Page 33 of Alexei (Belles & Mobsters 4)

I headed for the door when a soft voice called out behind me.

“Hey, Alexei. Can I talk to you, please?” It was Bianca’s voice. I didn’t need to turn around to know she was nervous. Everyone was always nervous around me.

I stopped and slowly turned around. I wasn’t easy on the eyes and definitely didn’t give out safe vibes. Bianca had gone through enough, she didn’t need my scary ass to frighten her. Though she looked anything but frightened.

When I met her gaze, there was no reluctance in her eyes. Only that soft smile on her face, the one that made people usually do anything for her. Her husband in particular; she had him wrapped around her little finger.

“Bianca,” I greeted her.

She stopped a few feet away from me and Nico’s glance our way didn’t escape me. God help the world if this woman ever decided to leave her husband. He’d hunt her down and drag her back, though by the looks of it, the two had no intention of leaving each other. It was hard not to notice the two always touched each other and how they tended to disappear.

I waited until she was comfortable enough to start talking. I was no good at small talk so I stood still, waiting. Despite not being badass women, like Margaret Callahan liked to call herself and her cousin Áine, my sister and Bianca still fit in our world. Those two balanced our cruel world with a touch of softness.

Some might argue they didn’t belong in our world, but I’d argue our world needed them.

“I heard that you might go after Ivan Petrov,” she started, surprising me. Though I guessed correctly earlier. There weren’t too many Ivans in our conversation topics. And Ivan the Great didn’t count. Though I didn’t know what she had to do with him. I waited for her to explain. “My grandpa’s sister. She was the first payment in… in my family. My mother was named after her.” Bianca’s knuckles turned white. She hated anything to do with that goddamn belles and mobster agreement. It cost her a mother. “The rumor was that she was married off to Ivan Petrov.”

I frowned. I knew Ivan for a good part of my life. He never married.

“Who said that?” I questioned her.

She wrapped her arms around her small body. Nico would be coming our way any second because his wife’s distress was his weakness.

Bianca swallowed. “My grandma heard a rumor. Not sure if there is merit to it,” she muttered. “But if you go after him, I’d hoped-” She faltered just for a split second. “I’d hoped you’d kill him and bring her or her children home. To me.”

And this was why our world needed Bella and Bianca.

“I’ll check into it,” I promised her. Though if her grandfather’s sister indeed married Ivan, she was probably long dead. No woman could survive his brutality. Though, I’d never tell Bianca that.

A soft smile spread across her face. “Thank you,” she exhaled, her eyes shining with gratitude. No wonder Morrelli fell for the woman.

She could melt the polar ice caps when she smiled.

ChapterNine

AURORA

Ever since I ran into the Nikolaev men at the restaurant, tension filled my lungs and tightened my muscles. Deep down inside me, my gut warned me something was up. I could feel it dancing in the air, though I couldn’t quite pinpoint what drove it.

And then there was the constant feeling of being watched. It was stupid; I knew it. But I couldn’t shake it off. The hair on the back of my neck made the presence known. Byron could feel it too. It assured me that I wasn’t crazy. Except, I couldn’t even fathom who would even bother watching me.

My instinct warned me to be on guard. And when I doubted my instinct, I could rely on Byron’s instinct.

Lunch time was fast approaching. Byron wanted to have some alone time with me. Again. I loved my brother, but he could be smothering sometimes and having lunch alone with him was sure to start another form of grilling.

Now that he’d spent the weekend with me, he was able to study my worries and concerns and probably wanted to figure out how to make them all go away.

My gaze drifted to my guests in the living room. Willow, Sailor, and Gabriel played on the Xbox.

“Why don’t we all go together and grab lunch?” I suggested. Yeah, so what, I was a tad bit sneaky. You had to be in order to survive older brothers.

Willow and Sailor glanced up. “What? Like now?”

“Well, it’s lunch time,” I retorted dryly. “Isn’t lunch time when people have lunch?”

Willow stuck her tongue out. “Are you trying to be smart or a smartass?”

“Both.”

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