by Bethany-Kris
“And for what?” Alberto asked, waving at Amelia. “So she could make that idiot jealous?”
Amelia sniffled, using the heels of her palms to press against her eyes. Violet wanted to feel some sort of sympathy for her friend … but she couldn’t find any. Amelia had always liked to play stupid games with Franco, things that would draw him back to her before she pushed him away again. Ruslan had probably been another one of those stupid games.
But it wasn’t a game.
Those kinds of lies killed people.
Amelia should have known that.
So no, Violet didn’t feel bad as both Alberto and Vito started shouting between one another, and at Amelia.
Violet passed Nicole a subtle look at her side. “Did you know?”
Nicole shrugged, but her expression said that no, she hadn’t known a thing.
“Explicitly!” Alberto roared. “I explicitly forbade Franco, and you—” He turned on Carmine. “You, I told you the answer was no because her stories didn’t line up with the other two.”
“Dad,” Carmine started to say.
Alberto pushed away from the table, taking a single step toward his son. “Say that again, Carmine.”
It didn’t even come out like a question.
Carmine tipped his chin down. “Sorry, boss.”
Violet blinked, confused and stunned at the same time. She knew her brother had long been mixed up in the family business, but inside their home, she had never heard him address their father as anything less than “Dad” or “Papa”. Certainly not “boss”.
Alberto, seemingly satisfied with Carmine’s correction, turned back to the table and pointed at Amelia. “A man very nearly lost his son last night because of your lies. And if I didn’t know you as well as I do, if I didn’t care for your father as much as I do, it would be you taking the punishment for what happened, and not Franco.”
Amelia sucked in a sharp breath, saying again, “I’m sorry.”
Vito said nothing, and neither did his wife beside him.
Violet wasn’t surprised at their lack of a response. They were la famiglia, and a blood relation didn’t have to factor into that at all. Alberto was the head of the family, a family they were a part of, and like he always had done, he made the calls and doled out the punishments.
This was just another one of those times where he had to step in.
“Get out of my face,” Alberto said, far quieter than before.
Violet was up out of her seat before anyone else.
The others sat there, looking stupid, as she made a beeline for the exit.
Alberto Gallucci was a lot of things, but a quiet man was not one of them. And when he was quiet, when he spoke softly through thinned lips and clenched teeth, it was a very bad thing.
“Now,” Violet heard her father say behind her. “But do not leave the property.”
She was already heading toward the back door.
The further she could get from her father in that moment, the better she thought it would all be.
Standing beneath the spray of water, Kaz ducked his head, letting the shower wash away the night before. He hadn’t minded the scent of Violet clinging to his skin, reminding him of just how long he had spent learning every inch of her, but business was calling, and he had to get a move on.
He had only been upstairs for little more than thirty minutes before he was heading back down. With his phone in hand, he looked over the messages he had ignored earlier, but came up short when he caught sight of Raj, one of Vasily’s soldiers, standing next to his car, his hands in his pockets.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Vasily had sent a man around to see him, especially when he was indisposed, but he saved Raj for special occasions. Kaz knew all too well what the man was capable of, especially when he was feeling inspired. And while Kaz feared no man, he still gave him a wide berth whenever they were in the same room together.
Catching sight of Kaz, Raj’s expression didn’t change, that permanent scowl he usually sported still etched firmly onto his grisly mug. “The Pakhan wants to see you.”
Kaz tapped his thumb against his phone, then said, “He couldn’t call me himself?” It wasn’t like the man was incapable of using a phone—he had just seen him the day before. And if Vasily was going underground for any reason, Kaz would have been one of the first to know.
But despite his inquiry, Raj didn’t offer a response—not that Kaz was expecting one. Raj didn’t question orders, just did what he was told and nothing more. He was a good soldier in that way.
And maybe if he hadn’t spent the night between the legs of someone he knew was off-limits, Kaz might have been a little less suspicious as to why Vasily was calling him in.
He was careful to keep his expression neutral as he slid into his car, watching Raj through the windshield as the man jogged the short distance back to his own vehicle. The moment Kaz was sure he couldn’t see him anymore, he dialed someone he thought might have answers. While he and their father might not have been the closest, Ruslan still heard things, sometimes even before Kaz did.
“It’s early for you, no?” Ruslan said the moment the call connected, sounding like he was still in bed.
“Vasily wants a meet,” Kaz explained, driving far more cautiously than he had some hours before.
There was a sound of movement, and his brother’s muffled voice as he spoke with whoever he was with before Ruslan was back on the line. “What the fuck did you do this time?”
Ruslan wasn’t far off. The last time Vasily had called him in this early was because of a shipment Kaz had fucked up and needed to fix. “Nothing that I’m aware of.” The last thing he was going to mention was Violet.
“I haven’t heard anything, if that’s why you’re calling—can’t help you this time.”
Kaz only had a few minutes before he would be outside of Vasily’s residence, so there was no point in him asking for information anywhere else. He would just have to go in and pray to whoever the fuck was listening that he wasn’t walking to his death.
