Chapter 31
ROMAN
That morning marked the start of a new chapter of my life. A new phase of fighting, one like I’d never experienced before.
Instead of negotiating for deals and to restructure plans with enemies, government officials, or suppliers, I was strategizing how to bring an end to Amber’s suffering. To subtract the possibility of Willian Rossen ever making her worry again.
After she confided in me, Emily woke up. Henry wasn’t too far behind her. Both of us shelved the topic while we changed their diapers and fed them. Working as partners, like usual, we prioritized them and got them situated for the morning.
But once they were in their bouncer chairs and smiling, I got dressed and began to leave.
“I’m going to meet with Uncle Mikhail,” I told her.
“To talk about…” She furrowed her brow, unable to finish the question.
“To talk about the asshole who thinks he can control a single second of your future,” I replied gravely.
She nodded and bit her lip, looking unsure about my taking the conversation to someone else.
“Look, I know it wasn’t easy for you to tell me about that, but I am glad you did.
That you could trust me with your secret.
But I can’t handle this on my own. I don’t want to, because if I let my anger get the best of me and I go rogue to take him down by myself, I risk setting up more problems and inviting more danger to my family. ”
She lowered her gaze, but I caught her chin and tipped it up. The sad expression on her beautiful face ripped my heart in two.
“I’m not saying that you are a threat to us. But I need to go about this accordingly to avoid unnecessarily causing more war.”
“Thank you,” she replied timidly.
I kissed her forehead and turned to go.
Uncle Mikhail and Andre were already together at my uncle’s office. When I got there, I texted Sergei to come, too.
Uncle Mikhail, Andre, and I spent the time waiting for Sergei wisely.
They updated me with news about what happened yesterday.
Maxim, the driver, was fine. He was only sedated and knocked out, not harmed.
They asked about how Amber and the twins were coping, and I was vague about that.
They also confirmed that the cleanup was going well.
“I’ve been waiting to talk to you about how we should go about retaliating,” Uncle Mikhail said.
“You were busy with them last night. But this morning, we need to plan an attack to teach Niko Popov the lesson he didn’t learn last time.
That no one takes one of our own.” His furious glare didn’t cool as my brother entered the room.
“That’s precisely what I’m here to talk about.” I nodded at my brother as a greeting while he took a seat.
“Amber opened up to me last night about her connection with the Popovs. With Willaim Rossen,” I said. “And this morning, she explained even more.”
Careful not to leave out any pertinent details, I shared with them all what she’d told me. How he’d adopted her, how his friend or associate had raped her. Then how William had been holding her all this time for when his buddy was paroled and able to finish the transaction for Amber.
They weren’t shocked, not with all the news we’d been hearing about the Popovs getting more elaborate with their trafficking schemes.
In the end, though, it wasn’t clear what we could do without invoking war.
“Rossen’s been involved with them for decades,” Uncle Mikhail said. “If we take a hit on him, Niko will declare all-out war.”
I nodded. With how the family was expanding, a full-out war was the last thing we wanted or needed. We’d just gone hard on the Giovanni Family not that long ago.
“Who’s this ‘friend’ who is supposed to get Amber?” Andre asked, tapping on his phone.
“She doesn’t know,” I replied.
“Doesn’t know or doesn’t want to say?” Sergei asked.
“I don’t think she knows,” I said. “But I can ask. I think she understands that I will help her and solve this situation, but I need all the details I can get to do so.”
“We’ll look into this,” Uncle Mikhail decided in the end. “She can’t leave the building.”
I huffed wryly. “I doubt she’ll want to after what happened yesterday.”
He nodded. “While we try to figure out how to address this, she will be safest in your building.”
We discussed it for hours, and I was glad that none of them put me on the spot and asked me if I was sure about this. Sure about her. Getting emotions mixed into this was the last thing I wanted to put up with. We didn’t talk about them. We got things done, instead.
After I left there, though, feeling confident that my family was standing with me as we explored options, I headed back toward my building. Lorne accompanied me in my office when I came back and found Amber napping on the couch and the twins resting in their cribs.
That was how I continued on the crusade. With my assistant and a tech specialist who’d comb through records and hack into whatever we needed access to. Finding out who was supposed to “get” Amber was an imperative step of a permanent solution.
William Rossen would be a challenge because the Popovs protected him. But Niko Popov had been asking for trouble too, getting in our business at all. Bottom line, anyone who threatened my flesh and blood would answer for it. And that was twice, now, that his men had scared my son and daughter.
But taking care of this supposed buyer or friend of William’s was necessary.
I couldn’t let any man on the face of this earth think that he could buy Amber. That he was expected to complete a transaction for her after he’d raped her.
“Hey, I think it's a solid plan,” Lorne said after he proposed something, holding his hands up as he shrugged. “You go through the prison records, find the fucker, and we arrange a hit from inside. Maybe after someone roughs him up. You know how they treat pedos behind bars.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Give him the same kinda treatment he gave—” He scowled, shaking his head and cutting himself off. He couldn’t even say the words, so enraged about what Amber had suffered so long ago. “Better yet, maybe I can handle that hit myself,” he growled.
“One way or another, his days are limited.” I didn’t care who William was in business with. No party, no career, no government or country could protect the asshole who’d raped the sweet woman I wanted to keep forever.
Sergei entered after knocking, letting himself in. “Looks like word’s spreading fast,” he announced as he closed the door behind him. “One of the spies near the Popov turf heard some things earlier.”
“Yeah?” I raised my brows at him. It would’ve been weird if they weren’t talking after I’d killed two of their dumbasses who’d taken Amber and the twins with that carjacking incident. “What’s the word on the street?”
My brother’s face was cold as he turned to me. “The word is that William is getting impatient with the Popovs trying to get him his ‘daughter’ back. He intends to get more direct. Because he ‘bought’ her and she belongs to him.”
I huffed one dark bark of laughter. “Stupid fucking…” I twisted my lips, so enraged I couldn’t even speak. Flames of red-hot fury coursed through my veins.
Amber did not belong to the creep fucker who’d adopted her and had done so only to abuse and take advantage of her having no one.
She belongs to me.
“That will never happen.” I let my lips curl in disgust as I envisioned killing him with my bare hands.
Anything. I would do anything and everything to secure her happiness and well-being after all she’d gone through and after all she’d been able to do for me.
Like lighting me up with completion and love.
That darling redhead of mine would go back to William Rossen over my dead body.