Surely, not the same man I married. Because that guy barely ever cracked a smile. He would never be the spontaneous, adventurous sort who did impressions of a Scottish brogue and easily laughed at himself.
“Tell me, Lexi,” Nico’s mother said once everyone had caught their breaths from laughing so hard. “Did you attend school abroad? Your accent doesn’t sound entirely Russian.”
I was pretty sure I already loved the matriarch of the Rossetti family, who’d insisted I called her Val—not Mrs. Rossetti, not Valentina. She was warm and motherly. Best of all, she hadn’t once shot me a suspicious glare or made a condescending remark about the kind of girl her first-born son had married. In fact, she acted like I was already part of the family. Like the nature of our abrupt marriage was simply of no consequence to her.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered her. “I actually went to secondary school in England before attending Cambridge University.”
I felt Nico shift next to me. I wondered if he was at all curious at my life before him. He’d certainly never asked about my education, nor my hobbies or interests. Would he even care what I was passionate about?
“Cambridge,” Mr. Rossetti said, who also despised formal names and demanded that I called him Enzo. “Quite impressive, my dear. And what did you study there?”
“Nonprofit and Public Management. I was managing a few nonprofits in Moscow, including a children’s orphanage that I help fund.”
I missed my kids so much. My heart was truly broken over not being able to tell them goodbye. I couldn’t bear it if they thought I’d abandoned them. Especially since I knew exactly how that felt.
More shifting from Nico.
Val perked up in her chair, a smile overtaking her face. “You don’t say? I’m on the board of several nonprofits here in Brooklyn, and I do a lot of work with local children’s programs. You’re welcome to drop by someday and see if it’s something you’d be interested in assisting with. We’ve been having issues with attendance and overall participation in many of the programs. I could probably use your insights.”
I only just managed to keep from screaming “hell, yes!” at the top of my lungs. This very well might have been the best news I’d received since I was given my marching orders down the aisle.
“Absolutely,” I beamed. “I’d love to. That sounds brilliant.”
She nodded. “It’s settled then.”
“By the way,” Cris spoke up, looking at his father. “There’s a few properties I want you and Mom to take a look at. Two are in the Cinque Terre region and one is on the southern Amalfi coast. Those are the only ones I could find that meet all of your criteria and are within the price range. But if you don’t like any of them, we can expand the search.”
“Are you going on an Italian holiday?” I asked.
“We’re actually looking to purchase a place somewhere in the old country,” Enzo responded, sending his wife a wistful gaze. “Along the coast. As often as we like to travel to Italy, we’ve determined it would probably be more cost effective to buy rather than continue to rent. Cris has been helping us with the real estate side of things.”
I peeked at Nico out of the corner of my eye. He was staring down at his glass of whiskey with a pensive expression. It made me curious about the dynamic between the brothers and their father. Cris was sat closest to Enzo and seemed to be the most involved in their parents’ affairs, particularly in the financial sense. But Nico was the eldest son. Shouldn’t that role have fallen to him? Or did Italian-American families operate differently from what I was familiar with?
Cris and Enzo were in a discussion about a hedge fund Cris was managing for his parents when Nico cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh, actually, I found a few properties in Croatia. In the Istria region, right along the Adriatic coastline.”
It was probably the first time I’d ever heard Nico sound unsure of himself. Almost insecure, which I never would have dreamed was possible.
A slow smile spread across Cris’s face at Nico’s words, while both Val and Enzo’s eyebrows went up. “Really?” Enzo said.
“The best ones are just outside of Rovinj,” Nico said. “The prices are better than Cinque Terre and the Amalfi coast because the tourism industry isn’t quite as saturated in Istria. The travel to Italy from there is easy and inexpensive. I met with a realtor while I was in Rovinj and checked out the properties myself. I think they’re worth looking into.”
Wait, that was part of the “business” he’d been dealing with during our day-and-a-half layover in the country? I thought he’d been in meetings regarding the purchase of the winery the whole time. He’d been scoping out properties for his parents, too? No wonder I hadn’t seen much of him for those two days.
“We definitely will,” Val declared brightly, her face exuberant. “I haven’t been to Istria in years.”
Enzo hadn’t taken his eyes off of Nico. He bowed his head, looking like a proud papa. “Thank you, son. We appreciate you taking the time.”
Nico nodded curtly, anxiously tapping his finger against the rim of his glass. But I saw the way his chest swelled beneath his suit jacket. It was minute, but his father’s approval made the tension in his shoulders ease.
“I’ll email you all the information,” he added. “The realtor is standing by in case you want to pull the trigger on any of those properties. If not, she said she’s got more options.”
This time when Enzo and Val looked eyes across the table, I saw Val shoot her husband an I told you so look. Even Cris leaned back in his chair and looked at Nico with brotherly pride.
There was a story here.
A reason why Nico taking this initiative was new and unexpected to his entire family. A reason why he seemed somewhat uneasy bringing it up. It was as if no one ever asked much of him because no one really expected much of him.
And for some insane reason, I had the ridiculous impulse to reach under the table and take his hand. To hold it. I didn’t know how or why, but I sensed that he needed someone to believe he wasn’t useless, that he had something to offer. There was a desire to show everyone that he was more than the front he put on. More than what he revealed and allowed others to see. I could feel it in him.
Could he possibly be deeper than that playboy bachelor exterior he wore like a suit of armor?
After the meal was over and the table was cleared, the men excused themselves into the den. “There are some family matters we need to discuss,” Nico said to me in a low voice. “Won’t take longer than an hour. You okay to hang out with the girls for a little while?”
Actual family matters? Or five family matters? The girls had explained more to me about the recent happenings between the Rossettis and the New York Firm than Nico seemed willing to. But since he didn’t elaborate, I didn’t bother asking.
