Chapter 13

thirteen

Sergi – One Month Later

I'm pissed, I'm about to go to a meeting with the mafia heads and their seconds, the council, and Phoebe, who will be standing in for Juan, who keeps reminding me about our meeting next week, and all I want to do is see my girl.

Four weeks, that's how long I've gone without her, and it's making me jittery not seeing her. I finally told Phoebe all about her and she squealed, yes glowing in delight. She demanded to meet her. Damian, Al, and Sofia have also been pestering me, but I gave in to Phoebs like I normally do. So I asked my girl, who has been big on the avoidance lately, and she immediately said yes. I literally sighed with relief. She says she's trying to build a friendship with Melanie, no idea why she would, but she is. My girl is all heart. I just want to see her now, though. I miss her. I miss her smell, her kisses, her pussy, her ass, her cooking, her everything. I just fucking miss her.

I pull up to the office and head inside to the meeting room, and see Damian and Al, and head over to them. We fist bump and I lean against the conference table. After about ten minutes, I'm ready to put a bullet in Alexandr's head. I'm stressed the fuck out because I haven't seen my girl, and he isn't helping.

"Al, will you sit the fuck down!" I snap. He raises a brow at me, and I sigh, knowing I'm taking my frustration out on him. "She'll be here any minute."

Al sighs and nods. I know he's worried she'll leave him again; this is one of the many reasons why I refuse to tell Avery about my true self.

The door opens and the three elders enter. Dimitri, Stefano, and an elder from the Irish, Liam. They are all previous head of the families that have made up a council. We live by a code. For centuries, one man, a previous family head, if they haven't been killed or died of natural causes, of each mafia, and a previous Pahkan in honor of the Bratva, group together as a council. They ensure the heads of each family stick to certain rules. If one of the rules is broken, then it's an act of treason and will be dealt with by death.

Dimitri goes to Al and asks, "How are things?"

I zone out again, thinking of my love. Fuck, I need this meeting to hurry up so I can finally see her and kiss her. I'm brought back from my thoughts when the door opens again, and Noah walks in with Basil right behind him. Dimitri squeezes my shoulder as he walks past to take a seat, and Noah and Basil greet the men. I ignore Basil, he's still on my shit list for how he's treated Phoebe; Selene's always right in his eyes, and its fucking pissing me off.

The door opens again , and I smile as my cousin walks in with an air of confidence. She kisses Al, then comes to take a seat next to me. I will be acting as her second today instead of Damian's for her safety, not that she needs it. She's fucking badass.

Al takes a seat next to Damian as I sit on his other side with Phoebe next to me.

All eyes turn toward Damian, and I chuckle as Damian and Al smirk, knowing this is Phoebe's show. All men around the table frown, looking at each other, confused.

Damian stands to get the meeting started. "Okay, gentlemen, let's get this meeting started, shall we."

A man who came with Noah clears his throat and questions, "Where's Mihai?"

Damian looks at him. "Unfortunately, Patrick, he will not be joining us. Not only do the Romanians not give a crap about keeping the peace in these meetings, but it's also about him." He looks at each man and they nod in silent agreement, while Patrick bows his head out of respect. He spoke out of turn, making Noah look weak. Noah scowls at his man and swivels his finger in the air, and his men swap positions, making Patrick go pale.

I grab Phoebe's hand, giving it a squeeze for courage, and she side eyes me and smiles. I smile back because I'm so fucking proud to call her family.

Damian looks at Phoebs. "The floor's all yours." He smirks, but her face doesn't change, keeping in character. However, her eyes show amusement. I sit back and relax, ready to watch the Phoebe Show. She stands and looks around the table, and most of them, who are not family heads frown. Only Stefano and Dimitri look at her with pride, while Basil, her father, sits in confusion.

"Gentleman, I would like to thank you all for coming, I understand how busy you are. There is one other person who'd like to be involved so I'll patch him through. I will be representing him in person while he listens in." She gets her phone and dials Juan, and I grind my teeth. How in the fuck am I going to get through a meeting with him? I shake my head and look at the men around the table. They all frown, and just as Juan answers the phone, without so much as a hello, the man seated next to Basil speaks up.

