Page 45 of Fragile Union

Dimitri’s smirk falls. “Those fuckers. I do not do business with them. Your father. Yes. Those assholes. No.”

I sit back and watch him carefully. My father seemed to have his hands in a lot of things. None of them are good. We don’t sell women. Hell, we don’t hurt them either.

“Want to explain to me why you have put a hit out on my sister-in-law?” The calmness in Dante’s voice is just for show, my brother would put a bullet in Dimitri’s head without breaking a sweat all while sitting in his seat. One wrong word from the bastard Russian and this is all over.

“Apologies on your nuptials,” the fucker says to me and I want to fly over the table and snap his fucking neck. “Must be bad times if you’re marrying the IrishShlyukhi. Not one but two brothers.” he shakes his head in disgust.

Dante moves before anyone can blink and pulls the trigger. The bullet sinks between Dimitri’s eyes. “Now, the next person to disrespect my wife will get the same treatment,” he announces, his gun still in his hands. “Who’s the boss?”

The Russians glance around at each other, their eyes wide as though they can’t understand why Dante’s asking. A heavily scarred man steps forward. His hair is as black as his eyes. The man’s fucking dead inside. This makes more sense, not the asshole that’s currently slumped in front of us.

“Name?” Dante barks and the fucker smiles. “What. Is. Your. Name?”

The smile widens, does this fucker not realize how close he is to dying? “Maksim,” the fucker responds. “I’m surprised, Dante, it didn’t take you long to understand.”

My brother scoffs. “Understand the disrespect…”

Maksim’s eyes narrow. “I have respect, but those who I do not know, they have to earn it. I do not know you. But you are smart.”

I want to roll my eyes. Fucking A. This is all bullshit. They’re playing a very dangerous game right now.

“Explain the fucking cloak and daggers bullshit. I came for a sit down with the Pakhan.” Dante’s teeth are clenched, I’m surprised he hasn’t chipped any. “Instead, I’m given a fucking asshole who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

“Dimitri was my Brigadier,” Maksim tells us. “He was a liability.”

When Maksim talks, his men stand up taller, I realize now that Dimitri never had their respect. No wonder Maksim sent him into the lion’s den, especially if they believed he was a liability.

“Why have someone lead your men if they’re a liability…” The accusation in Dante’s tone is telling, he’s pissed. Beyond fucking pissed. The Bratva showed disrespect to him and that’s not something that any of us are willing to let slide. One man is dead and if Maksim doesn’t start talking soon, he will be too.

That’ll mean a full on war between the Italians and the Russians.

Like I give a fuck.

They went after my wife. Put a fucking price on her head. They do not get a pass.

“Our lives have an expiry date…” Maksim says, every one of his men are filled with rapt attention. Eagerly awaiting this story, seems as though we weren’t the only ones left in the dark. “When the time comes, Mr. Bianchi, who will take over your empire? The one that has somehow managed to grow in the past four months since your father’s untimely demise. Who would you trust to continue the legacy that you have created?” His accent thick and heavy as he poses the question.

“My brother would.”

Pride fills me. I’ve never wanted to be Capo. That’s always been Dante’s. He’s the one that our father molded, he was the one that was treated as though he was the heir to the underworld and I was okay with that, I’ve done whatever I could to ensure that his place is secure. I’ll always protect him and our family.

Maksim nods. “I thought the same about Dimitri…” Fuck. “But, he was too greedy. He wanted things that did not belong to him. He was not the man I thought.”

“So you set him up, knowing that he was a disrespectful fuck…” I say with a raised brow and Maksim only smirks. “That was ballsy, we could have taken you all out.”

He tilts his head to the side as he studies me. “That is true, but, you do not want war with me. You want your wife safe. That is something that I can understand. Women. They do not touch our world.” He glares at Dante who returns the smirk. “I assure you, that no one will harm your wife.”

I glare at him. Does he expect me to believe that he’ll not exact revenge for what happened here today? That they’ll stop their hunt for Holly?

“You have no reason to believe me, but maybe, this may help?” He reaches into his pocket, my hand ready to go for my knife if he thinks he can take any of us out. I’m faster than him, I’d have his throat slit before he could even point the gun at us.

He pulls out his cell phone and taps the screen.

A tattooed man stands with a gun in his hand. The man leaves the screen and that’s when I see them, Maruzzo and Maxim Damini.

“No, please,” Maruzzo pleads, he’s on his knees, his hands bound behind him. His son weeping beside him.

“Too late.” The tattooed man says and fires the gun. The bullets sink between the eyes of each of the Daminis, their mouths open wide with shock as the life leaves their eyes.

---