Page 77 of Of Murder and Matrimony

“Are you certain she was taken against her will?” He fingered the cufflinks on his shirt. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d found a way to contact her brothers and ask them to retrieve her.”

“She would never willingly leave me,” I insisted, pivoting to face him. “Olesya went with Yuri to save me.”

My father looked pointedly at my leg, derision curling his lip. So he had heard. “Looks like he still got the better of you.”

“It’s a flesh wound,” I waved it off. Only my father would blame me for getting shot when he’d been shot by a Bratva soldier only months before. “Won’t stop me from doing everything in my power to find Olesya.”

“I’m not sure we should invest manpower in that endeavor.” He turned to face me fully and rolled his shoulders. “We have other pressing matters that require our attention.”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“The family never had a security breach under my leadership,” he practically gloated. “Now, I let you act for me, and Russians are crawling all over my property. I’m disappointed.”

“It was one Russian.”

“Even more damning,” he spat. “You allowed one man to ruin what I built. It seems you need more oversight.”

For fuck’s sake, it wasn’t like he blew the house up. Though he probably could have. I didn’t buy that Yuri was resourceful enough to get in without help. Cosimo was still searching for our mole, and now it seemed even more urgent.

After getting Olesya back.

“You can deny me manpower.” I stepped up to my father, our chests nearly touching. His stony gaze didn’t waver from my angry tirade. “I will tear this city down on my own to find her.”

“This woman has distracted you,” my father fired back, sneering. “She’s becoming more trouble than she’s worth.”

I growled, barely managing to hold myself back from assaulting my progenitor. “She deserves my loyalty.”

“And what about the family?” he hissed, his face reddening. “Haven’t we earned more loyalty?”

“I’ve given everything to this family!” I yelled in his face, my hand raised and ready to strike. Strong arms pulled me back, my men keeping me from harming their Don.

My father smirked. “That remains to be seen.”

He looked at me like I was dirt on his shoes, then spun and left. I breathed heavily, trying to regain control of my emotions. As much as I hated it, I needed my father on my side and needed the family resources to find Olesya as soon as possible.

I’d do anything for her.

I straightened my suit jacket and pulled my shoulders back, running my fingers through my hair. I was calm. Strategic. Ruthless. I redirected my anger, channeling it where it belonged—on Adrik and Yuri Zolotov.

My phone vibrated, and I picked it up, swiping to answer Cosimo’s call. “Yeah.”

“Word is Yuri went straight back to their building,” he said. “I’ve got somebody trying to hack into their cameras, but it’s the fucking Russians. They learn that shit while eating Cheerios as toddlers.”

“Can’t hurt to try.” I leaned against the edge of my desk. “I want you to gather a team of men and round up every Bratva member you can find. Take them to one of our warehouses and make an example out of them. Dump them in Zolotov territory when you’re finished.”

“I’ve got free rein?” Cosimo confirmed.

“No limits. Just make sure they can tell it’s one of their own. Leave a few tattoos or whatever.”

“I can do that.” I could almost hear my brother’s twisted smile. “I’ll update you later.”

I ended the call and turned toward the men in my office, who awaited further instructions. Diego paced restlessly, so I addressed him first. “Report to Cosimo. He’ll let you work off some of that nervous energy.”

Diego nodded and moved toward the door but paused and looked back. “I want to be there when you retrieve Mrs. Neretti.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” I assured him.

Filippo and Stefano stood before my desk, hands clasped behind their backs. “Stay close. If we get any leads, I want to check them out immediately.”

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