Page 5 of Angelo’s Vengeance (The Commission #3)

"I’ll check it out. I’ve heard of them, but I’ll dig deeper," Ilias said, pulling out his phone to start a text thread.

I had no doubt he was texting one of his brothers to look into it.

The Anthakos family was large. Ilias had two brothers and two sisters—one of whom was a pain in my ass.

Both brothers were heavily involved in the Anthakos smuggling and shipping empire, with connections everywhere.

Typically, if there was information out there, Ilias’s brother Kostas could find it.

However, I’d be surprised if Maxim’s contact couldn’t uncover everything on her own.

Veronica Walters was a hacking superstar, and while I didn’t mention it to Maxim, I relied on her all the time.

He’d be a little pissed off to know I was contacting her—not that I gave a shit.

"Not that you’re not great … but why are they eager to work with you?" Conall asked. He had been occupied with little Vasily, and I must admit the guy was a natural with babies.

"They want to work with us , actually. We’re making a name for ourselves in certain circles, according to Matvey Antonov. Efficient at business, brutal, loyal, and anti-trafficking."

I didn’t mind how that sounded, and I could tell from how everyone shifted that it didn’t bother anyone.

Our reputations in business were solid, and we stood firm against trafficking.

Our fathers had been pieces of shit, but we didn’t have to be.

We’d been born into the business, but we all agreed that we’d dismantle that part of what they’d built.

If we were proud of anything, it was that we’d made progress in that area.

Maxim rubbed a hand over his jaw, looking more than a little tired—one of the joys of having a baby in the house. Still, the little guy was pretty cute with his tiny fingers and toes. Even the eyelashes were intriguing, fanning out from each eyelid perfectly, just like a doll.

"The Antonovs value loyalty," he shrugged. Conall frowned, and we all immediately thought of Cosimo Oliveto. He had blown smoke up our asses about how impressed he was with our loyalty to each other. In the end, all he wanted was information about his brother’s death, which meant he had been looking for Francesca and Theo. Not good. “They have a big family. We’ll look into them. See what we find. I just wanted to let you know about the contact so we’re all on the same page. We don’t want to be surprised again.”

Ilias took a sip of his drink, rolling the glass in his palm as he watched the baby with what looked like cautious amusement. "I’ll have Kostas dig in. If they’re solid, it could be useful. If not—" He shrugged, leaving the rest unsaid. We all knew what would happen if they weren’t useful.

"Speaking of problems that need to be handled," I said, setting my glass down with more force than necessary. "The fucking Scarpato family is sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong again. Construction sites in the Bronx. They’re trying to muscle in.

I caught some of their guys snooping, trying to bribe my foremen. That makes it twice now."

Conall exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "They really that stupid?"

"Or that desperate," Ilias reflected. "Dino Scarpato isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s vicious. If he’s testing you, he thinks he’s got a shot at getting some of that territory.”

"He doesn’t," I growled. "I already sent a message. Two of his guys were escorted off-site and dumped back into his territory, missing a few appendages. But that was just a warning. If he keeps pushing, I’ll have to handle it more permanently."

Maxim watched me, his expression thoughtful. "You got eyes on him?"

"I do," I confirmed. "And I have a meeting with someone from the Cardoni family. It might be connected. They’ve been neutral until now, but if they consider backing Scarpato, I need to shut that down fast."

The Five Families in the New York area had been stable for years, but the upheaval caused by the Olivetos had recently made things shaky.

The Scarpato and Cardoni mafia were scrambling for any scraps of territory like dogs over a bone.

None of them liked that the four of us had united in an alliance that went beyond the traditional rules of organized crime.

Now, we had a new player in the game coming in and grabbing up pieces of the board that the Olivetos had left.

Claimed he was some long-lost cousin or some shit.

Salvatore Renzetti. We hadn’t even met yet, but he was making a reputation.

The Commission kept things fluid, but we tended to specialize in specific areas.

Conall ran our booze and gambling venues, Maxim ran our guns, and I laundered our money.

We all dabbled in the drug trade, but we typically left that to the Yakuza and the cartels.

Ilias, on the other hand, seemed to dabble in everything while running a conglomerate of shipping that we benefited from for our ventures. He had the broadest reach of all of us.

