Chapter 51

51

Axel

"Will you pour me a drink?" Nonna murmurs.

My fingers tighten around the whiskey bottle, then I pour the liquor into my glass. Theresa and I arrived at Nonna's house for dinner, where she was instantly swept away by Cass and Karma, who wanted to show her the latest designs that Karma was working on.

Nonna's butler/chef/companion Gino informed us that Nonna was getting dressed, and Michael was on the phone in the library, so I wandered over to the bar in the living room to pour myself a drink.

Also, it's a delay tactic to avoid facing the rest of my brothers or my grandmother right away. Yep, I'm a coward that way.

I know it's important, from the point of view of safety, that we stay here in Palermo so the Sovranos can lend their considerable protective detail to keeping Theresa safe, and I appreciate it, but damn, if I am not going to get my security firm up and running quickly so I can do it myself. I've already reached out to a few friends for help, including Karina Solonik, now Karina Beauchamp, who runs one of the most efficient security agencies that I've worked with in the past. In fact, if things go according to plan, the two of us will be collaborating very soon on the next few assignments. I was mulling over the possibilities when Nonna asked me to pour her a drink.

Now, she walks over to stand next to me. I ignore her, knowing it's rude and probably childish of me to do so, but fuck that. If she wants a drink, she can pour it herself.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you Axel, truly," she says in a low voice. "I'd give anything to go back in time and stop your father from what he did."

"But you can't, and now it's too late." I take a sip of my whiskey, and the liquor trails a stream of fire down my throat.

"Let me make amends," she pleads. "Please, Axel, let me try to do right by you."

"I'm not sure you can do anything to make me forgive you." I firm my lips.

"Haven't you ever made any mistakes? Haven't you done wrong to someone else and had to ask them to forgive you?"

I draw in a breath. I had asked Theresa to forgive me. I begged her to give me a second chance. And while she was initially hesitant, I won her over. If she hadn't forgiven me— I squeeze my fingers around my glass so tightly that the skin stretches across my knuckles. If she hadn't forgiven me, I'm not sure what I would have done. I wouldn't have been able to go on with life. I wasn't joking when I told her that I wouldn't be able to live without her. She found it in herself to forgive me after everything that I had done to her. Can I find it in myself to extend the same courtesy to Nonna? After all, she is your Nonna. Surely, you can do right by her?

Some of the tension fades from my shoulders. A weariness grips my chest, and I turn to her.

"Yes." I clear my throat. "I've made a lot of mistakes, not least of all, toward my wife. She was big-hearted enough to forgive me, and now I believe I should do the same for you."

Some of the stress on her features fades, and one side of her lips curves up. She extends her hand and grips my arm. "Thank you, Axel."

"Don't thank me; thank Theresa," I mutter. As if knowing that I need her presence by my side, she appears in the doorway of the study. She glances between me and Nonna, and her features break into a smile. She walks over to stand next to me. I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side.

Nonna's smile widens. "I'm so happy that the two of you found each other."

"Ah, about that…" Theresa shuffles her feet. "Should we tell her?" She glances up at me from under her eyelashes.

"Tell me what?" Nonna frowns.

"I suppose we may as well get it over with." I blow out a breath.

"What is it?" Nonna's gaze narrows. "Are you going to tell me, or should I guess?"

"Oh, no need to guess." Theresa inches even closer to me. "We're pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Karma squeals from the entrance of the room. She marches in, followed by Michael who is close on her heels. Reaching us, she throws her arms around Theresa. "OMG, OMG, that was quick, you guys, but I'm not complaining. Now I'll have someone else to talk to and share notes with."

She squeezes Theresa's shoulders, then kisses her on both cheeks, before stepping back.

" Grazie, Maria Santa !" Nonna raises her gaze skyward, before she, too, steps toward Theresa and kisses her on her forehead. "I'm so happy for you." She turns to me. "For both of you. This is the most wonderful news. Not one, but two of my grandsons are going to have children. It's…" She sniffs. "It's incredible. My heart is bursting with happiness." She moves toward me, "Bend down, will you, boy, so I can kiss your cheek."

***

An hour and a half later, after we've had dinner, my brothers and I move back to the library. The women, including Theresa, have retreated to Nonna's bedroom, where she invited all of them to look at family photos. She invited us too, but we opted for cigars and whiskey instead. If that seems a little chauvinistic, well, it was unintentional. Except, I'm now part of a Mafia family, so guess it's par for the course. A part of me, though—that part which is Italian and steeped in Mafia tradition—thoroughly approves. Sometimes, it's easier to talk shop without having the women around, and I say that from a place of wanting to protect them, especially my woman, from the dangers that are a part of the world that I belong to.

