I can tell that Salvatore doesn’t want to tell me this based on the way he coughs. It’s almost as if I can see his eyebrows being drawn in a stern line as he speaks. “Yeah, that’s what I would do. You can’t ever push Enzo to make decisions. He has to make them in his own time. Although, I’m sure he’ll be coming back soon. I just sent him a text a little while ago in regards to your daughter.”
My breath catches in my chest, as I ask him what I desperately need to know. “Have you found her?”
“We have a lead. I will be on a flight to Nashville within the hour to meet Gianni and Lorenzo. The three of us will go check out that lead and hopefully we won’t come back empty handed.”
I feel a tightening pressure hit me deep in my heart. The mere thought that I may be reunited soon with my baby girl is more than I could ever wish for. I just have to wait for a little bit longer, then I’ll be able to hold my daughter in my arms.
39
I don’t hold grudges. I remember facts.
-Unknown
Enzo
I received a message from Salvatore stating that a digger had tracked Larisa’s whereabouts via flight manifests. We believe the name on the manifest isn’t accurate, and that this little girl is actually Larisa. The diggers went through months of flight manifests from all local airports within a 50 mile radius of where Ksenia was staying with the DiGiovanni family. There were only three matches, which ultimately brought us to the one that’s most likely to be Larisa. If this little girl doesn’t turn out to be her, we will move down the list and continue our search until we find her.
I feel bad for the way I’ve been acting towards Ksenia, but all this shit is so much to process. I could have made different decisions that would have helped. In a way, I firmly believe that by making some of the choices, I made things worse. That is the type of guilt I will have to live with for so long, and I’m hoping that eventually it will go away. There’s no way she’ll understand it. Instead, I can visualize her telling me that I’m acting crazy. That none of this is my fault. That’s why I’ve been distancing myself, because she won’t understand. To be frank, I don’t even want to try. Talking about it won’t help me one bit.
“Did you go see Ksenia before you came here?” Gianni asks me as we start to board the jet.
I shake my head, “No. I’ll talk to her after I get back.” Knowing him, he’s going to give me shit.
“She called me.” Salvatore speaks up from his seat, looking over to me.
“She did?” I ask, a bit caught off guard. I approach my brother and take a seat across from him. Gianni takes a seat beside me.
A message comes over the intercom from the pilot, telling us to prepare for takeoff. We all grow silent as we lift off. “She was worried about you. I told her you were probably feeling guilty and that’s why you’ve been acting so different.” Out of everyone in my family, Salvatore has always been able to connect with me on a way that the others have failed to. I don’t think he understands why I feel certain ways, but I think he accepts that it’s part of me. I’m a fixer, and knowing that I could have possibly prevented some shit is tearing into me like nothing ever has before.
“I hate how you always seem to know me better than I know myself.” I tell my brother, glancing out the window.
“We’re family. That’s just how it works. Shit, we know how much of a royal ass Gianni is when he doesn’t even know the full extent.”
A full on belly laugh rumbles out of me. “His head’s too big. He’ll never see it.”
“You both really want to talk about me like I’m not sitting right here.” Gianni feigns acting like some little bitch of a man who got his feelings hurt.
“Please, that’s a compliment in your mind.”
Gianni flashes us one of his go to smiles, “Well, yeah, you’re correct. You’re keeping my street credit up, maintaining my reputation.” He adds a wink at the end. “Now, are we going to keep talking about me or shall we dive into our more pressing issue?”
“You know we found a flight manifest from Italy to Canada.” Salvatore states, pausing for a mere moment before he continues. “We thought it could be something entirely legitimate, looking into the girl further. However, we found a birth certificate stating how she was born in Canada . . . but there are no other flight records that show this girl had flown into Italy. Now, it would make sense if she had an Italian birth certificate, but she doesn’t. It states she was born in Canada, but somehow came back from Italy with no other flight records. That is what makes us think this is Larisa. I don’t know how the fuck when her ‘parents’ immigrated here to the USA that small detail was missed, but I bet they weren’t looking at flight manifests for a child either.”
“So, she was born in Canada and they decided to immigrate her into America?” I ask, trying to understand this. “Why was she brought into America in the first place? Was it not safe enough for her in Canada?” I fire out question after question. “More importantly, who has been her guardian for all of these years?”
“A Canadian woman and a Russian man. I believe that the man worked for Sergei and that is the reason he trusted him with Larisa.” Salvatore says, “From what I know of Sergei Kolosov, it would fit his character that he’d keep a trusted hand to watch over his daughter. Either to kill her, or to use her in the event that his other heir was to be killed. I highly doubt that he would have killed this child though. When you come from such a life as he did, you understand the importance of your lineage continuing on to the next generation. I’m betting that he was bluffing when he threatened Ksenia.”
“Are there any other things I don’t know?” I ask, wanting to get my mind off Sergei. I can’t think about that creature. I don’t make a mistake in referring to him as that. He was no man in my eyes.
“Only the obvious,” Gianni speaks, “They did a shit job at changing this girl’s name. She still goes by Larisa. The only difference is her family surname.”
