Chapter 44
I hear Sage’s mom, Cindy’s, body roll in the trunk when Antonio takes a right turn.
No, she’s not dead.
I prefer not to kill women.
We only tied her up and stuffed her in the trunk with Antonio’s dirty gym clothes and the threat that if she didn’t cooperate, she’d never make it out of the trunk.
I’ve spent the ride scouring her phone.
I read the text thread between her and Carlisle, further proving what a piece of shit he was. Cindy’s hatred of Genesis are clear in the texts, like it was Genesis’s fault that Carlisle was a shitty dad to Sage. As far as I know, she didn’t even know about Sage.
Trust me, if she had, Genesis would have done anything to help her.
It’s what she did today, and it got her fucking kidnapped.
My blood boils when I open Cindy and Sage’s thread. Sage brags that everything is falling perfectly in plan at the shelter and that she hopes Dima kills Genesis. It was a setup, and they used Genesis’s kindness as a weakness.
You can’t kill people with kindness.
Kindness kills you.
When I’m finished, I call Denis.
“Look who finally got out of bed,” he answers, grunting into the phone.
“She got out of bed and found me in your home,” I say into the speaker.
“Who’s this?”
“Julian Bellini. I have your wife.”
“Hold on one sec.” He pauses for a second. “Yeah, let me get a double cheeseburger with extra cheese, a large fry, and a Diet Coke.” After finishing his order, he rejoins the conversation, as if this were a casual call. “Now, what were you saying?”
My nostrils flare. “I have your wife, and I’ll slit her fucking throat and mail you her body if you don’t tell me where mine is.”
“You think I give a fuck if you kill her?” Amusement floods his voice, as if they’d just added another burger to his order. “I got a hundred-grand life insurance on her I could sure use. Can you do me a favor and make sure she’ll be easily identifiable? It’ll make the process go faster.”
How the hell can any man in this world not want to kill everyone in it if their wife was in danger?
“Where’s Genesis?” I grind out. “Don’t think I’ll stop with Cindy. I’m coming for you next.”
“It’s after noon. My guess is, she’s already on her way out of the country. Now, let a man enjoy his lunch.” He ends the call.
When I attempt to call him back, he ignores the call.
I’ve never felt so useless.
As someone who usually has the upper hand, I have a headache, being in the opposite position.
I toss Cindy’s phone to the side when mine rings.
Cristian Marchetti’s name flashes on my screen.
“Marchetti,” I answer.
“I heard about Genesis,” he says, completely unemotional. “I reached out to a source and learned some information that might be helpful.”
“What’s that?”
“He claims Dima killed Yaroslav.”
“Who’s your source?”
“He’s agreed to meet with you. Come to my office at the mansion.”
Antonio rolls down his window when we reach the Marchetti mansion gate, and the guard waves him through.
Cindy bangs in the trunk as we slowly make our way up the drive. I’ve never been to the Marchetti mansion before, but from what I’ve heard, the ground is nearly sacred to Cristian.
The three of us step out of the car and nearly sprint into the mansion. I want all the answers because the longer Genesis is gone, the harder it’ll be to find her.
Benny is waiting for us in the foyer and waves us forward. We follow him straight into an office, where Cristian is rooted behind his desk. A large family mural is behind him. As we move deeper into the room, Benny shuts the door behind him.
Two chairs sit in front of Cristian’s desk, and when I notice the bald, wrinkled man in one of them, I charge toward him.
“Whoa,” Benny says, stepping in front of me and pressing his hand to my chest.
“This motherfucker—” I thrust my finger in the air.
“Is my informant and here to help you,” Cristian states, sounding bored and reclining in his chair. “Boris, tell the man what he wants to know so he can find his wife, and I can get all of you out of my goddamn office.”
Boris is Yaroslav’s underboss. He was at the meeting when I made the first payment for the Genesis deal.
Benny makes sure I’m cool before stepping away, and I circle the chair to look Boris in the face.
Boris stares at me with sunken eyes. “Dima has your wife.” He settles his hands in his lap, straightening his back.
This has to be a fucking setup.
“Why are you telling me this?” I spit.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” He adjusts his tie. “I was Yaroslav’s underboss for four decades. I swore an oath to him, not to his murderer.”
“How can you be so sure Dima killed him?”
“Dima took him home from the hospital, claiming he’d take care of him.” His lips twist into a sneer. “Hours later, Dima claims Yaroslav was taking a bath and accidentally drowned. Yaroslav didn’t take baths.” He slams his hand on the armrest. “No one kills my boss and gets away with it.”
“Is your plan to kill Dima?” Antonio asks, stepping around the chair to stand beside me. “Are your men planning to rebel to vindicate Yaroslav’s death?”
“Dima has a plan. He’s going to kill anyone who had unwavering loyalty to Yaroslav or questions his death.
He’s already called out a hit on me because I told our men he was the one who had killed our boss,” Boris says.
“If I’m going to die, I might as well take the fucker down who killed my friend, my boss, and who now sees me as next on their hit list.”
“Man, I have a love-hate relationship with rats,” Benny comments.
Boris’s head snaps in his direction, as if that’s the worst insult he’s ever been given.
“This is my first time saying one negative thing about the Morozova family. My loyalty has outlasted two marriages. This isn’t me being a rat.
It’s me getting revenge, and as an old man, I’ll get it better with you men than I will alone. ”
“How do I know you’re not setting us up?” I ask, crossing my arms.
Boris exhales an exhausted sigh. “I could understand your question if I only went to you, but I’m sitting here, in front of the three cruelest Mafia families in the country.
Do you think Dima wants a war with you? He wants a healthy relationship with the Marchettis.
” His gaze flicks to Cristian. “Word is, he plans to reach out to you as the new Bratva boss. He wants to make deals and get you on his good side.”
Cristian shakes his head. “As much as I hate it, my son-in-law is a Lombardi. My loyalty is to him and my daughter.” He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “If Dima even thinks about having a war with the Lombardis, then it’s my war as well.”
Antonio peers at him over his shoulder. “That might be the nicest shit you’ve ever said to me, Dad.”
“You call me Dad again, and I’ll shoot a hole in your head,” Cristian comments. “I might not go to war with you, but I don’t like you.”
Antonio looks at Boris. “We’re still working on our relationship.”
“It would have helped if you hadn’t kidnapped my fucking daughter,” Cristian snaps.
“Where did he take Genesis?” I ask Boris, not interested in the Marchetti-Lombardi drama.
“Russia,” Boris replies.
“Russia?” I roar.
“What the fuck?” Benny hisses.
“That motherfucker,” Antonio mutters.
“Who takes their hostages to goddamn Russia?” Damien asks.
“A man who doesn’t see her as a hostage. He sees her as a lifetime prisoner,” Boris states.