Chapter 8

Nikolai

"Y ou sure have fucking shitty timing, Endo," I grunt as we enter my office and close the door.

He has the decency to look sheepish. "Yeah, sorry boss. I didn't think this could wait. I also didn't expect to find you, erm… playing with your food."

"Well then, what's so important that you had to interrupt me?" I ask impatiently.

In truth, I'm embarrassed to be seen like that. Even by Endo. It's not suitable for the pakhan to be running around playing like a child. Dimitri and Endo may have both seen this side of me, but not since I was a small boy. Something about that moment with Arianna and Dimitri made me feel like I was someone else, someone I could have been if I'd been part of a normal family. But I am not, I am a pakhan, the head of the Kuzmin Bratva. The family and the business come first. I mustn't let myself forget that again, not even for a second.

"You're not gonna like it…"

"Just get on with it, Endo," I snap.

"It seems De Luca's alliance with Lucchese is still on," he says grimly.

"What? How is that possible?" This seemed very strange. Surely after the one thing Lucchese wanted was taken away, De Luca had nothing to barter with? He would have been humiliated to have been stood up at the altar, men like Lucchese don't take wounds to their pride easily, even if De Luca wasn't involved. He'd have seen it as a sign of weakness that De Luca's daughter was taken from right under his nose. I turn to Endo, "It doesn't make any sense."

"It'll make even less sense once you know the rest," Endo replies.

"There's more?" I ask in disbelief.

"Lucchese wasn't ditched at the altar. The wedding still went ahead."

I furrow my brow in confusion, not grasping what Endo is telling me. "How the fuck can there have been a wedding when we have the bride right here?"

"I'm not sure exactly. We have a bride, but it seems there was a… back up?" Endo says, his expression as confused as mine.

"Endo, you'd better fucking explain this shit show to me right now. Quit messing around."

"Sorry, boss, without the full information I can't say for sure what happened. All I know is, the wedding went ahead, a little bit later than planned. A woman whom they claimed to be De Luca's daughter married Lorenzo Lucchese. So that means…"

He trails off, letting me work out the rest of his thinking.

"Either they had some random girl to hand just in case Arianna backed out, or he has another daughter we don't know about," I state.

"Could be, we know he had two daughters. One married Di Stefano young and was killed by a rival." He glances at me, not bothering to elaborate, we both know what went on, and neither of us wants to talk about it. The other has been kept under lock and key, no one knows her or what she looks like. Boss, I don't mean to question your judgment or anything but, how exactly do you know Arianna is who she says she is?"

His implication dawns on me. I have no way of knowing if Arianna is who she claims to be. Sure, she was in De Luca's house and she asked me to kidnap her saying that she was his daughter. But I have no evidence that she is. As Endo said, no one knows what she looks like, or at least no one who would tell me. Could Arianna be the decoy? Did De Luca plan this to plant a mole into my organization?

"Shit," I grumble.

"Shit is right, boss. The way I see it there are three possibilities here. Either De Luca has a third daughter we don't know of, the bride who married Lucchese was a fake, or…"

"The fake is right here," I finish his sentence.

My mind is racing. I have no idea what to do, what to think. I've only known Arianna a short while, but she seems so genuine, so honest. This morning, with her, was the most relaxed I've felt in a long time. I could forget the stresses of running an empire, of being the pakhan, and just relax. Could she really have been playing us this whole time? Did she know the effect she was having on me, moaning while she ate like that? Getting me to chase her around?

I think back over our conversation earlier, of what Dimitri and I may have revealed. I can't think of anything. We're naturally closed off when it comes to business. And it didn't feel like she was prying too much or fishing for information. If she thinks she can seduce information out of me she's going to be sorely disappointed. That's my job. I'm the master at this. If she wants to play with fire, she's going to find out exactly what happens.

I'm not usually one to make rash decisions. I make well-thought-out plans and execute them with precision. It's how I've managed to grow my father's organization and business empire into one of the most powerful in New York since he died. But thinking of Arianna's betrayal sends me into a rage, and without thinking I storm out of my office, heading to confront her.

Endo follows me as I tear through the house. "Not that I don't love it when you go all feral Niko, but shouldn't we think things through before making any rash decisions?"

I ignore him. Striding into the kitchen I see Dimitri, cleaning up our mess. The plate of plushkis on the side serve as a reminder of how close I'd been to letting her in so soon. They were a treat my mother used to bake for me as a child. Eating them always makes me feel closer to her. Sharing this ritual with Arianna, letting my guard down, was foolish. The betrayal and anger at myself for letting someone in so easily cause me to lash out. I swipe at them, sending the plate crashing to the floor.