“How’s the face?” he asked changing the subject.
Ruslan made a disgruntled noise, sounding almost annoyed as he said, “Looks worse than it feels. I’ll probably need to avoid Mama for a while. You know how she feels when she sees that shit.”
Irina wasn’t clueless. She knew all too well what the men in her life were doing, even without the specifics, but she never liked when it was staring back at her. That just made the reality of it all sink in a little more. If they could help it, they didn’t show her that side.
“Do that.”
“Right. Well, call me after your meet.”
Yeah, if he lived to see the end of it … “Will do.”
With a quick farewell, Kaz was off the phone, tossing the device in his passenger seat as he pulled up to the gate, punched in the code, and waited for the metal doors to swing open before he pulled in and parked. At first glance, he could already see that Irina wasn’t at home, nor were the twins. One of the two matching BMWs that Vasily had bought them for their birthdays was missing.
He might have been inclined to think of this as a good thing. Kaz didn’t want to believe that Vasily would kill him under the roof where Irina and the girls slept, but knowing his father the way he did, he would have him cleaned up long before any of them got home.
Grabbing his gun from the glove compartment, he checked the clip before holstering the weapon. It was now or never.
The front door was open when he tried the knob, not all that surprising since it was pretty well known who the house belonged to.
He crossed the floor to the spiral staircase, heading upstairs to the second level where Vasily’s office was located. Though the door was pushed closed from what Kaz could see from down the hall, the gruff, but soft voices could still be heard.
Rapping his knuckles twice against the door, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. There were five men in attendance, his father included. Raj stood off
to the side looking disapproving—probably because Kaz had arrived after him, though they had left from the same place. Two more men were seated against the back wall, not speaking. And last, there was Andrei who was standing across from Vasily, his gaze shooting to Kaz the moment he entered the room.
“Good of you to finally join us,” Andrei said, condescension dripping from his tone.
Kaz’s brow rose as he regarded the man, but he kept his mouth shut. He and Andrei had never gotten along, in part because the man felt Kaz didn’t deserve the spot he had. Andrei had been a part of the brotherhood for more than two decades, had even spent a tour in a Russian gulag back during the fall of the Soviet Union, and yet he was still occupying the same position as Kaz.
Of course, he couldn’t voice his anger to Vasily—not if he wanted to live—but he lived to make Kaz’s life difficult every fucking chance he got.
“Sorry, Mom,” Kaz said. “Next time I’ll call to let you know when I’ll be late for dinner.”
Chuckles arose, making Andrei’s face mottle with red. “You little—”
“As entertaining as this has been,” Vasily interjected. “We need to get to business. Take a seat, Kazimir.”
Kaz quickly surveyed the available spots left in his father’s office to sit, noting the only seats would put his back to someone else, or a window. Standing where he was, his back was only to the door, and that was better than it facing men he didn’t trust all that much.
“I’ll stand,” Kaz said.
Vasily passed him an indecipherable look, but settled on a nod. “Fine. Last night—”
“I still think we should send a message to the Italians,” one of the two men standing against the wall said.
“I’m going to speak without interruption, or the next time someone jumps in on my conversation, I will have their tongue removed and bronzed for a paperweight,” Vasily said rather dryly.
Any and all sounds in the office silenced instantly.
Vasily wasn't known for idle threats, and he always had a certain flair when it came to making a point.
“Good,” Vasily said, pleased with the quietness around him. “As I was saying, I wanted to revisit the attack on Ruslan last night, and what I have decided to do about it.”
Kaz shoved his hands in his pockets, curious but wisely choosing to stay quiet. It would do him no good to open his mouth at that moment, and he was well aware of that fact.
“And, what of it, boss?” Andrei asked.
Vasily picked up a mail opener from the desk, and fiddled with the dull knife. He spun the tip against the pad of his index finger as he spoke again. “You have to understand the way the Italians work, especially one like Alberto Gallucci. A man like him understands the value and weight of a proper apology.”
Kaz’s irritation jumped a notch.
His father seemed entirely unfazed by what had happened to Ruslan the night before as he set the letter opener down, and picked up his phone. Swiping at the screen, Vasily passed it a look before turning it off and setting it back down with a nod.
“And while I would usually send out a message of my own after something like this happens, I have chosen not to this time,” Vasily said, eyeing each man, but lingering a little while longer on Kaz when he finally came to him.
It was like his father knew the rebuttal was right on the tip of his tongue.
“Do you have an opinion on that, Kazimir?” Vasily asked.
Kaz kept his cool demeanor firmly in place. “I have an opinion on my brother being attacked, yes.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
That was the only answer Kaz was willing to offer.
His nonresponse to his father stretched on for a long while until Vasily let out a heavy, annoyed breath and rested back in his large chair.
“I have reason to believe the attack was misguided, and appropriate action will be taken,” Vasily informed.
“By whom?” Kaz dared to ask.
