AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Makenna recruited my brother, Romero, to become one of her underbosses when she and Dante got married. In doing so, Romero agreed to an arranged marriage with her niece, Holly. The red-haired Irish beauty is smart as a whip and has brought the Gallagher and Bianchi family a hell of a lot of money with the investments she’s made on our behalf. She’s made us richer than Midas.
“Malcolm’s usually very good at judging people,” I say. I may not know much about all her family, but her nephews, Danny and Malcolm, are the head of the Irish Mafia in the UK and Spain respectively. Both men are shrewd businessmen and are just as deadly as their aunt when they want to be. It’s a Gallagher trait.
Makenna nods. “He is, hence why we’re going to scope him out.”
I glance over at Dante and see him smirking. Makenna has a little trouble with relinquishing power, and whenever Dante and I have a meeting about the Famiglia, she is always present.
“Babe,” Dante says, trying to hide his laughter.
She growls at him. “Don’t,” she warns him. “I do not want to hear that shit right now. This isn’t just a Famiglia matter, this is a Gallagher-Bianchi matter.”
He sits back in his chair and raises his hands in mock surrender. “You are the one who said only yesterday that you understood the difference between being my wife as the capo and being the boss for the Irish.”
“I also understand that you need a bullet in your head. Doesn’t mean I’m the one to pull the trigger now, does it?”
I can’t help but laugh at their antics. These two never fail to make me laugh, but they also know how to piss me off.
“The plane leaves in three hours, Ales,” Dante tells me. “You’re good at getting information. I need everything you can find on him and the operations he’s running there.”
I rise to my feet and nod. “I’ll dig deep,” I assure him.
“You’re the only one I trust to do this,” he says, and I know this is him giving me a chance to prove myself.
“I’ll do it,” I promise him as I leave the office.
Over the years, I've made mistakes. I've let my family down because I didn’t tell them about the job my father sent me to do. I had to look into the Russians and get as close as possible so I could uncover what they were doing. It took me a while, but I finally did it. I infiltrated the Russians and got close to Yelena, the granddaughter of the Maksim—the head of the Russian Bratva.
What Yelena and I had was different. I thought it was love, but looking back, it was infatuation and lust. The woman was gorgeous, sexy, and confident. She knew her worth and wouldn’t let anyone say otherwise. We grew closer each day, and feelingsstarted to develop–something I couldn’t handle—so I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I fucked up and slept with another woman. In doing so, Yelena left. Since then, I have seen her only once, about six months after things ended. She looked happy. She told me she forgave me, but that she would never be with me again. I knew I had wrecked what we had and there was no way back. Hell, had she done what I did to her, I’d have snapped her neck and been done with it. Yelena is a skilled assassin. She could have easily taken me out, but she didn’t. Instead, she walked away and hasn’t looked back since.
After my father died, my brothers found their feet instantly. Dante with Makenna, and Romero as an underboss and then as Holly’s husband. All I had was my mission—my job: to find out what the Russian’s were doing. I didn't tell my brothers about the mission, not even after he died. I kept it to myself, knowing I could help Dante in the future with my findings. I found out the way the Bratva was run, I discovered their sources and spies, and I also found out who has been playing both sides. But when my brothers found out, they were furious. My father was dead, and the business alliance he had with the Russians was over. Everything I had worked hard for was gone, and in the end, I almost lost everything.
Being in deep with the Russians and almost losing my family as a result, I learned a fuck of a lot of lessons. Now, I know what I want: to be Dante’s Consigliere.
My cell buzzes with an incoming message as I board the plane. Once I have taken my seat, I reach into my pocket and pull out my cell phone. My heart stutters as the message opens.
Thomas: I’ve found her. She’s living in Texas.
Christ. That’s not a message I thought I’d ever get. My investigator, Thomas. I told him to stop with the search. After Yelena and I spoke, there was a part of me that wanted to check on her, to ensure she was doing okay, so I hired Thomas. It tookme eight months to tell him to stop, that I didn’t need him any longer. I had come to realize that Yelena and I were never meant to be. Now she’s someone from my past. Someone I hurt. I know better than to dredge up the past. She’s better off without me in her life.
I’ve been in Denver for three days, and I’ve uncovered a lot about Joe Ranieri’s operations. I have to admit, he runs a tight ship, just like Makenna and my brother. He doesn't take any crap from anyone, and his men are loyal; they respect him because he respects them.
Going into business with him is a smart move and a great opportunity. It’s a smart thing to have Joe as an ally.
I have one more bit of business to do: go to the bar where his men hang out and listen to what they say while they’re drunk as fucking skunks.
Christ, this heat is like being in a sauna. It’s almost eight in the evening and it’s hotter than Hades. This is why I prefer the East Coast. Every step I take, it just brings more sweat pumping from me.
I hear a deep, feminine laugh—a familiar one. I glance across the street, and my gut tightens.
Yelena.
What the fuck is she doing here? She lives in Texas, that much I know for sure, it’s where her mom is. But why is she here all of a sudden?
Her eyes widen when she notices me, and her hand moves to her stomach. I clench my teeth. Fuck. It’s hard to miss the protruding bump or the flashy diamond she’s wearing on her left hand. She’s married and pregnant.
I’m happy for her. She deserves to be with someone she loves, and who can offer the same in return.
She says something to the man she’s with, and he turns to look at me, his eyes narrowing. He’s familiar to me, but I can’t pinpoint where I know him from. It doesn’t matter. I’m happy she’s moved on and I wish her well. I give them a chin lift and carry on walking.
