14.Luca
Luca
I brought her into our world; there’s no turning back.
She’ll have to bear the consequences now because of me, but I’ll take full responsibility for it.
She belongs to me whether she likes it or not.
Those bastards messed with what’s mine, and they’ll learn the hard way that it won’t end well for them.
“We’re taking down Vladimir today. I don’t care that he’s Stas’ right-hand man,” I snap angrily.
Mariano nods. Stas, the boss of the bratva here in New York, has caused us too many problems since he took over for his brother six months ago.
He still doesn’t understand what it means to mess with us, that useless bastard.
“Abert did some digging with our informants. They’ve been on us since we got back from Vegas.
Looks like they were out for revenge for the five Flavio took down,” Mariano updates me, showing me screenshots of the message exchanges he got from the informants.
Abert is one of my most reliable soldiers.
I immediately think about assigning him to guard Alin.
“They also said Stas has a new woman he’s keeping close at all times. No one knows who she is; no one has seen her, but word on the street is he’s losing his mind over her,” he adds.
“We don’t torture women, Mariano. Unless you’re telling me now that she’s also running his operations?
” I clarify, raising an eyebrow. Since when does Stas keep the same woman around?
He changes them every five minutes and tosses them back to the streets like a wounded dog. Something here doesn’t add up.
“I would never have believed it myself, but I heard he’s turned into a doormat. One of the informants said he sold one of their most profitable clubs and a casino just because she asked,” he replies, and I chuckle.
“Looks like there’s someone whose more of a pushover than you, brother,” I tease, and he throws a few curses back at me.
“I need you to get me all the security footage from the aquarium. I want to know who was with Vladimir and how long they’ve been following us. And make sure to locate Vladimir; I am not letting him off today!” I command.
“I told you, everything’s already set. We have a location and soldiers in the area. They’re in their hideout in the southern district,” Mariano responds, and the hungry-to-kill look returns to his eyes. Now we’re really ready. Today, we’re going to add a few more bodies to Stas’ list to deal with.
I send a message to Flavio to update him on all the details so he can be ready on his end in Vegas if new problems arise because of this.
Think there will ever be a time where I get a message from you like ‘I love you, brother’ instead of more problems to add to the pile? You’re a magnet for trouble.
6:07 PM
I chuckle at the message I receive back from him.
Mariano and I lock down our strategy to take out Vladimir and his number two. We pinpoint their hideout and get everything set with our people.
Mariano never disappoints. His ruthless precision ensures every detail is covered. We are going to unleash hell for them today, sending a clear message to Stas. I send Mariano out of the office, his orders clear.
Now, in the silence, my mind drifts back to Alin.
I can still feel her under me on this very table, her body responding to my every touch.
The primal need to claim her, to own every inch of her, burns deep.
She’s mine, whether she realizes it or not.
The thought of her drives me wild, a fierce possessiveness I can’t shake.
She’s in my veins now and no matter how hard I fight it, I can’t get her out of my head.
I don’t have time for this bullshit called ‘love’, but I am more than willing to explore her more and keep her here next to me. Now that I have her all to myself, I’m going to finally finish the puzzle that is called ‘Alin Gray’.
I step out of my office and immediately spot Alin sitting on the sofa just outside.
She’s still wearing that damn torn dress, or whatever that piece of cheap, useless shit is.
The way it clings to her provocatively makes my blood boil with a mix of anger and desire.
She gives me a stare with those gem-like eyes, and I can’t resist. I rush over to her, sitting down beside her, pulling her onto my lap, and running my nose down her neck from behind.
“From now on you will never wear shit like this outside,” I murmur into her ear, my breath hot against her skin.
She shivers slightly, leaning into me. “Now you’re controlling what I wear too? Maybe I like the attention,” she teases, her voice soft but challenging, responding to my touch.
“Attention from me, sure,” I growl, tightening my grip on her waist. “But no one else gets to look at you like this.”
She tilts her head, offering more of her neck to me, and I trail my nose up her skin, savoring her scent. She’s responding so well, waiting for my next move, her body practically melting into mine.
Just as I’m about to take it further, my phone buzzes with a call. I glance at the screen and see it’s my signal to leave . I curse under my breath, annoyed at the interruption.
“You’ll sleep in my bed tonight,” I say, not really asking for permission.
She pulls back slightly, her eyes defiant. “I’ll sleep in the guest room.” She argues, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Why do you have to make things difficult? You’re safer in my bed.” I lie. What a stupid excuse.
“And I’ll be perfectly safe in the guest room too,” she insists, her tone firm.
We lock eyes, the tension thick between us. I know she’s stubborn, but so am I.
“Fine,” I snap, releasing her and standing up. “Have it your way for now, but don’t think for a second this is over.”
She gives me a small, victorious glance. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
I storm out, unsatisfied and pissed off. She won this round, but this game between us is far from finished.
I leave the apartment and head down to the parking garage. Mariano updated me that he’s ready with Pedro and a few other men in the cars. It’s time to get that son of a bitch.
