do that I would say are important, but very few days in my life have felt like turning points. Today is one of them. It doesn’t help that our lives quite literally hang in the balance with this. Any one of us could not walk away from this, yet somehow, I don’t feel afraid.
I’m unsure if I’ve cracked, or if the idea of finally having this nightmare behind us is worth walking into our potential death for. I’ve always wanted my life to have meaning, and I can’t think of a better way to go than dying for the woman I love.
We came early to make sure we knew the plan, had time to go over the mansion's layout and every detail. After going over it all day and learning every nook and cranny, we were left with four days to kill before the party. We tried to make the most of it, seeing the city, attempting to relax, but something like this isn’t easy to let go of.
The guys are nervous, and rightfully so.
None of us is from this life; even with some time in Vengeance, it’s not the same.
Gangs and mafia run on completely different wavelengths.
Even so, we made a point of trying to distract Jade, engaging her in things like Elio’s extensive library, sweets, city life, and even the ocean. Anyone else might assume she was relaxed, but we know better.
Even the idea of Italy isn’t enough to put her fears to rest.
I see the panic in her eyes every time she looks at us. The fear of losing one of us has been eating at her for days, maybe longer.
There’s no way to make it better, no magic words we can say to ease her worries or make her trust we’ll survive. Nobody knows what tonight brings, but we won’t let it stop us. Not when the possible reward is so great. Not when she needs us and has put her trust in us.
Elio had his house cleared for the week while we were here so that we could stay under the radar.
But as the day progresses, people arrive to prepare for the celebration.
Caterers, cleaners, bartenders—you name it, and Elio has them here.
It doesn’t take long before Elio’s sister and brother-in-law arrive with Kyn.
She’s the reason this is happening, a celebration of her father deciding she will be the one he wants to take his place in the coming years.
She can’t be much younger than Jade, maybe five years tops, yet it feels wrong. Putting so much on her so early.
We stay back, allowing them time together without us getting in the way, but Elio has other plans.
“Come, come, you must meet my friends.”
The second he turns to us, I see Jade’s eyes widen, and I know she’s about to vanish. Before she can, I grab her hand to keep her in place. I expect her to be upset with me. She hates being the center of attention, but instead she squeezes my hand and takes a deep breath.
“This is my sister Elena and her husband Matteo, and of course, my beautiful niece Makenzie, though she prefers Kyn,” he tells us, and I don’t miss the way Kyn rolls her eyes. Girls got an attitude; that’s for sure.
“This is Kratos and Jade.” He nods to each of us, and I watch as Kyn’s eyes widen slightly as they come to a stop in front of us, looking up at me. She’s just a hair shorter than Jade, which means I tower over her. We all will.
“The others are around here somewhere,” I tell them with a nod of greeting before fishing my phone out of my pocket to text them.
“Others?” Kyn asks, turning to her uncle, clearly confused. “Is the one who saved Aunt Em part of the others?” she asks, smiling for the first time since she walked in the door.
Jade backs up a step, and I see the slight redness on her cheeks.
Elio shakes his head with a chuckle, and Kyn sags forward, pouting.
“You talked them up so much only to leave me hanging. Not cool,” she huffs, turning her attention back to us. “You said Jade’s dangerous, didn't you? She doesn’t look dangerous.” Kyn says as her eyes move up and down Jade, as if assessing her abilities with a single glance.
“No, you misunderstand, Zee. Jade is the one who saved Emma,” he tells her with a smile, nodding at Jade as she takes another step back.
I feel her slight tug on my hand as she tries to sneak away, but the second Kyn’s eyes turn to her, she freezes.
“She’s quite dangerous, if I do say so myself,” he says with a knowing smirk.
Kyn doesn’t get a chance to say anything else before Elena lunges forward, wrapping Jade in a hug.
“Thank you so much for saving Emma. If you ever need anything, just say the word. We are forever in your debt,” she cries.
It’s sweet, but I’m about two seconds from pulling her off Jade, knowing she already wanted to run. Before I can, Jade shocks me. With her hand that isn’t tangled with mine, she reaches up to pat the crying woman's back, albeit a bit stiffly.
“No need to thank me. It was the right thing to do, and Emma deserved better than that life.” Her voice is quiet; it’s also hard.
Nobody deserves that, and Jade wanted to make sure she could save anyone she could.
Who Emma was and what they owed her were never factors.
She could have been a poor girl from the bad side of town, and Jade still would have saved her.
It was everything she worked for.
“You did, too,” Elio says, making Jade’s head pop up, her jaw clenched. For a long time, Jade didn’t think she deserved anything, but I think she’s starting to now. After a long moment, she nods at him, and Elena pulls back, wiping at her eyes.
“Sorry, everything about Emma makes me so emotional. I know you didn’t save her so we'd be in your debt, but really, Jade, if you ever need us, we’re one call away.
Russian, Italian, American, it doesn’t matter to me.
You're as good as family now, and we fight for family,” she says, and I see the same fire in her eyes that I see in her daughters.
That explains where she gets the attitude from.
“Wait a second!” Kyn says, holding up her hands as we all turn to face her. “You were in those fucked-up rings with her? Is that what you're saying here?” She looks from Jade to me and back to Elio. “I thought you said she shut the rings down?” she demands without giving him a chance to answer.
“Hey, Doll,” Zander all but purrs as he slides up next to Jade.
He throws his arm around her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her temple as she turns to smile up at him.
And just like that, Kyn’s questions seem to be forgotten.
Her eyes jump from our hands that are still linked to Zander’s arm around her.
Poor kid, if she’s confused now, it’s about to get much worse.
I spot Rick and Trent over Elio’s shoulder, looking fresh from the gym.
