Page 18 of Shattered Empire (Shattered World)

“I said Cosa Nostra.”

What the fuck?“Yeah.” The look I shot him was somewhere between “duh, you dumbass” and disbelief. “You do not remember that Dante is the head of the Cosa Nostra in Seattle?”

Vas snorted in amusement. “He wishes. Dante is the head of the American Mafia, not the Cosa Nostra.”

Huh?

“They’re the same thing.”

Vas’s forehead raised, and he quirked an eyebrow at me. “No, they are not.”

“Yes.” I nearly stomped my foot in protest. “They are.”

Vas chuckled and ran his hand through his mussed hair. His manbun had fallen out at some point, and now his hair hung just below his shoulders in beachy waves most women would kill to have.

“Cosa Nostra is the Sicilian mafia,” he said. “They operate in the US directly from Sicily. Most of the members aren’t US citizens and travel back and forth, operating on both grounds.”

When I said nothing, he kept going.

“The American Mafia are the descendants of the Cosa Nostra,” he continued. “They no longer have direct ties back to Sicily and operate on an independent base. American Italians, basically.”

Well, shit.

“You still have a lot to learn, Ava.” Vas smirked. “You may have grown up with Elias and heard his bits and pieces of the business, but that doesn’t mean you know this world.”

“Why is Leon with the Cosa Nostra?”

His smirk disappeared, replaced by a dangerously handsome Cheshire grin. “Can’t tell you that.”

I really stomped my foot that time, my arms crossing against my chest as I stared up at the six-foot Russian with a petulant frown that would rival any toddler’s. If there was a competition, first place prize would be mine.

“I’m your boss.”

Vas shrugged. “True.”

“You can’t keep secrets from me about my own men.”

Vas’s mouth tugged downward, as if he was thinking about what I told him.

“You don’t need to know about it.”

“Vasily!” God, I sounded like a toddler who hadn’t been given her morning snack.

Vas smiled, the expression lighting up his eyes as he stared down at me. Suddenly, he patted the top of my head softly and winked.

“You’re just so adorable when you get worked up.”

“Ugh!” I groaned in frustration, swiping at his hand. “Stop that.”

Vas laughed, the sound easing the tension of the night. I loved that about them. The men who had stood with Matthias for years and offered unconditional loyalty. They never came across a situation where they couldn’t laugh or find some form of merriment. Even at the expense of their own humiliation. But mostly at others’.

“Sorry.” The look on his face told me he was anything but.

“Sorry enough to tell me about Dima and Leon?”

“Nope.” He popped the word dramatically before he turned to stroll back inside.

“Dammit, Vasily.” I growled as I followed him, the sound of his laughter echoing off the tunnel walls warming the bitter cold that had begun to set in.

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