Page 76 of The Den of Sin
“What?” he answered the phone, fury steaming off of him.
Whatever the person on the other line said, it didn’t ease him at all.
“Fine. Where and when?”
It took another ten seconds and he ended the call, a string of curses leaving his lips. Some were in English and some were in Russian.
“Is everything okay?”
He nodded, though I was sure nothing was okay. “Let’s go get dressed.”
“Okay.” I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me that he refused to confide in me and expected me to tell him what was weighing on my mind. “Where are my clothes?”
“My room,” he murmured, placing his lips on my neck. I immediately tilted my head, to allow him better access. With him, my body reacted before my mind even processed anything. “I always want you with me. Remember that.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vasili
Ileft Isabella with Alexei and Sasha at my home. It felt right having her in my home, seeing her with my brothers and protected by our family and our men. What happened yesterday at Tatiana’s place was a breach in security, the worst kind. Santos’ men should have never been able to breach the parameter so easily. They fucking eliminated every single man guarding that house. It meant, they knew Isabella and Tatiana would be gone, and they cleaned up all evidence of their killing before they expected them home. It was a lucky fucking chance that Adrian took Tatiana to his place and I brought Isabella home. My heart froze each time I even thought about what would have happened if she came home alone.
Adrian met me halfway to my rendezvous point where I would meet with Raphael Santos. He left his car parked and got into my car, with his weapons. My driver carried us on towards the destination.
“Tatiana safe?”
“Yes.” He was tense. So was I. What happened yesterday was a major failure in our security system.
“What happened?” There was no need for elaboration; he knew what I meant. “Isabella could have been killed. Twice in twenty-four hours.”
The terror on Isabella’s face, in those soft brown eyes; it would forever stay with me. It should have never happened. First in the city and then in Tatiana’s home. How did Raphael get close to her?
“Cassio’s guy hacked into our network.” I knew it was hard for Adrian to admit it, even harder to know that there was a guy out there that good. Adrian was one of the best in this business.
Cassio King was an up-and-coming Italian mafia boss. Through the years I watched him make allies in the most unlikely places with the most unlikely men. He didn’t discriminate - from bankers to politicians. Irish, Colombians, Russians, various Italian families. It didn’t matter. Raphael was one of his allies as well and that was the odd thing. Cassio never approached his father, nor the eldest son. He bypassed those two, going directly to Raphael, and I had to wonder why.
But I had to give it to the guy. Cassio King played it well. He gathered his own strong allies throughout the years, never raising alarm with his father, Benito King, because he didn’t go for the top dogs in the food chain. He went for the best dogs in the food chain. And he always had his men’s back too. It was more of a partnership than what his father ran, which was failing miserably. His father was one cruel motherfucker.
“Raphael is on his team,” I told him. Five years ago, shortly after Isabella’s mother passed away, Cassio asked me in on his partnership deal, but I wasn’t interested. I wanted no part of anything that involved the Santos family. It was for Isabella’s protection.
I should have known Raphael Santos was too smart. He might have mistaken Isabella for Tatiana, but it played in his favor because now he knew who she was. Cassio’s guy must have helped him dig up information on her, all while we were sleeping.
“How many men do we have at the location?” I asked Adrian. If shit was about to go down, we better be prepared.
“Twenty. Our best.”
“I might as well tell you now,” I started. Raphael already hinted we’d discuss family and Isabella. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that meant. “Isabella is Lombardo’s daughter. Raphael is her half-brother.”
Adrian’s head snapped to me, shock on his face. And he was rarely shocked. “You are fucking with me!”
“No, I’m not. Raphael didn’t know it last night, but he knows it now. She is not theirs though! No matter what, she is to be under our protection.”
“Even if it means war?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” It was the reason Adrian and I worked well together. He never tried to reason with me, and it was the same with him. We weren’t impulsive like Sasha. When we came to a decision, it was because we thought it through.
“Alexei and Isabella are half-siblings,” I explained. “If something happens to me, Alexei knows what to do and how to protect her. I feel better that Lombardo and Vincent are dead; Raphael is a better man than his father. But I made a promise that Isabella would not fall under their clutches. I intend to keep it.”
