Chapter 38 Adrian
Adrian
The warehouse smells like piss and blood and fear.
Gabe is exactly where I left him. Chained to a support beam with filth staining his pants. The leg wound from when my men shot him is festering, red and angry around the edges.
I made sure of that.
Treated it just enough to keep it from killing him, but not enough to make him comfortable.
He looks up when I enter. His face is gaunt. Pale. Dark circles under bloodshot eyes.
Good.
I might have agreed not to kill him, but that doesn't mean I need to give him five-star accommodations. I want the bastard to suffer. My wife can't take our son home because he's still on oxygen, the least Gabe can do is sit in fear.
"Adrian—" His voice is hoarse. He's been fed and watered minimally. Frankly, prison will probably be a breeze in comparison to how he's been treated—if he can avoid the Russians that will target him. Something tells me he will.
Gabriel Romano seems to have nine lives.
As I walk towards him, he tries to shrink back but the chains won't let him and fear flashes across his face.
"Please, I told you where she was. I helped—"
"You helped after you kidnapped her. After you drugged her. After you endangered my son." I crouch down in front of him. Close enough to smell his terror and piss. "Do you know what happened to her?"
He swallows hard. "Is she—"
"She almost died. Emergency C-section. Placental abruption from the trauma you put her through.
" My voice is ice. "Our son was born seven weeks early.
He's in the NICU." I close my eyes. "Sera couldn't hold him until yesterday, and even then, she needed gloves and a gown.
Do you know what it is like for a mother to not be able to touch her child's skin? "
"I didn't mean—"
"You cut off part of her ear." I pull out my knife. The same one I used on dozens of men. Clean. Sharp. Efficient. "Eye for an eye, Gabriel. That's how this works."
His eyes go wide. "No, wait! Adrian, please—"
I grab his head, holding it still. He's screaming. Thrashing. But the chains hold.
I position the knife against his ear. The same ear. The same angle.
"Please! Please, I'm sorry—"
The blade is sharp. It takes less pressure than you'd think to slice it off cleanly, and when I do, his scream echoes off the warehouse walls.
I stand, wiping the blade on his shirt, dropping the piece of flesh. His won't be getting reattached like Sera's. He can live with the deformity.
He's sobbing. Hands trying to reach his ear, but the chains won't let him. "You're a monster—"
"Yes." I look him in the eyes. "I am."
"She'll leave you." His voice is thick with pain and hate. "She's kind. Good. She's not built for your world. Eventually she'll see what you really are, and she'll run. If she's smart, she'll leave the kid behind."
I laugh.
"She won't." I'm certain of that. "She'll never leave. She loves me and loves our son."
"She'll see, eventually. I might have been wrong, but with you, she'll always be in danger."
I grab his face. "She'll never be in danger," I squeeze, and he screams. "I'm her monster now, and anyone who wants to live will steer clear of her."
I push his head to the side.
He's sobbing, shaking, and pathetic. "Just kill me," he says. "Get it over with."
I shake my head. "I'm not going to kill you. Your sister decided to spare your life."
His eyes go wide, and I can already see the wheels turning.
"You'll never see her again," I tell him. "Never contact her. Never speak her name. If you do, I'll kill you. Slowly. Painfully. In ways that make this—" I gesture to his bleeding ear, "—look like mercy. Understand?"
He just glares at me. Defiant even now. Dumbass.
"The feds are waiting for you. You'll go to prison. Probably for the rest of your pathetic life. But you'll be alive." I stand. "That's more than you deserve."
"What about Artem?" Gabe's voice is strained. "What about Alexei? They're still out there. Still a threat. Alexei wants your territory."
"Not your concern."
Gabe is panicking. He knows that prison is his best shot, but he's a rat, and he'll do whatever he can to gnaw his way free.
"Artem said something. When I first went to him," Gabe leans his head back against the beam. "About Sera."
My jaw tightens. "What did he say?"
"That she reminded him of someone he knew.
" Gabe's laugh is bitter. "He watched her, you know.
For weeks. At the bookstore. Said she was kind.
Gentle. That she didn't belong in this world.
" I chuckle slightly. "I thought he was going to turn on me, take her, and disappear.
He looked at her like he wanted to save her. "
Ice floods my veins. "He watched her?"
"That's how he knew where to find her. How to plan the extraction." Gabe meets my eyes. "He was careful about it. Professional. But something about her…"
I file that information away. Artem Orlov has an interest in my wife. A personal interest.
That's a problem.
A huge one.
"Do you know the story between him and Alexei?" I ask.
Gabe shakes his head. "No. Artem didn't share. Just said Alexei owed him. That using me to draw him out was perfect." He pauses. "Whatever it is, it's personal. Deep. The kind of grudge that doesn't end."
Gabe takes a deep breath. "That's good though, right? That info? I can get more. I'm good at stuff like that."
I roll my eyes.
"Get him out of here," I tell my men. "Hand him over to the feds and make sure they understand the terms."
"Adrian!"
"Yes, sir."
I don't look back as I walk out. Don't watch as they unchain him. Don't care about his protests or pleas or curses.
Gabriel Romano is done. Finished. No longer a threat.
One problem solved.
A hundred more waiting.
When I meet Sera at the hospital later, she sees the blood under my nails. Doesn't ask. Just takes my hand and holds it while we watch our son sleep.
One week later, we bury my mother.
The cemetery is cold and gray. Appropriate for a woman who lived her life in shades of ice.
All three of the major families are here. Nero. Morozov. Marini. Soldiers lined up in their best suits. Paying respects to a woman who ruled this city for twenty years.
The service was at the church. Long. Formal. Full of empty words about faith and redemption and peace.