Vasily smiled. “Men who understand the value and weight of an apology. Only if I do not receive what I want, then I will revisit this discussion and Ruslan’s attack again.”
Kaz didn’t like that statement at all, but what could he say?
His father made the calls.
And if, after everything was said and done, and nothing happened to Ruslan’s attackers, Kaz could always handle the issue himself. If he felt the punishment he might receive for doing so would be worth the reward in the end.
Vasily drummed his fingers to the desk and said, “For the next little while, I want everyone to be careful and quiet about business. Be mindful of the territory we have, as there is no need to begin pushing against someone else’s lines when we are perfectly capable of working within our own. At least until the dust settles, and I have gotten what I wanted.”
Kaz cocked a single brow. “And what is that?”
Vasily didn’t answer.
No one else seemed to want to question the Pakhan on his decisions, or what was really going on. Kaz was left to the task.
“What exactly are we waiting for?” Kaz asked.
Picking his phone up again, Vasily turned the screen on and checked it. He then placed it back to the desk before clasping his hands together and looking straight up at his son.
“A message.”
Violet hugged her bomber jacket a little tighter when the wind picked up. She usually enjoyed walking around her parents’ large property because it was so quiet and calm. Over the years, her father had several different landscapers come in and add pathways, small bridges, and seating areas throughout the many acres of wooded property behind the mansion.
It was the peaceful place in her otherwise hectic life. There were no rushing cars, beeping horns, or hordes of people all around when she strolled through the woods.
Just her, the trees, and rustling leaves.
She could remember being maybe seven or eight before her father finally allowed her to walk the pathways by herself without someone supervising her. But even then, Violet knew there had been someone watching. Alberto never let his young children go unattended for very long, not with who he was and his position.
“Come back here, Olly!” Violet shouted as a flash of beige hair disappeared around a turn.
A few seconds later, the dog trotted right back like he had been told. It was one of the only things the Golden Retriever had going for him—he listened. Olly was Carmine’s dog, and while Violet mostly tried to avoid her brother, she did like Olly a lot. He was a good companion to walk with, but today he was restless and kept running ahead of Violet.
That wasn’t like the dog.
Usually, he would stay right at her side, no matter what.
It was one of the many demands Alberto had made when Carmine got the dog just after his twenty-first birthday. Their father made it clear that if the dog was going to come and go from his home when Carmine was busy or out of town, then Olly needed training, and he needed to listen to commands.
Carmine agreed. Alberto allowed Olly to come and go from the Gallucci mansion after one year of constant training with a professional dog trainer.
Violet took a seat on a wicker bench, keeping a hold on Olly’s collar as his head lifted high and he sniffed the air again. She didn’t want him bolting off. God knew if he did and didn’t come back, Carmine would blame her.
It wasn’t even her responsibility to look after his damn dog.
But she hadn’t been given much of a choice.
Ever since her father called Violet to the Gallucci mansion three days prior, he had refused both her and her brother’s requests to leave. It wasn’t often that it happened—a situation where Alberto locked his family in just to be safe, but this was one of those times.
She knew it had to do with the attack, the Russians, and what might come of it.
Alberto had said nothing except, “Just to be careful.”
That was it.
He didn’t offer anything else, and he refused to explain to Violet
why she had to miss classes. She couldn’t even have a driver take her off of the Gallucci property.
But if it was a matter of safety, then she chose not to argue.
Almost daily, she did stare at the contact on her phone for Kaz, considering making a call or sending him a message. But given how someone was always around—her father, Carmine, her mother, or even one of Alberto’s men—she didn’t feel safe doing so.
Anyone could pick up her phone and despite it being locked, messages still flashed on the screen. She didn’t want to take the risk.
Standing from the bench, Violet pulled on Olly’s collar to make him turn around and follow her back to the mansion. He refused to budge, still pointed in the other direction.
“Time to go back to the house,” Violet told the dog. “Come on, Olly.”
The dog’s ear flicked.
Carmine had been absent from the mansion for the better part of the morning, and Alberto hadn’t given much of an answer as to why or where her brother was. He’d simply said that Carmine was around, and had business to attend to. Apparently, that business had lasted for most of the day.
Because Violet had been stuck entertaining the asshole’s dog all damn morning and afternoon.
“Olly,” Violet muttered, tugging lightly on his collar again. “Aren’t you hungry?”
At the mention of food, Olly would usually run straight for his bowls, wherever they may be. Violet didn’t even get an ear flick out of him for that one.
Then, the dog’s head picked up higher, like he had heard something farther beyond in the pathways. She supposed he could have, knowing the dog had far better hearing than she did. But Alberto had been clear when she said she was going for a walk.
Stay on the stone walkways. Not beyond.
After a certain point in the woods, the pathways turned to dirt instead of stone. There were a couple of small cabins toward the back of the property that they sometimes used for parties in the summer and things like that, but it was too cold for anyone to be in them now.
Olly lurched forward with a bark, and Violet went with him, her hand slipping out of his collar just at the last second. It saved her from taking a tumble to the ground, but barely.