I open the car door, slide into the driver’s seat and take out my guns and vest from a secure, hidden compartment next to my seat. I was too reckless this morning going out without my weapon; that won’t happen again.
I secure the strap tightly and just as I’m about to start the car, I see Mariano running toward me with his tablet in hand. I roll down the window quickly, knowing this isn’t a good sign.
“Brother, we lost eyes on Vladimir. The informants said he suddenly collapsed, probably injured earlier today, and they took him to a safe house to recover. They lost him before my guy could figure out what happened.”
“ Son of a bitch,” I slam my fist on the steering wheel and curse. “ But that’s not all,” Mariano adds in a cautious tone, “ there’s something you need to see, and I don’t think you’re going to like it at all.”
“ Speak!” I snap impatiently. How did we miss that bastard? He was already on our radar.
Mariano gets in the seat next to me, looking more cautious than usual, and I don’t like this feeling. He’s about to tell me something really bad.
He hands me the tablet. “ This is the security footage from the aquarium, from the spot where Alin claimed they tried to rape her,” Mariano updates me, looking at me with concern.
“ Claimed they tried to rape her?” I repeat, questioning the information he just gave me.
“ Are you implying she lied?” I immediately understand where my brother is trying to steer this conversation, and I hit play on the video without waiting for an answer.
The footage shows Alin running quickly into the maintenance room.
Then I see Cora and me running down the hallway past the door, looking for her.
Right after us, those two bastards, Vladimir and his brainless right-hand man Slava, trail behind.
From their expressions and the conversation they seem to be having outside the door, it looks like they lost Alin and followed her into the hallway. They don’t know she’s inside that room.
What is Alin doing, why is she still in there? Why did Mariano imply she lied? My heart starts pounding harder with every second I wait to see what happens in the video.
I impatiently press the fast-forward button and switch back to normal speed as soon as I see the door crack open slightly. I immediately recognize Alin’s face. She looks prepared for whatever is waiting for her outside.
The camera is too far away for me to clearly see what they’re talking about, but it looks like she’s smiling at them before stepping back into the maintenance room with the two Russians following her. What the hell is going on? Does Alin know them?
My hands shake with anger, and I shoot a questioning look at Mariano, who’s already figured out that we might have let a traitor into our lives. It doesn’t make sense.
None of us—Graham, Mariano, Cora, or I—thought for a second there was a connection.
I keep watching, gripping the tablet so tightly in rage that it feels like it’s seconds away from snapping like a cracker between my fingers. A few minutes later, the door opens again, and Alin runs out, presumably looking for Cora and me.
I continu e staring at the screen, curses spilling from my mouth. Minutes pass, and the Russians still haven’t left the room.
“ Where are the Russians?” I demand from Mariano. He better have an explanation for this.
“ That’s what I could’t figure out,” he replies quickly. “ Fast-forward and you’ll see. They came out an hour and a half later, looking disoriented.”
“ Do you think Alin is betraying us with the Russians?” I voice the thoughts that I hadn’t even allowed into my worst nightmares.
“ We can’t know what happened there, but one thing is certain. She lied about what happened or at least didn’t tell the whole truth,” he confirms my suspicions.
“ I need answers now. If she’s a traitor, there’s only one way to handle her,” I tell Mariano the obvious, though I don’t want to believe it.
I have to detach myself from her until I could get the answers and deal with her as my role dictates.
“Until we have answers, you stay away from her. Don’t inform Cora about this, but you must forbid her from contacting Alin.
Make up any excuse you could think of. If Alin reaches out to her, she must report everything she says and does to you.
Is that clear?” I command in a harsh tone, a storm raging in my head.
I knew she was trouble, but I didn’t realize just how much.
How can I deal with her as a traitor? I’ll need to erase every trace of her from my mind to see the big picture clearly. I let my guard down too quickly.
“ You don’t think she’s the woman who’s been seen with Stas recently, do you?” Mariano suddenly asks, adding yet another layer to our growing fears.
“Mariano, I don’t like information without proof. Mobilize all your informants and Pedro’s too. I don’t care who, how many, or how. I want answers, and I want them fast,” I demand , feeling like steam is about to come out of my ears. Alin, Alin, Alin, who the hell are you?
I’m going to make the Russians pay. They’re going to take a serious hit. If Alin is involved in this, she and Stas are going to be buried together. My heart feels like it’s about to explode in my chest.
She was supposed to just be for my entertainment anyway. There’s a reason I don’t get involved in all that marriage and relationship crap.
Mariano is beside me, sending messages and canceling the people we had out for today. It’s not the right time; we have things to verify first.
“ Alright, I’ve taken care of everything. We’ll verify the details sooner or later. In the meantime, there’s one thing we can do right now,” he says, and I look at him questioningly.
“ Drink, brother. I need a drink,” he sighs, and I start the car while he calls Cora, coming up with a good enough excuse to keep her away from Alin. He’s right, we both need a drink.