Page 86 of Ruthless God

But we lost New York to the Bratva, an important port of entry. It was a point of contention for my men. And it was something I vowed I would get back, no matter what.

Something that just got a lot harder with this new connection between the Bratva and Andre Lombardi.

I still couldn’t figure out if Emilio knew of the plan. But if he didn’t know, then it meant Andre was acting on his own. And Andre wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have acted out against hiscapo dei capiwithout having men following him. Best-case scenario, Emilio was going to have to deal with an insurrection soon. Worst case, the fucker was going to lose his life for trusting his cousin.

But now wasn’t the time for me to get into that.

I grabbed Elio’s shoulder, stopping him when he moved to get into the car with our bags. “Nico will take our bags and check them in at the hotel,” I said, nodding to the driver. The man nodded and drove off while I pulled Elio to the other car parked nearby.

A man handed the car keys over to me and walked away. “I want to go to the wedding venue first. We’re going to scout it out while Romeo works to get us a blueprint of the place.”

Elio nodded and got in the passenger’s side door.

We arrived at the venue quickly. The event was being held in the ballroom of a hotel owned by Bratva.

The ballroom was on the first floor, just across from the lobby. Getting in wouldn’t be the problem. Getting out was. Most of the workers were loyal to the Bratva. They knew what to look for, especially since this was the Bratva heir’s wedding. Security would be tight.

“How are we going to sneak in?” Elio asked, keeping his eyes on the front door.

“I was thinking we’re just going to walk right in,” I replied with a smile.

I could feel my brother’s eyes on me. I wasn’t going to have Elio follow me into enemy territory without a plan to ensure we would be able to get out.

Elio leaned back against his seat. “Why do I get the feeling you have something crazy planned?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not Matteo. Whatever my crazy is, it would never match up to his.”

Elio cracked a small smile at that.

“Okay. Just remember. You’re a married man now. You should think about that whenever you feel like taking unnecessary risks.”

I frowned. “What does being married have anything to do with taking risks?”

Elio shot me an incredulous look. “Are you serious? I don’t know how much Luna is in love with you now, but I’m sure she would want you back in one piece. Don’t you think so?”

I didn’t say anything to that. My mind was stuck on the possibility that my wife could be in love with me. Was she? And did I want that?

I never really considered it, but if she loved me, it would make our marriage easier—and it wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. The image of her smiling up at me ran through my mind.

No, I decided. Her loving me wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

Elio tapped my shoulder, bringing my attention back to reality. “Look at this. Isn’t this a surprise?”

It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. When I did, I couldn’t help the smirk from coming out. “We came for the Bratva’s wedding, and we would leave with evidence of a traitor,” I commented, focusing on Marco.

Now why the fuck would he be here in New York, talking to a man donning the Bratva tattoo on his neck? It looked like he had something in his hand—a file.

“Come on,” I said, getting out of the car. Elio followed suit, and we moved across the street and to the corner of the building, keeping out of sight. But we were close enough to hear them.

“Here’s a little wedding gift for Boris,” Marco said. “Make sure he knows who this came from, yeah?”

“Sure, man, I’ll let him know,” the Bratva fucker talking to Marco replied.

“Great,” Marco said. I could almost imagine the way he was shifting on his feet. He never did learn how to stay still. “Wish I could stay for the wedding, but I can’t stay in New York for long. You know how it is. But once the Bratva helps me take the reins of Las Vegas, then we’ll really party, huh?”

The Bratva fucker laughed. I looked at Elio, smiling.

Elio shot me a look that said I should be angry. I was far from it.