"Where is she?" I roar at a startled-looking Dimitri.

"In the swimming pool, is something wrong?" he asks calmly.

"Yes, something's very fucking wrong. There's a snake amongst us," I snarl, not stopping to talk.

"You can't mean the girl? She's a nice one, sweet, the kind of girl you should…"

"Don't even finish that thought," I warn.

Both Dimitri and Endo know better than to mess with me when I'm like this. They step aside and leave me to it. Outside, Arianna is lying on a sun lounger by the pool, still dripping from a recent dip. She looks up at me with those seductive, lying eyes, and smiles.

"Nikolai."

Her happiness is soon replaced by confusion and then fear as I grab her and lift her to her feet.

"Who the fuck are you? Who sent you? Why are you here?" I rattle off.

"What? I don't understand?" she says, confusion marring her beautiful face. "You know who I am, and why I'm here."

"Do I? All I know is that I went to De Luca's for a meeting, one in which he finally had the guts to turn me down over using his trade routes, and then, lo and behold, this mysterious woman conveniently happens to bump into me and hand me a note. You. You claimed to be Arianna De Luca, the daughter nobody has seen, and that you wanted me to help you escape an arranged marriage to Lucchese in exchange for information. But, I have only your word that you are who you say you are. You've yet to give me any information at all, but you seem more than happy to make yourself comfortable in my home. So, I'll ask you again, who are you and what do you want?"

"I told you. I want guarantees about my safety and freedom. Then I will tell you what I know. If I could have escaped without you, don't you think I would have? I had to escape, I couldn't marry that man," she cries, her eyes pleading.

"Well, it seems someone did marry him. So, tell me this, how could the wedding of Arianna De Luca and Lorenzo Lucchese have gone ahead as planned, if you're Arianna De Luca?" I demand, unmoved.

A look of genuine confusion and surprise paints itself across her features. Either she's a brilliant actress, or she genuinely didn't know. At this point, I don't know what to believe, but her reaction has me doubting my initial conviction that she's been playing me.

"Wait. It… went ahead? Without me? How is that possible?"

"That's what I'd like to know," I ask icily.

"You don't think that I have something to do with this?" she asks, realizing my suspicions.

"That's exactly what I think. I think you're a mole, sent here by De Luca to spy on me. I have to say, it's a brilliant plan, not something I'd have expected your moron of a father to come up with. I hear Di Stefano is a devious bastard though, perhaps he's behind it."

Her mouth pops open in an ‘o' of surprise. Her eyes dart as she seemingly thinks of what to say, how to get out of this.

"Look, I can see why you might think that. But you don't know my father. You're right, that idea would be too smart for him, but having a replacement bride for me should anything happen to me would be exactly the kind of thing he'd do. You said so yourself, it wouldn't be hard to pass off someone else as me, no one knows what I look like outside of my father's inner circle. Lucchese's a lecherous old pervert, as long as she was attractive and young he wouldn't care. Especially if my father promised him he could have me too, once I'm found," she implores.

She lets out an involuntary shudder as she contemplates her words. I search her face for signs of deceit but find none. Seeming emboldened by my silence, she continues.

"Father doesn't care about me, he sees me as property, a means to an end. When my sister died, he used her death as an opportunity. He pretended she was killed by an enemy, but in reality, she did it to herself. Or at least that's what he told me. For all I know that was another lie and she was murdered by the very man my father now allies with," she beseeches me.

She says this with such conviction and venom it's hard not to believe her.

"I'm sorry to hear that about your sister, I know what it feels like to lose a loved one," I say truthfully.

Her eyes flicker with surprise and she seems to soften a little at my genuine sympathy. But I don't want to get into my past, especially not now. Besides, something she said intrigues me, something I think she revealed without meaning to.

"What opportunity?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

Her eyes open wide, seemingly realizing her mistake. "I'm not saying anything further until you promise me what I want. I have been honest with you, Nikolai. It is time for you to start doing the same," she demands though the quiver in her voice implies she isn't feeling as brave as her words suggest.

"I have been very honest about the kind of man I am, kukolka . The kind of things I am capable of. And all the ways I can make you tell me what you know. You think it's your father you should fear. You're wrong. It's me," I promise.

I turn and walk away. I need to clear my head and figure out what the truth is. Being near her and listening to her makes me want to believe she's telling the truth. And I don't know if I can trust my instincts around her or if my attraction to her is clouding my judgment.