Page 26 of Savage Little War

“I made peace with the Irish,” I say. “An alliance. It gives us more men, more eyes, more reach in Vegas. The Irish are a force to be reckoned with, and I think it’s better to have them beside us than across from us.”

“You stupid fool! Did falling in love melt your brain?” Victor growls. “You’re going to ruin the Bratva with your idiotic choices and lack of loyalty!”

“I’m loyal to what we’re supposed to be,” I snap. “Not to your fear. You’re just upset that I won’t kneel.” The only person I’ll ever kneel for is in my bed.

“You are a lost cause, Dmitri,” Victor tells me. “What are you going to do next? Become friends with the Albanians?”

A year ago, I would’ve cared about their approval. Back when Mikhail was alive and the rules still meant something.

Now I have Cara. I have a future I intend to keep.

The Council can stay a thorn in my side or they can try to become the blade.

I exhale once, slowly. “Stay out of my way, Victor. All of you. Or I’ll remove you myself,” I warn him before ending the call.

If they try to stop me from marrying Cara, they won’t have to worry about the Italians, the Irish, or the Albanians.

They’ll be at war with me.

8

Cara

As much as I’d love to dive straight into wedding planning, Dmitri and I have bigger problems to deal with first.

We only get two days to enjoy being engaged before Luca texts Dmitri telling him to gather Sean and Andrei. We all need to talk.

“What do you think it could be?” Andrei asks as he, Dmitri, Sean, and I wait in the living room for Luca to show up, tension thick in the air.

“It has to be something related to Ferro,” Dmitri replies as he impatiently paces around the living room, checking his phone and watch every few seconds.

“It’s about time we get some news. That son of a bitch has been MIA for weeks now,” Andrei mutters as he crosses his arms over his chest and leans back against the couch cushion.

“He knows we’re looking for him,” Dmitri says as his eyes sharpen, his fingers flexing like he’s ready to fight Ferro right here and right now.

Even when we’ve been trying to relax, he’s been restless. His thirst for revenge has only grown stronger since our engagement, and I can only imagine how much worse it’ll get when I finally tell him about the baby.

“If Luca does have a lead on him, we have to move quickly, yeah?” Sean states. “We can’t let him disappear again.”

“Where is he?” Dmitri mutters, making another lap around the room.

“You’re driving me crazy with all the damn pacing, Dmitri,” Andrei says as he rubs his temple.

At least someone said it, but it wasn’t going to be me.

Finally, there’s an urgent knock on the penthouse door.

Dmitri strides to the foyer and pulls open the door, motioning for Luca to hurry up and come in. “Tell me you have good news.”

“I have good news,” Luca replies as he heads to the living room. He nods to Andrei and Sean before pressing a friendly kiss against my cheek. “Congratulations again.”

I give him a warm smile. “Thank you.”

“I’m already thinking of a very expensive wedding gift for the two of you,” Luca tells me with that addicting grin of his on his face.

“Luca,” Dmitri grits out in an impatient tone.

Luca waves his hand dismissively at Dmitri. “Relax, Ivanov. My cousin reached out to me and told me that she has confirmation that Ferro is back in Italy.”