Page 87 of The Den of Sin
I shook my head. Those two probably aged me more in their college years than all my years of running the Nikolaev underworld empire.
“Nobody is allowed to see you in a bathing suit.” Yes, I was jealous as fuck. Maybe it would never ease, but my woman didn’t seem to mind it at all. I still remembered how fucking hot she was wearing that white bikini when I ran into her by Tatiana’s pool. Anyone with two eyes in their skull would want my woman. But Isabella Taylor Santos, soon to be Nikolaev, was mine.
“Okaaaay.” There she went again, but she smiled seductively, her hand lingering on my chest, right above the heart that belonged to her.
“This is just disturbing,” Alexei muttered under his breath. “Seeing my little sister messing around with my big brother.”
“Ugh, Alexei,” Isabella rolled her eyes. “When you say it like that, it really sounds gross. Vasili and I are not related. At all.” Her eyes traveled to Raphael. “Vasili and I are not related at all.”
Raphael smiled, and it might have been the first time I saw a member of Santos' family actually smile affectionately.
“I know. It just sounds weird since you and Alexei are half-siblings.” Raphael tried to make her feel better and she nodded, accepting his explanation.
“No, Isabella and I are siblings,” Alexei protested. “We had the same mother. You and her are half-siblings.”
“She and I had the same father,” Raphael objected. “We all know it is the sperm that creates the baby. So technically, she is more my sister than yours.”
“Okaaay.” Isabella said again, clearing her throat uncomfortably. “We shall not have Thanksgiving dinners together. Maybe we can alternate.” She pretended to think about that. “Kind of like a shared custody thing. What do you guys think?”
“No!” Both Alexei and Raphael agreed on something, finally!
“We will learn to get along,” Alexei grunted. He wasn’t too pleased to share his sister with her Santos brother. “Right, Sasha?”
Sasha rolled his eyes but mumbled his agreement.
Raphael nodded his head in agreement too. “However, there is one thing I have to bring up.” Everyone’s eyes returned to him. “Alphonso Romano and Benito King learned about Bella, and it might be best to keep her identity hidden.”
“Too late.” It pissed me off to have that bastard even speak her name. “Alphonso Romano had two men after her.” Just the memory of that night and knowing those two scumbags, little errand boys got so close to Isabella and Tatiana, had me seeing red. “They almost drugged Isabella.”
Raphael tensed. “Do you have their names?”
Yes, having Raphael on Isabella’s, as well as Nikolaev's side, would make us stronger. I didn’t care about the riches, as long as my woman and my family were safe. It seemed we’d all have to learn how to play in the same sandbox after all.
“They are both dead.” I told him.
“Shipped in a pretty little pink box to Alphonso Romano,” Alexei chimed in. Isabella’s eyes widened, unaccustomed to hearing such casual words about killings. As soon as her brother realized what he said, he quickly added, “That man kidnaps and sells women. He’s evil to the core.”
She nodded, but she still seemed slightly disturbed. I rubbed her back in comfort, wishing I could spare her the ways of the underworld. But if she was to be strong and safe, there was no better way than to have her know what we were up against.
“That man has to be brought down,” Raphael muttered. “Both Alphonso and Benito. Before they fucking kill more women and children.”
“Agreed.”
“There are some plans in the works,” Raphael continued. “I can’t reveal them right now. Those two don’t know that I found out about Bella’s existence. So it might be best if we keep my connection with Isabella soon-to-be Nikolaev and the knowledge of our blood relations in tight circles.”
Isabella looked at him in surprise. “Why?”
“Because in order to cut those snakes, Alphonso and Benito, and destroy their business, they have to believe that I support human trafficking. I’m working with Luciano Vitale and Cassio King along with the rest of the group on a plan. I trust those men with my life.”
Isabella tensed.
“But you won’t let him get his hands on any women, right?”
“I swear to you, Isabella,” he locked eyes with her, and there was sincerity in them, “-I never moved human flesh and I never will.” She believed him, trust shining through her eyes. This was what her mother was worried about. Her soft and trusting nature. It wasn’t misplaced with Raphael, but there were many in our world that would take advantage of it. “Now that you are on Alphonso’s radar, he won’t quit. That bastard would sell his own daughter, if he had one. What I’m doing will save you and many other daughters and wives.”
“I’ll keep you safe,” I vowed. The fact of the matter was that now that she was on Benito’s and Alphonso’s radar, this was the safest place for her. And I believed she knew it. “Besides, I want to marry you as soon as possible. So those bastards know whose wrath they’ll have to endure if they touch a single hair on your head.”
She chuckled. “I can’t quite decide whether that is scary or romantic.”
