Antonio
Aleksandra is exhausting to be around.
I pop two ibuprofens on my way down to the office. Our guests are in the dining hall. The children are having breakfast at the main table. We’ve extended the leaf and added a few seats, but we don’t entertain often.
There are plenty of bedrooms in the complex, but this isn’t a hotel or bed-and-breakfast.
“How are you doing this morning?” Ardian asks, as he accompanies me to the office.
Is it that obvious that Aleksandra is putting me through the wringer? I exhale a sharp sigh. I’ll survive. I’ve dealt with worse. “Any news about the Russians?” I ask, steering the conversation far from the girl upstairs and the two, possibly my, kids.
“Gian led a team of soldiers into the Russian compound before daylight,” Ardian says. I ordered the attack, and I’m aware of the circumstances. I don’t know if Mikhail was captured, killed, or escaped. There’s been no word from my men on Mikhail’s whereabouts.
“And? Any news on Mikhail?” I ask.
“Gian radioed in about an hour ago. They interrogated a half dozen Russians onsite, but no one was talking. Mikhail wasn’t at the compound. We don’t know where he is, and he isn’t likely to return if he knows we’re watching the place.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, tasting the metallic zing of blood. “He can’t stay away forever,” I say.
I sit down at my desk, and Ardian grabs a seat opposite.
“Agreed, but he’s probably in a safe house,” Ardian says.
“And we have no one who can tell us the location?” I ask.
“You tell me,” Ardian says, his hands folded in his lap. “You’ve got the girl upstairs. She probably knows best of anyone.”
“I’m not interrogating the girl,” I say. “And no one else is, either.”
“Understood,” Ardian says. “But if we don’t find Mikhail and stop him, we don’t know what he’ll do next. If you don’t mind my candor, sir, all of us in one location, it’s concerning.”
My gaze tightens. It’s not a problem that hasn’t crossed my mind. It’s one of the reasons I insisted on bringing Aleksandra under my roof.
“What do you suggest we do?” I ask. We’ve convened so that we can stop the Russians, not give them a target to obliterate all of us in one blast easily.
“We need the location of the safe house. Mikhail is calling the shots. He’s working with the other Russians, but he’s the leader. If we take him out, we have a chance to stop the war,” Ardian says.
“I’ll get it. I need time.”
“Time isn’t on our side, sir,” Ardian says.
* * *
I head out of my office and into the dining room. Sophia and Liam are seated at the table. Aleksandra has grabbed a chair against the wall and is situated by herself.
She found her way downstairs without my permission.
Against the opposite wall, are several of the dons from different cities, Dante, Alessandro, and Jace, conversing with one another. Their wives are standing near the window, Olivia, Nicole, Paige, and Karina, having a bite to eat while chatting.
Aurielo and Moreno stand together, a small plate in each of their hands as they finish the last of their breakfast.
Stepping into the room, Aleksandra stands and heads right for me.
“Are you holding all of them against their will, too?” she asks, practically biting my head off.
“They are guests in my home. These are the families that your brother, Mikhail, threatened,” I say, pinning her with my stare. “Do you know anything about them trying to kidnap Nova?” I ask, pointing at the little girl with strawberry-blonde hair and the brightest baby blue eyes.
Aleksandra glances at the six-year-old.
“That girl’s been through hell, and to think your brother ordered her death.”
“He would never do that,” she scoffs.
I grab her arm and drag her out of the dining hall, leading her to my office. I shut the door behind her, allowing us to speak freely.
“He ordered multiple hits on the children of mafia families. Mikhail is a ruthless man.”
“And you’re not?” Aleksandra steps closer. She doesn’t appear the least bit afraid of me. If she is, she hides it well.
“I do what is required of me,” I say. “I removed Roberto from his position because he was kidnapping children, selling them to families so that he could make a profit.”
Her ruby lips close, and she stares at me, her eyes tight. “Why are they here? Why bring them closer to danger? If my brother is responsible, it seems unwise to have them under the same roof.”
That’s why she’s here, as my insurance policy, so that he won’t murder the entire Italian mafia. Would it be easy for him to sacrifice his sister and the kids?
“Then help me stop him,” I say, closing the gap between us. My voice is calm, soft, reassuring. I’m trying to reason with her.
“Even if I could help you, why should I? You’re keeping me here against my will.”
“I’m keeping you and your children here to protect you, Tesorina.”
Has she not realized the danger that returning home puts her in?
Aleksandra folds her arms across her chest. “Locking me in a room. How is that protecting me? You kidnapped my son. This is all your fault. This war that’s going on, you started all of it. And now you want my help?” She laughs darkly and takes a step back. “You’re on your own.”
“Tesorina,” I say, trying to reason with her.
“I’m not helping you, and I’ll never help you. You’re a monster.” Aleksandra turns and heads out of my office.
I let her go. I don’t chase her. There’s no need. She can’t leave, and there are other ways to get information.
If she doesn’t talk, I’ll use the children.
* * *
The children are all gathered in the living room near the hearth.
I’ve let Aleksandra accompany the twins. It’s wrong to keep a mother away from her babies. And while Sophia and Liam aren’t newborns, they are still her children.
