Page 58 of The Savage

Ivan growls, “Are you spoiling for a fight, Beast?”

To my surprise, Alessandro just winks at me before turning to his friends and greeting them one by one.

As I sense the love in this room, I try to swallow the lump forming in my throat as, for just a moment, they shut me out. They are so happy to be together, it’s obvious and once again my heart breaks for the reason they are here. One of their own is missing. A very important part of their tight knit family and now I understand why they are so desperate to bring her back. It must be wounding their souls at the thought of her living in hell and there is little they can do to help her. My own resolve hardens, and I vow to play my part because if I do nothing else in life, I want to change the look in their eyes and see them reunited with a woman who means the world to them all and so I say sharply, “How can I help?”

For the first time I don’t buckle under the attention of the five dark lords that bring fear into a room and Ivan looks so proud it makes me happy.

Angelo’s expression softens, and he says with a sigh, “We could all use a drink and grab a seat. We need to work out where we go from here.”

As he organizes that, we take our seats in couches set around the huge fireplace and I snuggle against my husband, thankful his strength will help me through this.

He whispers, “You don’t have to do anything, princess, this isn’t your fight.”

“If it’s your fight, it’s mine, and that will never change.”

The hunger in his eyes matches my own and for a moment we shut the others out and then I feel bad when I see the pain in Alessandro’s eyes as he watches us, and I guess it must be due to his own situation which makes my heart physically ache.

I take Ivan’s hand and rest it in my lap and stare around the room, waiting to offer any help I can.

Once everyone has their drinks, Angelo says with a sigh. “We need a new plan. It’s obvious Massimo has rightly guessed it was a trap and even the fact we offered him his daughter it wasn’t enough to flush him out. Which makes me wonder what he’s planning.”

Malik nods. “I’m guessing he’s taking a different approach, and the attack on the Bratva got me thinking.”

All eyes turn to Ivan, whose eyes flash with anger, and he growls, “I will fucking end his life personally in revenge for the loss of my soldiers, though I may thank him first for ridding me of my father before I send him to join him in hell.”

I’m not shocked by this statement, and neither are the others, it seems, probably because they all suffered abusive childhoods in much the same way and it kind of makes me understand them a lot more.

What must it be like to live this life from birth, knowing you have no control over what your father does to you? I can’t imagine the horrors they’ve lived with all these years, and I offer a silent prayer of thanks to the people responsible for sending me to England. I escaped this torment and yet as I glance across the room at Flynn and he offers me a reassuring smile, I feel personally responsible for his own part in this madness.

All eyes turn to Alessandro when he says darkly, “We are ready to take the fight to Massimo. I have the backing of my family and we are on standby to do whatever is necessary.”

Angelo nods and I see a different expression in his eyes when he stares around at his friends and says gravely, “Alessandro’s right. We need to take the fight to him. It’s obvious Massimo isn’t going to play by our rules and word has reached us he is the man responsible for wiping out Ivan’s family. We will all be next; I am in no doubt about that because he knows we are coming for him. So, this is the plan.”

As we listen to Angelo outlining something that could backfire on us spectacularly it makes me anxious. I understand this is something that needs to happen, but if it goes wrong, it could finish Club Mafia for ever.

* * *

Much later,when the details have been discussed and considered from every angle, we head off to bed and as the door closes on the world, Ivan holds me in his arms.

“Are you ok, malyshka?”

“Not really, I’m worried.”

He kisses me softly and whispers, “We will be fine. Remember, we enjoy the best protection there is.”

“Which is?”

“Love and loyalty. Massimo has loyalty born out of fear and they are very different when faced with a life changing decision. I know this is risky, but we have a strong army and the advantage is on our side and we will plan for every eventuality. Malik will second guess Massimo’s moves and after what Alessandro told us, we have the identity of the one person who can flush Massimo out of his gilded cage.”

Thinking back on the excitement in the room when Alessandro told us what he discovered, I wonder about the woman they must approach for help.

“Will she agree?”

Ivan nods and a triumphant smile breaks out across his face.

“Of course she will.”

As he kisses me so deeply, it banishes every thought from my head other than what’s coming next, and as we take this moment to bed, I am a lot more hopeful than before. Whatever happens next will change nothing between us. When this is over, we will start again. I will return home and introduce Ivan to my parents and then we will make a life together and enjoy creating a family because Club Mafia is now as much part of me as it is them, and if we need to fight for that, then bring it on.

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