She lied to me.
When you study a person as much as I do her, you know things.
Every time I’m with her, her eyes draw me into her soul, calling to me. That’s how I know.
She didn’t feel sick. It wasn’t that.
Her weirdness at least became noticeable when Dmitri wanted to take her hand.
She gripped on to me in such a way that I just knew she didn’t want him to touch her. It was the strangest thing, but I knew it for truth. What I told him was truth too. In Sicily, if a woman belongs to a man, you don’t touch her, not even for a fucking handshake, unless you have permission to do so.
I gave the excuse off the top of my head and in the same breath called her mine.
Confirmation to guys that are soon to become my enemies. I don’t think we’ll be anything close to friends when I deliver my answer in a few days.
I’m just waiting for Gibbs to get back to me.
As for last night’s fiasco, I think I just made some new friends with the feds when I got my guys to send over the details of the boat. I may be a fucking gangster, but I’m not evil. I’m not about to turn a blind eye on a boat carrying a hundred young women— girls— to fuck knows where in chains.
Now I seem to have Ava to worry about.
She knew them. I can tell she knew them. Both of them. Dmitri and Yuri.
They didn’t act like they knew her though. Not in the least, so that lends to the idea that she recognized them.
Where from though?
What the fuck is it all about?
I give her an hour to herself and call Salvatore to let him know I’ve left and to keep an eye out.
I decide to go back up to my room and see Ava’s fallen asleep in her dress. All around the area where her head touches, the sheets are soaked with tears. Her eyes puffy and red.
I sit in the chair by the bed and watch her.
It’s the first time she’s looked troubled.
In my experience, there’s only a handful of reasons when women behave the way she did tonight, and I don’t want to think it could be any of those reasons. I don’t even want to entertain the thought.
Not for my girl.
My girl…
Jesus… what the fuck… I’m thinking of her as my girl now?
Mine for how long? Ten more days?
As I watch her, though, she feels like mine. The way Sorcha felt like she belonged to me. It’s a massive deal for me to accept that. It’s a massive thing for me to acknowledge that.
I knew Sorcha was mine the minute I saw her. We grew up together. Our families were always close. We met when we were ten, and I looked at her and knew she was mine. No matter what I did to avoid the good girl because of the badass I was, I kept coming back to the same conclusion.
I’ve known Ava for a day over four weeks, and I feel that same knowing in my heart that she belongs to me.
This woman feels like she belongs to me, and I can’t bear the thoughts that come into my head.
Mark saying she had a rough life, the cigarette burn behind her ear, her reaction tonight.
It’s all so vague. Too wide apart, but it’s all there and feels like the same pain.
It’s like I could reach for each piece and bring them together to complete the picture this puzzle is trying to show me.
I don’t sleep. I watch over her the whole night. Maybe it would have been better if I slept because as I watch her, I see more revealed to me. There are moments when she’s shaking her head and mumbling, then she settles back into her slumber. Then there are moments when she covers her head and cowers like she’s trying to shield herself from something.
I don’t know what she says when she’s talking. It’s a mumble, like her lips are sewn together.
She only seems to settle down when morning comes.
It’s then I leave her with two things on my mind.
I want to talk to her later, and I think I need to talk to Mark.
Something is going on that I need to know about. Something more involving my new fucking friends.
The fuckers I saw just two nights ago hands down deep and dirty in shit.
What stroke of coincidence this is.
I’m definitely speaking to Mark. Ava wouldn’t just know men like Dmitri and Yuri, but he would. After all, he knows me.
I make my way downstairs and find Marguerite tending to Timothy in the kitchen. He’s sitting in his little chair and smiles when he sees me.
She takes one look at me and winces.
“Dio mio,” she gasps. “What are you doing? Skipping sleep completely now?” She taps the side of my cheek the way my mother would and frowns.
“Morning, guys.” I plant a kiss on Timothy’s forehead and turn to face her.
“Morning. There’s no way you slept, looking like that.” Her brows knit together.
“I didn’t.” I can’t deal with her fussing over me now. “Marguerite, I need to go check some stuff out. I need you to watch Ava a little closer today.”
“Is she okay?”
“No… I don’t think so.”
She eyes me with worry. “What happened? What is happening?”
I never involve Marguerite in anything. That’s my rule. I never do. She sees enough and is smart enough to figure things out for herself more often than not. I don’t make the mistake of thinking of her as my house attendant and nanny. She’s family to me. She’s been in my life for long enough to be family, so when she asks a question, I give her an answer. I tell her what I can.
“Something happened last night I’m not sure about, and I have to check it out. Please… keep an eye on her for me.”
“You know I will,” she promises. “God keep you safe, Vincent.”
I smile and leave her. I must have taken one step out of the kitchen when my phone rings.
It’s Gibbs.
***
We meet at Renovata within the hour.
He takes a seat and hands me an envelope that looks heavy.
“Your boys certainly know some interesting people. It explains why they’re so clean,” he states and raises his brows.
“They’re dirty as fuck, aren’t they?” I put in.
“Dirty as fuck is just the beginning.”
Just the sight of the envelope has me thanking my lucky stars, and I’m glad that while I can hold my own as a leader, I can be friends with a man like Claudius. There are many times when I’ve had to accept that I needed his help.
