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“Exactly. Women have always been a means to an end for him. You, Tessa, Layla, Remi, even me. We’re connected to powerful men. Take us out of the game and the men in our lives will crumble. Do you honestly think Maxim Fedorov will do nothing if Petrovitch gets his hands on you? That man will bargain, sell everything, even give up his foothold on the East Coast to get you back. This war was never about you, me or the other women. It’s about power. Who has it and who’s willing to do anything to get it? And don’t even get me started on the kids.”
My head snapped to hers as I muttered, “What do you mean?”
“Children are a liability, a distraction that he will snuff out the first chance he gets. He won’t allow a child of a prominent figurehead to reach the age of maturity and claim what is rightfully theirs.”
“But Tessa, Remi and Layla have children.”
“And they are as good as dead if Petrovitch wins this war. They will be the first to go. Sick bastard will probably even kill them in front of their parents before he kills their mothers. You should know all this, woman. You grew up in the mafia organization. Didn’t your father or brothers teach you anything?”
Rubbing my face, I sighed. “I’m Italian Mafia. It’s not like that with us. There are rules.”
Silver rolled her eyes. “My God, you really are a sheltered mafia princess, aren’t you? Wake the fuck up, Illyria. Your own father killed women and children to get his foothold in Chicago. Are you telling me you never knew how your father claimed Chicago?”
“You’re wrong. My father would never harm a child.”
Silver smirked. “God, you can’t be that gullible. You think you know everything, but you don’t. Even when faced with the truth, you keep your blinders on. Look, I need to get the hell out of here. If you found me, then Petrovitch shouldn’t have a fucking problem, but before I go, let me leave you with these parting words. Everything you know is a lie. Ask yourself this. Knowing what I just told you about the man, what would he gain by taking your company? When you think you’ve figured it out, try again because you are going to be wrong.”
“Where are you going?”
“Far away from here. Hopefully, so far, he will never find me,” she said, gathering her things and stuffing them into a backpack.
Getting to my feet, I headed for the door when I remembered the journal. Turning back to her, I asked, “Silver. Does the name Irish Ghost mean anything to you?”
Silver stopped moving, then slowly turned around and faced me. “Where did you hear that name?”
Silver fixed her gaze on the journal as I held it up. “Found this in Ireland. Do you know anything about it?”
Gathering her bag, she flung it over her shoulder as she walked past me before saying as she eyed the journal once more, “You need to ask Maxim.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Illyria
Watching Silver hop on her motorcycle and ride away, I stood there as I tried to assimilate everything she told me. Could I have gotten it all wrong? She clearly knew more about Petrovitch than I did. She had no reason to lie to me. According to her, we were both in danger. That I believed. The bastard made it perfectly clear he wanted my company. But what if Silver was right and it was a means to an end to get to me? If she was right, then I was in more trouble than I thought and I was playing right into his hands.
I had too much to lose and nothing to gain by continuing this search. My last lead just drove off for places unknown, running from the very man I was trying to bring down. Silver never pegged me as the scared damsel in distress type. From what I knew of her, she was strong, a survivor by all accounts. Yet, she didn’t think twice as she rode away.
Looking around the desolate Nevada desert, I wondered why she chose this place to hide out in. There was nothing here. Nothing at all. I knew she knew more than she said. I wasn’t stupid. The woman was a plethora of information, only I didn’t know the right questions to break her safe. Instead, she took what she knew and ran, only telling me to return home for my answers. To do that, I would have to face my brothers and Maxim.
I couldn’t stand before my brothers and tell them I lost everything. I refused to look at the disappointment in their eyes. Then there was Maxim. God only knew what he would do or say.
“Ms. Illyria?”
Looking towards the car, Sypher was standing beside the open door waving his phone. “Got a minor problem. Montana is calling me.”
“Shit,” I muttered, as I headed towards him. “Did you answer it?”
“Uh...no. He’s been blowing up my phone for the last ten minutes. And now Ghost is calling me. This is bad, Ms. Illyria. If I don’t answer, they will call my brothers.”
Getting in the car, I started the engine as I heard Sypher’s phone ring again. “Now Bullseye is calling me.”
Before I said anything, I watched as Sypher’s phone went black moments before a face appeared on his screen. “Boy, you are in deep shit.” The familiar woman cursed angrily. “Just what in the hell do you think you are doing in Nevada? Do you know the shitstorm you’ve created? Your brothers are losing their shit. It’s taking the entire club to stop Chipper and Trout from looking for you. They called Ace. He’s waiting for you in New York right now. Ghost is threatening to put you on lockdown. Montana wants you to be sanctioned and I’m not even going to relay what Fedorov plans to do to you. They all know where you are. Is she with you?”
I sighed, leaning my head back against the headrest as I nodded.
“Yeah, she’s with me.”
Phantom growled. “Get on a fucking plane and head home now. Illyria, your brothers know everything. This mess has nothing to do with your family’s company. It never did.”