Ilias tapped his fingers against his glass, considering. "You want one of us there?"

I smirked. "I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll go solo. It’s more of a conversation than a threat."

"And if it turns into a threat?" Maxim asked, his tone mild, but the meaning was clear.

I shrugged. “Then maybe you’ll lose that five pounds you gained in the last few months. You’ll get some exercise.”

“Fuck off.”

There was a brief silence, and we all discussed the implications of another family getting involved in our business. We had built a careful balance between us, but outside threats never stopped coming.

Then Conall shifted, his usual smirk becoming sharper.

“Since we’re discussing threats and deals…

I heard an intriguing rumor.” He leaned forward, focusing directly on Ilias and me.

“There’s been some chatter about the blood oath.

Some other organizations are curious if you two will honor your bargains—or if your brides are up for the taking. "

“What?” I ground out.

The air in the room shifted. The casual camaraderie dissipated, replaced by a tension ready to ignite into something explosive. Ilias’s hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white.

Conall didn’t flinch, but I saw the tension in his shoulders.

"You heard me. People are sniffing around. Makes sense. We are successful. That means alliances. People are starting to wonder if you and Ilias will follow through—or if it is open season. There are other matches to be made with our families.” He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Nico Balestra even asked. Maybe he’s thinking he can gather enough support to build his own mafia, although I’m not sure that will fly with Renzetti muscling in. ”

“The blood oath isn’t something that others can intrude upon,” Maxim scoffed. “Amateurs. It’s already been decided that Angelo will be tied to the Anthakos, and Ilias to the Volkovs. Someone else can’t change an oath. It was decided decades ago.”

“Well, I suppose people are realizing that the sister’s name wasn’t specified exactly,” Conall mentioned so casually that I didn’t even catch on at first.

Ilias had two sisters, Theodosia and Polina, but Polina had never been considered as a match for one of us.

Theo would have scratched our eyes out for mentioning her.

The Anthakos siblings were fiercely protective of their youngest for reasons the rest of us never really talked about.

Polina had always been sheltered from the mafia life, to the point that I rarely remembered that Ilias even had another sister.

"That greedy bastard," I muttered. "He thinks he can talk about Theo like she’s some unclaimed asset?"

I wasn’t sure why I felt so angry. Theo had made it clear how she felt about me. She wasn’t a fan. At one point in her life, she couldn’t get enough of me, but that was when hero worship was still a factor .

Now that she was a fully formed human, she’d realized I wasn’t that great of a guy.

Nobody could say Theodosia Anthakos wasn’t smart.

Hell, a few years ago, she helped my sister cover up a murder.

They kept it secret for years. Frankie told us that Theo was the mastermind behind hiding the whole thing, so I had no doubt in my mind that she was clever enough to see I was a losing bet, which was why she put an ocean between us.

Of course, she was still harboring a significant grudge.

After that night, she had never been the same with me.

I had crushed her teenage dream under my heel with a ruthlessness that even my mother would have approved of.

The irony, of course, was that she was signed, sealed, and delivered to be one of our wives.

I hadn’t been about to tell her that, especially when she was fifteen and wearing pajamas with orange crocodiles.

She didn’t know that I still felt bad about it, the way her eyes had sparkled with tears.

At the time, I had wanted her to stop mooning after me.

It made me feel weird—the age difference, and the intimate knowledge I had of the situation.

I felt guilty and ashamed. There had also been an anger in me, both on my behalf and hers… that she was already sold off.

Conall shrugged. "I don’t think he was saying it to me personally. More like putting feelers out, seeing if there’s any room to maneuver."

Ilias let out a slow, controlled breath, but his fury was evident. “Nico Balestra is a corpse walking if he even thinks about touching either one of my sisters.”

I slammed my glass on the table hard enough to make the liquid slosh over the rim. “Let me be very fucking clear right now—Theodosia isn’t ‘up for grabs.’ If anyone wants to test that, I’ll put a bullet in their goddamn skull myself."

"Then maybe lock that down,” Conall suggested, not unkindly. "Before someone gets stupid."

