Page 4 of Wicked Knight 2

“That’s why we’re here.” I said under my breath, meeting Ivan’s gaze. “We’ll think of something. Come on. It’s best to get it over with.”

I strode the length of the corridor, past the ornate water fountain jetting water up at the stars in a dramatic crescendo. The trickling water soothed the pounding on my temple. Most nights when I couldn’t sleep, when the nightmares kept me awake, I liked to come out here and take in the quiet serenity.

At the opposite end, the entrance to the main part of the house stood wide open. Across the foyer, Papa glared at us, gripping the library door open. Dimitri Belov, Papa, came to the States when he was twelve years old. His mother, like many others, simply wanted something better for her only son.

She passed away a few years after arriving, leaving young Dimitri to fend for himself. In no time, according to Papa’s stories, he climbed the ranks of the Brotherhood until he became the man he was today. Papa was a ruthless business owner, a cold-blooded killer, and a father figure to us all.

As soon as we entered, his gaze shifted to Ivan’s form cowering behind me. With a slight shake of his head, he motioned for us to join him. Yeah, he was in a murderous mood, just like Ivan had said. I sauntered toward the large table in the middle of the large rectangular room. The floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with heavy books, the oversize fireplace, and the mahogany furniture gave the illusion that this place was a haven, when it wasn’t. More than once, I’d seen Papa’s personal guards beat a man to death for not paying his monthly dues.

With Ivan still on my heels, I made my way to the head of the table and sat to Papa’s right. Dominic, one of Papa’s spies, didn’t waste time. He walked around me and punched Ivan in the gut, then the face. I shot to my feet and shoved Dominic before he went after Ivan again.

“He knows what he did.” I wedged myself between them. When Dominic fisted his hands and squared himself, I stepped closer with my gaze boring into his. “Are you going to fight me too?”

The red on his cheeks streamed down to his neck. The asshole thought about it for a handful of seconds, then finally shook his head no. “He doesn’t deserve a seat at the table.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” I glared at him.

“Enough.” Papa unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat back. “I will deal with my son in due time. For now, we have more important things to discuss. Sit.”

I glanced around the table at Papa’s two spies, Ivan and myself. There were a few people missing. What did Papa want to talk about that he didn’t want the other crewmembers to know about? Despite what Ivan might think of Papa’s volatile and dangerous disposition, he wasn’t one to act irrationally. If he excluded key members of the Brotherhood, it was because whatever he wanted to talk to us about, it only concerned our family.

“Where’s the boy?” He leaned to his left and spoke to Dominic directly. “Get him in here.”

“Right away, Boss.” Dominic’s chair scraped the hardwood floors as he stood and rushed out the door.

When he returned, he brought in Slava. A man in his early twenties, who was a computer whiz and had, as of a year ago, Papa’s full support. “Boss?” He nodded.

“Tell them what you told me.” Papa gestured toward me, which led me to believe that Dominic was already aware of the situation. Something that pissed me off on principle. Being Papa’s spy made me Dominic’s equal. Before I opened my mouth to ask, Papa raised his hand to shut me up. “Dominic happened to be standing next to me when Slava rushed in with the news. It’s not the time, Son.”

I nodded and swallowed my pride.

“Go on then.” I said to Slava. “What do you have to say?”

“The Society is real.” Slava swallowed. “The Italians pigs. All the crews all over the country answer to only five Dons.”

“We knew this already.” I furrowed my brows.

“We didn’t have names. Well, we had one.” Slava exchanged a look with Papa. When Papa nodded, he continued, “We have another name. She could be a chink in their armor.”

Papa beamed at Slava then slammed his hand on the table. “I love this boy.” He pointed at Slava then at me. “Do you understand? They have a woman as one of the Dons. What fucking nonsense. This life isn’t for women.”

“I see.” I sat back, not exactly sharing Papa’s excitement. So what if those pigs were letting a woman run their crews. She was of no use to us. “Killing Dons will only bring death to our doorstep. You know that.”

“She’s not a Don.” Slava interjected. “I mean. The target isn’t the Don, but her niece. I found her.” He rushed to my side and plopped a laptop in front of me. “She’s an ER doctor.”

“I can take it from here.” Papa patted Slava on the back. Letting Slava tell us the good news had been his reward. Now that Slava had said his piece, he was escorted out. Papa waited until Dominic returned then continued, “A mafia princess is exactly what we need to regain the territory we lost.”

Ivan lowered his head, even though Papa didn’t look his way. Sometimes Papa’s cold shoulder was worse than his fist.

“You’re going to kidnap the mafia princess and exchange her for a brand-new warehouse? Are we even sure the Italians will care?” I tapped on one of the keys on the laptop to look at whatever Slava wanted me to see.

Well fuck. She was incredibly beautiful with blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and pink cheeks. She was like a fairy princess plunked out of a children’s book. My gaze shifted from her eyes down to the pretty bow of her shiny lips. Suddenly, I got the sense I’d met her before. Maybe she was one of those celebrity look-alikes?

“That’s why I think it should be you.” Papa leaned forward to look me in the eye. “Did you hear anything I just said, boy?”

Fuck, no I hadn’t.

“He has a headache,” Ivan interjected. “But he’ll do it.”

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