22.

M ATTEO

“Wake up, princess,” I said softly before I reached out and touched a bare shoulder. I shook it gently and whispered, “Come on now, it’s time to wake up.”

There was a loud groan before a sigh. I watched as eyes fluttered and then flew open to stare at me.

“What the fuck?” the man shouted as he tried to sit up in bed. The gun my brother was holding pressed against his temple settled him almost instantly.

“Obviously, you’ve got company,” I said with a fake smile. “I hate to interrupt your sleep, but we thought this was a very important subject that needed to be addressed immediately.”

“What is the meaning of this, Russo? I’ll have your head . . .”

“Don’t leave me out, Giri,” Rico said from the foot of the bed. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother, Ziggy, who was also holding a gun aimed at the head of the New York Russian mafia. “If you’re threatening the Russos, you’re also threatening the Romanos.”

“And the Campana family,” Zach added from his seat in the chair across the room with Giri’s young son asleep on his shoulder.

Giri gasped and frantically looked around the room only to find Cento Moretti holding Giri’s wife’s arm. I noticed that he wasn’t holding her tightly, but she knew better than to fight him, so she was standing still as she watched Zach gently pat her son’s back.

“Of course, you’d also have to include the Morettis,” Tonio Moretti said from the doorway that led into the attached nursery that housed the sleeping Sokolov toddler.

“We brought you a gift, Giri,” I said cheerfully. “Four of your men have been spying on the women and children of The Four Families, and we just wanted to make sure you understood that wasn’t acceptable.”

“I gave no orders . . . My wife and children are not involved in my business,” Sokolov sputtered.

“Ours weren’t either until your men brought them into it,” Zach said calmly. “I have twin sons who aren’t much bigger than this little boy. What’s his name, Giri?”

“Artyom,” the woman choked out before she sobbed. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“I would never hurt a child, Mrs. Sokolov. I would never hurt a woman either. Your husband knows my family history and should understand why.”

“Obviously, you understand why we’re here to talk to you, Giri.”

Sokolov looked over at Zack and then Tonio before he nodded at his wife and asked me, “What do you want?”

“ We want to know why you thought it was a good idea to get in bed with Frank Bovino and target the women and children we love.”

“He has my oldest child. My daughter,” Sokolov choked out. “He took her from her home in the middle of the night and sent me a picture of her seated at a table with him. He assured me that I would only see her alive and well again if I found a way to get to you. He suggested that I target your women and their families, so I sent my men to gather intelligence to send to Frank and let him know I was doing as he asked.”

“I understand your worry for your daughter, Giri, but that doesn’t explain why you thought it better to target our families rather than ask for our help.”

“Or even better, get some of your own organization involved,” Rico suggested.

“He knows everything, Rico. He has pictures of my wife sitting in her doctor’s office and my sons in their nursery!” Giri pointed toward the doorway where Tonio was standing and said, “A picture of him in his bed!”

“I assume you’re trying to find your daughter while following Frank’s orders?”

“Of course.”

“We’d like to discuss joining forces with you, Giri,” Rico said in a very businesslike tone, which was funny considering we were all standing in the man’s bedroom. “Obviously, Frank Bovino needs to be stopped, and the more people who are trying to do that, the better.”

“If he finds out I’m working with you to find him, he’ll hurt my daughter,” Giri argued. He sighed and then looked so defeated that I almost felt sorry for him when he said, “More than he surely has already.”

“As lovely as it seems to think we can all hold hands and sing campfire songs, I’d like to revisit the fact that you have had men watching the women in our families.”

“They never got close enough to hurt them.”

“Are there more than just the four?”

“I can call them all back.”

“There are men out there right now? ” Zach asked angrily. His tone upset the baby in his arms, and he winced before he stood up and walked across the room to hand him to his mother. He laid his hand on her shoulder and gently ushered her toward the chair where he’d been sitting before he whispered an apology for disturbing the baby.

“Get your ass out of bed right now,” I ordered as I glared at him. “We’re going to take a little trip.”

“No! Please don’t . . .” Giri’s wife whispered frantically as she tried to settle the baby. “Don’t hurt him!”

“It’s okay, Nadia,” Giri said before he swallowed hard. “I’ll be home soon.”

“Since your guards are all gone, we’ll leave a few men here to stay with you,” Rico assured her. He made it seem like we were doing her a favor, when in reality, we wanted to keep eyes and ears on her to make sure she didn’t undermine what we were about to get started with her husband.

“I’ll get dressed,” Giri said as he ignored the gun still pointed at his head and sat up straighter in the bed. He flipped the covers off, and I was glad to see he was at least wearing his boxers when he stood up. He looked around the room and asked, “Do you mind?”

I chuckled before I said, “Not at all. We just became best friends, Giri. I’m not leaving your side for anything.”

“I’m not comfortable leaving my wife and children here alone,” Giri said as he walked toward the closet. Zach intercepted him and walked in ahead to watch him, and Cento wasn’t far behind. “Where are my men?”

“They went on vacation,” Zach said sarcastically. “If you don’t feel that your wife will be safe with our men, you’re welcome to bring them with you.”

“None of you have ever injured a woman or child,” Sokolov said thoughtfully.

“Never on purpose at least,” Cento allowed. “And we don’t plan on starting anytime soon.”

