Page 42 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

The words stung, and I knew I should agree with him. An eye for an eye was the primary motto of the mafia. They’d killed my family, so I deserved to kill theirs. I knew that.

But it wasn’t so simple. The black-and-white way of thinking wasn’t right. I didn’t know how to put it into words. I wanted them dead. I wanted them to know I was responsible, and their actions had been the reason for this.

“We will kill them. We will. But I’m not like them. If I’m going to take a life, it’s going to mean something. They’re going to know it was us who did it. I need them to know that they’re dying because of what they did to my family. And before they die, I need them to know that I hadn’t meant for Jeremy to die. They deserve to know that his death was never intentional.” I shook my head and tucked my knees into my chest as I leaned back. “I’m not like them, Matteo. I’m not like you. Killing has to mean something.”

Matteo’s expression was cold. Unreadable. His eyes flashed with no sign of emotion as he moved his rifle from his lap and put it in the backseat again. Once it had been tucked away, he looked at me.

“You understand that we may not have the opportunity to be face-to-face with them, right? We may never get that closure that you want.”

“We have to try,” I insisted.

“Then what do you propose we do?”

* * *

This was my element. This was what I’d spent years doing.

We tailed the Petrov’s car at a distance, careful to keep them from noticing our presence behind them. Matteo seemed to know precisely what to do as we watched them weave in and out of traffic. We reached the part of the city where Marcus had lost them, and I kept an eye on the direction of their car, making sure that we didn’t lose them.

We could get the information we needed if we managed to keep on their tail. Maybe we’d find more places that they frequented. We’d learn where else to hit them before we killed them.

It was a solid plan.

“They’re stopping at the Mediterranean market,” I said with furrowed brows as their driver stopped and allowed them to exit the car before driving away. “Let me out.”

“They know what you look like,” Matteo argued.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Can you trust that I know what I’m doing?”

Matteo stopped the car. “You have your gun?” I nodded. “Loaded?”

I opened my door and took the tie from my hair, allowing the short strands to hang around my face. “It’s loaded. Park across the street. I’ll be back soon.”

Matteo’s jaw ticked as he fought the urge to come with me. But if they left prematurely, we’d need someone to drive away quickly. We couldn’t risk losing them.

I moved down the crowded sidewalk, pulling my phone from my back pocket and looking down at the screen the way most people did while walking. Out of the corner of my eye, I tracked where Vlad and Aelita were, following a short distance behind them. They spoke quietly enough that I couldn’t hear anything on the loud New York streets. The sound of car engines and honking was too dominant here.

I passed by a small street vendor and grabbed a hat, tossing a twenty on the counter. The hat with NY stitched onto the front made me look enough like a tourist that I followed Aelita and Vlad into the store without issue.

They went left, and I went right, walking quickly enough down an aisle that I beat them to the other side of the store. I pretended to scan the coolers in front of me, and as they approached, I ducked into the refrigerator and grabbed the first box I saw.

They passed me without a second glance.

I peeked at them under the brim of the hat and watched as they walked down a snack aisle. I moved down the parallel aisle.

“—on time,” Vlad said angrily. “He’ll be punished accordingly.”

I leaned into the aisle as they stopped. “This is the third time,” Aelita commented.

Vlad huffed a few words in Russian that sounded like they were meant to be derogatory. “If he isn’t on post when we drive by, I’ll have his balls hanging on my wall. We don’t need to be making stops at a time like this.”

“He said he’d be at the top of the Trenton Event Center by now.” Aelita’s voice sounded both impatient and exhausted by whatever she discussed with her father. “The rest of the guys are in position. Even if he isn’t at his post, we’ll be safe enough.”

“If we get attacked…” he finished his phrase in Russian as a bag crumpled in one of their hands. They moved down the aisle, and I backtracked, going the long way to prevent being seen. I watched them as they stood in line at the register.

I moved nonchalantly through the aisles and made my way to the exit. When I was out of view, I sprinted toward where Matteo had parked and slid into the passenger’s seat just in time for them to return. They stood outside the market for just a moment, Aelita holding a bag of chips as their driver pulled to the curb.

“What did you learn?” he asked.

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