Chapter 15

15

MATTEO

" T alk," I order, walking into my office. Nikolai looks like shit. I feel partly responsible. In the last few weeks, all my attention has been on Mona. I've let Nikolai run loose. He's gone out on some small jobs and collections. Nothing I didn't think he couldn't handle, but everyone has been staying close because of the O'Haires.

"Nothing, it's just the girl from that night."

"And what were you going to do?" I lean up against my desk, kicking my feet out.

"I don't know." Nikolai runs his hands through his hair. He does that when he's unsure or frustrated.

"So she pulled the fucking fire alarm." I watch him, but I am unable to get a read on him. "Are you sure you don't need to tell me anything?" I ask again. "Look at me," I bark, wanting his eyes to meet mine. I stare at him for a long moment.

"I don't do drugs," he bites out. I hadn't said that, but I thought it might be a possibility. He's edgy and unlike himself. He also hasn't been all over me about being more into jobs. Nikolai jumped at any opportunity to go to meet-ups with me. He was eager to prove himself.

"All right." I believe him. I didn't think he would, given his upbringing. But sometimes we do things we never thought we would. "Nikolai, if you so much as touch that girl—" His fingers tighten around the leather chair's arms. Interesting. "If you so much as hurt that girl," I rephrase, his fingers relaxing, "you will deal with me, and it won't be like before. You'll go to the basement like everyone else."

"I won't hurt her," he grits out. His response lets me know exactly why he had the reaction he did to Riley. He's smitten with her. Shit, what am I going to do with this?

"Is she why you've been at the club?" He leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees and lowering his head.

"I really don't want to fucking talk about it."

"She's cute." His head snaps up. "Don't," I order before he can say something that might get him backhanded. I know what I need to at this point. "Don't toy with her. Mona is going to be my wife; that means she'll be my sister-in-law."

"So she's not going anywhere," Nikolai finishes for me.

I have never paid much attention to what kind of women caught Nikolai's eye before. Given that he is a teenager, I assumed that he was attracted to most women. There's no shortage of female attention when he is in one of the clubs, but he is usually working. Nikolai also doesn't appear to be eighteen. But Riley isn't a woman. She's still a young girl. There might only be months between them, but in history, they are decades apart.

"She's not going anywhere," I confirm.

"Are we done?" Nikolai stands.

"For now." He nods. "Are you going to the club tonight?"

"Think I'll hang around." Right. "Matteo." He pauses at the door. "She's not cute. She's breathtaking." I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. It depends on how Nikolai handles it.

I go in search of Mona, finding her with her sister in one of the spare rooms. They're sitting on the bed together, talking. Mona smiles when she notices me standing in the doorway.

"Come." I extend my hand to her. She comes to me. "Nikolai?—"

"It's fine, really." Riley gives me a smile. I know she doesn't want to cause problems. She's quiet and keeps to herself.

"All right." I lead Mona down to our bedroom.

Our visit to the city isn't just because of the doctor's appointment. All of this turmoil is coming to an end. The families will soon settle their differences. Only a few people know that I've brought Mona and Riley here for safekeeping.

"Everything okay?" Mona asks when we enter the bedroom. I close the door behind us. "He seemed pissed, and I couldn't get anything out of Riley."

"Nikolai will be fine. He would never go against my orders," I reassure her, knowing how protective she is of her sister.

"I know, I trust you, but I wasn't asking about that." It has only been a few weeks, and she is already getting good at reading me.

"I have to go out. I'll leave Sal and Nikolai here." There will also be a few men downstairs too, but they should be secure here.

"This is different."

"I'm meeting your brother and father." Her lips purse. I know they aren't her favorite people. In many families, women are treated as mere commodities. You utilize them in a manner that best serves your family. I'm not even a father yet, and I could never envision entrusting my daughter to a marriage for personal benefit. "Mona, you do realize there is a good chance I will kill them." I tell her the truth, not wanting there to be any secrets between us.

To my surprise, she gives me a soft smile, stepping into me so her body is flush with mine. Her hand slips up my chest and wraps around my neck.

"I love you, Matteo. I pick you. Our family. I'm not an O'Haire. I never was one of them."

"You're a Cattaneo," I finish before I claim her mouth. I wasn't asking for permission to kill them. There are many things Mona could ask for, and I'd do them without hesitation. There are two things I will, however, never budge on.

I could never let her go. Even if she had asked me to do so, I wouldn't. I never claimed to be a good man. I want her to be with me, and I would do whatever I had to ensure she was always by my side. The second has everything to do with her safety. With her brother and father out there, I'm not sure what they would do. Even if they begged and gave me their word that they would leave her be, I would never trust them.

If they know how badly I've fallen for her, then they'll try to use her against me. Or they can simply try to take her from me. That means they have to die.

"I love you too." I cup her face, pressing my forehead to hers. "Stay in the house and listen to Sal, even Nikolai. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, you can trust me."

I give her one last kiss before I head downstairs to meet Sergio and a handful of my other men.

Once we have our plan in place and I'm satisfied that the condo is secure, we head out. I don't want to leave Mona, but I know what needs to be done. She's in good hands with Sal and Nikolai.

"What are you thinking?" Sergio asks me as we make the drive across the city.

"I don't know." I can't put my finger on it, but there is something that isn't right. I had already offered to meet Mona's father, Conor, on multiple occasions, but he hadn't wanted to settle all of this. The sudden change of heart to meet makes me uneasy. I'm sure I'm just being overcautious, but my gut usually isn't wrong about things like this.

The only thing I can think of is that he finally came to the realization that he's fighting a losing battle. I'm sure he'd rather get money or some kind of trade instead of losing everything. I think he could be content with a deal. It's Aidan O'Haire that is the wildcard here. I know he will always try to get more. "Do we have eyes on the warehouse yet?"

Sergio hands me the screen so that I can see it. Fuck, do I love technology. I'm not old school when it comes to everything. The drone gives a perfect view of who is coming and going from the warehouse.

The screen switches over to show body heat so I can count the number of people inside for myself, but I'm sure Zero has been keeping a count. I hit the top corner to connect with him. I pulled Zero into my fold years ago when he almost got nabbed by the FBI.

"Have they arrived?" I ask when the phone connects.

"Only Conor. There is no sign of Aidan."

I tap the driver's shoulder, letting him know to slow down as I pull through the shitty chain link gate and into the parking lot of the warehouse. That sinking feeling of something not adding up is still prickling at the back of my mind.

"Boss?" Sergio raises a brow in question, wondering what I'm thinking.

"Any incoming vehicles?" We're down in the warehouse district. The streets are desolate when night falls. Only half the warehouses are even used down here anymore.

"Nothing," Zero responds. I hear him clicking away. I motion for the driver to stop completely. Where the fuck is Aidan? My mind goes straight to Mona. The one thing that could be used against me.

"Check my condo."

"What?" Zero responds. I'm not sure why I give a shit about my condo right now.

"Check it!" I bark as the warehouse in front of me explodes, sending everything into chaos.

I've been in a lot of precarious situations in my life, but never have I felt the sense of panic that comes over me at the thought of something happening to my little rabbit and our baby.

There better not be a hair on her head that's out of place or I'm going to burn both the O'Haire and Rossi families to the ground. Strike that. I'm going to destroy all of them regardless just for thinking about touching my little rabbit.