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“Dude,” Lorenzo sighed, shaking his head in disgust. “What the fuck?”
Turning to Giovanni, he stood rooted in his spot, glaring at me.
“You wanted to know why she wants me dead, now you know.”
“Everyone leave. I want the room,” Giovanni ordered sternly. Saying nothing, I watched as his brothers left, along with Romero’s men. Montana never moved as he sat shaking his head. When Vlad shut the door, leaving me alone with the family heads of New York, I braced myself for what was coming.
“You’re lying,” Giovanni growled. “I’ve seen you two together. You would never purposefully hurt my sister unless there was a reason for it.”
“I was tired of the fighting. I needed to end it fast,” I lied easily. There was no fucking way I could tell her brother that my past was coming for his sister. If I did that, my secret would be out and everything I’ve worked for since I left Russia would evaporate. That was something I wasn’t willing to chance. No. The only way to keep her safe and ensure my livelihood continued was to stay the course. The fewer people that knew the truth of who I really was, the better.
Giovanni shook his head as he chuckled. “God, you’re an idiot. Lie to yourself all you want, Bloodletter, but I know what I saw. You’re hiding the real reason. I know it and so do you. There is only one reason to do what you did. You did it to protect her.”
I stiffened.
“He’s right,” Renaldo Romero added, leaning against the wall. “Men like us make decisions like that when there is no other choice. To save the one that means the most, we do the unthinkable to protect them. Even if it means we lose them forever.”
Montana said nothing as he glared at me, lightly shaking his head.
If Renaldo and Giovanni only knew how right they were.
Montana and I had watched from the sidelines as that very scenario played out. There was one other, one of us who did the unthinkable, and the fallout of his actions still haunted me to this day. While I knew it was a shit move, like my counterpart, I would do anything, become anything, to save the woman I loved. That was something I would never apologize for.
Pulling a chair towards him, Giovanni unbuttoned his jacket and sat. “You know my story, Bloodletter. We are a lot alike. We both love headstrong women who do whatever it is they want. Women who’ve spent their whole lives in danger because of their affiliations with the world we live in. You helped me when Capribella kidnapped myTesoro, your niece, along with Illyria. You didn’t blink. You didn’t ask, you just helped. So, I am going to do what you did for me. I am not going to ask. I am going to help. So, tell me, Maxim. What do you need my help with?”
Chapter Seven
Illyria
Entering the penthouse, I dropped my bags and kicked off my shoes. “Mrs. Rushton!”
“In the kitchen, my dear.”
Heading that way, I sighed as the wonderful smells of authentic, home cooked Italian food surrounded me. Placing my hand on my heart, I smiled. “This place smells wonderful. Almost as if my mom was cooking herself.”
Mrs. Rushton smiled warmly. “Thank you for that, Illyria. Your mother was the best of the best. I loved spending time in the kitchen with her. I think she would be happy to know that I’m filling her daughter’s belly with the food of her homeland. How was your lunch date with Mr. Stone?”
I sighed, slipping onto a bar stool, watching as Mrs. Rushton moved about the kitchen. “It was okay. It went as expected.”
“He offered you the club?”
I secretly grinned. “Yes,ma’am, he did.”
Mrs. Rushton laughed. “Men are all alike, my dear. They only see what they want to see. And was your man there?”
I cringed at her words but nodded. “Yes. My guess is he was in one of the offices, watching and listening to everything.”
Raised in this life, I knew when I was being played and when someone was being honest with me. My father always told me I had a keen sense when it came to deception. Over the years, honing my skills as I watched and listened as my father, then my brothers, talked, made deals, even how they interacted with members of the underground.
Everyone had a tell.
My mother taught me that. She also taught me that as a woman, I wouldn’t be perceived as a threat. I was nothing more than a beautiful ornament that my father, brothers or future husband would bring out occasionally to show off.
The lessons I’ve learned over the years have served me well, and now it was time to put what I’ve learned into action.
“So, we will be staying in the city then?”
“Yes. Which means everything will need to be moved from Chicago as soon as possible. The Vanderveer Cancer Research Ball is in a few days and I will need a dress.”