“And you’ll help me find my daughter?”

“We would have helped you if you had come to us when it first happened, Sokolov,” Rico said sadly. “And we’ll help you now.”

“Thank you.”

◆◆◆

“Sneaking in after a long night out so soon in the relationship? I’m definitely going to end up killing you,” I heard a voice say as I ran my hand over my face, exhausted and worried because I hadn’t spoken to Bella since she left with the other women last night. The last thing I needed was to go toe to toe with Dylan Conner, considering the night I’d had and the things I’d learned. There were two men packing up their hotel room in Rojo right now and a couple more doing the same thing in Tenillo because they’d been watching Bella’s family and my extended family on assignment from their boss, the leader of the New York Russians.

“I don’t have it in me to spar with you right now, Dylan.”

“Have you been out all night?” Dylan asked before he took a sip of his coffee. He looked down at the cup in his other hand and then extended it toward me. “Looks like you probably need this more than Bella.”

I took a sip and had to hold in a sigh. “Damn, that’s good.”

“You know it’s my job to give you shit, right?”

“Absolutely. I’d expect nothing less.”

“You make my sister happy, and for that, I have to like you at least a little bit.”

“Did it hurt to admit that out loud?” I asked as the elevator doors opened. I waited for Rocco to walk ahead of me into the car and then followed him and turned to wait on Dylan. When he didn’t move, I asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

“You probably need to get some rest.”

“I need to talk to Bella and give her an update about some things that happened last night. I know your sister hates to keep anything from you, so if you’re there when I explain what’s going on, then she doesn’t have to feel bad for not being honest with you.”

“Did that hurt?” Dylan asked with a grin as he stepped into the elevator.

“A little.”

I sipped my coffee as the elevator took us up to the floor I shared with my brother who had gone upstairs a little more than an hour ago. Rico was still in his office with Ziggy and the Morettis but had encouraged me to go check on Bella and take her temperature after last night’s events. I had a feeling that my girl was just fine, although I did want to make sure.

I grimaced when I thought of how pissed she was going to be when she found out that there were still men in her hometown who had been watching her family. I had no idea how she might react, but I could just imagine that her brother’s head might explode. That moment of peace we had in the elevator would probably become a fond memory once he found out that just a few months into our relationship, the women in his family had not exactly been put in danger, but they had been watched in case some asshole decided to make a move to get the upper hand over the four families.

“I’m going to hate you soon, aren’t I?” When I nodded, Dylan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Whatever is going on, will you make sure that you’ll always put Bella first?”

“Of course.”

“No, don’t answer that question too quickly, Russo. I want you to think about it. Dig deep. Can you put my sister before your business? Before your friends?”

“Absolutely. I’m going to make Bella my wife, and no matter what else is going on around me, she’ll always be the center of my universe.” I winced before I said, “Well, until we have children. When that happens, she’ll have to share the spotlight.”

As the elevator opened and I waited for Rocco to check the hall, Dylan said, “That’s the way it should be. I won’t get between the two of you, but I will always have my sister’s back - no matter how rich and powerful you are. You get me?”

“Loud and clear, Dylan, and I’d expect nothing less. Bella is very lucky to have a brother like you. I know that because I have a brother who feels the same way about me.” I laughed as I walked out of the elevator and then smiled at Dylan before I said, “Luca and I have a little sister, and I have to say that neither of us will shy away from having this exact conversation with some guy who we know deep in our hearts will never be worthy of her.”

“As long as you realize that you never will be, we’ll get along just fine.” As Rocco opened the door for us, Dylan slapped me on the back and said, “Or at least we’ll pretend to. Am I right?”

I was still laughing when Bella slid around the corner, almost losing her balance as she tried to get traction on the tile. She bumped into the wall and bounced off before she lunged toward me and Dylan. I was so happy to see her and glad that she was so excited to . . .

“Finally!” Bella gasped as she took the coffee cup out of my hand. She took a sip and let her eyes close with a blissful look on her face before she took another sip. Finally, she opened her eyes and frowned at her brother before she said, “Took you long enough. I almost died.”

“It’s good to see you too,” I said sarcastically.

“Oh! Sorry!” Bella said with a big grin. She tiptoed up and gave me a kiss before she said, “Hi, honey! I’m glad you’re home. Did you have a good evening out with your friends?”

“I know he’s been working, Belly Button. I’m not fucking stupid.”

“That’s yet to be decided,” Bella grumbled. She gave me a peck on the cheek and said, “Go take a shower and get ready for bed. Breakfast will be ready by the time you get out.” I stood there stunned for a second, wondering what alternate universe I had walked into where the woman of my dreams was right here in front of me without fifty questions about where I’d been and what I’d been doing and then angry when I was unable to tell her every detail. “Chop chop, New York. As soon as we eat, I’m sending you off to bed, and Dylan and I are going to hang out together and see the sights.”

“Uh . . . sure . . . Do you want me to come with you or . . .”

“I want you to get some sleep and then give us a call when you wake up so you can take us to your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant so we can have a real New York tourist experience.”

“Just like that?”

Bella winked at me before she spun around and walked toward the kitchen. “Yep. Just like that.”

I looked over at Dylan in shock and saw him smiling. His smile got even wider when I said, “You’re right. I don’t deserve her, but I’m going to do everything in my power to try.”