"Really Damian? Letting a little girl playing dress up take over our meeting, what the fuck is this? Women know their place; it's at home cleaning and popping out babies, not getting in our fucking business." He looks at Basil, the Nonos tis Nycthas, or Godfather of the Night, the Greek mafia head. "What is your daughter doing, Nonos ? This is an embarrassment to our family." He growls the last bit.

Phoebe smirked and sat down during his rant. I hear a slight chuckle from her cell, and my stomach knots hearing Juan's voice again. I look at Phoebe and she gives me a slight smile, to say ‘have courage' , and my eyes soften. That's the thing when you're best friends, you know each other well, which is why I chuckle when she gets her knife out, twisting it in her fingers. Damian is smirking and Al looks fucking giddy.

Shit.

I lean closer to Phoebs and whisper, "At least take a few more minutes before snapping. I am not buying your fucking cat a bed." She bites her lip to stop from laughing.

I mean it. Al is determined to buy her fricking cat Ares a new bed. The bed is like $700 or $800, which is ridiculous for a cat! I will never live it down, and by the looks of Damian's face, neither will he.

Phoebe ensures her bitch face is in place when she says, "You have a problem with me being here, Belen? Because I'm quite sure you didn't have a problem fucking Selene's ass over our dining table last year when you thought the house was empty."

Basils confusion turns to venom while a little vomit rises up my throat. Gross.

Belen stills, then quickly snaps out of it. "You a lying whore. You're the one who fucked your father's men behind his back. You shouldn't even fucking be in this room, bitch."

The men at our table grow extremely silent, half don't know what to say, while Basil looks like he believes his guard—by the look he's sending his daughter. I'm about to stab the fucker, then slice his neck. When is he going to fucking listen for once in his pathetic life?

Phoebe grabs a hold of my hand, keeping me where I am. She knows how I feel about this waste of space. How could he believe such crap about Phoebe when that's exactly what Selene is doing right under his fucking nose? And he fucking wonders why his daughter wants fuck all to do with him. Dimitri and Stefano are fuming, and Juan just chuckles.

"I really wish I was there right now, because this just got entertaining."

All the men look at the phone, confused, they recognize his voice. Dimitri looks at me and raises one brow, silently asking if I'm good. I give a slight nod while Phoebe squeezes my hand again, then she smiles sweetly.

"Gentlemen, I believe you all know my uncle, Don of the Spanish Mafia, Juan Garcia."

Despite that news, Belen doesn't seem deterred. He wasn't there when she killed Christian Baciu, and doesn't know who Phoebe actually is. He's still an idiot; surely he can see that a few men want to stab him right now.

"I don't give a shit who your uncle is, your whore ass shouldn't be here. What you did to your sister is despicable, you even got your father to neglect her for months. You're pathetic."

I sigh, knowing I am about to lose a bet.

Phoebe laughs at my sigh, then states, "You mean the sister who has you completely fooled? The one who tried to sell me to Christian Baciu because she owed him thousands in drug money? The same one who likes to eat pussy while my so-called fiancé is busy fucking the girl who is trying to get my sister off. That sister?" Belen just laughs, while Al tenses. Shit.

"You're bullshitting, yet again, so your father cuts her off. You're a spiteful bitch, and you're a traitor. Leaving your contract marriage to Alexandr is a punishable by death. A coward is what you are."

It happens fast and everyone looks on in shock, while I sigh and get my wallet out. I start counting out $400 in cash for Alexandr.

Phoebe is up and out of her seat in seconds as she jumps on top of the table, slides toward Belen, and stabs her knife into his hand. He screams out while Al shoots up from his seat, raises his hand, and shouts, "Called it!" Damian and I groan aloud, and Al smirks as I hand him the money.

The men in the room are all stiff in shock, while Juan chuckles over the line. "How much did you win, Alex?"

"$800."

Phoebe rolls her eyes. "Can we get back to it, please?" she asks sarcastically.

Al states, "You won't be rolling your eyes when I get that new cat bed for Ares you said wasn't worth the money. Now he can have it, thanks to Uncle Damian and Uncle Sergi." We both scowl while Phoebe turns back to Belen, whose gone pale. Her father is looking at her in disgust, still believing his man. Un-fucking believable.

