Forty
Watching my mother when she entered, she didn’t look at my father until the last possible second and not for long. My father’s eyes have yet to leave her. All anyone can do is watch and wonder how this will play out. Wonder if this is the calm before the storm.
I clear my throat, not waiting to get everyone’s attention before I speak again. “As I said before, my mother made her grand entrance.” I give her a wink, and she gives me the stink eye. “I’m sure you are wondering why my mother didn’t know or notify you that the second contract would be in play sooner than she did. Relax, she was not being a cold vindictive bitch, that I can promise you.” My eyes connect with my father’s and Taz’s, and then I sweep the room to ensure everyone understands my words.
“Simply put, they hid the information well, even from our person inside. My mother only discovered this information after my grandfather found it. As you may or may not know, Mafia families are incredibly secretive in their dealings. They’re not always up with the times or make moves and communicate in ways that can be easily traced.” I say deadpan.
“Beverly, her father, and Rossi's deal are as underhanded as they come. As I have said before, transferring a marriage contract is not unheard of, and they are hard to get out of, but to go to this extreme, there has to be more to it than we currently know. Trading and selling their daughters to further alliances and gain power is nothing new. What is new and unheard of is to bring in an outsider. To bring in a daughter unfamiliar with the family and their ways. A daughter connected to one of the country's largest and most feared MCs. That is what I think they are after. I believe this alliance is about the club and always has been.” My eyes connect with my father’s, hoping he understands my meaning.
My father sits in his chair, leaning forward, eyes still on my mother’s even though hers are not on his. Watching and waiting for her to look at him, but she doesn’t. And when he realizes this, he speaks up, forcing her eyes back on him, “So, what is the plan, Savvy?”
The room remains silent as everyone waits for my mother to speak up. She slowly takes a breath, eyes shifting to look at my father intently. She may fool him with the blank, unaffected look, but she isn’t fooling me. I see the sadness in her eyes that has me looking away from her. Turning back after the intense silence. A flash of something I can’t understand is in my mother’s eyes before she speaks.
“Call her.”
“Call her?” My father stares at my mother with confusion.
“Yes,” my mother deadpans.
The two continue to stare intently at one another for a long moment. So much is being said between them. All I know is that I do not want to be in either of their heads. This shit stresses me the fuck out.
Taz, who always seems to know what to do, where to be, and what to say, squeezes my shoulder. Not painful, but in support. Is it weird that this man I have spent less than forty-eight hours with knows me?! He understands my needs and wants better than anyone else ever has. My family knows me, but Taz knows me in a way that is just different. I take a breath at the realization that is what I want to be for him. I want to be someone who knows, understands, and is there for him. My mother wasn’t wrong; I am a girl in love. Well, shit, I didn’t see that shit coming. I’m snapped out of my thoughts when my father's deep, raspy voice pipes up.
“Well, all right,” he smacks a hand down on the table and nods.
My father takes out his phone and places it on the table. He stares at me for a minute, then back up to my mother, who nods. Pulling up Beverly’s number, he puts the call through on speaker. The phone rings once and then goes to voicemail. My mother chuckles, and my father looks furious. Before my father can try again, my mother speaks up.
“Blaze, honey, can you do that thing… where you call her on your computer but make it look like it is from a different number?” my mother says with a smirk on her face. And everyone stares at her in confusion. Everyone but the club’s tech guy, Spider. He chuckles and lets out a guffaw, and my mother looks at him in amusement. “That old tired bitch is playing games. She has to know you know more now. After her husband's henchmen came after my children and lost. She wants to pretend like she has the power, sending you to voicemail like she is too important and so busy running an empire, bitch please.” My mother cuts off her rambling when she sees the humor in my father’s eyes as he watches her. With a shake of her head, she takes a breath. “She may not know what you know, but she wants control. She is too stupid to know she entered the lion's den and is dealing with a lioness now, but she will,” my mother smirks, and it turns into a blinding smile. “She is banking on you being frantic and clueless. Hoping that you’ll do what you MC men love to do and play the club above all cards. Keeping everything from your daughter, ultimately handing her over to keep the piece. She will ignore you and manipulate her. Trust me on that.” Without a word, my brother opens his laptop and looks up at my mother, waiting for directions. Staring at my father, my mother says.
