Page 16 of All Your Lies (All or Nothing #2)

thirteen

Gage

“ H ow’d the delivery go last night?” I ask as I turn to Vinny, my trusted enforcer and right-hand man, seated across from me at my desk in Obsidian.

As he stifles a yawn, he adjusts his posture, causing his shoulder-length black hair to brush against the top of his black suit jacket.

I’m sure he’s exhausted after spending the entire night organizing everything and having to deal with the complexities of playing both sides.

Despite his long-standing employment with my father, he also carries out tasks for me.

Giving me all the intel I need to take my father down.

“Decent. The crates were full of AKs, Baretta’s, and revolvers. I took them to the McCormick warehouse.”

“I want them to be distributed evenly between that warehouse, the one on Westside, and the one on Industrial. Get inventory of everything so I can start making some moves.” I don’t like the idea of that much money sitting in one place, even if guards are watching it.

“Done.” The sound of paper crinkling reaches my ears as he hands me a list. I glance over at it and whistle.

We stand to make a little over half a million from this stolen shipment, which belonged to my father.

Though not significant by our standards, the money slowly undermines my father’s way of living. The thought brings a smirk to my face.

“Perfect. Does my father suspect me?”

He shakes his head. “Hector suspects the Bratva. He backed out of a deal he made with Alexander Petrov for port access, and now they’re at odds.”

I gaze over at Vinny with a frown. “Why would he back out? They’ve been working together for decades.”

“No clue. He’s been making changes to the organization. Getting more suspicious and keeping things closer to the vest in the past few months.”

I nod. “Makes sense with how everything is unraveling from beneath him.”

“Because of the compromised location, he’s receiving his next shipment of blow through the port in New York.”

I want that shipment and any others bound for my father’s hands. “Get ahold of Luciano for me. Tell him I want to meet. At this point, I’ll pay him triple whatever my father does to use his port.”

Vinny cringes.

“What?”

“Your father promised Luciano your sister’s hand when she’s found. That was the trade they made for him to use the port since Manuel called off the engagement when your sister ran.”

“And why the hell am I just hearing about this now?”

Vinny shrugs as if this isn’t a big deal. It is. I don’t want anything happening to my sister. “I just found out, and I didn’t think it would be an issue since you have her hiding in Indiana.”

“No way am I offering my sister up to Luciano. The fucker is in his mid-fifties by now. Money will have to do. I don’t care what it costs.”

“And the Russians?” he asks as he twirls his ever-present knife between his fingers.

“It would be foolish of me to ignore this opportunity, a chance to benefit from their conflict. It’s finally dawned on me why Alexander keeps asking for a meeting.

He needs the relationship he’s always had with the Chicago Mafia.

It has the potential to unlock a lot of doors for us too, but the thought of a partnership makes me uneasy.

There’s a reason my father’s relationship with the Russians has spanned decades. ”

“Alexander probably sees a change in the tides, with your father’s reign falling and yours soaring.”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” I say, reviewing my new inventory. “Call a few of the men and get everything moved no later than midnight tonight.”

“I’ll do that, then get some sleep. I’m fucking tired.”

Vinny sits silently while fucking with his knife.

“Anything else?” I ask.

“What’s going on with you and Alexa?”

“Why?” I furrow my brow.

“I saw her on the monitors the other night.”

“She’s mine.”

“And what about her and Marco? Any chance you’ll make them marry?”

At the mention of my brother, my hands ball into fists, the paper crackling under the pressure. “No. She’s mine.”

Vinny nods.

“Why do you care?” I ask with a tilt of my head.

Vinny shrugs as he stands and heads to the door. “Just want to make sure my cousin is with someone decent.”

Once he’s gone, my monitor flickers to life, showing Alexa sprawled on her couch, eyes crinkled with amusement as she laughs. From my distant vantage point, the sound still brings a comforting wave of warmth, a low hum that vibrates through the speakers and settles deep in my chest.

Decent is a foreign word in our world, but Vinny has nothing to worry about. I will treat Alexa with the utmost care and reverence.

“I don’t know why we had to come all the way out here. There are a million places I’d rather be than this. Fucking Russia,” Vinny spits as he shakes his head and rubs his hands together to keep warm.

I still don’t have a clue what Vinny’s so bent about. Chicago, although different, is also cold.

Ask him to torture someone within an inch of their life, filet their skin from their bones, and he’s giddy. Ask him to take a little trip across the sea, and now he’s all moody.

“You’ve been complaining nonstop since we left,” I say, my words forming puffs of mist in the chilly air. “And you didn’t seem to mind when we discussed this in my office two days ago.”