"Tell me something, Belen, what did dear old daddy say about what happened to Christian?" Basil stills, his eyes closing slowly, and I chuckle.

Belen stutters, "T-that a s-stray b-bullet hit him."

She chuckles, then leans down close. "Wrong. I killed him, shot him between the eyes."

He chuckles darkly, despite the knife in his hand. "Yeah right. You're nothing but a weak bitch. You're only acting all big and bad b-because d-daddy is watching."

She tsks. "Ever hear of The Shadow?"

He grunts. "Everyone has, you you stupid bitch."

If he calls her a bitch one more fucking time….

Phoebe side eyes me, reading me like a book, and gives a subtle shake of her head. I pout because I want to have some fun, too. She tries to hide her smirk.

"Did you know that she was my grandmother?" He pales and shakes his head, not believing it, she leans down and whispers, just loud enough we can all still hear, "Ever hear of the Angel of Death?"

He looks ready to pass out, and not from the blood loss. "No, you're n-not her. You're weak, a-and s-shy."

She smiles her evil smile, while Noah, Liam, and their men all look at her in shock. They pale.

"Actually, Belen, I am. My grandmother and my Tio Juan taught me to be the best of the best assassins going. And, not to brag or anything, but I am." She pulls the knife from his hand, and he groans.

Basil goes red and blubbers, "Phoebe you can't just stab one of my men for speaking the truth about you. Selene already told us everything you've done over the years. I know that's my fault for neglecting you, trying to protect you, but this is not okay. He is my man, and this is a violation that requires punishment from the counsel."

Belen smirks at Phoebe who smirks back. I lean back in my chair and get comfortable.

She takes her knife and slits his throat, from ear to ear. Blood spurts out over the table.

Basil stands and shouts, "For fuck's sake, Phoebe, you're not stable!"

I stand, ready to fucking kill the bastard, and Damian grabs my arm. Phoebe tries her hardest to hide the pain of her father's words. Fucking Basil.

Coldly, she tells him, "Belen took a five-year-old girl out of the group home on 2 nd Street last night, and dropped her off in a residential home in your territory. One of Mihai's men was there to pick her up. I retrieved the child, and placed her in a safe house with a new family. Then I gutted the man who was at the collection point, and sent his remains to Mihai. You're welcome, Father. Oh, and of course I'm not stable, I'm the best fucking assassin the Underworld has seen." He pales, and just as he is about to open his mouth, most likely to spew more shit, Phoebe looks at Damian and Al. "Paperwork. Make sure you hand Basil the extra piece of proof that his man was involved in."

Al nods and grabs the paperwork.

Phoebe returns her hard gaze to her father. "As far as I'm concerned, you died when my mother did, and if I do decide to marry anyone, it will not count as an alliance with the Greek."

All the men sit up straight, shocked by her announcement. Some are about to protest because they know no one will want Selene; her behavior alone is a turn off, which means there will be no alliance with the Greek. I sigh and hang my head. I know what she's going to say, I know she thinks our meeting is in two weeks but it's not, its next week, and I know she feels responsible for the Spanish Mafia if I don't take over, which I don't want to. Most days, I believe that's the only reason Juan has been in contact. I'm his only heir, and he doesn't want Phoebe to have that kind of responsibility.

Damian squeezes my arm knowingly, and I sit down with a sigh.

Phoebe continues, "It will be an alliance with the Spanish Mafia." Basil's face goes red, but she continues once more, "Good luck trying to find an alliance with someone when everyone knows what Selene gets up to. I know you know all about what she and Alex did."

He shakes his head. "They were engaged, and would be married now if she hadn't messed up."

She snorts. "Messed up? Do you mean lying to you and Alex to get back at him for not giving her his black AMEX? They were still sleeping together after you changed the engagement over to me. I know you're aware of this, so I don't know why you're so shocked that I said ‘fuck it' and left. Do you really think I want a man who thought it was a good idea to continue to fuck my sister, the sister who tried to sell me for her drug debt? You sent me away because your brother tried the exact same thing, you killed him for it, and yet she does it, and suddenly its okay? We are not close because you were a spineless coward I no longer see as family." He pales as she turns back toward me, I see the pain in her eyes. I soften mine, knowing she is ready to break. I can see panic in Al's eyes, too. He's losing her, and I can't feel bad for him because he caused it.

