39
“M atty? What are you doing here?”
Alessandra stared at her brother's six foot one form filling the doorway and tried to comprehend the image of him standing there at eleven at night.
“I'm here to see your husband,” he said, glancing past her into the foyer. He seemed distracted, maybe even a little concerned.
She turned her head in time to see Roman appear from the hallway leading to the study. He was still wearing his suit pants and the black shirt he'd worn that day for work. From the looks of it, his workday hadn't ended yet.
Wordlessly, Alessandra stepped to the side to make room for Matteo. He entered the house, only stopping to place a brief kiss on the top of her head as he walked past her.
Roman watched the scene with a blank look on his face. Hands in his pockets, he turned around to head back to the study, and Matteo followed quietly.
As they both disappeared down the hall, Alessandra watched their departing forms with a deep frown, feeling that something was off about the late-night get-together.
Making a quick decision, she discarded her house slippers and rushed on her tiptoes until she was standing in front of the study door with her ear pressed to the smooth wood.
“I thought we were meeting alone,” she heard Matteo say.
“This is Stepan. He’s a friend and a man I trust. You can speak freely in front of him.”The crystal decanter clinked a moment later.”Vodka?”
“Yeah, why not.”
Roman spoke again after a minute in which she imagined he'd filled a glass for everyone in the room.”You said your father doesn't know. Why should I trust you? How come you have important information that your Don doesn't?”
“I have my own connections outside the Outfit. I found out about the shooting from an associate of mine. I made sure the information didn't reach my father.”
“Why?”
“Because I know him. He's unpredictable at best. Instead of trying to clear the misunderstanding with you, he could just as easily go on the offensive before you had the chance to strike first.”
“I got the feeling he favors me instead of Vitaly asPakhan. Wouldn't this... misunderstanding benefit him?”
Alessandra bit on her thumbnail as she listened to their conversation. At least they were talking and not going at each other's throats. It had to be a good sign, for sure.
At least she hoped so.
She couldn't claim she understood the way a mafia organization worked, but as long as there was willingness to sit down and talk about their issues, she figured it was better than the alternative.
“He favors you because he thinks you'd be more easily manipulated. But don't be fooled; he's wary of you, too.”
“Should you be telling me this?” Roman sounded vaguely amused.
“To be honest with you, I’m tired of this senseless, never-ending war. It’s taking a toll on our men, and I'm guessing on yours, too. We need some fucking peace, at least for a while.”
Alessandra's teeth dug harder into her nail. She'd already chewed off most of the pink polish, which meant a trip to the salon was in order soon.
“Let me show you something,”Roman said after a small pause.
Silence filled the office for so long, Alessandra had to wonder what Roman was showing him.
“That’smy mother's car,” Matteo said, matter-of-fact. “It was stolen from a repair shop a week ago.” A chair creaked.”My father thought it was just a street gang looking to make some easy money from selling it for parts.”
“What gang would be stupid enough to steal from the Mafia?”Stepan asked in his deep voice, joining the conversation.
“Romanian gypsies are pretty bold. We’ve had issues with them in the past. They’re organized and know how to hide their tracks.”
Stepan grunted out a non-committal sound, and Alessandra didn’t think he was convinced.
“The only proof I have is my word,”Matteo said in a voice so quiet, she barely heard it. “It wasn’t us. My father may be unpredictable, but he isn’t crazy. He knows how important this alliance is for us. He’d never do anything to endanger it. Hell, he was the one to suggest it in the first place.”
After another pause, Matteo spoke again. “I know you were looking into the death of one of your men—the one they found decapitated in the river.”
“Anatoly’s uncle?” Stepan asked.
“How do you know about him?” Roman sounded suspicious.
“They found the body at the border between our territories, so we did some digging too. I was able to get this from one of our guys who runs a pizzeria in the area.” Footsteps as someone walked farther into the study then Matteo continued, “Three men crossing the alley in the dead of night. We immediately recognized this one as Kasparov’s man—his name is Arsen.
