Page 37 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

“It happened shortly after the container was brought down from the ship and moved into storage. My men traced the source to be the restroom next to one of the storages,” Alexei explained.

“And my shipment?”

“We were in luck. The men were slow in offloading the ship, following my instructions to apply extra caution, and it was saved for the last. It suffered little to no damage.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean by little to no damage?”

“It was an explosion, and the container was rattled. We couldn’t ascertain the extent of the damage. Enzo requested it be kept sealed until you arrived.” His answers were quick and efficient. It’s why I picked him out of every other relative.

“We sustained casualties,” he added softly.

“Send the condolence package to their families and have someone be present for their funeral,” I replied, dismissing the conversation.

Everyone who worked for me signed an NDA and understood the risks involved before they were employed. “Take me to the storage.”

When the three of us were safely locked in the storage, I unlocked the container and let out an audible sigh of relief. The tension in my muscles disappeared when I found the content untouched.

“Told you if they were affected, the whole of Russia would’ve gone up in flames,” Enzo muttered behind me.

While he was right, computers were more his thing and not ammunition. These were far too delicate and everything had to arrive in optimum state without as little as a scratch for a sale to be made.

“Get them ready for distribution. I’ll be leaving with them. What do you have on the hit? Do you have a suspect yet?” I questioned, making my way out of the storage with Enzo and Alexei hot on my track.

“It was a suicide,” Alexei replied, stopping me in my tracks.

“Whoever this is, he’s particularly keen on not getting caught,” Enzo whistled behind me.

“You’re telling me a man bypassed all the cameras, got into the bathroom, and blew my port up without a trace?”

“We’re still working on finding him. Most of the cameras were damaged as a result of the explosion.”

“Alexei,” I seethed, taking a step towards him. “I didn’t place you here for explanations. I don’t give a flying fuck if you have to tap into every camera in the whole of Russia. Find him.”

The last time an attack of this magnitude happened, I was fifteen years old, still a kid, but old enough to know that anyone who was brave enough to blow up my family business was no small enemy, and I’ll be damned if I let this slip through my fingers.

“And Alexei, I’ll be needing the core members of the family in my house at dinner time tomorrow. I don’t care if they’re halfway across the world. I need everyone here,” I bit out, making my way to the chopper.

If I don’t get a drink in the next ten minutes, I might just murder someone.

*****

I heard her before I saw her. Her contagious laughter spilled from the kitchen, bouncing off the walls of the house and filling the space with joy. A small smile played on my lips, and I could feel a gentle squeeze in my heart as I made my way to the kitchen, the anger and exhaustion from the night before slowly melting away. Not once in my thirty-two years of life did I ever see the manor this alive or its staff smiling cheerily, and it wasall thanks to her. Even the men seemed to have taken a liking to her.

She had the touch ofmideand brought everything she touched to life. Even the coldest of hearts would feel warmth in her presence. I would know, she did the same to mine.

“Dobryy vecher dorogaya,” Arielle greeted when her eyes found me leaning on the kitchen door frame. My brows lifted in surprise at her cute attempt at Russian. Her accent would need a little bit of work, but her pronunciation was good enough.

“I leave you for one night, and you wake up a full-fledged Russian woman,” I replied, pushing off the door frame.

She flashed me a wide smile. “What can I say? You don’t find me where you leave me.”

“Dobryy vecher, lyubimaya.” I returned her greeting, wrapping my arms around her. “YA skuchal po tebe.”

“Uhhh, Maya didn’t tell me about that one,” she replied, and I chuckled lightly. From the corner of my eyes, I could see the staff slowly emptying out of the kitchen till we were left with Maya and her vegetables, of course.

“What’s for dinner?” I nibbled softly on her ears, causing her to giggle and swat my arms.

“Certainly not her,” I heard Maya murmur over her chopping board, and Arielle burst out laughing.

---