Maxim finally spoke up. "You two knew this was coming. We all did. The blood oath binds us. If you don’t take care of it, someone else will try to muscle in. At the heart of these things they are business arrangements. We might not like how that sounds, but …” he shrugged.

He wasn’t wrong, but I ground my teeth. " It’s my decision. My business. I’ve told you all that before. If I marry, I’ll do it in my own time.”

They glared at me. We had gone over this more than once in the last year and a half, going round and round in circles until our voices were raised.

My father might have forced my hand, but I wasn’t eleven anymore.

They claimed it was about honor, but I wasn’t so sure I was ready to buy that line of bullshit.

When they said it might affect our business, that meant a bit more to me, but I had yet to see anyone mention it, and I wasn’t sure that would sway me.

Maxim, Conall, and Ilias were just as much my brothers as Remo, and I would never intentionally hurt them.

Sure, I was supposed to marry into the Anthakos family, but it didn’t say when .

Theo didn’t want me. She was off doing her thing anyway.

"Your business might be turning into everyone’s business," Conall said, calm but firm. "It’s time to decide, Angelo. Either you claim Theo, or you risk someone else thinking they can. She’s running around in Europe right now unguarded. At least to my knowledge.” He arched a brow at Ilias.

Last year, when we’d drawn names, and the Anthakos name had unfurled on the slip, something hot and forbidden had slid through me. Theodosia had become a beautiful woman, but more importantly, she was interesting and loyal to the bone. That would be important to me.

If.

Still, just because I wasn’t going to marry her didn’t mean anyone else could.

My hands clenched, and the idea of anyone laying a fucking finger on her made my vision go red. Ilias was just as tense, his jaw working as he stared at his drink. The room was heavy with expectation.

“She’s not unprotected. She might think she is, but they’re nearby. My sister can roam Europe as much as she wants. My intended,” he said with derision, “I suppose I need to look into that. Your point is taken.”

“Nobody is going to touch Theo,” I said, my voice like steel.

Maxim pointed at Ilias. “You and I will have words if you disrespect my sister.”

Ilias shrugged at Maxim’s threat, his face impassive.

I was somewhat surprised by the mention of the elusive Galena Volkova, the illegitimate and mysterious offspring of Alexei Volkov.

Ilias felt similarly to me regarding the blood oath.

It hadn’t been our choice, so we weren’t in any rush for the yoke of marriage and all it came with, regardless of how fast our friends had fallen into their matches.

Just as things were about to get serious, I saw Cora stomping across the club floor in her trademark rain boots and torn jeans. I couldn’t see her t-shirt yet, but I’d bet a hundred dollars there was a zombie movie saying on it.

“Uh oh.” Conall had obviously spotted his sister because he was passing Vasily off like a game of hot potato. “Here you go.” He dumped the baby back into Maxim’s arms. “Good luck.”

“Maxim Volkov, give me my baby!” Cora rounded the landing of the stairs, with Lev and Kolya following her, grins spreading across their faces as if they couldn’t wait for the show.

“ Zayka , look,” Maxim started. She stomped over and peered at Vasily, who was still fast asleep despite being transferred again to his father’s arms and all the noise. “He’s fine. I had to go to a meeting. Didn’t I?” He looked to us for support. “I’m working. Aren’t I?”

“We didn’t need him,” I shrugged. “Maxim came uninvited. He should have stayed at the townhouse, Cora,” I said with a grin. “Sorry, fratello .”

“He should have listened.” Conall shook his head as if disgusted with Maxim. “Vasily is too tiny to be out in places like this. He could get sick. It’s not suitable for babies.” He wrinkled his nose at me.

I would have laughed at the expression on Maxim’s face, but that would have drawn Cora’s attention directly to me, and even I wasn’t that stupid. Or that good of a friend.

“Alrighty. We’ll see you later.” Conall brushed a kiss over his sister’s cheek. “Maxim, I hope you show better judgment next time. Come on, Ilias, I’ll walk you to your car.”

It seemed like a good time to abandon ship, so I figured I’d check out one of my construction offices and ensure everything was in order.

Laundering money was a full-time gig. I chuckled to myself, leaving Maxim to get torn a new asshole for taking the baby from the house.

He just couldn’t help himself. No way I’d ever be that crazy.