48. Alessia
Chapter forty-eight
Alessia
M assimo didn’t come home last night, and I’m worried.
Monte is being strangely on edge and refuses to provide me with any answers when I question him on Massimo’s whereabouts. I don’t even think he would prevent me from leaving if I tried. I ended up caving this morning and tried to call him, but his phone was off and still is several hours later.
Something is obviously wrong, and I plan to get to the bottom of it.
I’m just about to go and hunt Monte down again when he rushes into the room around noon looking frantic. “What’s going on?” I rush out, my heart automatically sinking in fear.
“Phone’s for you,” he says quickening his pace.
“Is it Massimo?”
“No, but it’s important.”
“It better not be another woman telling me he’s two-timing us,” I mutter and take the phone from him. “Hello?”
“Alessia. Nice to hear your voice.”
“Komodo?” I recognize the accent instantly.
“Sorry, I don’t have your new number.”
“Well, I just got my phone privileges back for being a good girl,” I muse.
“Good to hear.”
“By the way, thank you for not killing me.” Monte clears his throat grabbing my attention and I find him baring his teeth at me, prompting me to roll my eyes. “But this obviously isn’t a friendly phone call to catch up. What’s going on? You know something about Massimo? Is he two-timing me?” I ask without any real intent.
“I warned him about going after them.”
“So, did I.”
“Well, he’s gotten himself into a little trouble.”
“Tell me everything you know,” I demand.
After I get as much detail as possible out of Komodo, I get off the phone and face Monte. “Get the crew together and pack heavy. I need to go see my brothers. Meet us at our airstrip when you’re ready.”
“Wait.” He halts me, giving me the impression he’s going to prevent me from leaving. “Where is he?”
“Fucking Russia. The Organization is hot on his tail and will have him in their custody within hours. We have to move.” He knows not to question because that’ll waste precious time.
Clad in combat gear—form-fitting black clothing, combat boots, my Kevlar, and my hair pulled tightly back in a ponytail—I don’t bother asking for any weapons, knowing I can get them at my family’s estate.
I call Tullio on my way to give him the shortest version and he says he’ll call in the Abramov’s. Which is a total shock to me, but questions will have to wait.
Only my brothers and their most trusted men are gathered in the office when I get there. “Since when are we so cool with the Abramov’s?” I ask right away.
“It’s a long story, but we are,” Tullio says. “Take that old Kevlar off, Yulia has something better for you.”
“Better than my Kevlar? And who the fuck is Yulia?”
“Yulia Abramov. Now, take it off.”
I start undoing the vest, and Paolo comes to assist me. “I need to visit the armory.”
“We’ll see what Yulia brings,” he mutters.
“Tullio?” He looks at me. “You’re not thinking about making me sit this one out, are you?” The room grows quiet, and I try to suppress my instant temper. “I am coming.”
“Alessia—” Tullio starts.
“No. I have the location, and I will fight my way out of here and go at it alone if I have to.” I purposely left out the exact location where they plan on holding Massimo for the same reason.
Tullio’s shoulders wilt as my brothers and our crew all look to him. “Alright. Fine,” he concedes resentfully. “My orders though.”
“Got it, boss.” I salute him, making him smirk, and my brothers smile. It feels good to finally be part of the gang.
“Alright, boys. I brought some brand-new toys.” A beautiful woman sweeps into the room with a bunch of men carrying large artillery boxes. The way she holds herself, it’s obvious she’s the one in charge. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a long braid and her dark eyes are somehow bright when they land on me. “And I finally get to meet the Alessia Bonetti.” She approaches me grinning, and I remain impassive. I politely accept the proper greeting, though I’m weary of this new relationship with the Russians. “I’m Yulia. Between your brothers and Massimo, I feel as if I already know you.”
Right away my hackles are up. All I can think about is Massimo and this beautiful woman alone together…If they fucked…God, I cannot think about that right now.
“I heard you have quite a collection of your own,” she says not at all deterred by my silence and gestures to the weapons being unpacked around us.
I glower over at Tullio. “I used to, yes.” The cheeky bastard has the audacity to grin.
“When you get back, we’ll have to make some time to get to know each other,” she adds.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Alright, let me get you suited up.” She peels off her leather jacket revealing her tattoo covered arms and shoulders. Damn, this girl is hot as fuck. Omg, am I seriously getting jealous right now when Massimo is facing dire peril?! I’m actually stunned by my own pettiness.
Several minutes later and I’m sucking it in. “Holy shit. I cannot breathe in this thing.” I try to twist around in the vest she put me in.
“It’s tight, I know, but feel how light it is. It’s stronger, too,” she explains.
“But what’s the point of it being lighter if I can barely breathe in it?”
“Oh, don’t be such a sissy,” Armando jabs making me stick my tongue out at him.
Taking another deep breath, I twist and turn some more, and I feel like my body is already getting used to it. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if my ribs weren’t still a little tender.
“Believe me. It’s better trying to breathe through this than trying to breathe when you get shot with the Kevlar on,” Yulia says confidently.
“It’s really that much stronger?” She nods her head. If she’s saying it has better protection, then she’s right. A slight shortness of breath now is better than breaking more ribs with a single shot. Or worse, something getting through.
“It can withstand getting shot with a .50 cal,” she adds.
My eyes literally turn into two saucers as I gawk at her. “ Santo cazzo Madre di Cristo !” Holy fucking Mother of Christ !
She giggles and it sounds so feminine coming from a badass woman who just suited us all up with these insane weapons and new protective gear. “It’ll knock you on your ass for sure and leave a mark, but you’ll live.”
Huh, maybe I could stand to make a new friend .
I stuff my combat boots and my tactical thigh and back holsters with throwing knives and a couple of handguns, and I get to strap two heavy arms to my body—ones provided by Yulia that I am unfamiliar with, which are light in weight yet high caliber. Then we load up several vehicles and head to our private airstrip.
Monte, Ezzo, and a sizeable crew are already assembled there. We quickly file into the plane, filling it to capacity. If we were to crash, the cargo we’re hauling could potentially blow up an entire country.
“It’s him again,” Monte says, handing his phone over.
“What’s going on?” I ask as soon as the phone touches my ear.
“They have him in custody and on their way to the location,” Komodo says.
“Just him?”
“That I know of, yes.”
“And same location?”
“Yes, there hasn’t been a change from what I’ve intercepted.”
“Okay. Call if you hear anything else.”
“Be safe, little one.”
“I will.”
When I hang up, I face the two-dozen pair of eyes on me. “They have him.” Everyone mumbles their curses under their breath and my nostrils flare as I contain my rage. “Look. I’m not going to lie. They captured Massimo to try to draw us out. They knew we’d come for him, and they’ll sick the Russian assassin on us and lot of people will die.”
“Are you talking about the prizak ?” One of the Russians speaks up and I look at him in question. “ Ghost . Some call it the ghost though it goes by many names.”
“It?” Paolo asks.
“No one knows their identity,” another Russian says. “Only that they’ve seen long raven hair from under their hood.”
“It won’t matter though. Word has it, the assassin has gone rogue, and Sergei Petrov is ripping through the country to find them.”
“Sergei Petrov?” I ask in shock.
“Yes, your old boss,” the first Russian says, his tone dripping with accusation.
“Sergei Petrov is the head of The Organization?” A bunch of us ask in unison.
“ Da .” Yes . He nods.
Sergei Petrov. His name and his family are no secret. It’s fascinating to think of how well he hid not only his connection to The Organization, but his ownership of it.
And if it’s true that his trusty assassin is going rogue on him, we might not actually die trying to save Massimo after all.