“Call her from Princess’ phone.”
My brother snorts. Shaking his head, he types, doing what she asks. Everyone watches and listens intently, wondering what her game is. Blaze pushes the computer toward our mother once the phone rings, and Beverly answers, as predicted. My mother looks at my father with a raised brow and a triumphant smile.
Beverly’s voice comes from the computer speakers, “Hello, my dear. I’ve been calling you and texting you for days. I don’t understand what your father is thinking, trying to keep me away from my children and trying to turn you against me. Your brothers barely speak to me. You know I love you, don’t you, darling? I know you won’t come to me like I asked because of him. He is a bitter and jealous son of a bitch. He’s so upset that I’m happily married and moved on from him and that wretched town and his low-rent club,” the venom in her voice and her rambling give more away than she may think. Beverly is laying it on thick because she’s desperate.
Prez holds his hands up because he can see the angry faces surrounding us and the air change in the room. The brothers are seconds from losing their shit. They aren’t alone in that. But it’s my mother’s face that I latch onto. The smile on her face is mischievous, and her eyes glitter. And she genuinely looks excited.
“…When can I see you, darling? I miss you terribly. I want to introduce you to some friends. There is a young man… his name is Marco, and I think you would adore him. He and his father are wealthy and powerful men and have stayed with us while they visit from Italy. Isn’t that lovely, dear? That Marco is so handsome and is such a fine young man. His father Dominique and your stepfather Alessandro are good friends and business partners.”
Has the bitch even taken a breath? Damn, she is giving us everything. I hold in my snort that so badly wants to come out. Looking around, I see I’m not alone when I see angry and disgusted faces staring at the computer in disbelief. Yeah, business partners, like her kids don’t know he’s mafia. Does she think her kids are five and clueless? This woman is laying it on fucking thick. Tuning back into her bullshit.
“…They and I think the two of you, you and Marco, would hit it off, maybe even date. I’ve heard that… some not-so-good things are going on there, and I want to get you away from those people and their dangerous lives.” She sounds oh so concerned now. And I have to bite the inside of my cheek to not call her out on her bullshit.
Fuck, this bitch is manipulative as fuck. I want to scream. You are the reason. You crazy, delusional psychopathic bitch are the reason for the not-so-good things going on around here. I catch Blaze's eyes as he stares at me with utter disbelief.
Oh, but the bitch isn’t done. She has yet to take a breath. “You, my darling, are above them. I said things I shouldn’t have the other day out of frustration and anger. But it was because I worried about you and what that club and that lifestyle would do to you. It nearly destroyed me, he nearly destroyed me, and I don’t want that for you. I would never hurt your father. I may not like the man, but he is still your father, and I respect your relationship.” she says.
She doesn’t even sound remotely convincing. She cuts herself off because we all heard the lies she’s telling. I’m sure Princess would also have if she were on the phone. Beverly sighs and still keeps fucking going. When the fuck will this woman shut the fuck up? My eyes widen because, damn.
“I want what is best for you, my darling daughter, and getting away from those people is best. Your brothers cannot be saved. That much has been made clear by how awful they’ve been treating me, but you can. Tell me you will come to me. Tell me you will listen to what your mother thinks is best for you?” The bitch is almost good, almost.
My eyes shift and focus on my brothers. Chase’s and Preston’s eyes are swimming with anger. Beneath the anger, there is betrayal. They feel betrayed by the woman who gave them life, a woman willing to give up on them because they weren’t willing to toe the line of deceit for her. Their words about taking her outcome back to me, and I know now that it is warranted to feel like they do.