I pull out my lighter and hold the flame to Michael's cigar, then Seb's, Massimo's, Christian's and Adrian's. By the time I reach Luca, he's already lit his own with a match. I light my cigar, then slide the lighter into my pocket and take a puff.

"So, how does it feel?" Michael asks as he blows out a cloud of smoke.

"The cigar is exceptional," I reply.

"It should bloody be; they're Cubans. Three hundred dollars a pop," Seb chuckles.

"Nothing but the best for the Sovranos," Massimo drawls.

"And you know that's not what I meant," Michael murmurs.

I blow out a cloud, then regard my cigar. "What can I say? I already knew."

"So, you suspected it when you remained in London and sent her home?" Seb asks.

"No." I take another puff. "I wasn't thinking straight then. The thought did cross my mind, but I pushed it aside. On some level, I always knew it was a possibility. Also, I think I knew I was going to return to her; I just needed time to sort my shit." I raise a shoulder. "What can I say? I panicked."

"I'd say it happens to the best of us, except you acted like a coglione, " Luca growls. "No, strike that—you are a coglione , a faccia di merda , a t esta di cazzo ."

"I assume all of it means the same thing?"

"Yeah, you're a motherfucker," Massimo translates.

"I'd say fuck off, but I deserve it." I raise a shoulder, then take another puff of my bloody good cigar.

"What the fuck?" Luca stares at me. "Not even a smart-ass comeback in that pompous British accent of yours."

"People love this accent, I'll have you know. It's part of my charm."

"You need that charm with the kind of face you have. Of course, it doesn't matter, now that you're off the market," Luca chortles. "Better you than me, brother." He raises a glass.

"So, you two are getting along, I take it?" Seb eyes us with curiosity.

"A temporary truce." I raise my glass and clink it with Luca's. "We ain't best buddies, but anyone who's such a good mark with a gun can't be all that bad."

"I don't trust you one-hundred percent yet," Luca smirks, "but given you've left the pigs, I admit, your knowledge will more help us than not. So, sure. Why not? I'll table our difference of opinion for the moment."

"Will wonders never cease?" Seb scratches his chin. "Hot-headed Luca, actually agreeing to act in a mature fashion. Cazzo , it's fucking scary, man."

"Fuck you too." Luca raises his middle finger at Seb, before taking a sip of his whiskey.

"One thing doesn't compute." I narrow my gaze on Michael. "Somehow, I'd have thought you'd be more upset when you found out that I was working undercover, and that I'd married Theresa to get into your inner circle."

"That's true." Luca turns to Michael. "Why is it, fratellone, that you didn't lose it and take a gun to this bastard here? It's not only because he's our brother that you stayed so calm when we told you of his true identity, is it?"

Michael puffs on his cigar and blows out a cloud of smoke. "What do you think?" His lips twitch.

"I think that you already knew that our brother was an undercover cop," Seb offers.

" Che cazzo !" Luca glances from Michael to me, then back to Michael. "I'll be damned!" He shakes his head. "6ou knew, fratellone ?"

"Fuck me," Massimo says softly. "Why am I not surprised?"

Michael glances around the room. "I made enquiries. I had to find out why it was that a brother we never knew we had, had chosen this moment in time to turn up in our lives."

"So, you knew all along?" I move around in my chair, trying to find a more comfortable position.

"I had enough information to deduce that you were undercover. However, you had covered your tracks well enough that I couldn't fit all of the pieces together," Michael retorts.

"I'm guessing, then, that the only reason you offered me your seat on the board of Trinity is because you knew I would eventually turn it down?"

"What?" Luca straightens. "You don't want to be involved with Trinity?"

"I may have left the force, but I'm a cop at heart. I doubt the heads of the Kane Company and Bratva would be comfortable doing business with me. Besides, I'm setting up my own security agency. I won't be able to do justice to Trinity."

Luca gapes at me, then he turns on Michael. "You knew this would happen," he says in an accusing tone. "You knew Axel would choose to distance himself from Trinity. That's why you chose to offer it to him?"

"I had an inkling." Michael leans back in his seat, a pleased look on his face "The profit sharing among us never would have been affected, regardless of who sat on the board, but it was about trust. By giving Axel a seat at the table, I was extending a gesture of trust."

"You knew it would go a long way in binding him to the family?" Seb speculates.

