Page 27 of Romi

“I don’t belong to anyone and I’m certainly not yours!” she said angrily, standing up to face him with her hands on her hips.

Sniggering, we took that as our cue to make ourselves scarce.

“Ha, good luck, little brother,” Miki said, as we hightailed it out of the room.

We needed to make a move anyway as we had to sort this mess out quickly before some nosy neighbour saw something they shouldn’t and called the police.

Miki arranged for our cleaners to come. As it would take them time to arrive, we donned some generic blue overalls we kept in the boot of our vehicles and grabbed some blue and white tape. Uncle Alexi was a brilliant strategist and planner, and he taught us that it paid to always be prepared for anything.

Pretending to be gas workers, we went door to door and cleared the neighbours out telling them there was a gas leak. That was the story the cleaners would use when they came. It was one of the cover stories they often used, as it gave them a good reason to keep people away from the area they were cleaning up, and so they would come prepared to play their parts of gas workers.

To help with that we started setting the scene. Using the blue and white tape, Miki and I set up a cordon across the street a few houses away on either side of Gracie’s house, just far enough away to keep anyone from seeing what was going on at Gracie’s place, and then we made everyone stand behind it, ensuring there were no possible witnesses to our nefarious actions.

Luckily, the gun Mohammed had used was fitted with a silencer so the noise from the shots had been muffled. Nobody asked questions about an unusual noise and the police have not been called so it appeared that nobody had heard them. All good.

Nevertheless, we had to get Gracie and Ash away from here and the scene cleared up as soon as possible. As soon as the clean-up crew arrived, we left them in charge of the crowd. Vlad and Miki carried the unconscious black guy, who was now bound and gagged, out to Miki’s SUV and hid him in the boot.

The clean-up team would remove the dead guy for us and take him to the C where his body would be dealt with. The C was our code for the Smithson Crematorium, where we took all our bodies for disposal. We owned it through the Smithson Group, one of our shell companies. A distant relative, Jonathan Reid and his family have run it for us since Miki’s dad, my Uncle Alexi, bought it not long after coming to the UK.

When my uncle Alexi came into power in the UK, things were difficult at first and there was a lot of opposition to the Bratva, he had to deal with our enemies, quickly, harshly, and as easily as possible. So, he bought over the Crematorium, and had it fitted out to his specifications. It was our secret place. There were hidden rooms below, one, in particular, was specially designed for a specific purpose. It was where we tortured and killed our enemies. Once we were done with them, they got sent upstairs and were cremated.

Another of our companies, RomCore Security, oversaw the security cameras for the Crematorium too, so we could wipe any evidence whenever we needed to. Only a handful of people were aware that we used the Crematorium for disposal and even fewer knew of the hidden rooms beneath the building itself. We liked to keep it that way for additional security. Another thing we learned from Uncle Alexi was the necessity of being careful.

The clean-up crew knew about the use of the C for disposal purposes obviously as they often brought bodies there, but they had no idea about the hidden rooms. Miki and Vlad took the unconscious guy there separately to keep it that way. He would be kept there until we were ready to deal with him.

As soon as Miki and Vlad left for the C, I hurried Ash and Gracie out of the house. On the way to the Estate Ash called Anton, filling him in and getting him to send over a few of his men to help patrol the Estate. We had a handful of our own security there at all times but since we had traitors in our organisation, it seemed prudent to get some extra help under the circumstances.

Having one of our family members directly attacked had increased the threat substantially and we couldn’t take any chances with the safety of Sonia, Gracie, or Nonna. The possessive side of me would have preferred to ensure Sonia’s protection myself but unfortunately, since I seemed incapable of keep myself under control around her, I had to entrust her safety to others and that pissed me off.

As I drove to the Estate, my relief at getting Ash back safe gave way to desolation again as I watch him in the back with Gracie, holding on to her like he never wanted to let her go. I was glad for him and hoped that it would work out between them, but my heart ached as I thought about Sonia and how keeping away from her, despite it seeming to be my only option, was killing me. It’s for the best, I reminded myself for the millionth time. Besides, it was only a few more weeks then she would go back to University, and I’d no longer be tempted by her closeness. I could do this! I just had to keep my resolve.

CHAPTER 16

SONIA

SATURDAY – MEETING GRACIE

Ash was alive, thank God. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Miki called and gave us a quick rundown of what happened. I couldn’t believe that the pretty waitress Gracie had saved Ash’s life. Twice! She’d come across as quite shy at the event, but now it seemed she was actually a real badass. I was thoroughly impressed.

Apparently, Ash was bringing her home too. I couldn’t wait to meet her properly.

Last night had been an absolute nightmare. It was just like reliving the night we lost Krissa all over again. I’d felt sick after Marco had told me Ash was missing. I’d insisted on going out to look for him with the others. After searching for him in vain and then being sent home to wait, I’d been on tenterhooks for some news, praying that the night would not end the same way it had with Krissa. Our family really couldn’t cope with losing another member. I was so relieved Ash was safe and so grateful to Gracie for saving him.

Stifling a yawn, I peered out of the window on the upstairs landing watching for them to arrive home. I was completely exhausted and needed to get some sleep but there was no way I was going to bed until I saw for myself that my brother was indeed alright. Miki had said that Ash had been beaten and had some broken ribs and bruises but otherwise was fine and I doubted he would lie to me, but I needed to see that with my own eyes before I could rest.

Although I badly needed a coffee but refused to leave my lookout spot to get one. I wanted to know the minute they arrived. Of course, Ash and Gracie weren’t the only ones I longed to see. Romi was bringing them home and I desperately needed to talk to him.

When I’d seen Romi last night, I could see how badly he felt about letting Ash go off on his own, and my heart went out to him. I’d asked him if he was okay. I knew that he wasn’t, but I needed Romi to know that I was thinking about him at that moment as much as I was thinking about Ash. I couldn’t help my disappointment when he simply said he was fine and refused to look at me, making it obvious he still didn’t want to talk to me. That had hurt but it had also pissed me off but last night wasn’t the time to deal with it.

Today, however, was another matter. I wasn’t putting up with Romi's cold shoulder treatment any longer. I couldn’t take it. As soon as Ash was back safely at home, I was going to talk with Romi about us, whether he wanted to or not. We were two adults, and he needed to see that and stop treating me like a child. I knew my own mind, and I wanted him, and I refused to give up.

Of course, if he truly didn’t want me, then I would have to respect that. I felt tears prick at my eyes as my vision blurred but I fought them back. No. I didn’t believe that. The way he reacted to me said otherwise. He was as attracted to me as I was to him. I was sure of it. So, his reluctance to be with me could only be one of two things. He either thought that I was too young to be serious about us and didn’t believe my feelings for him were genuine, or he was simply worried that our family would not accept us.

Either way, I intended to fight for him. To fight for us. I would convince him that my feelings were indeed genuine and that I was worth fighting for because I knew deep down that if we decided to be together, we would find a way to make that happen, somehow.

“That’s them!” Marko shouted, breaking me out of my reverie. I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed them arriving.

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