Bianca would have enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of it all. She would have liked seeing all these powerful men bow their heads in respect to her.
There's solace in that.
She's probably laughing up from hell at how she'd managed to bring all these powerful men to their knees.
I stand at the front of her grave watching detachedly as they lower her into the ground.
Sera is beside me. She's still recovering, but she insisted on being here.
My wife. Supporting me even when she can barely stand. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying to earn her.
Luc is on my other side. Gemma next to him. Both in black. Both silent.
We haven't had time to talk about what all of this means. Between Sera, Angelo, and taking over as Don, I've been stretched thin.
And yet, my siblings remain at my side, showing a united front as the other families watch us.
I don't cry. Don't show emotion. Just stand there as they lower her into the ground.
She made me what I am. For better or worse.
And now she's gone.
Antonio Marini approaches first, shaking my hands and offering me condolences. He asks about Angelo, a small smile on his face.
"He's thriving," I tell him. "Strong. Should be home soon."
"Good. Family is everything." His eyes are sharp. Assessing. "Your mother understood that. I trust you will too."
He won't come right out and say it, but I know he's trying to see where I stand with our alliance.
"These things are more important than ever." He glances behind me, at the Russians. "Especially, as the sharks begin to circle."
"I do." I give him what he needs, and he nods, stepping aside to allow the next family to approach.
It's Alexei.
"She was a formidable woman," he says. "Ruthless. Strategic. She kept the peace through fear and respect." He pauses. "Can you do the same?"
This is a challenge.
"Yes."
"We'll see." He glances at Sera. "Congratulations on your son. I hear he's a fighter."
"He is." Her expression is blank.
"Good. He'll need to be." Alexei moves away.
The balance has shifted. The alliances are fragile. Everything Bianca built could collapse if I'm not careful.
But I'm not Bianca.
I'm something else.
She made sure of that.
The crowd begins to disperse, and Sera winces as she moves slightly. I take her in my arms.
"Luc is going to take you home."
She shakes her head. "I want to go see Angelo." I know she does, and it breaks my heart. He should be home with us, not stuck to machines, but Sera needs rest, and I tell her as much.
I expect her to argue with me, but I can see the pain and exhaustion today has brought her, and instead, we compromise. I will go see our son, and she will return home. I kiss her softly preparing to wrap up.
I turn to leave, my sister steps into my path.
"Adrian." Her voice is tight. "We need to talk."
"Not here."
"Yes, here." She glances around. "You're Don now," she says, as though I need a reminder. "You can break my engagement."
I pull her aside, away from prying ears.
"Gemma, don't—"
"Adrian—"
I knew this was coming. Antonio did as well, which is why he approached me. I was hoping Gemma would keep her head on straight, would see why her marriage was more important than ever.
"You know what the answer is, Gem," I tell her, running a hand through my hair. "I can't—"
Her face crumples. "Why? Bianca arranged this. Bianca forced this. But she's gone now. You don't have to follow her plans. We don't have to."
I close my eyes briefly. I love my sister, but she's right. I'm Don now. I put that love away, in a box, because I need my sister to understand that I am not just her brother, I'm her boss.
"I'm not following her plans. I'm making my own." I keep my voice low. Hard. "The Marini alliance is critical. Especially now. I need their support. Their resources. The Morozovs are circling."
"The Morozovs?" she shakes her head. "Luc told me that you worked with Alexei."
"That was one time, and it was barely an alliance," I tell her. "He's gunning for territory. He wants to replace me, and the families might consider it. I need Marini support."
Her mouth opens and closes, as though she isn't sure what to say. "So, you're selling me. Just like our mother."
"I'm securing our family's future." I meet her eyes. "You'll marry Saint. You'll strengthen the alliance. And you'll do it because that's what's required," I shake my head. "It's already been agreed upon Gemma. There are contracts in place. If we break—"
But she doesn't hear anything but the no, and I can see it in her eyes.
"I hate you." Tears are streaming down her face now. "I hate you so much."
"I know."
"You're just like her. Just as cold. Just as ruthless."
"Yes." I don't deny it. "And that's what this family needs. What Angelo needs. What Sera needs."
She's breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face.
"What about what I need?"
I've never understood my mother more.
"You need to play your part."
She stares at me. Hatred and desperation warring in her eyes.
Something twists in my chest. It’s the same feeling I had when she was five and scraped her knee, when I picked her up and promised nothing would ever hurt her. I'm the one hurting her now.
But I push it down. Lock it away with everything else I can't afford to feel.
"That's not enough," she says.
"It's all I'm offering."
She stares at me. Hatred and desperation warring in her eyes. I expect her to rail at me. Cuss me out or cause a scene.
But I watch as something dies in my sister. Her eyes dim slightly, and before I can say another word, she turns and walks away.
Leo appears beside me. He has made a full recovery. Thankfully. I need him at my side. "That was harsh."
"It was necessary."
"She's your sister."
"She's a Nero. That comes with responsibilities." I watch Gemma disappear into the crowd. "She'll understand eventually."
"Will she?"
Maybe. Maybe not.
But it doesn't matter. What is done is done. We all have our parts to play, and this is Gemma's.
I look out at the cemetery. At the families watching. At the soldiers waiting for orders.
This is my world now. My responsibility. My burden.
And I'll carry it.
Because that's what Dons do.
They protect what's theirs. They make the hard choices. They sacrifice whoever they have to.
Even family.
Leo and I walk to the car. Away from the grave. Away from Bianca's ghost.
I will ensure the future of my family. Whatever it costs.
I'll protect them. Always. Not because I promised—promises can be broken. But because that's who I am now. What I've become.
And anyone who threatens them will learn exactly what kind of monster I've made myself into.