Chapter 20
Ivan
As I approach the greenhouse, I can make out the silhouettes of the men the others brought. With the span of the road and a parking lot separating us, I start counting them. One, two, three...most of them have a lit cigarette hanging from their mouths. Clouds of smoke billow above their heads and dissipate into the atmosphere, and I shake my head a little.
I've never understood the appeal of cigarettes. Then again, I'm considerably more physical than some of the others, Don and made man alike. It’s hard to break bones when you’re struggling to catch your breath.
I hate all of it. The smell, the health side effects, the way it stains cars and houses. But mostly, I hate how it exposes people. The cigarettes’ glowing cherries give the men away, fiery little beacons in the darkness. They mark the presence of careless men who are smoking what could very well be their last cigarette.
At least they’re not near my wife. If I witnessed this sloppy behavior in the men assigned to guard her, they wouldn’t remain alive for very long.
I didn’t want to bring her, and I certainly did not want to leave her in that car, but it’s the best place for her. I couldn’t take the risk that Azrael would be hunting, even as I am, and leave her open to their retribution. At least here, they’re not anticipating us, and don’t know she’s here.
As I get closer, my bad luck kicks in. The first group I come upon is led by Damon Papparado.
Great. Damon, the heir-apparent of the Valachi empire by merit of his marriage to Lulu Valachi, has somehow managed to rally Angel's men around him. Not that I left many high-ranking ones for him to gather.
But he’s Vivi’s brother-in-law. I have to fucking play nice, and not just for Vivi’s sake. If I want to leverage the advantages this connection could bring me, I’m going to have to suffer the relationship.
Damnit. Inwardly I roll my eyes, but outwardly I ensure my expression is neutral.
I scan the faces around Damon. None of them are familiar. I’m surrounded by the enemy, but at least it’s an enemy Vivi trusts. I won’t ever put my faith in them, but for her I will tolerate their presence.
"Where’s your crew?" Damon demands, his voice cutting through the night air.
"Exactly where I told them to be," I respond, my voice steady; I’m not going to tell him my men’s positions. He should worry about his own. I take a second scan of his men before I divert my gaze back to him. "Can any of these men handle themselves?"
"Well enough," Damon replies with a dismissive shrug. "These men are coming with me, and I have one on surveillance."
“Ask him how well he can see everyone’s fucking cigarettes.”
Before Damon can respond, Cassidy and Evie arrive. Both are adjusting bands on their arms, securing throwing knives. My stomach tightens; hopefully, they’ll be faster than Azrael, so those knives won’t end up used against them.
I give them a brief nod and turn to see Damon’s men snuffing their tobacco. Everyone busies themselves checking their weapons, and when I don’t, Damon raises a brow at me.
I yawn.
I have no need to second guess myself in front of these men. I checked several times before I left, leaving no opening for any signs of weakness.
Cassidy takes a final drag of his own cigarette before tossing it to the ground. "Where the hell are they? You’d think with all of us out here, someone would have run some interference," he says, his voice tinged with irritation.
Evie nods, her eyes scanning the area. "That’s exactly what I'm thinking. We should have seen our first sign of resistance by now."
Damon’s smirk widens, and I can feel his eyes on me, calculating. "Well, I’m sure our fearless leader knows why we haven’t seen Azrael yet," he says, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
I meet his gaze, and in that moment, everything clicks. Damon is here to support the cause, sure, but he’s also waiting for me to fail. My failure would secure his position once the Commission's influence is eliminated. The Valachis want to keep their power, and Damon sees this as his golden opportunity.
I can’t let that happen. Not now, not ever.
"We don’t know what we are walking into. That’s why I sent Enzo and Luca’s teams ahead of us," I explain, scanning the faces around me as I wait for someone to disagree. No one does. "We will follow. If they trigger anything, we can be the second wave to strengthen their attack."
In my mind, I hear Angel’s voice, a whisper from the past.
“You are employing World War II tactics?” Shit. Maybe Angel did grow on me more than I realized.
We positioned ourselves far enough away from the greenhouse that no one inside would notice us but close enough to see the front entrance. The plan is to give the first team a decent length of time before we follow.
As we wait, Evie moves next to me. I feel her settle, her presence steady and somehow comforting in a way.
"My sister-in-law is a bit obsessed with your wife," she says, not looking at me, her gaze fixed on the greenhouse.
"I’ve noticed," I reply, keeping my tone neutral.
"If Rowan is fond of your wife, then I am, too. For Rowan’s sake."
I glance at her, sensing an undercurrent in her words. "I feel a threat developing."
Evie’s eyes flicker towards me briefly before returning to the greenhouse. "You’d better be a good man to her, Romanov. If not…well, you can call me Cú Chulainn."
"And what’s that?" I ask, genuinely curious despite the tension thickening the air.
"An Irish hero who slays monsters," Evie clarifies.