They play shove and shadow box on their walkover before they spot us.
It’s nice to see them getting along again.
I didn’t know them well when they were close, but I know it tore the boys apart that Trent didn’t join them when they came to Vengeance.
Trent’s been putting in a lot of work to get better, determined not to be the weak link, and he’s doing a damn good job of it.
Before they can even reach us, Spencer and Jake are behind us.
Spencer throws his arms over Jade’s shoulder, paying no mind to the fact that he’s now pinning Zander’s arm underneath him.
He leans down, dropping a kiss to the top of her head before he rests his chin in the same spot, looking over her head at Elio and his family.
“Sup, Demon,” he says smugly, and she rolls her eyes at the nickname.
It might have started as an insult, but now there isn’t a hint of malice in it, only affection, the same way the rest of us are.
“Princess,” Jake says in greeting from behind us, but he makes no move to hang off of her the way the other two are, not that there’s a place unclaimed if he wanted to.
Jake is warming up nicely now, taking on more with Vengeance, but he still seems to be more timid.
Worried he will mess up or that we will look at him and see his father’s sins.
But I’ve seen the way he looks at Jade. He’s in love with her, just like the rest of us, and I know he’ll get there even if it takes a bit more time for him to believe it.
I squeeze Jade’s hand, waiting for her to squeeze back before I pull my fingers free, letting her hand drop to her side.
Taking a step to the side, I nod Jake forward.
He hesitates for a moment before moving, but when she turns to look at him over her shoulder, it seems to be all the encouragement he needs.
He quickly steps forward, reaching for her hand that I just released before bringing her knuckles up to his lips to drop a sweet kiss on them.
If I thought Jade’s cheeks were red before, I was mistaken.
She’s almost the color of a tomato as she giggles nervously from the attention, something I didn’t even think was possible for Jade just a few months ago.
“Gross,” Spencer says, screwing up his face as he reaches out, shoving Jake. “Knock that shit off. You're making the rest of us look bad.”
The second Spencer’s hand connects, Jade’s is there, wrapping around Spencer’s wrist.
“I know it’s hard for you, but try to be less of an ass. At least in front of others,” Jade snaps, and while she might not see his face, the rest of us get the pleasure of watching his usual smirk drop.
“Sorry,” he says with a sigh before she drops his hand.
“Ooh, Spencer got in trouble.” Trent teases as he and Rick finally make it to us, and I see the amusement dance in Rick’s eyes, even if his face remains stoic.
“Shut it, golden boy!” Spencer snaps, and Zander barks a laugh at them.
“Will someone please explain what is going on here?” Kyn cries out, looking around the room at each of us, her confusion growing by the second as she tries to piece it together herself.
“Zee, this is Jade and her guys. This is Kratos, Jake, Spencer, Zander, Rick, and Trent,” Elio says, going around our group and motioning to each of us with an outstretched hand as we nod in greeting.
“Her guys... Like all of them?” she asks, looking wide-eyed around at us.
“Okay!” Elena claps her hands, reaching for her daughter, resting a hand on her shoulder and steering her away. “We have a party to get ready for.”
Kyn looks ready to argue, but her mother gives her a look, and she gives in with a huff. “Fine, but I’m not wearing a dress,” she says, making her mother chuckle.
I don’t even know her, and I feel I could have guessed that.
“Yes, I know,” Elena says before turning to Jade. “I would love for you to join us, if you’d like.”
Jade looks taken aback for a moment before Zander encourages her.
“Go on, Doll, get all pretty for us, huh?” he says as Spencer nudges her forward.
Jade quickly looks around at the rest of us to see if anyone has a problem with that, and meets smiles.
I’m sure it will be much easier for her to get ready with them than with us.
We aren’t exactly skilled with curling irons and makeup.
They're not exactly our first choice of weapons.
“Okay.” She nods with a smile, stepping forward. Elena grabs her hand and pulls her down the hall in the blink of an eye.
Jade looks back, almost panicked, as we all chuckle at her. It’s funny that this scares her when she can face grown men without a hint of fear.
“She still doesn’t look very dangerous if you ask me,” Kyn mumbles to her uncle as she watches them disappear.
Her words aren’t mean—more confused, and that's understandable.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I tell her, and she turns to look at me with wide eyes. Having either not realized I heard her, or maybe she didn’t expect me to be the one to answer.
“Jade is more than dangerous. She can take all of us, probably with her eyes closed,” Rick says, further shocking her, and I watch as she looks around at us, assessing.
“She can also take Leo and Dom,” Elio adds with a smirk, and I’d almost forgotten she knows them as well.
“Well, I can do that too sometimes,” Kyn says with a cocky grin for her uncle.
He huffs a laugh, holding his hand up to stop her. “She can take them both at the same time, and she wins every time, Zee.”
Kyn’s mouth falls open as she turns back to look at the spot where her mother and Jade disappeared around the corner a moment ago.
“Family of the elite, they are,” Elio says, and I have to fight back the urge to snap at him for giving that away. After tonight, it won’t matter, and after what Ivan did to Emma, I know these people would never sell her out.
Years of protecting her and keeping her secrets is hard to let go of, though.
“She’s Dom’s sister? The Bratva princess?” Kyn, honest to God, shrieks as she jumps around like a small child who was just given a puppy.
Elio smiles at her and gives a nod, which makes her shriek again before she takes off like a shot down the hall, the way her mother and Jade disappeared.
“Sorry about that. She’s looked up to her since she was a child.
Before Jade disappeared, she was the pinnacle of the mafia world, on track to be the first female to not only lead but one that most of us believed would do it justice,” Matteo says with a sheepish grin as he watches after his daughter.
“Aw, Jade has a fan,” Trent says, making us all laugh.