Chapter 33
ADRIANA
It feels like a lifetime has passed even though it’s only been three days.
Three days of ignoring Lochlan’s calls. Three days of deleting his voicemails. Three days of watching his texts pile up on my phone, each one more desperate than the last.
Please let me explain.
I know you’re angry. You have every right to be.
Just give me five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.
I love you, Adriana. That was never a lie.
I delete them all.
The emails are longer. There are paragraphs of explanation, of apologies, of promises he has no right to make. I delete those, too.
But he’s relentless, I’ll give him that. He switches tactics and starts sending handwritten letters, delivered through Jayne because DiMicheli security has orders to turn him away from any building where I might be. Jayne brings them to me, watching as they stack up on my desk.
“Are you going to read them?” she asks.
I glare at the pile. “Just looking at them makes my heart ache. I can’t imagine what reading them would do.”
“Maybe it might help heal you,” she says with a shrug. “Give you some closure.”
But I don’t want closure. I’m fucking angry. At him, yes. But mostly at myself. And reading all of those letters will only make me angrier.
My head falls into my hands. I believed him. I let myself fall in love with him.
Stupid. So goddamn stupid.
The worst part is, I still love him. Even now, knowing what I do, some pathetic part of me wants to believe it was real. That the way he looked at me, the way he touched me, the way he said my name… that couldn’t all have been an act.
But I can’t trust my own judgment anymore. I trusted Vincenzo, too, and look where that got me.
So I let out a shuddering sigh and click on a client email because I don’t have the luxury of falling to pieces over a man. I have an empire to run.
Word about the warehouse war spread to the capos pretty quickly.
They know about Vincenzo and Riccardo, too.
But now, a few days afterward, they need to hear from me.
In between trying to save my company, struggling with heartbreak, and visiting my dad, I needed some time to gather my thoughts and figure out a strategy for how to handle the fallout.
I can’t tell my dad yet. He’s in too fragile a state. And besides that, the betrayal would crush him. That would break my heart.
I decide to hold the meeting in my father’s office at the house. No formality. Just truth. Once they all file in and sit around the desk, I take a seat in his chair, behind the desk, and steeple my fingers.
I examine each and every one of their faces. I see some skepticism, a little suspicion, and a lot of concern. Rightly so. The head of the family was almost killed not too long ago, and the interim head was kidnapped, drugged, and duped by a man they saw as a leader and ally.
But as I look between them, I also see slivers of respect in their tense expressions. And it gives me hope.
“Thank you for coming,” I say. “I’ll keep this short. I know you’re all busy, but there’s a lot to discuss, especially about how we move forward after these attacks. I want to be transparent with you about my plans.”
I lay it all out for them… Vincenzo’s betrayal. Eamon’s manipulation and power grab, the alliance with the Kozlovs that almost killed my dad and nearly crippled our organization.
“Vincenzo is dead,” I say, resting my hands on the top of the desk. “Eamon Molloy disappeared during the firefight at the warehouse. And the marriage contract with Lochlan Molloy is being dissolved.” My heart cracks at that last part.
A few of them exchange looks. I grit my teeth and keep talking.
“Until my father is well enough to take over, I’ll be running things as I have for the past couple of months.” I lift an eyebrow and scan their faces for any sign of disagreement. “If anyone has a problem with that arrangement, speak now.”
The silence is deafening.
DiMarco clears his throat. “What about the Kozlovs? They’re not going to just walk away without what they were promised.”
“Well, the person who made the promises didn’t own what he was offering. And so now, we need to come up with another solution, a way to work with the Russians without resorting to violence. And I’m handling it.”
“Handling it how?”
“I’ve requested a meeting with Viktor Kozlov to discuss how we can peacefully coexist here in Boston. We’ll negotiate terms that work for both sides.”
Fiorentino leans forward. “You’re going to negotiate with the people who tried to kill you?”
“I’m going to do whatever I can to protect this family. The Kozlovs wanted an alliance. Vincenzo and Eamon promised them one. Now both of those men are out of the picture, and the Kozlovs are left with nothing. They can either accept my new terms or prepare for a turf war.”
“And if they choose war?”
“Then we’ll be ready.” I let that hang in the air for a minute.
Judging by their faces, they don’t like it any more than I do, which is good because it means I’ll get their support to fix this shit show.