I chuckle. The girl has spunk; I've known this about her for a while. She picked an odd time for this little tête-à-tête , but I'm willing to bite.
"The Five Families have hurt her in more ways than I ever could. You should be slaying yourself," I say, a hint of irony in my voice. Her mouth forms a straight line, and I wait for some smart-ass answer, but we don’t get to whisper another word.
Gunfire shatters the night’s silence. My body reacts before my mind can catch up, my own weapon coming up and ready. Shots fire again. It’s coming from the direction of where I left the car and several men to guard my wife.
The car. Vivi . I have to get to Vivi.
Someone grabs my shoulder—the one with the knife wound—and the pain nearly blinds me. I push them away, not caring who it is, and I keep going.
The same refrain echoes in my head in time with the pulse of blood in my veins.
Gunfire. Vivi. Have to get to Vivi.
Movement erupts in the shadows around us. They have been watching us. I hear Cassidy bellowing, shadows morphing into living people with weapons. But I don’t turn back to the others. I need to find my wife.
I sprint across the street, the sound of voices bouncing off the buildings and making it hard to tell where they’re coming from. Then, there, in front of the greenhouse, I see people struggling on the ground.
Three people. One breaks loose—Vivi. Thank God. She runs toward the greenhouse.
That leaves Eduardo struggling with a woman. I remove my pistol, but with the way he and the woman are moving, there's no clear shot. I slide my gun back into place as I sprint toward them, pushing my legs as fast as they are willing to go. I watch, horror seizing me as Eduardo frees himself and runs to open the door for Vivi. He flings it open and then shuts it, realizing he doesn’t have time to get inside.
I pump my arms and run harder, but there’s nothing I can do for Eduardo. As I approach, I bear witness to the woman stabbing him in the back, the blade flashing in the dim light over and over as he stands against the door he just shoved Vivi through.
“God, no—”
By the time I reach the door, Eduardo's body is already slumped on the ground. The woman who just ended him spins toward me at my shout, clearly another of Azrael’s cursed assassins. It’s the woman from the church, her blonde hair shining in the streetlights. My gaze flickers to Eduardo, whose eyes have already gone flat and empty, and then back to the woman.
She tosses the knife from hand to hand, taunting me with both her skill and her kill. This time, she’s not restricted by a cramped apartment. She’ll be fast, with room to move.
That’s okay. I have room as well, and I’ve always appreciated a good blade.
She strikes, and I deflect with my forearm, the blade scraping down my skin. The pain is sharp, but I focus. With her so close, I grab her knife arm and pull her toward me, forcing her to step closer. I raise my fist and aim for her jaw, but she bends backward, her flexible body making it hard to connect, my fist barely grazing her face.
She twists away, now standing across from me. She’s more wary this time, eyes darting over my body, searching for an opening. Her gaze lands on my injured shoulder. She launches herself at me, but I anticipate her move. I grab her knife arm again, and she headbutts me. It dazes me, but I don’t let go.
I've never fought a woman like this, and her ability to match me shocks me. I don’t want to pull out my gun—she’s too fast. She’d grab it before I could even aim.
She screams and lunges again, trying to drive her knife past my raised arms. But then thunder cracks, and her steps falter. She takes a few stumbling steps before falling to her knees on the ground and then forward, face down on the unforgiving asphalt. Blood makes a slow and steady path like a halo around her head.
I'm not sure what has happened until I hear the sound of sobs by the greenhouse door. I turn to see Vivi sitting beside Eduardo’s body, holding his gun. She’s hiccupping as she cries, the gun shaking in her hands.
"I... I had to," she stammers. "She...she was trying to hurt you."
I rush to her and pull her against me, wrapping her in my arms. Someday, I’ll have to give her a talk about the risks inherent shooting at someone in hand-to-hand combat. But not now. Gently, I take the gun from her hands and tuck it into my own jacket.
"I had to," she repeats, her voice breaking.
"I know, baby," I whisper, holding her tighter.
"I didn’t want to," she sobs, her tears soaking through my shirt.
"It’s fine, baby. It’s fine," I soothe, my heart aching for her. The first kill is always the hardest for most people, especially for someone like Vivi, who shouldn’t be on the front line of a war. She’s shaking, and as I keep her tucked against me, I glance around.
The chaos continues. Gunshots and screams fill the air, but I hold Vivi close, shielding her as best as I can. For a moment, it’s just the two of us in our own little world, a small bubble of calm amid the storm. A part of me doesn’t want to move as I tell myself she’s alive, she’s safe. For a moment, when I had heard the gunshots, I had feared the worst. I press my lips against the crown of her head, knowing I would give up this entire world for her.
She is the only light in my darkness.
I love her.
It’s a strange feeling for me. I rise to my feet, keeping Vivi shielded by my body.
"We need to move," I say softly but firmly. "We can’t stay here."
Here in this parking lot, we are sitting ducks, and I won’t allow any of them to win that easily.