My focus returns to the call when I hear Beverly giggle, digging her grave with every word she speaks and manipulation she concocts. She has been slowly but surely digging her grave for twenty-plus years. When Beverly finally takes a breath, giving who she assumes her daughter time to respond, my mother sits up in her seat and speaks.
“Hello, Beverly, it’s been a long time.” My mother doesn’t wait for a response or reaction. “And well, darling. You and I must discuss personal responsibility and what happens when you meddle in other people's lives.” My mother deadpans, which results in complete silence on the other end of the phone.
“Who… who is this?” Beverly stutters over her words, causing my mother to smile wider.
“That’s right, we haven’t been formally introduced, but you are familiar with me. You and your family have been having me…” My mother chuckles dryly. “Well… you have had a version of me followed for over twenty years. Surely you know who I am.” My mother sits and waits. And we all hear the quick intake of breath.
Sucking her teeth. “Before you decide to do something silly like hang up, I want to introduce myself to you formally. My name is Svetlana Petrov. I’m sure you have heard of me because you and your husband are a part of my world, and he…” My mother cuts herself off, which is intentional. She looks at me and winks because she catches the sly smile on my face and recognizes that I know what she is doing.
“Sorry, I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself. Let me first give you my thanks before I finish this brief introduction. It was your interference in my life that has made me into who I am now, which is a very wealthy and well-connected woman. So thank you for that, Beverly Ferrari. Oh darling, I know your mind is probably reeling, so I will spell it out for you. I’m also called something else. Many in our world call me…” She pauses, because why not be dramatic? “The Widow Maker. And if you ask your husband about me, I’m sure he’ll curse my name because I’ve caused considerable losses and connections in his legitimate and not-so-legitimate businesses.” My mother snickers. She is enjoying this way too much. “Which is all because of… you.” She sings songs. My mother pauses, listening to Beverly sputter and stutter, unable to get a coherent word out. When we hear shuffling, a male voice comes over the line.
My mother’s voice becomes smug, “Hello, Alessandro, my dear. You were told not to back that horse, but you did it anyway, and now you and your family must deal with the consequences.” my mother says as she reaches for the computer and then.
Click.
Everyone looks between my mother and father, shock evident on their faces. My mother sits back in her chair with a satisfied smile. I’m so proud and in awe of her, which is not a rarity. It’s just a beautiful thing to watch my mother work. She is always several steps ahead of her target. My brother and I may have just recently been brought into this situation. But my mother has always been playing the long game.
“Savvy?” My father looks at my mother in question.
“She needed to know that you are not alone in this. And that you have never been alone. That her actions will not go unpunished. None of their actions will.” Her eyes soften as she looks into my father’s. The message is heard when my father gives her a jerky nod. “Gunner, she needs to know that she helped to create a monster. A monster that goes bump in the night. And that monster is no longer lying in wait and is coming for her, for all of them. She owes me a debt.”
My mother has a look of determination and contentment on her face. She has an opportunity to put an end to the woman who took the life she was meant to lead, and she is more than willing to take it.
Her eyes remain on my father. “The call to her and Alessandro was to inform them who you have on your side. It will have him trying to save face and her scrambling to keep her position. Desperation will claw at them, but it will cause her to make rash and stupid decisions. Decisions will get her right where I want her to be, where I need her to be. I have studied your ex-wife thoroughly over the years. I’ve watched how she moves and who she moves with. She’s always going to end up here. She was always going to find a way out of your marriage and become the wife to a Don of her choosing. That was and has always been her goal, and selling your daughter off is simply another power play and a way to get out of her contract with the Rossi's scot-free. She didn’t plan on you being a devoted father and me being, well… me. I’ll give her an hour before she contacts Princess. Ferraris are at their wit's end with Beverly and with this new information that I dropped in Alexandros’s lap. She will scramble to make things happen sooner than later.”
