Chapter 32 #2
“Your boyfriend needs to stay away from Boston.”
“He likes chowder.”
I have no idea if Alejandro does or doesn’t.
“Be that as it may, he’s not welcome here.”
“Then you should’ve left him alone.”
Does he think Alejandro’s in Boston?
Is that where he really went and not Italy?
I stare at Enrique, trying to determine if Alejandro lied to me about his destination. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did, but I’m assessing the realistic danger Alejandro’s in right now when he’s supposed to be somewhere over the Atlantic.
“What’s done is done. Put the past behind you, Senora.”
The word sounds so strange with his Russian accent. He keeps on insisting upon using the honorific for married and older women. He’s making a point that I’m a Cartel woman, not a Mafia one. He’s not the one who gets to sever my ties to my family.
“Calling me doesn’t do that. What do you want, Yuri?”
I can be patronizing too. Any false respect I used before is gone now.
“Tell Alejandro and his family to stay out of Boston, and we’ll leave you both alone.”
“You believe I, as a woman, can convince the Cartel’s ruling family to do anything.”
“I think your golden cunt could convince Alejandro of anything. You have him pussy whipped.”
I want to sink through the floor.
Mortified.
That’s what I am.
Mortified.
It’s not like I believe anyone in his family doesn’t know Alejandro and I have sex. They’ve surely figured out we have tons of it. We’re not unlike any of the other couples who can’t keep their hands off each other, but I don’t need that rubbed in his parents’ faces.
“If you’re going to insult me, then this conversation ends.”
“My apologies.”
Coglione. Fucker.
“I’ll pass the message along. Goodbye.”
“Uh-uh-uh. We’re not done. He won’t survive putting a foot in Boston. He won’t come alone, so that means his cousins will die too.”
“Why risk annihilation?”
Yuri cackles again. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. He’s aware we’ve learned of the Volkovs’ involvement, so he anticipates retaliation. The last we heard, it was Dimitri—Yuri’s nephew—behind this because of the shit he fucked up for Anton. Yuri comes as an even greater surprise.
“My family’s going nowhere. Pissed off as the Kutsenkos are, they need us. If you kill us, then you’ll not only piss off the New York bratva, you’ll wind up with a far worse family in charge here.”
“You believe that gives you carte blanche to murder any Diaz man.”
“It does. It’s not in your in-laws favor to seek retribution.”
The man’s truly senile.
“You risk more than you can gain, Yuri. Why is Alejandro worth so much to you? It can’t just be you thought you were doing Sergei a favor.”
“I have my reasons.”
“Who’d he reject?”
“My niece.”
That stuns me.
I expected him not to name anyone, but if he did, it would be some guy Alejandro wouldn’t do business with. I look at Catalina and Matáis, who appear as bewildered as I am.
“Why would Alejandro be involved with your niece?”
“Grad school sweethearts. He refuses to step up as a father to his son. I’m tired of waiting.”
Can my heart stop while my mind runs a mile a minute?
My gaze sweeps the room. Madeline, Florencia, and Anneliese appear horrified but not because they believe him. Catalina, Matáis, Luciana, Luis, Margherita, Enrique, and Elle appear disgusted and enraged.
Catalina joins me, standing on the opposite side of Elle. She leans in to whisper directly in my ear.
“That is absolute bullshit. If my son had a child, there’s no way in hell he’d ever deny the child. He’d abandon this family before abandoning a son.”
“Did you come up with that lie on your own, Yuri? Or is your niece that good at manipulating you? Alejandro has no children.”
“Look at the image I sent you.”
My phone buzzes with a text message. I look at the screen and tap the text icon. I pull it up and tap on the image to enlarge it. It’s a paternity result saying Alejandro’s ninety-nine-point-nine percent likely to be the child’s father.
“All this proves is you have a computer and a printer.”
“Give up Alejandro, Senora. He has a family, and there’s no room for you.”
“This is the most poorly concocted lie. Why are you making things so much worse for yourself? Does Rurik know what you’re doing? Does he know what you’re claiming about his sister?”
Yuri’s other nephew, Rurik, is now pakhan. He’s close to his twin sister, and he’d have beaten down Alejandro’s door years ago if this were true.
“Who do you think got the DNA test done?”
“How did you get any of Alejandro’s DNA to test it?”
“You assumed the fire eliminated all traces of you being in that warehouse.”
I’ve watched Enrique since my gaze landed on him right after Catalina denied Yuri’s claim.
He rolls his eyes. I’m certain this isn’t true.
The Diaz family wouldn’t be that careless.