This time is no different.
I open the envelope and pull out a wad of paper stapled together. The first few are pictures.
Pictures of Dmitri and the man from last night.
The pictures are old, dated as far back as five years ago. The most recent one was at the start of the year. They look like they’re somewhere tropical.
Gibbs is silent for a few seconds, giving me the chance to peruse. I don’t get to finish the perusal though. He clears his throat when I get halfway through.
“Where did you get all these?” I ask. I only sent him the few from my phone.
“My resources. Your pictures pointed me in the right direction. That man is Diego Montoro, a known terrorist. He’s part of a group called The Ra.”
The moment he says the words terrorist and The Ra, the blood drains from my body and I gaze head-on at him.
The mention of terrorist is bad enough, but The Ra are possibly the worst known terrorist organization known to man. They’re anarchists who operate on a global level. What’s worse is, you can’t stop them. Nobody can stop them because their associates are hidden in governments and the military. It’s like a cult of extremists who I know to do all manner of fucked-up shit to accomplish their mission.
“What the fuck are you saying to me?” I seethe.
“The fucker is a terrorist. He belongs to The Ra. I’ll take the liberty of assuming that’s how your Bratva friends clean up. You seem to be versed in the Ra’s activities?” He seems surprised by this.
“I know my enemies.” There was an incident a few years back that involved the Marchesis, one of the crime families in our alliance.
It was in Vegas and never reached Chicago, but we knew enough. Groups like that link up with mafia guys because we can move around and get shit done. We might have something they want or need. They don’t care who you are, as long as you can help them get the job done.
“Good, because believe me when I say I don’t think you want to have anything to do with these guys. I think you’ll want to stay the fuck away.”
“Oh, I most assuredly will be staying away.” Like fuck am I going to be agreeing to anything. After what I saw the other night, that was decline right there. The party was just to look them in the eye. “What are they up to, Gibbs? What else is there?” I need to hear it.
My fucking instincts were screaming at me not to trust these guys, and now I know why.
We’re a breath away from me giving my answer, and the way things were looking, I was going to have to back the fuck down or lose my birthright.
“My guess is that Dmitri and his brotherhood can only be associates. You don’t just see a member of the Ra or speak to them the way he is in these pictures. You have to know them. I also found out some more things about your friends,” he explains.
“What?”
“My intel has been searching around in Russia amongst those connected to them. They found a host of events that were never accounted for. Assassinations of notable people who no one can link back to them. They did it though. Their Pakhan is one twisted son of a bitch out for conquest.”
Conquest? so we’d be little more than pawns on a fucking chessboard.
“This is shit, Gibbs.”
“I know.”
“I can’t believe they cleaned up that well that my people couldn’t find shit.”
“Boss, with all due respect. If you didn’t find shit and still didn’t trust them, it’s enough to dig around in other areas. Like you did. This is stuff I had to dig deep for. The fact that my only lead was a link with a terrorist tells all.”
Jesus… I sigh and nod. “My thanks to you, Gibbs.” I sure as fuck know I’ll be using this guy a lot more than I have. “I’ll deposit a bonus in your account within the hour.”
“Thanks, Boss.” He smiles and tips his head for a grateful nod.
I’m doubling what I originally paid him. The guy is worth every cent. Now to action this.
***
Pa stares at me, blank and expressionless, as I finish off showing him what I found. He looks pissed as fuck.
I have no patience for his mood today. Something is going on with Ava, and I want to know what it is. I’ve given my fair share of time to these motherfuckers, and I want to be done with it.
I was already done from the word go.
I didn’t trust them from the start, and that was enough for me to say no.
“I’m saying no,” I declare. “No to the alliance. We will not work with those people.” My tone is harsh, harsher because of Ava.
He doesn’t know that part, but he doesn’t have to.
All my life, I’ve shown him respect and done what I’m told. I shouldn’t have had to go to Claudius in the first place.
“No, we won’t.” He sighs.
“Pa, I get what you were trying to do. I see it. Sure, it would have been an opportunity if it worked out, but if you want me to be boss of this family, let me handle the job I’ve been trained to do. The job you trained me to do. You were right. I’m not some fucker who doesn’t know his shit. I do.”
“And I should have trusted you when you said something looked off.” Thank fuck he’s in agreement with me. I was gearing up to give him a mouthful.
“Yes, you should have.”
“I’m sorry, boy. I guess I was trying to leave my legacy by setting up something big.”
“You already have.” My shoulders loosen, but only slightly. Now on to the next part of the problem because it looks like we’re not done with these guys yet. “Pa, There’s more to these guys. Something I have to look into. I need to do it.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know.”
He gives me a nod. “Okay. Vincent… be careful. This is the Bratva we’re dealing with. Be careful.”
“I plan to.”
I leave. As I do, that feeling comes back to me when I remember Ava’s reaction. It’s dark and ominous. Evil.
It’s the same vibe I’ve been getting this whole time.
What is it?
How many times have I wondered what Ava’s story was?
How many times have I looked at her and seen pain?
Something happened to her. Something really bad.
I need to get to her.