“Really?” I ask, baffled.
Gianni shrugs, chuckling before he speaks. “I’m not shocked by any of this. Obviously, this guy didn’t have half a mind. The bastard didn’t leave us breadcrumbs to follow, he left us the entire fucking loaf.”
“True. Now, where are we headed?” I ask, waiting for one of them to answer me.
Salvatore speaks up, “We’re headed to upstate New York. From what we know about Larisa and her parents, they live in a nice, quiet house in the woods. She goes to private school and has a pretty docile life.”
“It won’t be docile for long.” Gianni mutters, getting a glare from me.
The objective isn’t to create chaos for this little girl, but to reunite her with her family, and that’s what we’re going to do.
40
I promise I will save you, when you cannot stay afloat, and if your tears fill an ocean, then for you I’ll be a boat.
-E. H.
Enzo
We landed at a small airport, somewhere in upstate New York. I really wasn't paying attention to the map. I'm still not used to those flight trackers, but I suppose I don't travel enough to use them. Salvatore paid off the owner of the private airstrip to keep our identity a secret. But we know that's not the only reason he's paying him off. That probably has something to do with the child, we’ll be taking back with us, and the fact no other adults will be accompanying us on our flight.
After the owner was paid off Salvatore told Gianni and I more information regarding the family. The mother is some sort of teacher, but I really think she's a professor. Whereas the father owns a construction business. It looks like these two were trying to portray the perfect American family, and from what I’ve been told – they’ve done a stellar job.
Salvatore changed out of his suit into some sort of athletic gear. It’s not quite something you’d wear to the gym, but it definitely isn’t his normal attire as well. Gianni filled me in that this is what he normally wears whenever he goes out on a job. He looks like some vigilante roaming the streets at
night. If anyone in my family had told me Sal changes into shit like this, I would’ve thought they were on drugs.
Gianni and I both opt to stay in our usual clothes. Honestly, I just want to get this thing done as quickly as possible. Ksenia has lived without her daughter for too long, and this girl has no idea what sort of loving mother she’s been separated from. I don’t even know how I’m going to handle it when I’m face to face with Larisa. What will I say? How will I tell her who I am? How will I tell her about Ksenia or her baby brother who will be with us in just a couple of months? There is no ‘how to’ guide in any of this.
“I can already tell you’re overthinking everything.” Sal grumbles as we get into the blacked out SUV that was waiting for us at the airport.
I shrug, fastening my seatbelt. “Of course I am. This isn’t easy. Do we even have any sort of plan?”
“We are not to kill the fake parents until absolutely necessary.” Gianni mumbles in a disappointed tone. I turn back to look at my brother, and his expression matches his tone of voice.
“Do you enjoy killing?” I ask because I don’t know. I should, though. I should’ve been able to tell Gianni likes doing this.
“Yeah. I’ve been doing it for so long. I usually handle the cream of the crop, the twisted bastards who deserve it more than the rest.” As he speaks, I wonder if anyone truly deserves to die. I think more about Max, knowing that death would give him an out. Reed was right in making his decision. He deserves to suffer each and every day for as long as he’s alive. I won’t ever say this aloud, but Max doesn’t deserve to die. It would be showing him mercy.
“That’s not what I’m asking. I want to know if you like to kill people. Does it give you enjoyment?” I keep my eyes trained on my brother as Sal drives who the fuck knows where.
Gianni lifts a brow, growing quiet for a few moments before he continues. “I don’t know any different than this. We were born into it, and Dad trained us as early as he could. I didn’t have another option. When it comes to my enjoyment? I don’t know what to say. I like to know when these people deserve it. I like it when I know that I’m helping rid the world of awful people. The ones that only cause misery, mayhem and torment. So, in a sense, I suppose that I do enjoy my job. I enjoy killing when I’m helping with the problem.” The problem. He has an interesting way of phrasing it.
Salvatore pulls off to the side of the road, heading down some sort of gravel path. It’s not paved, but there are two areas that have bits of rock and gravel, signifying that it’s some sort of trail. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Yes. The digger gave me the blueprints of their entire property. This is some sort of maintenance road that is used from time to time. It sure seems smart to me to just pull on up through here and leave the SUV under the trees. We won’t be out in the obvious, and I’ll make sure to park so we can roll out of here quickly.”
I can’t disagree with Sal. He has thought this through, for the most part. “Okay, so how do we get in?”
“Easy, you see those big ass vines? We can climb those or just go in through the front door. The security in this joint is ridiculous. You’d think they would be prepared for something like this.” Gianni grumbles, handing me a gun with a silencer. He does the same and hands one to Sal, but as he starts to get out of the car, I can see he’s been packin’ this entire time.
“Our sole purpose is to get the girl. Okay?” Sal looks to Gianni, “We’re not here for anything else. Obviously, if these two shoot at us we need to take them out but only if they shoot.”
“You take away all my fun.” Gianni stammers out.
