31. Wynter #2
“Like what?” I asked, when it became apparent neither Davina or Ivy wanted to ask her. They probably worried what kind of crazy trouble she’d get us into. Rightly so.
“Well, we’re all out of money we stole,” Juliette announced and all our eyes snapped to her.
“That was almost fifty million, Jules,” I said, appalled that she’d spend so much in just a matter of weeks.
“Well, we bought that extra piece of land and paid all cash,” she muttered. “Then there were taxes, architects for the buildings and design, how to lay it out, permits, material. It's all gone. Boom.” She waved her hands in the air, as if mimicking an explosion.
“How much are we short to finish?” I asked in an exasperated tone.
She shrugged. “We still need three buildings and one extra dormitory. Then I think we’ll be done.”
“Did we get features we didn’t need?” Davina asked, annoyance on her face. “I really hoped to do this without actually using anyone’s money but our own.”
“Theoretically, stolen money,” Ivy reminded us.
Juliette rolled her eyes. “We don’t need a reminder anymore. We need to finish this so we can move on obtaining a license from the Board of Education, creating a staff, curriculum, and who knows what else.”
“Wow,” I murmured, slightly impressed. Juliette might have finally found her thing.
“How do you feel about playing a round of poker?” she asked.
“Juliette, we said no more,” Davina groaned. “Liam will lose his shit. There is only so much calming, distracting sex I can have.”
Juliette raised her palm and faced it at Davina. “Listen stepmother, I don’t need reminders of your hanky panky with my father, who’s not really my father, but I think of him as a father.”
“Well, confuse us more, why don’t you?” Ivy chimed in. “If we get in trouble and my father finds out, I’ll be shipped to Ireland.”
“Like a bag of potatoes,” Davina added.
“We won’t let that happen.” Juliette swished her hand. “If we get at least one of the school buildings built, we won’t need dad’s place. We can just stay there. The school will need all our attention anyhow.”
“Yeah, let's stay there while workers are banging and building shit,” Ivy said sarcastically. “It’s my dream come true.”
I raised my eyebrow, surprised at Ivy’s reluctance to get into trouble. Usually it was Jules and Ivy that dove head first into mayhem.
“Okay, this is what we need to do,” I announced. “Juliette will not be paying bills. We need to be smarter about our spending. I know we want everything to be perfect, but we can always upgrade later, once the school brings in profit.”
“I’ll handle all business arrangements and contracts,” Davina agreed. “Wynter, you take care of the funds.”
I grinned, feeling lighter for the first time in over two weeks. “I’ll be the banker.”
“Sounds good to me,” Juliette commented. “I want to be the enforcer and kill people.”
The three of us shared a glance and rolled our eyes.
“You’ve handled everything amazingly so far,” I commended Jules. “You keep arranging the next steps, but let Davina do negotiations. I know you want everything perfect and it will be, but not at the point where we have to keep playing poker.”
Juliette nodded her agreement.
“I can help with decor and furniture,” Ivy offered. “When we are at the interior decorating stage, we should also start making offers to individuals we want working for the school.”
The four of us nodded, excited about our long term goals.
“But until then, we need to find someone to rob.” Juliette had to ruin the moment. Ignoring our protests, she continued, “I think we should rob Nico Morrelli.”
“Are you crazy?” Ivy hissed. “Didn’t I tell you he’s known as The Wolf?”
She shrugged. “So what? There are four of us and one of him.”
“Jules, stop it. We’re going to get in trouble,” I told her. “We haven’t been successful with any of it. But I can go there and play poker.”
That wasn’t stealing.
“Exactly,” she agreed. “Your counting cards. It’s not stealing exactly.”
I sighed. “It’s not strictly legal either.”
“Actually, I agree with Juliette,” Davina chimed in, surprising me. She usually sided on the sane side, with me. “Let’s go into one of Nico’s casinos in Baltimore and play poker.”
“You know there is no way to get millions off counting cards,” I murmured. “At least not the normal way and not bringing attention to ourselves.”
“We’re so fucked,” Ivy groaned, pushing her hand through her red hair. “So fucking fucked.”
“Let’s do it for old time’s sake,” Davina said, locking her eyes with me. “But then if we fail, then we look at normal ways to get money. Investors. Liam wants to invest and he doesn’t want any stake in the school.”
Ah, so that was the reason she agreed with Jules. “If we do this, no more stealing,” Davina told her firmly. “And I want your word, Juliette. Promise, blood vow, the whole fucking nine yards.”
It would be comical if it was anyone else.
“Fine, you have my blood vow and all that shit,” Juliette agreed. “I’ll be a better enforcer anyhow.”