“Sure.”
Not even a minute after he’d closed himself inside the den with his brothers and father, my cell phone rang. When I saw the number on the screen, I excused myself from the conversation around me and stepped outside. I didn’t answer until I reached the front sidewalk and ensured no one from inside the house could hear me.
“What are you doing calling me?” I whispered. “Is Batya okay?”
“Walk down the street,” Dimitri commanded. “To the alley.”
How the hell did he know where I was? I was too worried to bother asking that, so I followed his instruction.
“Where is Batya?”
“He’s fine,” Dimitri answered. “Everything is all right for now. But I need to speak with you.”
“You need to make it fast. It isn’t a good time.”
“No, I mean in person.”
I looked at the phone in bafflement. “Have you gone mad? I’m in Brooklyn. I’m—”
“I know exactly where you are, kotonoyok.”
I jumped, letting out a little squeak. Because that voice had not only come through the phone, but from behind me in the bloody alley. When I whirled around, I saw Dimitri standing there with a black hood over his head, concealing most of his face.
“What in God’s name are you doing here?” I hissed, feeling frantic. “Why aren’t you with my father? Protecting him?”
The hard angles of Dimitri’s face softened. “Because he asked me to protect you. Don’t worry, he has plenty of protection. But you don’t.”
My head reared back. “He asked you to guard me? Why would he do that? He ensured me I had nothing to fear from Nico Rossetti. He promised me the man would keep me out of harm’s way.”
Dimitri’s eye twitched. “He didn’t offer an explanation. Perhaps he’s second guessing his decision to marry you off due to the friction between the Rossettis and the New York Firm. Maybe he wants to ensure you don’t get caught in the middle of their war. Which I could have told him was a possibility if he’d only listened to me in the first place.”
He knew about all that? Why hadn’t anyone felt it prudent to tell me before I was dragged out of Russia?
I rubbed my temples. “Batya would never risk my safety.”
Dimitri shrugged. “All I know is Sergei gave me an order, so here I am.”
I peeked around the corner to make sure no Rossetti had come looking for me. If anyone saw me talking to Dimitri like this, it wouldn’t send a good message. They’d get the wrong idea. “And what exactly are your orders?”
“To keep an eye on you and make sure no harm comes to you. Call it extra security, especially with the trial of Raphael Esposito coming up.”
He certainly knew more about the situation than he’d ever let on in Moscow. Was there more going on between Batya and Nico behind my back?
“I’d honestly feel better if you were by my father’s side,” I told Dimitri reassuringly. “I know you don’t feel that you can trust Nico, but I don’t think he’ll let anything happen to me.”
Dimitri’s eyes bulged. “Are you serious? Alexia, you can’t trust him. None of the Rossettis. Anyone who has affiliations with the Firm cannot be trusted. You know this. You’ve grown up your entire life being told this.”
Yes, yes. The russkaya mafiya was not friendly with the Italian-American mafia. I’d heard it over and over from Batya for years. He refused to ever do business with the syndicate. Which made his dealings with Nico a bit puzzling. If he’d known of the Rossettis’ connection with the Firm, contentious as it was, why had he still thrown me at Nico?
“They are enemies with the families, Dimitri,” I argued adamantly. “Not allies. They are the ones responsible for putting Raphael in jail in the first place. Why would they want to hurt me?”
The ragged scar on his cheek turned whiter as his mouth tightened. “That’s just the image they project. Did you know one of the sons is dating the daughter of a former boss in the Firm? They’re more involved in the business than they want the public—or the police—to know. Do you honestly think they’ve acquired all that wealth strictly through legal means? You grew up in this life, Alexia. You know better than that.”
Doubt scratched at the back of my mind.
But the girls had never once let on that they were involved in any kind of organized crime. I’d seen no evidence of it. And lunch today with all of them had just felt too…normal. It didn’t seem possible.
“At the end of the day, Dimitri, you have to ask yourself if you trust my father. Even if you doubt some of his decisions, do you trust him?”
His eyes cleared, as if he couldn’t have been more bewildered by the question. “Of course, you know I do. I’d give my life for him. And for you.”
I laid my hand on his arm comfortingly. “Then you must step back. Stay in the city if that is my father’s orders. I understand you cannot disobey him. But Nico cannot know you are here in Brooklyn. He would think you and Batya have malicious agendas. That you’re working against him. Worse, that I’m working with you against him.”
Dimitri canted his head to the side. “Do you care about your own safety, kotonoyok? Or about your husband’s feelings if he were to see us meeting?”
I breathed through my nose as I decided how to answer that. I wasn’t sure I even knew the answer myself. “Right now, I only care about my father’s safety. That is all that is important to me.”
After studying me for a few tense moments, Dimitri nodded. “Then rest easy. Nothing will happen to him. I will stay out of sight while I’m here. Unless there comes a time where I need to step in.”
A loud horn blared on the street just behind us, making us both turn in that direction. Just an angry motorist—there didn’t seem to be any other kind in this city.
When he turned back to me, his hand rose to cup my cheek, just like the day we’d said goodbye. His thumb brushed over my jaw, getting rather close to my mouth. His eyes darkened noticeably, but I ignored it.
It was just Dimitri and the crush I knew he’d never act on.
Because he would never betray Batya like that.
“Don’t think that you can trust him, Alexia,” he said gravely. “The second you do is the second he’ll prove you wrong.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I only nodded.
With his ominous warning ringing in my ears, Dimitri adjusted his hood. “Do zavtra.” Till tomorrow. Then he vanished around the corner.
Okay, so recap.
Nico said the Rossettis were basically mortal enemies of the five families.
Dimitri said that all was not as it seemed.
Who to believe?
The man I’d known for nearly fifteen years, whom I trusted with my very life? And my father’s life?
Or my husband of six days?