I pull my handle on the door and push it open, hopping out the side of the SUV. I hold the gun in my right hand, eyes searching through the wooded landscape. Sal parked the vehicle deep enough in the woods that I don’t think anyone would take notice that it’s here. The trees are all within a few feet of one another. Meanwhile, this maintenance road looks like it hasn’t been used in quite a while.
“We’ll all split up and connect inside the house.” I state, walking through the brush. From the looks of it, the house isn’t overly extravagant. It looks like a typical home in the woods would, but it’s not like a typical cabin style home. Instead, it’s covered in stone.
“Got it.” Both my brothers say at the same time.
I walk forward, heading towards the house. As I grow closer, my heart rate begins to quickly increase. This moment has been a long time coming, and I can’t have any fuck ups. There is no room for error here, and I need to be the man ensuring that there won’t be.
I raise my gun, eyes watching the area. I doubt anyone even knows we’re here. Luckily, we landed just before sunset, so now it’s starting to get dark. I think we have a great advantage because of this.
From where I’m standing by the tree line, I can see that there’s a light on in the living room. I move towards the front, heading towards the door. I figure what the hell, we might be able to gain access from here.
As I arrive, I place my hand on the knob and turn it. Surprisingly, the door comes wide open. I look back to see if my brothers are behind me and see Gianni following. There’s no time to waste, so I can’t wait for him. A stairwell going to the second floor is to my right and to my left is a living area.
My eyes venture to the flower lined chair and I see a blonde woman, eyes trained on me. Her nostrils flare as she processes what happens. “Who do you work for?”
I think about lying to her, but what good will it do? “Ksenia Petrov.” I wait to see if the name registers, and it does.
She stands up abruptly, nodding. “Larisa should be upstairs. I will accompany you.”
I’m shocked by what’s happening. Why is this woman going to take me to her? “Why would you do that? Why aren’t you putting up a fight?”
“Because I can’t blame a mother for wanting her daughter back. After hearing about Sergei’s death, I had accepted this would likely happen.” I search her eyes to see if she’s lying. I don’t know how to take this. Never have I experienced this in my entire life. You’d think that this woman would want to do as Sergei commanded, but maybe she sees just how wrong all of this has been. “I did not lie to Larisa while I raised her. I told her that her mother and father would be here to get her one day, and that day would happen soon. Now, tell me, who are you?”
“I am Lorenzo Moretti. I am dating Larisa’s mother. She and I are having a son of our own very soon.” I don’t see a reason to lie to this woman. She’s been nothing but honest with me, so I will return the favor.
She smiles, looking at me an entirely different light. “You are Larisa’s father. Do you understand? I always told her that she’s been trapped away like a princess to keep her safe. She knows nothing about who her biological father is, and she doesn’t need to know. So, you love her like your own, because she is your daughter.”
I nod, agreeing. This woman is right. I am Larisa’s father, and it is the only thing she will ever know.
41
Unknown
Set your past on fire and let it burn.
-Unknown
Enzo
I always expect the worst in every situation. It’s probably my past that makes me think this negatively, but we live and we learn. Am I right? I have little to no faith in humanity anymore after witnessing the things I have, but today I think I gained a little more faith.
This woman had no reason to help me, to lead me to Larisa, and yet she did. She took her hand and told the girl that I was her father and coming to take her home to her mother. The look that crossed Larisa’s face was something you’d see a hopeful princess make. One who is ready for the rest of her life to begin.
Larisa looks exactly like her mother, with long flowing white-blonde hair. She made it a point to tell me upon first meeting me that she plans on dying it black as soon as she’s allowed. Over my dead body will she be dying her hair anytime soon.
The man and woman who guarded Larisa through the years
have done a great job raising her. I knew that within the first few moments of meeting her. I was told that they were not husband and wife in the emotional sense for a few years. That the assignment they had from Sergei brought the two of them together.
My brothers and I took Larisa back to the jet after we packed a couple of suitcases for her. The last thing I wanted was for her to come home with nothing. We even made sure to grab some of her favorite toys. The flight back to Nashville was a smooth ride. Larisa fell asleep leaning up against me for most of it. I could tell she was excited, but all of that excitement was wearing her down.
Salvatore struck up some conversation with her on the ride to Russian Manor, where Gianni didn’t have a clue what to say. He kind of kept looking at her like she was some sort of creepy centipede. Gianni isn’t really into kids. He seems fine around our niece, Sorina, but I don’t see him playing with any kids outside of the family’s.
Larisa grabs my hand, sitting next to me in the back seat. “Are we going to be there soon?” She looks up to me with her big, beautiful eyes before she looks out the windows.
“In a couple of minutes, yes.” I tell her. We just passed through the gate a moment ago.
By now, all of the houseguests should be back at the club. I don’t know if most of the Russian Dolls have left yet, but I know they were all eager to get out and on the road as soon as possible. Even though Max has been captured, they’re still afraid. Rightfully so. I’m just wondering how the ones who are staying feel about him being locked up in the basement of the club as a prisoner.
“I’m scared.” It comes out of her mouth in a mere whisper as we approach the house.
Retribution: Skulls Renegade MC Book #10 Page 16
