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As her dad moved her to the door, Donna fired over her shoulder, “Will I see you tonight?”
“Khristos,” Dmitri murmured, rubbing his face tiredly with his hands.
Leaving my silence as the only answer she’d get from me, I didn’t flinch when she slammed the door behind them.
Pulling his phone out of his suit pocket, Dad touched the screen, his eyes focused on me now.
“Benito,” he greeted, making my eyebrows raise in surprise. “A favor, please. I need your lawyer to annul the fake marriage between Donna Azarov and Taras. It’s to be done as soon as possible, and I want it kept quiet. Yes, we’re looking into who he has in his pocket, that’s why I need your man to do it.”
There’s silence for a beat, and then he nodded. “If you could bring it with you, that would be perfect. There’s one other item I need to be resolved by him. Penelope Hamilton gave birth to twin sons, as you’ll be aware. I’ve viewed the birth certificate, and the father’s name is blank. However, they are Taras’s, so we need that to be amended.
“I assumed that would be the case, so we can have that with you within twenty-four hours. Again, this needs to be done as soon as possible. Without them carrying his name, they are at risk.”
Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that. Just the possibility of someone going after the boys and Nell made me want to tear the world apart to find a nook to keep them safe.
“Easy,” Dmitri said quietly, reading me correctly. “This will be done.”
Not taking my eyes off our father, I watched as his expression remained impassive to whatever Ben was saying. “Obliged, drug. The Fedorovs will repay this.”
There was another pause, and the only emotion my father finally showed was to close his eyes slowly, something Ben would have no clue he was doing, and a rare move from the stoic man I’d known my whole life.
“Omertà, Benito.”
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he’d given his loyalty to Ben, but it did.
To pledge omertà like that to another country’s mafia, especially a Cosa Nostra family, was the same as declaring them family, and vowing to take their back no matter who was attacking them, albeit another organization or even the authorities.
There could be alliances and even deep friendships, but an oath like that?
It was a turning point in the alliance between a Pakhan and a Capo, one of the most resonant versions of it possible, too.
“Spasibo, Benito,” he began, but then stopped as he listened to what was being said. “You think it’s necessary? Fuck, yeah, you’re right. I’ll get Taras to make the calls. Chao, drug,” he sighed, mixing Russian and Italian to solidify the respect he’d given moments before.
Hanging up, he looked grimly at the two of us. “It is done. Once the boys have the Fedorov name, it will hopefully deter any intended action against them. There are few who’d go up against us, and this just narrows that small number down to one that we can monitor. We know Azarov is working with Los Segadores—”
“I wish they’d change that name,” Dmitri sighed. “I’ve got a lot of Mexican friends who have our backs. It’s offensive.”
“It’s amateur,” Dad shot back. “And that’s how we’re going to win this war, because that’s who we’re working with. When the original gang who carried the name was established, they did so because it was decades ago, and we were working with petty criminals. They assumed calling themselves that would boost the fear factor, but all they did was small-time crimes, nothing big.
“When they were taken over by Abar eight years ago, he used the gang to smuggle his men into the US. From there, they’ve grown and opened up the highways up and down North America to allow them to smuggle what they wanted to, at the same time as reaching their tentacles out to other countries.
“Ribeiro wouldn’t have been able to hold back, knowing it would give him an in to try and take over the Fedorov holdings. What he forgets is, my tentacles are more substantial and longer than his, and unlike him, I don’t reveal who those tentacles are wrapped around.
“I’ve spent my whole life showing loyalty to men who deserve it, gaining that loyalty back in return. And now,” he said smirking, “it’s time to show him and his comrades what power truly means, as we avenge the death of our men.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I braced for the answer to the question I was just about to ask. “What calls am I meant to make?”
Instead of replying immediately, he rubbed his hand over his mouth a couple of times, his eyes unfocused as he looked at the coffee table.
Finally, he took a deep breath in, then blew it out as he turned to face us again, angling himself in his chair so that he was in full control.