“Lack of sleep had me tired. I don’t trust the Bratva. History has taught us that.”

“Sometimes it’s time to change that history. More money, more reach, more power.”

I gaze across the vast expanse of the snow-covered field.

The relentless weather has shown no signs of easing since our arrival two hours ago.

It’s not uncommon for snow to be ten inches deep in early October, but it’s been inconvenient as hell.

Despite having a private plane, we still experienced delays due to the weather.

My eyes go to my phone. It’s six in the morning back in Chicago.

As much as I longed to stay near Alexa, this business meeting couldn’t be ignored.

I skim our message thread and smirk. She gives as good as she gets.

An unanswered message sits in wait from Luciano.

He was agreeable but was adamant that Rosie be part of that deal.

Though he admitted he wants to marry her off to his son, who’s in his early thirties, I don’t like the idea of using my sister as a bargaining chip.

She’s not expendable. However, I’m torn.

I know she’d be protected once she married into the New York outfit.

The sound of tires crunching on gravel reaches our ears as a black Aurus Senat pulls up outside the open hangar where we’re seated.

Alexander steps out, looking far older than his thirty-eight years.

The harsh cold has visibly aged him, yet it’s apparent his unforgiving lifestyle has also played a part in his weathered appearance.

Deep scars and wrinkles mar his face. His immense size and merciless behavior earned him the name The Brown Bear.

Following his father’s death eleven years ago, he took charge and has expanded his sphere of influence all the way into the US.

I rise from my seat, my footsteps echoing as I move toward him, bridging the gap between us as we meet halfway.

His brown gloved hand reaches out to mine, and I take it while stabilizing myself.

A man’s handshake can reveal an abundance of details about his personality and character.

With a forceful grip, he pulls me into his embrace, but I stand my ground, anticipating his actions, and squeeze his hand just as tightly while pulling him toward me.

A smirk reaches his lips as he nods his head.

“I didn’t know if you’d come, Moretti,” Alexander says with his deep accent.

“Your invitations have been relentless.”

“But they finally worked.” He smirks.

“You said you wanted a meeting. Let’s talk,” I say, extending my arm back to the table and chairs where Vinny sits.

“All business, I see.” He nods before sitting down and looking back at me. “My reach is growing, but so is yours. I have watched you acquire many territories and ports I had my eye on. Your father recently rescinded an agreement. I’m hoping to make a deal with you.”

“You aren’t taking over my territories or ports—” I say firmly and without hesitation. While I recognize the threat of his power and his reach, I won’t let him intimidate me. I’ve fought relentlessly for years to reach this point, and I refuse to let anyone rip away my hard-earned accomplishments.

He laughs as he sparks up a cigarette and inhales deeply. “Is he always this serious?” Alexander questions Vinny, who ignores him with a slight expression of contempt.

Alexander gazes back over at me. “I’m looking for more of a partnership.”

“I’m listening.”

“I will give you access to the ports I have and a percentage of the guns and drugs if I can have access to your ports.”

“What’s the catch?”

He laughs. “You Italians, always so serious. I would like to arrange a marriage to unite us.”

If he didn’t say it so seriously, I’d probably laugh because there’s no fucking way I’d unite us in that way.

“Isn’t Roman a little young to be married off?” I ask, referring to his half brother, who’s closer to my age than his.

His nose scrunches up, and he scoffs. “Roman still has his head up his ass in university. I’m talking about me. It’s time I settled down and made a family. I need a legitimate heir.”

The thought of him starting a family is unsettling. I’ve heard the whispers of the things they do in their secret society.

“I don’t believe an arranged marriage would work for me.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t want to be the reason for an innocent child to die.”

He’s quiet as he contemplates my words.

We might have our rules in the Mafia, but the secret society portion of the Bratva, The Void, is deplorable.

If their firstborn is a girl, they kill her immediately.

They see a firstborn female as weak and a stain on the family’s name.

A female can only be born after the son, their heir, is born.

No fucking way am I going to be involved in something like that.

The Mafia would have killed Alexa if we had done things like that, and that thought disgusts me.

“Your father said your sister would be available before we severed ties.”

My skin crawls as my anger rises to the surface, and I’m tempted to kill my father the second I get back to the US.

If I wasn’t so dead set on sticking to my plan, I would.

He dangled Rosie in front of everyone like a piece of meat to see who would benefit him the most. It’s disgusting, and I’m tempted to speed up my plans so I can eliminate him sooner.

I shake my head. “My sister is already arranged to marry someone else.”

Vinny glances at me but dismisses it just as quickly. I really hope my hand won’t have to be forced into marrying her off to someone she doesn’t want.

“Pity,” Alexander says.