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I chase her all the way to the front door, which she throws open and darts out, only to collide with Cass who’d been about to knock. Both of them stagger.
"Catch her," I yell.
Sara screams again, darts around Cass and runs off, past Karma, who turns to watch her take off out down the garden path, before she turns up the road.
I make to go after her, but Cass grabs my arm, "Hey," she chuckles, "was that your younger sister?"
"You mean, was that my pain in the ass sibling, then yes, she is," I glower at the now empty garden path.
"You two fight a lot growing up?" Karma asks as she draws abreast with us.
"All the time, and apparently, nothing has changed." I shake my head. "What are you two doing here, anyway?"
"Your wedding dress," Karma beams, "we’re here to take you for a fitting."
29
Axel
"Nikolai Solonik," the man holds out his hand.
I ignore him and drop into my seat next to Michael. We are in a dingy space behind an Italian restaurant in Palermo.
Nikolai’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t say anything as he takes his own seat. He’s dressed in a custom-fitted suit, his hair cropped close at his temples. Asshole resembles an investment banker, except for the tattoos which peek out from under his collar. For that matter, so do the two men standing behind him, who he doesn’t bother to introduce. He doesn’t need to, though. The facial resemblance declares that they are brothers.
"Sorry I am late." An older man walks into the room. He must be in his mid-forties, with grey threading the wings at his temples. Like the other men in the room he, too, is dressed in a dark suit. Me? I’d opted to dress in jeans and a hoodie.
"JJ Kane," the man jerks his chin at me as he folds his height into the seat next to Nikolai.
"And here I thought, meeting in the room behind an Italian restaurant was something they did only in the Mafia movies," I drawl.
"It’s the best Italian restaurant in Palermo." Michael shrugs, "Makes it convenient for us to adjourn for lunch."
"Food is important for you Italians, eh?" I shoot him a sideways glance.
"Hold on, you don’t consider yourself Italian?" Nikolai leans back in his seat.
"I grew up in London; I consider myself English."
"You sound English," JJ offers.
"But you are of Italian origin?" Nikolai pushes.
I glare back at him. "My mother was a Mafia princess, if that’s what you are asking," I say in a hard voice, "but I am not Italian." I hold his gaze and he nods.
"Yet, here you sit, by the side of the Don of theCosa Nostra?"
A nerve throbs at my temple, "Your point being?"
He raises his hand. "Just making conversation," he says in a mild voice.
"I have a suggestion for you. Don’t," I shoot back.
The silence stretches in the room. The men behind us shuffle their feet. Behind Nikolai, his brothers don’t move a muscle. I swear, I haven’t even seen them blink since I walked in here. Do the Bratva have a special school to which they send their men to be trained?
"Xander’s loss has been hard on all of us," Michael finally murmurs, "but we have been fortunate to be reunited with his triplet, Axel." Michael surveys the two men seated opposite us. "I called this meeting, in good faith, to introduce both of you to the newest member of our family. Axel is also going to be a board member in our three-way partnership that encompasses the online businesses that we are running."
"You are going to make him a board member in Trinity enterprises?" Nikolai straightens.
