Page 111 of Violent Pawn

A few people wave goodbye, but I linger until the room clears out and help Giovanni fold up the chairs and stack them in the corner. It’s something I’ve taken to doing after the first gathering. The guy gives up his hour to listen to us drunkards yap about our problems, when he’s already solved his own, so it seems the least I could do.

We work in silence, and then he trails me to the door to lock up. Instead of a quick goodbye, I linger, a question on the tip of my tongue. It’s maddening how much progress two weeks have taken because it doesn’t feel like enough. I assumed thoughts of her would solve the issue, but not completely. Sometimes envisioning her and the fact she’s no longer talking to me sends my panic into overdrive and me hunting for a bottle.

There have been more than one fight in the past two weeks between Zeno and me over the empty liquor cabinet, only for him to remind me I chose to give it up and remind me why. He hangs around Rome more than normal despite his upcoming wedding—one guess why.

Elio has been acting normal but requests a lot of help to train inductees or to keep hunting for whoever stole the weapons and killed our men. It’s obvious he, too, took Vanessa’s point about physical exertion being beneficial to heart.

“Nero?” Giovanni’s voice pulls me back. “Need something?”

“Sì.” I cough into my fist. “What’s the timeline for this to be all fixed?”

He doesn’t even try to hide his pity, which annoys me because I’ve never been someone to pity. “It’s different for everyone, so it’s hard to say. You’re finding alternate means when the craving hits?”

“Sì. The gym mostly.”

“At this point, it’s time. How are you handling the stressors in your life?”

“Some are better,” I reply honestly, skirting the ultimate truth. My stressors consist of the alcohol itself, which is a work-in-progress, and Anastasia—also a work-in-progress.

My phone rings then, Zeno’s name flashing across the screen so I walk through the double doors towards the exit. “Sorry, I have to take this. I’ll see you next week.” Rain pounds on my shoulders so I jog to my car, not picking up until I’m dry. “Yeah?”

“We found the missing weapons shipment.”

“What? Where?” Nothing I’ve done this month has turned up anyone in our ranks. We’ve even had Lev helping us scour through every single employee and soldier’s backgrounds and accounts.

“The basement of one of Ana’s brothels.”

“The fuck? A shipment goes missing here and ends up in Moscow? What are they playing at?”

The conversation between Elio and me returns full force. This seals the concept that whoever’s behind is trying to drive a wedge between the Bratva and us. Not only will they not win, but it’s given me purpose. Something Giovanni’s been encouraging me to discover, besides exercising. Something to shift my passion into at all hours of the day and focus me.

This isn’t about Zeno and Vanessa’s impending marriage anymore.

This is about the fact they dragged Anastasia into it.

“I’d like to know how they got that many weapons into Russia,” Zeno mutters, and I could picture him running a hand through his hair. “One doesn’t just cross the border with that shit.”

“Private plane? We theorized whoever it is has financial backing. What if the backer is a Russian?”

He sighs. “Anything’s possible at this point. I’ll ask Vanessa if she has any ideas.”

“So what’s happening over there?”

“Vanessa’s headed down to the police station with their lawyers.”

“Anastasia was arrested?” I jam my foot on the brake and tap the power of the car, demanding it turn on to drive. Anywhere to be closer to her.

“That’s what happens when cops find two hundred guns hidden in a club’s basement,” he explains dryly. “They arrested her earlier today.”

My little ballerina’s behind bars.

“Vanessa will get her out.” My heart pounds faster, gripping the wheel with the same strength I envision strangling a cop with. “They can’t hold her without evidence.”

“The guns are the evidence.”

The phone grows fragile in my grip. “Sure, but she’s not getting locked up without better proof, Z! What can we do?”

“We wait for Vanessa to do her job. The Bratva’s an old organization. They have ties to their government. With a bit of help from their lawyers, she’ll walk free. It’s a formality and nothing more.”