"I had hoped," Michael confesses.

"And here I am." I chuckle.

" Stacazzo." Luca rubs the back of his neck. "So what now? Who's going to take on the stake in Trinity?"

"That's for the five of you to decide," Michael addresses that remark to Luca, Seb, Christian, Massimo and Adrian.

"You're leaving the decision to us?" Luca's gaze widens. "Is this another of your tricks, Don?"

"No tricks." Michael laughs. "I figure it's time to delegate more so I have more time to spend with my wife."

"Cazzo!" Luca reaches for his glass of whiskey and drains it. "I'll be damned. Although I suspect this is another of your short-term moves for long-term gains."

"Only time will tell." Michael's grin widens. "One thing I didn't see coming? Freddie." He turns to me. "What's his gig? Why did you go undercover to work with him?"

"We had information that he partnered with your father and on the crime that defined his career, so to speak. I wanted an in with his gang as a way of getting more information on you guys," I reply.

Michael stills, and his gaze narrows on me. "Are you saying he partnered with our father on the kidnapping of the Seven?"

He's referring to the kidnapping of seven boys in England which made waves many years ago.

Silence fills the space. The men watch me, their cigars forgotten. I puff on mine and wait for the ash to build before I finally tip up my chin. "Freddie Nielsen was the mastermind behind that incident. He approached your father with the idea, as he needed the manpower and the organization to pull it off?—"

"All of which, our father had in excess," Michael concedes.

"The two of them were involved in the crime that made headlines around the world," I add.

"A crime which ensured that no one would dare challenge our father for a very long time." Michael's jaw tics.

"Not until you came along, that is." Seb jerks his chin in Michael's direction.

"And thank fuck for that," Luca adds. "Not that I didn't respect our father, but he never would have given up his position. I wager, he'd have killed all of us, if it would have guaranteed he could maintain control."

"What Freddie and our father did changed the lives of those seven boys forever," Adrian cuts in.

"They were rescued, of course," I point out. "Someone from within the organization squealed to the police, and the kids were rescued."

"No telling how the incident could have scarred them for life," Adrian muses.

"It was many years ago. The Seven are all grown up and now head up one of the most influential financial services firms in the UK. Of course, it helps that they came from highly-privileged backgrounds. Well, six of them did. The seventh? Well, he just worked harder and made his first million by the time he was eighteen."

"You know a lot about the Seven?" Michael narrows his gaze on me.

"You could say that. I have worked closely with someone, an associate, who is now married to one of the Seven."

"Interesting." Michael blows out another cloud of smoke.

"Isn't it?" I place my cigar on the ashtray without spilling the pileup of ash at the end. "She also happens to be Nikolai Solonik's sister."

"No fucking way." Massimo sits up straight.

"Niko's sister is married to one of the Seven?" Michael tilts his head. There's no change of expression on his face, but it's clear he finds that information very interesting. No doubt, he will find a way to use it to his advantage. Which is what I intended. Nothing like showing the value you can bring to a relationship, even with your own family, for them to take you more seriously.

Michael raises his glass in my direction. "Good move, fratellino. " He smirks. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for."

"One thing I wonder about…" I place my fingertips together. "Our father gives up one of his eight sons, only to kidnap seven boys and hold them to ransom. Makes you wonder if it's a coincidence?"

"You mean the fact that we are seven and so are the Seven?" Adrian muses.

Michael crosses his ankle over the knee of his other leg. "Who knows what he was thinking? There is no trying to find logic in the actions of a power-hungry ego-maniac, is there?"

I smirk and am about to speak when he holds up his hand. "I know what you're going to say, and I don't deny that much of my life has been dedicated to growing my own power base. Were it not for meeting Karma and realizing there's more to life, I could have gone the same way."

Just then, the doorbell rings, followed by a hammering on the front door.

"The fuck?" Seb scowls. "Who the hell could that be?" He places his glass on the table, then walks to the doorway. I spring up and follow him, with the rest of my brothers right behind me.

The doorbell peals again, then someone bangs on the door even more urgently. "Help!" A faint voice reaches us. "Help me."

Seb hastens his speed, until he reaches the door and pulls it open.

Elsa stumbles forward and would have fallen, but Seb grips her shoulder and steadies her. The cold rushes in through the open doorway, and she shivers.

"Help me, please," she raises her tear-stained gaze to his. "They're after me."

Want To find out what happens next? Turn the Page to read Elsa and Seb's tory in MAFIA VOWS