“But I don’t think they will. Viktor Kozlov is a businessman.
He understands that a war costs money, resources, and lives.
If I offer him something worth more long term, he’ll take it. ”
“Good luck,” DiMarco says with a nod. “We’re here if and when you need us.”
The rest of the capos mutter and nod their agreement.
I smile for the first time today. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
I blow out a breath after the last capo leaves the office and sit back against the cool leather of my dad’s chair. I swing the chair around and stare out the window at the sun shining bright in the clear blue sky.
One down. One to go.
But first, there’s someone I need to see.
My father is already up when I get to the hospital.
He smiles when he sees me. “Tesoro.”
“Hey, Dad,” I say, rushing over to give him a kiss on the forehead. The trach tube is gone, although his voice is still rough and weak. He still looks small and fragile against the stark white hospital sheets, but he gets stronger every day, and the doctors are all happy with his progress.
“Adriana.” His voice is barely above a whisper. “Luna told me... what happened.”
“I know she told you some of it.” I take his hand, cradling it with my other one, his skin cool and papery against mine. “But I need to tell you the rest.”
My heart shudders at the sadness in his eyes when I rehash all of the details of his closest friend’s betrayal.
“Vincenzo…” he says, his voice breaking. “How could he…?”
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I still can’t wrap my head around all of it,” I say.
“He was lying to us all for years. Smiling to our faces while he drove knives through our backs with that Eamon arrangement.” I press my lips together.
“I’m glad he’s dead. I only wish I’d have been the one to pull the trigger. ”
Taking a deep breath, I say, “There’s more.
Lochlan… he knew about the gala attack. Knew something was coming.
But he didn’t say a word to me afterward, not in the whole time we were together.
He carried that secret. And I overheard Eamon threatening to tell me if Lochlan didn’t agree to take control of our family. ”
Tears sting my eyes. “I told him it was over. That we were finished.” My nose tingles.
I blink fast to keep the tears from spilling.
“I thought… I really thought he might be one of the good ones. But it turns out he’s just like his snake of a father, who happened to disappear from the warehouse without a trace.
But like any cockroach, he’ll surface at some point. ”
“But Luna said…” he rasps. “Lochlan... saved you?”
“Yes.” I can’t deny that. “He came for me. He and his brothers. They got me out before more of Kozlov’s men showed up.”
“But you... don’t trust him.”
“Absolutely not.” I shake my head. “I mean, how could I? He knew something was going to happen at the gala. Eamon told him at the hospital on that first night that you were the intended target. He never said a word about it, knowing we might all still be at risk since the Russians didn’t finish the job.
And now we know Eamon was in on the whole thing.
You almost died, Dad. You spent weeks in a coma while Lochlan promised me everything would be okay. He’s a liar, just like his father.”
My father lies there quietly for a beat. His eyes drift up toward the window, to the blue sky outside.
“Vincenzo,” he finally says. “I should have... listened. He did try to warn me. About Riccardo. About all of it. I didn’t take it seriously.”
“You couldn’t have known how things would turn out.”
“No.” His gaze shifts back to me. “But I should have... paid closer attention to my organization, to the people who were supposed to be closest to me.” A weak cough. “I trusted the wrong people. For too long.”
I just nod. “I guess we both fell into the trap of getting comfortable.”
“The Kozlovs,” he says a few minutes later. “What will you do?”
“I’m meeting with them tomorrow. I have a plan, a way for us to work together. One that will keep us from getting into a turf war.”
Dad’s lips curl upward. “My daughter. The diplomat.”
“Someone has to clean up the mess Vincenzo left behind.” I shrug and grin at him. “It’s part of the job.”
He squeezes my hand. “Be careful, Adriana. Viktor Kozlov... he’s smart. Ruthless.”
“Don’t worry.” I lean in close to kiss his cheek. “So am I.”
I walk into City Grill on the North End for my meeting with Kozlov. It’s a neutral spot, a quiet restaurant that doesn’t get much foot traffic in the early afternoon, so I figured it would be a good place to talk without raising any eyebrows.
I get to the restaurant early. I have security close by, just in case. One of my men walks in before me, doing a sweep of the place before taking a corner table by himself.