“I’m sure,” Ivy grumbled. “But first you have to catch a bad guy and kill him without shitting your pants.”
And just like that, the four of us rolled over Sasha’s Persian rug laughing like four idiots.
* * *
“Taking Sasha’s car was a good call,” Davina beamed, glancing around with wide eyes. “This freaking car is nice.”
I shrugged. Sasha offered if I had to go anywhere to take his white Mercedes G-Benz. Davina drove the girls over in my Jeep, but I thought it was too risky driving around in it. DiLustro would notice it, I was certain.
“The back seats are perfectly leveled and wide,” Davina continued. “I wouldn’t have to bend over to put the baby into a child seat.”
Wait? What?
“What?” Juliette screeched, her eyes wide. “What baby? Your sister’s?”
Davina kept looking around the car, evaluating it and I glanced in the mirror. The moment our eyes met, I knew it wasn’t for her sister’s baby.
“I’m pregnant,” she announced, chewing on her bottom lip. “Surprise!”
God, the look on Ivy’s and Juliette’s face was comical. Maybe I would have had the same reaction if I wasn’t driving. I returned my eyes to the road. I was happy for my best friend and my uncle. I really was.
Then why did I feel this slither of envy spreading through my veins. It was ugly and made me feel like shit. It wasn’t like I’d have a baby anytime soon. Skating was my priority right now.
“You’re quiet, Wyn,” Davina noted.
I shook my head and smiled. “Just thinking how wonderful it will be to have a niece or a nephew,” I told her. “I’m really happy for you. Both of you.”
“Man, I thought you were going to wait to have kids,” Juliette groaned.
She shrugged. “It happened sooner than I anticipated. I’m not sorry about it.”
“Of course not,” Ivy said quickly. “And we’re all happy for you.”
Ivy’s eyes flickered my way, the worry in her hazel gaze unmistakable. I just nodded and returned my attention to the road. We still had another hour to go before we reached Baltimore.
The silence for the next five minutes felt louder than all the screaming Jules could muster. The big elephant in the room, or the car in our case, would eventually be brought up. I didn’t think for a moment, they’d pretend it never happened. Especially not Juliette.
“Who hurt you, Wyn?” Ivy finally asked. It surprised me that she beat Juliette to the punch.
I stared ahead of me and my vision blurred as tears stung, threatening to spill. I blinked, trying to hold them back. But I lost the fight. Tears burned a hot trail down my cheeks and I wiped them angrily with the back of my hand.
Juliette’s hand wrapped around me from behind, the reach awkward because she had to do it over the seat.
“I’m fine,” I said with a strained smile.
“No, you’re not,” Juliette protested softly. “And it’s okay to admit it. The fucking Italian broke your heart.”
I shook my head. I didn't want Juliette getting any ideas.
“No, it’s not that,” I muttered. I was sick and tired of the tears and wallowing in self-pity. People went through worse things than a heartbreak and a crazy almost father-in-law who tried to rape and kill you.
“Then what is it?” she spat bitterly. “You’ve never disappeared on us. You never ignore your mom or uncle. And then you go and stay with that Russian. It had to be something bad.”
Anguish flooded my veins and cut through each breath I took.
“Things with Bas didn’t work out,” I murmured softly. The three of them held their breath, waiting for me to continue. I’d rather they hadn’t. I’d rather Juliette started to spit out threats. But none of them said a thing. “I-I found out something Uncle and Mom kept from me.”
Juliette stiffened. “Are you adopted too?” she whispered, disbelief on her face.
I shook my head. “No, I found out that Mom was shot in her knee. It was what ended her career. Gio DiLustro.” And my boyfriend’s father did it.
“What the fuck?” The three of them whispered. “Are you sure?” Jules asked.
I nodded, my eyes on the road. “Yes, I’m sure.” My eyes focused on the road, though my mind was somewhere far away. “Brennans and DiLustros are enemies because Gio DiLustro tried to use Mom for her connections.”
“What connections?” The three of them asked.
“Oh, just a tiny insignificant detail,” I retorted bitterly. “Mom’s connection to the Russians. I learned that Grandpa kidnapped my grandmother. She was the daughter of the Pakhan, the head of the Russian mafia.”
“Russian mafia?” Juliette repeated, blinking confused.
“But I thought Brennans hated Russians,” Ivy muttered.
I shrugged. “I think there is a lot we don’t know. Uncle kept us in the dark about a lot of it. Mom, too.”
Although, I couldn’t blame Mom. I could imagine losing the ability to ice skate was like losing a limb for her. I’ve seen her figure skating tapes. She was magnificent on the ice.
“We should talk to them about it,” Davina recommended. “Don’t let it fester.”
“They need to be confronted,” Jules agreed.