"Gentlemen, in the folders before you is proof of Mihai not only trafficking young children for some Cartel members, but also doing it in your territories. He picks the children up in your neighbors, and then hands them over in someone else's, so if he is caught, you all will get the blame instead. He has organized it so you would be convicted instead of him. Seems he was the mastermind all along. Juan has had men looking into this, and it's been proven that Christian was just the front man. Mihai was their leader all along." Every man's face turns red. "I am here today to gain the votes I need to personally kill the fucker. I should have done it a month ago. What do you all say?" Every man at the table shouts "aye," including Basil and his most trusted guard, Peter. I furrow my brows when I notice his nearly violet eyes, huh. I shake my head; my girl on my mind as usual.

Phoebe nods, then looks at me. "Ice cream date?" she asks, and I chuckle. She's finally going to meet Avery. I nod.

"Okay, but you have to change, Phoebe Pie." She smiles and nods, before I hear Juan clear his throat. I look down as she takes the phone off speaker.

She says, " Tio , I will contact you tonight to go through the plan. Send my love to my Auntie." She hangs up after he speaks, and sends me a sad smile. I know this is the first time he's heard me speak, but I can't find it in myself to care. He didn't want me.

Phoebe turns and leaves the room without another word.

Alexandr's face hardens as he shoves everything off of the table and points at Basil, pissed that he's brought a lot of shit back up when he's trying to convince her to stay.

"You need to get your fucking priorities straight, old man. The shit you just spewed was out of line. You're listening to a coke head instead of getting everyone's account of the story. And you wonder why Phoebe doesn't want anything to do with you."

I stand and start to leave but stop to look at Al and Damian. "As you heard, I have an ice cream date with my favorite cousin."

Al raises his brow, knowing that was a nice little dig toward Basil because of Selene.

I sneer at Basil, "If I stay any longer I won't be held accountable for my actions." Then I storm out, heading to the Brew Box to finally see my girl after four weeks.

I get there just before Phoebe, thankfully, and when I walk in and the bell dings arrival, Avery's head pops up and her gaze shoots straight toward me. I grin and she smiles.

Her hair is up in her messy knot, she's in the brown shirt with the Brew Box logo, and some tight jeans, looking fucking beautiful. She rounds the counter, coming to me, and I frown when she puts her hands around my waist and leans her head on my chest. Normally, she jumps into my arms. I lift her head and gently kiss her lips.

"What's going on, dragotsennyy ?"

She sighs and grabs my hand, leading me to a table.

She shouts over to the other person at the counter, some dorky teenager, "I'm now on my break." He gives her a thumbs up, and she gingerly sits down, making me frown some more. "Don't be angry." I tense instantly, Phoebe will be here any moment and I know she'll pick up on my tension. So I try to calm myself. "I fell down the steps at school. Melanie was at the bottom and quickly got me some help. I have a few bruised ribs." I scowl at her, and kind of pout, making her chuckle. "I know you would have wanted to help me, but I know how busy you've been, and I didn't want to worry you."

I shake my head and look at her with softer eyes. I grab her hands in mine, and bring them to my lips. "Next time, you call, do you understand me?"

She smiles gently and nods. "I love you."

I grin wide. Fuck, I missed her. "I love you, too, dragotsennyy ."

A few minutes later, Phoebe joins us, and we both stand. Phoebe sticks her hand out, smiling wide at my girl.

"Hi Avery, I'm Phoebe, it's so nice to finally meet the woman capable of holding this knuckle head down." Avery giggles a little and smiles widely. She takes Phoebe's hand, and Phoebe pulls her into a gentle hug, making Avery tense for a moment before she relaxes.

I hear her whisper, "Thank you. It's nice to meet you, too."

Phoebs looks over Avery's shoulder at me, and I smile as she squeezes her tight. I chuckle, knowing where her mind went. I'm a lucky fucker. Suddenly, a spark enters her eyes. Shit. I shake my head, knowing I'm definitely in the shit with Damian and Alexandr later tonight, because I can guarantee Phoebe will send a photo later to stir them both up. I shake my head, and enjoy a few hours with two of my favorite girls, hoping Sofia doesn't kill me for not including her or Mila.

Fuck.