Chapter 161: 161

“Too many witnesses, you mean. Care to make a bet? Because I bet you my empire that I could smash your face in right now and not a single one of these motherfuckers would testify against me.”

The sweat begins to drip down Cian’s cheeks. “I have information that I know you need, Dmitri. Information that could help you change the course of this war—and the future of your Bratva, too.”

“Which would be useful to me,” I agree. “… if I trusted anything that came out of your mouth. Which I don’t.” I step closer to him so that we’re almost nose to nose. “Next time I see your face, Cian, I will slaughter you where you stand.”

Then I grab Wren and drag her away from him. She’s breathing hard as we make our way through the curious crowd. The Arnauds are by the doors, staring at us with wide eyes.

“Leaving already?” Louis asks. His eyebrows pinch together with disappointment.

“Wren’s tired. The last trimester has been hard on her. We just wanted to put in an appearance.”

“Of course. We⁠—”

I don’t wait for the simpering hosts to continue; I just power through. He can kiss my ass another day.

Wren keeps asking me to slow down, but I don’t let up until we’re in the elevator with Pavel and a few others from Wren’s security detail.

“For God’s sake, Dmitri, was that necessary?” she demands the moment the elevator doors slide shut.

I throw her a glare that makes her clamp her mouth shut. I’m not in the mood for this anymore.

The rest of the walk is silent. Only when we’re back in the car with the partition drawn up do I sigh. “You are my partner in all this, Wren. But that doesn’t mean you get to question me in front of my men.”

She purses her lips as those green eyes of hers glow bright. “Well, your men aren’t within earshot now. So I can say this: I don’t think Cian was there to hurt us.”

“Wren—”

“Don’t you ‘Wren’ me. You didn’t hear me out the first time and, for some reason, I let that slide. But not again. Cian’s not the mastermind of this operation; there’s someone else pulling his strings. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he’s as much a victim in all this as Bee was.” My eyes snap to hers and she cowers back. “Okay… maybe that wasn’t the best example. What I mean is⁠—”

I swallow my anger and try to remember that she’s heavily pregnant and doesn’t need the stress of Bratva politics to worry about. “I know what you mean.” I take her hand and kiss it. “Don’t worry; I’ve got this handled.”

She looks at me skeptically. “Dmitri…”

“I don’t want you worrying about this. Leave it to me and you just focus on delivering our son when he’s ready to come out.”

“You’re shutting down the conversation,” she accuses.

“I’m doing what’s best for my family. That’s the end of it. I don’t want to discuss it anymore.”

With that, I turn and look out the window as I begin to brood.

I’ll deal with Cian in my own way…

Whether Wren likes it or not.

37

DMITRI

Even when I accept and hear his voice, I can’t believe the motherfucker is calling me.

“Vittorio.”

His breath stalls for a moment. “Dmitri. I didn’t expect you to pick up.”

“I am the one you wanted to speak to, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but you’ve been so… unavailable recently.”

“Only for people I consider a waste of my time.”

“Really, now,” Vittorio says with a familiar chuckle. “How could you say such a thing to a man who was going to be your father-in-law?”

“I dodged a bullet there,” I snarl. “Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for your daughter.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I did you a favor.”

If he were in front of me now, I would wrap my hands around his throat and release pressure only when his eyeballs have exploded from their sockets.

“Now,” he continues, “you don’t have to be married to a raging dyke. You can fuck whoever you want, whenever you want. You’re welcome.”

“That was always the plan, asshole.”

Vittorio laughs, though it sounds more like a dying man’s wheeze. “Ah, I see. You were going to marry her, pass off that whore’s baby as my grandchild, steal my empire under the guise of inheritance… and then what? Kill me off after a year or two? Maybe just poison me in my sleep?”

“Oh, it was going to be a lot more painful than that.”

“I appreciate the innovativeness. I bet my daughter came up with it all on her own?”

“Your daughter was fucking brilliant,” I spit. “She was smart, funny, capable, and ruthless—but only when she needed to be. She was everything you are not. She would have been twice the don that you are.”

“She was a fucking woman.” His friendly, wheedling tone slips for a moment—but only a moment before he pulls it right back in place. “She couldn’t have led men.”

“Just goes to show you didn’t know a fucking thing about her.”

“I’ll give her this much: she didn’t make a sound when I lashed her. There were men who screamed and begged me to stop… but Beatrice? She risked biting her tongue off rather than betraying an ounce of pain. She was strong that way.”

“A lot fucking stronger than you know.”

“I don’t get it.” He sounds genuinely baffled. “What did you get out of that arrangement? Was it all for my empire, my legacy?”

I snort. “In your fucking dreams. I didn’t need to take anything from you. Anything I decide I want, I build myself.”

“So then, you and Beatrice, it was just⁠—”

“It’s called friendship, Zanetti,” I hiss. “It’s called family. Not that you’d know anything about either one.”

“Friends,” he scoffs. “Family. They’re all just weaknesses that weigh you down. A strong don doesn’t let petty concerns like that get in the way of a viable alliance. A mutually beneficial alliance.”

“Why do I get the feeling you’re going somewhere with this?”

“I’ll be straight with you: I was angry after the wedding. You duped me. You sold me a pot of shit after promising me gold. I thought allying myself with the Irish would satiate my need for revenge.”

“Let me guess: you got tired of the Irish dogs?”

His snort is all the confirmation I need. “They’re fickle and superstitious and they’re not half as capable as they pretend to be. I’m done with them. I’m ready to put this whole ordeal behind us.”

“Are you now?” I ask with amusement. “And what makes you think I’m interested in putting this whole ordeal behind us?”

“Because you have a new family to think of,” he simpers. “You have a pretty new wife and a precious little bundle of joy on the way, I hear. Do you really want to be looking over your shoulder every time you step out of that palatial penthouse you call home?”

I say nothing. If he wants to threaten me, he can do it without my help.

“Come meet me tonight at Soling House. Bring your men if you don’t feel safe. We have much to discuss.”

The line goes dead. I turn to find Aleks staring at me with his mouth open. “Do not tell me you just agreed to a fucking meeting with that psychotic asshole.”

“He wants to renew our alliance.”