Antonio
“Do you think a measly payout every month will let you keep your family?” Mikhail chuckles. “Thanks for the little bonus today, but Luka will marry Aleksandra, and they will move to Russia,” he says.
“Get out of my house!”
“You’re not in charge here anymore,” Mikhail says. He stands and gestures for me to get up from my desk.
“You’re fucking crazy if you think you’re taking over the mafia,” I say. “Let Aleksandra and the twins go.”
“Up!” Mikhail bellows and thrusts his gun in my face.
I reach under my desk and retrieve my weapon, brandishing the metal right back at him, cocking the safety off.
Little good it does. His bodyguard is on me with a gun, and now I have two weapons pointed at my head.
“Luka will send your little brats off to boarding school the moment the plane lands in Russia. You’re lucky that was his idea. I told him he should kill them,” Mikhail says.
“No one will touch my children, or I’ll burn you and your men to the ground!”
Mikhail grins at my threat, not the least bit intimated by my words. “Promises, promises. Now, up!” He shouts the command for me to get out of my chair.
I snarl as I move away from the desk.
Where the hell is Ardian? Where are my men?
Mikhail climbs into the leather chair, pretending to be the boss of the mafia.
That’s all he can do, pretend. My men will never bow down to him or accept his orders.
Gunfire erupts down the hall, and I exit my office in a rush, a rash of bullets spraying down the hallway.
Bodies are lying at the opposite end, dead. They appear to be Mikhail’s men.
Ardian is taking cover at the study entrance, along with Monte and Otello.
“What the hell is going on?” I bark as I stand at the opposite wall in the study with them.
“Mikhail brought his whole fucking army,” Ardian says.
I glance down, realizing there’s blood on the floor and four more bodies. I grab a weapon from one of the deceased individuals. It’s not like he’s going to miss it.
“Who the hell let them into the complex?”
“They climbed over the fence, turned off the security footage long enough to let their men scale the perimeter,” Monte says.
“Fuck,” I grumble. They were waiting for us. “Any word on Aleksandra or the kids?” I need to know they’re safe and alive.
I shoot several rounds at the Russian men invading my home.
If Luka wants to marry Aleksandra, then at least he hasn’t killed her. What about Sophia and Liam?
“Nothing. Gian hasn’t answered his phone,” Ardian says.
“That’s because they took Aleksandra hostage.” I rattle off what little information I have and take several more shots as the assault on the complex continues to rain down on us.
There’s movement at the front door.
“More reinforcements?” It isn’t my men. They’re hauled up inside the complex, fighting for their lives.
When had the Russians grown their empire to such a magnitude?
“FBI!” a woman shouts, her gun drawn as she enters my office with a team behind her.
Did the fucking Russians bring the feds to my house?
“I’m not going to prison,” I say, staring at my men.
“Don’t be stupid. You have a family,” Ardian warns me. “If you kill a fed, they’ll put you in federal max.”
Ardian shouldn’t be calling the orders, but he’s right. He’s sensible, and he’s got a level head. I can’t think straight right now.
“Ardian’s right,” I say and put down my weapon, holding my hands up. “We surrender and figure this out together.”
The federal agents swarm the complex. Several more teams arrive, tearing through the building.
We’re forced onto the ground, our hands bound behind our backs until the federal agents determine who they’re after.
I’m just not sure which side they’re here to protect, the Russians or the Italians.
One of the FBI agents hoists me to my feet. She’s young and probably still early in her career.
“Antonio!” Aleksandra rushes past the FBI agents.
The female agent glances me over. “This is him? Antonio Moretti?” she asks.
“Yes, Agent Malone,” Aleksandra says.
Anger burns through me. “Agent Melinda Malone?” I repeat the name, remembering it from that business card I found upstairs.
“That’s correct,” she says. “You’re a tough man to find. Turn around.”
I do as she instructs, and she removes the handcuffs.
Aleksandra brought the feds to my house?
I want to be angry, to scold her for putting all our lives in jeopardy, but the agents aren’t arresting my men. They’re taking away the Russians in handcuffs—every one of them.
“Where are Sophia and Liam?” I’m relieved that Aleksandra is safe, but I need to see my kids. I need to know that they’re alive and well, unharmed, without a doubt.
“I’ll take you to them,” Agent Malone says, escorting Aleksandra and me outside.
It’s frigid outside, and neither of us is wearing a coat. I remove my blazer, draping it over Aleksandra’s shoulders as we are escorted to the FBI agent’s vehicle.
Several vehicles line the front lawn. From the back seat of each car, Russian Bratva has been apprehended. I’m relieved to see Mikhail handcuffed, but how long will he remain behind bars in prison?
Sophia has her nose pressed against the glass, watching the commotion. Liam is on his knees, watching from the back window.
Agent Malone unlocks the car, and I open the back door.
Aleksandra is right at my side. I breathe a sigh of relief.
Sophia and Liam climb out from the backseat with wide, curious eyes.
“What happened?” Liam asks.
“That’s a story for when you get older,” I say.