We weren’t sure it’s the dead guy he’s dragging along, but then last night, I took a closer look, and I noticed this.
Look at what he’s wearing around his neck. ”
“Orthodox cross,” Stepan said.
“Armenians are orthodox,” Roman countered.
“Does it look to you that the guy gripping his arm is his buddy? No man, I’m pretty fucking sure he’s Russian. You can have your guy confirm it—the nephew. He’ll be able to recognize the necklace.”
Noise from the foyer distracted Alessandra from her eavesdropping. Straightening her back, she rushed away from the door. She saw Tatyana enter the kitchen and followed after her, trying not to look as if she’d been doing something she shouldn't have.
“Hey,” Alessandra said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest.
Her sister-in-law looked startled by her sudden appearance. “It's late. You shouldn't have let me sleep that long.”
“You looked tired when you arrived.”
At the mention of her tiredness, Tatyana stifled a yawn. “I really was. Barely slept a wink last night. Is Roman home?”
“He’s in the study with Stepan and my brother.”
Tatyana raised a single eyebrow. “Huh. Didn't think they got along that well.”
Alessandra tried to keep her expression neutral. “Me neither.”
The other girl drained the glass of water she had in her hand then checked her watch. “I should get going.”
“Uh, I think you should call Andrei to come pick you up. Roman dismissed him when he got home a couple of hours ago.”
“We came in separate cars. I can drive myself.”
“You know Roman will flip out if you leave alone at this hour.”
An annoyed sigh escaped Tatyana as she set the empty glass in the sink. “And to think he complained about Dad being controlling.”
“It's his job as the head of the family to make sure you're safe.”
“Of course you'd defend him; he's your husband.”
Alessandra gave her a pointed look. “And he's your brother.”
Deciding to comply for now, Tatyana took out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and called Andrei. It went straight to voicemail.
“Great,” she muttered, glaring at the device in her hand. She tried again with the same result.
“I'm going to heat up some tomato soup,” Alessandra said, her hand already on the refrigerator door. Might as well do something while they waited for the men to be done with their meeting. “Want some?”
“Yeah, sure,” Tatyana said moodily, still distracted by her phone.
It was almost an hour later when steps echoed down the hall and Matteo walked past the kitchen, not even looking in their direction. Alessandra shot to her feet, running after him as he reached the foyer and headed for the front door.
“Leaving?” she called, nearly colliding with Roman who had followed behind her brother.
Roman caught her by the waist to steady her. He remained quiet despite the disapproving glint flashing behind blue eyes.
Matteo turned around and gave a small nod. He didn't look upset, but he didn't look too happy either. “Yeah.”
“I called Andrei and he's not answering his phone,” Tatyana announced, making her way into the foyer. She acknowledged Matteo with a brief look before turning to Roman. “I have to go home.”
“He's busy doing something for me,” Roman said. “You're staying here tonight.”
She did a poor job of hiding her irritation. “Do I have a say in this? ”
“No.”
Alessandra stepped away from her husband to give her brother a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Matteo's expression softened. He squeezed her shoulder, his lips lifting at the corner. “See you, sis.”
“Night,” she told his back as he opened the front door and walked out to a black car she didn’t recognize.
With Matteo gone, Tatyana trudged back upstairs to the guest bedroom, the scowl on her face deepening with each step.
“What was that all about?” Alessandra asked Roman when it was just the two of them.
“What was what about?”
“Matty being here.”
“We talked,” he said evasively.
“Really? I thought you were making plans to start a book club.”
The hint of a smile touched his lips. “You never know.”
Running her hands up his chest, she leaned in and kissed his throat. There was no point in pretending she didn’t understand what had transpired in that study, although she would never admit to eavesdropping. “I'm glad you're willing to see things from a different perspective.”
It took a moment before spoke again. When he did, he pressed the words to her ear, along with a soft kiss. “Do I have a choice?”