They had their men drive up there as soon as they learned where we were.
The team swept the place and got Zorzi’s and my zia’s remains out before the authorities could inspect the scene.
There’s no way they left anything on the metal that cut Alejandro—assuming it hadn’t melted.
“Senora, pass along the message. Alejandro stays away from Boston and pays all the child support he owes my daughter.”
The line goes dead.
“?Esto es ridículo! ?Mi hijo jamás lo haría!” This is ridiculous! My son would never.
Catalina’s tone strikes a chord of fear in me. Her expression drives it home. The woman is ready to go on a rampage. I’m not far behind her. She turns to me and clenches her jaw before she takes a breath and speaks.
“Toria, those are lies. Alejandro would never do something so irresponsible. And if he had been careless, he would’ve taken responsibility.”
“I know, Catalina. Alejandro would never ignore his child regardless of how the child came about. I never believed any of it.”
Catalina turns toward Matáis, and his expression matches his wife’s. Enrique steps forward and puts a staying hand on his sister’s arm.
“Hermanita, we’ll handle it.” Little sister.
He gestures toward Luis. The woman’s at least eight inches shorter than her brothers, but in that moment, she’s more intimidating than either of them could ever be. She ignores Enrique and keeps her attention on her husband. He slides his arms around her waist, and Enrique steps back.
“Mi amor, confía en nosotros. Lo solucionaremos.” My love, trust us. We’ll make it right.
Alejandro’s mother narrows her eyes at her husband before she glances at Luciana.
My gaze shifts to my future aunt-in-law.
What I see passing between the women makes me want to run and take cover.
There’s a storm brewing, and I’m about to be in the eye.
I shift my focus to Madeline, Florencia, and Anneliese. They look as wary as I feel.
“Yuri is not only trying to destroy Alejandro, he’s trying to take our daughter with him. I want him gone.”
Daughter?
She’s accepted me into the family, and Alejandro and I aren’t even engaged.
I mean, we pretty much are.
I force myself not to look down at my ring finger. It’s feeling naked right now. Alejandro hinted he’d change that when he returns.
“Mi amor, he won’t sleep another night.”
“It’s not just him. His family and Maks’s need to understand.”
Enrique steps forward again with Elle beside him this time.
“Hermanita, we’ll go up there and sort it out. Luis, call the pilot.”
“I’m going, Enrique.”
“Catalina—”
“Hermano, you won’t convince me. Not if it involves mi hijo.” My son.
The irate woman stresses the last two words in Spanish.
She could jab her finger into her chest and not convey stronger emotions than her tone already does.
I know they’re mostly speaking English for the other women’s—except Florencia—sake.
But Catalina’s accent’s gotten so strong I’m not sure the non-Spanish speakers can understand her.
I’m unsure why this is the hill she’s willing to die on. I can’t imagine she’s gone on other missions, but she won’t back down. As though she reads my thoughts, she turns toward me.
“We have history with this family. Yuri tried to kidnap Alejandro when he was five. He thought I wouldn’t notice because Luciana, Margherita, and I were chatting while the boys played in the park.
Luciana and Tres J’s came to visit while Esteban was away with Enrique.
He banked on the cousins being just as excited to see each other as I was to see my sister.
The cabrón still has three bullets inside him.
One from each of us. No one touches our ninos.
Now Senor Sin Huevos—that’s where I shot him—thinks he can get revenge.
Ni de puta casualidad.” Mr. No Balls. Not a fucking chance.
“Caty—”
“Come with me or not, Mati, but I’m going.”
“You can’t kill them all.”
“Watch me.”
Husband and wife stare at each other. I believe Matáis isn’t exaggerating. I think he genuinely fears his wife will annihilate the Volkovs if she goes to Boston.
“We’re going too.”
I swing my head toward Luciana and Margherita as they join the men. Only Luis hangs back, shaking his head. The man clearly knows when he and the other men are outnumbered.
“Kiko.” Elle rests her hand on her husband’s arm much like Enrique did to Catalina.
“Not you too, Ellie.”
“The ladies and I are your best bet. I know Boston better than any of you, and I know Yuri as well as you, Luis, and Matáis. I know where he hides. They won’t expect us.
They don’t know who I am because my family still guards that secret.
I can get us in and out faster and with no one noticing far better than you can. ”
“Ellie, no.”
If this weren’t so dire, it would be astonishing to watch the jefe de jefes face off with one of the world’s most infamous and elusive mercenaries.
“I’m going too.”
Catalina turns her head toward me. “I never thought you wouldn’t.”