The fire sizzles and crackles. I have Mario and Monte bring the toys that I purchased for the twins to share with the other children staying over.
The other dons and their close associates join me in the office.
“Tell me you have a plan. Better than sitting around and waiting for Mikhail to order his next attack,” Dante says.
He’s frustrated and fed up with the situation.
We all are.
“I know you’re worried about your families. That’s why we’ve come together, to stop the bratva from coming after our families and destroying our businesses,” I say.
“And the Russian girl at breakfast. Who is she?” Dante asks. He has the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen, cold and brutal.
“She’s off-limits,” I warn. “A guest under my protection.” I don’t need the men getting any ideas about what they might do to get her to talk.
“A Russian girl under your protection?” Moreno scoffs at the notion. He’s Dante’s second and was extended an invitation because his daughter, Nova, was recently threatened by the bratva. “She sounds like trouble.”
“She has children of her own,” I say, not confiding in the men that they very well are my kin too. “And if putting her under our roof keeps Mikhail from attacking us, it’s a wise decision to make.”
“You kidnapped the girl?” Don Rinaldi asks.
“Alessandro, I assure you that she won’t be an issue for you or your family.” I don’t need him up in arms or his muscle and interrogator he brought along, Aurielo, to react.
“Alessandro doesn’t have family outside of the Rinaldis,” Aurielo says. He folds his arms across his chest. A grimace crosses his features. “It’s my son I’m worried about, Ashton. One of the bratva came at him on the playground with a knife. Threatened my boy, which is a threat to all of us.”
Aurielo drops his hands and balls them into fists at his side. “I’ll kill Mikhail if he’s behind the ambush. Let me in a room with him, and I’ll be the last thing that man ever sees.”
My responsibility is to keep them calm and allow us to come together to stop the bratva. We all have a common interest and a common enemy. But we must use our brains, not brawn, to outsmart the Russians.
I hold up my hands. “Aurielo, if we kill Mikhail, there are other Russians who will take his place.”
“What do you suggest? A truce?” Alessandro asks. “You’re crazy if you think the Russians are willing to uphold a cease-fire.”
“They will if we offer them something they want,” Dante says.
“Like?” I ask, wondering what he has in mind.
“You mentioned we have a Russian girl and her children. What relation are they to Mikhail?” Dante asks.
He’s too intelligent and cunning for his good. “I already told you, she’s not a bargaining chip.”
“You’re already using her to secure our safety. Suppose we offer her back to the Russians for a truce,” Dante says.
I grumble. This meeting wasn’t supposed to involve a discussion on Aleksandra. “That would never work,” I say.
“It’s worth bringing the Russian girl in, finding out what she knows,” Moreno says. “There’s no way she’s completely innocent. She’s Russian.”
As if that makes her the enemy because of her bloodline.
“That’s enough! She is my guest, and those children are possibly mine,” I seethe. “She is not a bargaining chip. I won’t be handing her back to her brother.”
There’s a silence that fills the office. A few of the men exchange stares.
It was unlikely that any of them knew she was Mikhail’s sister. I stand from the chair at my desk. “We’ll reconvene in ten minutes.” I need a break and a stiff drink.
* * *
“Sir.” Mario steals my attention the moment I step out of the office. He was waiting for me but chose not to interrupt the meeting.
“Yes?” I ask and gesture for him to walk with me as I head down the hallway.
“You asked me to go keep an eye on the girl,” Mario says.
I did ask him that, specifically when he was upstairs guarding their rooms, which he didn’t do the best job, considering that she’s downstairs with the children.
“And?” What’s his point?
“I believe her children may know the whereabouts of the Russian boss, Mikhail,” Mario says. “They were speaking about a log cabin in the forest, a special house, outside of the city.”
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down,” I say. “And they’re four. I doubt they know how to drive to the cabin.”
“You’re correct, but the house has solar panels installed, and it’s in Saugerties, not too far from the Hudson River.”
“Narrow it down. Have Gian get a drone up there if you have to and figure out which property belongs to the Russians,” I say.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good work,” I acknowledge, before walking past the living room. Perhaps keeping Mario around wasn’t such an awful idea.
Aleksandra is situated on the floor, her back against the wall. She’s reading a book that she must have found on the bookshelf. Her knees are bent, her focus on the pages. She doesn’t seem to notice my presence just outside of the door.
The amber light of the fire cascades her in a soft, warm glow. She’s beautiful, and the silence from her is even more delightful.
I hurry to catch up to Mario as he’s headed in the opposite direction, away from my office. “Did you get DNA samples from the twins?” I ask, trying to be discreet, although it seems like everyone already knows my secret.
“I did not,” he says. “I can do that now if you’d like.”
There’s no sense in making a scene in front of the other families. “That isn’t necessary. This evening, I’d like you to make sure you do DNA swabs and send them in to be tested right away. I’ve already done my sample. It’s in my top desk drawer.”
“Do you want me to go through unofficial channels?” Mario asks.
“I want the results as quickly as possible.” If that means that he needs to use a source to do it, a soldier who greases a cop, I don’t care.
The twins are likely mine, based on Aleksandra’s remarks, but I need confirmation. She could be playing me, thinking that I’ll keep them safe if they’re my kin.