Chapter 5
Aurora~
“You don’t have to do this.”
It was the morning of my wedding to Viktor Korolev, and my brothers were still trying to talk me out of it, something that I appreciated more than they could ever know.
Their insistence was constant proof that I had made the right decision.
They were more than willing to go to war if it meant keeping me out of the enemy’s bed, and I was more than willing to dance with the devil if it kept them out of harm’s way.
Honestly, a girl could do worse than having these two for brothers.
“Except that it’s already done,” I pointed out, looking over at Santino.
“It’s not done until you’ve said your vows,” he countered.
I let out a deep sigh as I looked between my two brothers.
Though we’d had a huge family dinner last night, they’d both been astute enough to keep their comments to themselves while in my father’s presence.
So, because siblings had a different kind of relationship from their parents, they had come over first thing this morning to try to talk me out of marrying Viktor.
“And what about Papa’s word?” I asked. “What about that?”
“Papa’s a born politician,” Stefano replied. “He can come up with something reasonable to save you from having to marry Korolev.”
“And the Capos?” I looked between them again. “Would that all really have been for nothing?”
Now, while no one would outright defy the Marchetti Don, after I had agreed to marry Viktor, Papa had called a meeting to announce the news of the alliance, and it’d gone just as you would have expected it to.
Even with both of his sons and our Consigliere, Bruno Calvi, supporting my father wholeheartedly, a few of the Capos had argued against the alliance, and the meeting had lasted over five damn hours.
Granted, the ones who had argued against it hadn’t been family, which had been expected up to a point.
For the most part, anyone who held a position of power within the family was blood related.
My father had been raised with two younger brothers, but their young and hotheaded ways had found them both into early graves, leaving my father to mentor their sons through their growing years.
As for Bruno, he was one of my father’s cousins through their mothers, but they’d been raised as brothers, and that bond had only strengthened after my father had lost both of his brothers.
In fact, I couldn’t remember a time when Bruno hadn’t been in the picture, and if anything were to ever happen to my father, I had no doubt that Bruno would step up to ensure that our family’s legacy continued to thrive.
At any rate, the meeting had been a rough one, even though, in the end, my father’s orders had been respected. Once my father had assured them all that nothing would be changing other than my address, the grumbles had lessened and an agreement had been reached by all.
“Who cares about two or three disgruntled Capos?” Santino scoffed. “They’re aware of what will happen if they don’t fall in line.”
“Plus, what of Marco and Georgio?” Stefano asked. “I mean, to leave your guards behind is insane.”
Now, while I wasn’t one to form sentimental attachments, Marco had been assigned to me from the day that I’d been born, and Georgio had joined him once I had turned eighteen.
As a minor, I’d been surrounded by enough family that only one guard had been sufficient enough.
However, once I’d grown into adulthood, I’d needed two guards to cover the twenty-four-hour shifts.
The only time that I hadn’t had them with me was whenever I’d been asleep or on a high-profile mission.
Those kills had all been done as a one-man show... or one-woman show, I supposed.
As for their protective orders, the condominium building that I lived in was owned by my father, and so only Marchetti ‘family’ members resided in the apartments, my guards living right next door to me on the same floor.
That was also another thing that I’d had to consider.
Since I had no idea what kind of husband Viktor Korolev was going to be, I had no idea if I was still going to be able to work for my father, or how often I’d be back in Marchetti territory.
However, to play it safe, I planned to keep my condo as it was, packing only my clothing and toiletries.
While I had a few electronics that I’d like to take with me, my home computer and laptop were both full of Marchetti family business, and I was not about to take anything that important into the lion’s den with me.
“You know very well that the Russians would never allow two Italian guards to invade their territory,” I answered. “My guess is that Viktor will probably assign me one of their own.”
“And you’d trust him?” Santino practically squawked.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied pointedly. “The last thing that I’d ever do is trust any of them.”
“Then why marry Korolev?” Stefano challenged.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the lesser of the two evils,” I answered. “Plus, I’m hardly a weak damsel in distress. I can take care of myself, guys.”
“I still don’t like it,” Santino grumbled. “It...instead of protecting you, we’re feeding you to the wolves.”
“Which would be a problem if I weren’t a lioness,” I quipped.
“And what if this backfires on us?” Stefano posed. “What if you end up killing him for whatever reason?”
That got a laugh out of me. “Because I’m some kind of killing machine that’s out of control?”
“Let’s just say that you’re not exactly...meek,” Santino drawled out.
Looking between the two again, I said, “I’ve no plans on killing my new husband, and if we’re both doing this for the common good, then I doubt that he’ll be doing anything that will make me want to kill him.
Honestly, I don’t see why we can’t just live separate lives once the vows are said.
I can’t see Viktor Korolev being any more thrilled than I am at being stuck together. ”
Santino’s eyes narrowed a bit. “You might have a point.”
“You can say what you want, but my vote is still no,” Stefano said, sounding very much like a petulant child.
When my brothers had arrived earlier, I’d been in the kitchen, preparing some morning tea, and we’d all been sitting in my kitchen since then.
So, I got up from my seat, then walked over to Stefano, and as soon as I was close enough, my brother grabbed me, then pulled me into his arms, something that he’d never do in public.
Santino wasn’t saying anything, letting Stefano have his moment, and I knew that these two would always just be one phone call away, no matter the consequences that might come with that one phone call.
If they were willing to go to war to prevent me from an unwanted marriage, then I could only imagine what they’d be willing to do if the Russians ended up mistreating me.
Once Stefano let go of me, he said, “I want you checking in regularly, and none of that texting bullshit. I want to hear your voice.”
“Same here,” Santino stated. “I want to hear your voice regularly.”
“I can do that,” I promised. “However, as of right now, the plan is to still run the casinos, so I’ll be around, guys.”
“And if your new husband decides that he wants a stay-at-home-wife?” Santino posed.
“Then I will still make sure to call you regularly,” I replied seriously. “Trust when I tell you that I’ve no desire to become a...a pawn. Nor have I ever been weak-willed.”
“I still don’t like it,” both of them said in unison, making me laugh.
I looked between them both again. “Look, while I appreciate the concern, you have wives and children that need all this attention and concern, so save it for them.”
Like most of the women in the family, Aribella spent most of her time raising their three children and being an alibi for Santino whenever he needed one.
For the most part, I got along fairly well with the woman, but we weren’t the type of sisters-in-law that hung out often because we really didn’t have all that much in common.
As for Stefano’s wife, Cara, I avoided her when possible.
While I wouldn’t exactly say that I didn’t like her, she was just too flighty for me, yet perfect for my youngest brother.
Though they also had three children, unlike Aribella, Cara was perfectly fine with the household staff raising their children, and that bothered me more than it should.
After all, my brother’s household was none of my business as long as everyone was safe.
Besides, Stefano was a present dad, even if his wife would rather get manicures than go to school plays.
“Just make sure to check in,” Santino replied, dismissing the topic of his family.
“I promise,” I assured him. “I’ll even pinky promise if it’ll make you feel better.”
“On second thought, maybe someone ought to warn Korolev of what he’s getting himself into,” Stefano drawled out, making me smile.
“Well, as much as I enjoy our quality time together, I have a wedding that I need to get ready for,” I quipped.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Santino muttered before walking over to place a kiss on my forehead.
What could I say? I had great brothers.