Chapter 19 #2
“It’s important,” Dima mutters, then glances meaningfully at Aleksei and me.
“Which means you two are coming to my office tomorrow so we can discuss it properly. No excuses.” There’s a brief pause before Aleksei nods.
He prefers conducting business in his castle, but like me, Dima avoids going there unless necessary.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he purposely brought Daniel up in front of Mom so he could make that demand—the scheming devil.
A few hours later, once the sun has fully set, it’s time to leave.
Mom walks us to the front door, while Mira decides to stay behind with her for the night.
She gives us tight hugs and makes us promise to keep in touch before going back inside.
As she closes the door, we hear her call out for us to take care and be safe.
“Tomorrow. Eleven o’clock sharp,” Dima says as he gets into his car.
I shake my head and move to open my own car, but Aleksei’s hand on my shoulder stops me. He nods towards his Lincoln, indicating he wants to talk privately. With a small frown, I follow him into the back seat. The men at the front—his driver and one of his guards—step out to give us privacy.
“Why are you holding the Monti girl hostage?” Aleksei starts without a preamble, and I can’t say I didn’t expect it.
He always seems to know exactly what’s happening in our territory—sometimes before it even happens.
But if he’s calling her ‘the Monti girl’, then he doesn’t know her real name—yet.
Though now that she’s on his radar, it’s only a matter of time.
“She came in as a worker at Zvezda. She’s mine to do with as I want,” I tell him. The fact that I have to explain myself to him is grating on my nerves.
“You can’t mess with her, Vanya. Either fuck her and let her go, or get rid of her. We don’t need the complications that come with that family.”
The words rub me the wrong way. He doesn’t get to tell me what to do—not about her. But his tone gives me pause. “What complications?” Yes, I know something made her family run from Sicily, but Aleksei doesn’t know that—or at least, he shouldn’t—so that can’t be what he’s referring to.
He rubs a tired hand over his face. “The brother came to see me. A week before he disappeared.”
I turn sharply towards him, and the pointed look he returns confirms it. He knows far more than he’s letting on. Probably knows everything about Melani and her family already and only called her the Monti girl to gauge how much I know.
“What did he have to say?” I prompt when he remains silent.
“He asked for my help with a problem.”
I straighten, every muscle tensing. “What problem?”
“Emilio Sciarra.” He shakes his head. “Not someone we want to get tangled up with. We have enough on our plate. And there’s no benefit in going around trying to fix every random mess our soldiers come to us with.”
Anger flares hot in my chest. Melani isn’t just some random mess. Not to me. But if her brother, Luciano, had come to me before I met her, I probably would have made the same decision Aleksei did. The Sicilian Cosa Nostra is a nest of hornets—not something we provoke without reason.
“Why is Emilio Sciarra after them?” The Sciarras spearhead the Cosa Nostra in Sicily. Fabrizio Sciarra, their top don, has strategically placed each of his many sons in different regions, cementing his rule. The man has what, four baby mothers? And over a dozen children, all of them boys.
“They’re branded as traitors.” His eyes pin me, searching for a reaction, but I give him nothing. I can’t imagine Melani doing anything to earn that title. Hell, she’s in my custody now because of her loyalty to her brother.
“And what exactly did they do?” His lips thin, clearly displeased that the word traitor alone isn’t enough to pull my interest away from her. But it would take more than some vague accusation to do that.
“Their father worked as an accountant for Emilio Sciarra, Fabrizio’s fifth son. A few years ago, he diverted a huge lump of the clan’s money into his own account and disappeared.”
The lines finally click into place. They had no choice but to run. Because in our world, the crimes of the father always fall on the children.
“The very same evening,” Aleksei adds, “his family disappeared too.”
“But we know they weren’t with the father. They didn’t enter the city with him. He must have acted on his own, and they only ran to save their hides.”
“Can you listen to yourself right now, Vanya? Making excuses for some random woman you’re holding hostage.” He says ‘holding hostage’ like it’s some crime against humanity—it probably is. But he has no grounds to lecture me when he’s done far worse.
“Thank you for the information, Aleksei.” I reach for the door handle.
“This can’t continue.” His voice stops me.
“Have your fun if you must, but you can’t keep her.
I’m still not sure if the little brother’s disappearance connects to our missing soldiers.
Or if it was his own doing—or Sciarra’s.
If it’s the latter and they discover you have the sister, it could spell serious trouble for us. ”
I glower at him. “Melani is mine to do with as I wish. I decide what happens with her. Not you. And if Emilio Sciarra wants what’s mine, then he’ll have to go through me.”
It isn’t every day I get to see my brother stunned, but that’s exactly the expression on his face as he stares at me. “You’re falling for her.” He sounds bemused. “You’ve only known her for a few days. Have you been fucking her the whole time?”
“I’m done with this bullshit conversation. Good night.” I slam the door shut as I get out, anger vibrating through every nerve. I’m not falling for her, damn it. My heart is stone cold and impenetrable. It would take more than a few measly days to thaw it.
I just—I’m just protective of her, that’s all. Protective.