“I don’t think… Savvy. Those motherfuckers sent their little mafia fuckers after our son, your daughter, and their cousins. You may have told them who you are, but despite that, do you think…” he says, trailing off.
“I know that, but I also know that’s all the help she would get from them, especially now. The Ferraris want power from this marriage, yes. And it would look good for them, but unlike the Berlusconi’s, they are not fond of war no matter how much they puff out their chests. Most of their businesses are legitimate. And with the legitimacy comes the need to stay under the radar and out of the limelight, off Twitter and the gram out of the news. A war with you and me would not be in their best interests. I am the Widow Maker, a rumored top member of a secret organization that so many clammers to gain membership into. So when I say to fuck off, you fuck off. I’m on your side, Gunner. I have always been on your side. They will throw her ass under the bus faster than you can say. I regret my decision to choose her.” My mother smirks at my father. And his face closes down, but not before I see the regret in his eyes. My mother chuckles and sends him a wink. Standing from her chair, she gracefully takes two steps over to my father, and he watches her.
I’ve seen my father's hands twitch a few times, and I know it's from his need and want to touch my mother, to finally, after so many years, hold the love of his life in his arms and beg for her forgiveness. I don’t know how I know, but even if they have been apart all these years, they are like Taz and I, magnets being pulled to each other. It is going to be interesting to see what happens with them. If there is any mushy shit, I’m out of here. No child should ever see that shit.
“Come, Gunner. We need to talk.” Smiling at him, she moves to the door behind him that leads to his office, but he doesn't move at first.
She looks back at him. He shifts in his chair to watch her. “There is nothing we can do until they make their move. A hundred men and women are here at my back. They cannot enter this compound. Your daughter and club are safe. Trust me on that.” my mother says as she opens and walks through the door, leaving it open.
My father stays seated and stares at the open. I walk over to him, bending down to look into his eyes and say what needs to be said,
“Dad, my mother is a hard person. She hasn’t been your Savvy for a long time, but your Savvy’s not completely lost to you. She is still there; this is her reaching out and giving you an olive branch. This is your chance to say all the things you want to say. This is your moment of truth. Your Savvy may have been broken and rebuilt, but you can fill in all the cracks and give her what she has been missing all these years.” His eyes search mine, and I don’t know why I’m saying all this. Maybe it is because I am where I am in my life. I don’t know. But I know they deserve to figure their shit out.
Sighing. “You’ve shown us you are a better man, a smarter man, a stronger man, and a man willing to fight. So fight for her, fight to make her whole again. Only you can.” I lean down and kiss him on the cheek. When I stand and look around, I realize nearly everyone is gone. Only Taz, my three brothers, and my sister, Sin, remain. Looking back at my father.
“FYI, I’m pissed at you for bruising my man up.” Which makes him chuckle and stand from his seat.
“Daughter, monitor that wayward sister of yours. She will most definitely play the martyr. You know what to do if she does.” my mother yells out from the room, and my father looks between me and the open door with furrowed brows. Finally deciding, he enters his office and closes the door behind him.
“It is taking everything in me not to march in there,” Blaze says.
“This has to be done; they need this, and it is not for us to choose for them. You know how our mother has been. The two of them have lost twenty years. They’ve been getting by and not living. They deserve to live, Blaze. I don’t think their talk will be as easy as either of us may think. Also, dear brother, she will not make this easy on him. But we will because we are both their children.” My brother looks at me with skepticism. He is fighting his need to protect our mother from hurt, and I get that. I understand that and feel it, too, but they need this.
“Fucking hell, you get a man, and suddenly, you are sappy and girly as hell. Zero out of ten would not recommend it. That is all I have to say about that.” Everyone chuckles as we leave the room, heading toward the main room to sit and wait.
Turning back, I look at the door my parents are behind, and my brother isn’t wrong. Taz has turned me into team love. Because I know they deserve their slice of happiness, I don’t want to be around to watch it. Because ewe gross.