The hostess is friendly and offers me whatever table I want since it’s pretty desolate. I thank her and choose a table in the back so I can see everyone coming and going.
Alexei Kozlov arrives at exactly noon. I immediately stiffen when he walks inside, keeping my narrowed eyes on him the entire way to the table.
What the fuck is Viktor’s play here?
But knowing how these guys work, it makes sense that he’d send someone in his place. The old man is too smart to show his face after everything went down. And it’s not like he sent in some scrub. Alexei is his nephew, his right hand. He’s tall and blond with eyes so clear, they look soulless
Pretty appropriate considering the fact that he’s the kind of man who’s probably maimed plenty of people with his bare hands and didn’t lose a wink of sleep afterward.
He slides into the seat across from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch two men drop into a booth opposite my security.
Guess nobody is taking any chances today.
“Mrs. Molloy,” he says, a trace of an accent lacing his words. “Or do you prefer DiMicheli now?”
“Colonna, actually. But Adriana will do.”
He folds his hands in front of him. “Adriana. I must admit, I didn’t expect this invitation.”
“Well, technically, I didn’t invite you.” I flash a tight smile, keeping my hands flat on the table. “But here we are.”
“Yes. Here we are.” His eyes sweep over me and a chill shuttles down my spine. “You killed several of my men.”
“To be clear, your men were trying to kill me. And for the record, my brother-in-law killed most of them. I was tied to a chair at the time.”
A half-grin lifts his lips. “Fair point.”
“Look, let’s cut through the bullshit, Alexei. Your uncle made a deal with Eamon Molloy and Vincenzo Solitano. Since then, Eamon disappeared, and Vincenzo is dead.” I force a smile. “And I’m still standing.”
He nods, a hint of amusement in his gaze. “So you are.”
“I didn’t come here to threaten you or to start a war with your bratva. I came because I think we can find terms that work for both of us. I don’t need to tell you that it’s in both of our best interests to find a peaceful solution here.”
He leans back in his chair and holds his hands out to me. “I’m listening.”
“The Kozlovs wanted access to DiMicheli distribution networks. Ports, trucking routes, contacts in customs. Eamon promised you’d get all of that through this alliance.”
“He did.”
“I can give you some of it. Not all, though. I’m not handing over my family’s entire operation.
But I can offer you access to two of our port contacts and shared use of three trucking routes.
In exchange, the Kozlovs back off. No more attacks.
No more attempts on my family. We coexist together here. ”
Alexei watches me, his piercing gaze making me shift like a bug under a magnifying glass in the hot August sun. “That’s a lot less than what Eamon promised us.”
“Eamon promised you things he couldn’t deliver.
Things he had no rights to. I’m offering you things I do control.
” I sigh. “Neither of us wants a war. It’s expensive, it’s messy, and it will catch a lot attention neither of us need.
It will make us weaker to our other enemies, as well.
If we agree to move forward with this plan, everyone walks away with something. ”
“What about Eamon Molloy?”
“I don’t give a damn about Eamon Molloy. He betrayed his own sons and took off on them. The Molloy brothers want him dead as much as you probably do. If you find him, he’s yours.” I smile. “And please do your worst.”
Alexei chuckles softly. “So much potential…” He drums his fingers on the table for a minute or two. And then, “I’ll need to discuss this with my uncle.”
“Of course. I’d expect nothing less.” I pull a business card out of my bag and slide it across the table. “You have forty-eight hours. After that, I’ll assume Viktor did not want to accept the deal and we will prepare for what comes next.”
He takes the card, looks at it, and tucks it into his jacket. Then he stands up. But I stay in my chair.
“You’re not what I expected, Adriana DiMicheli.”
I shrug. “I get that a lot.”
“We’ll be in touch.” Then he turns and walks out, his men jumping out of the booth and rushing over to him.
I sit alone at the table, rigid against the back of the chair. I hold my breath as he disappears into the back of a blacked-out Range Rover parked outside.
It expels from my lips, shaky as hell, once the Range Rover pulls away from the curb. I bite down on the inside of my mouth and twist my ring.
Holy shit. That could have gone a very different way.
A very deadly way.
A smile toys with my lips. The Kozlovs underestimated me.
They didn’t know my actual title is Adriana Colonna, Badass Boss Bitch.
And now, the countdown begins.