Page 2

Chapter Two

Aiden

M y brother wants revenge.

“It’s time to go after that fuckwad for trying to kill Dante,” Finn growls as he paces the living room of his apartment. My brother has always had a frenetic energy to him whereas I usually go still when I’m feeling upset.

“Is Ivan Romanov worth it?” I ask, cleaning my gun. It’s my most prized possession. It’s the object that has made me the life I currently have. “He’s just some little dweeb who tried to kill Dante but Dante let him live. Dante wants peace with the Russians. We should probably honor that.”

“Fuck peace,” he snarls. “I didn’t become a hitman for peace. And neither did you.”

“No. We became hitmen because it was how we were raised.” Memories of training sessions in cold dark rooms hits me. It’s something I’d rather not think too much about.

“I was taught to hate the Russians.”

“And the Italians too. We’re Irish, Finn. We have hate for everybody.”

“But Dante is a friend and he was fucked over when Ivan Romanov tried to murder him. That little fucker did it like a coward. Stabbed Dante in the side when Dante wasn’t looking. He deserves to be punished for it.”

I shrug. My hands glide over my gun with ease. It’s like an extension of my hand at this point. “Dante let Ivan live. He’s made peace with Erik Koslov. He married Nadia Belov. He’s entrenched with the Russians now. I doubt he would want you going after Ivan now.”

“Bullshit. I don’t think Dante knows what he wants. How can he think it’s a good idea to team up with the Russians? They’ll look for a way to backstab him at any moment. I say we backstab them first.”

“Mmm.”

“Will you pay attention?” He grabs my gun. Well, I let him. I could have easily stopped him but it’s not worth getting into a fight with my brother over little shit.

“I’m ok with killing Ivan because I don’t care about him,” I say. The truth is: I’m ok with killing just about anybody. I was raised to be a killing machine. Now I don’t really feel anything at all. “But I know Dante won’t be happy. He’s paid us well over the years. Doesn’t that earn him a little loyalty?”

“No. Not when he’s being stupid. You know that Matteo is still in hiding after a year, right? He killed Sergei Belov and the Russians still want his head for it. They’re not ready to forgive, so why should we?”

Matteo Conti was Dante’s second in command. Well, he still technically is but ever since he killed Sergei Belov, Nadia and Anya’s own father, he had to go into hiding to prevent getting killed. Russians like their revenge just as much as Italians do.

Just as much as us Irish do.

Of course, from my understanding, neither Nadia or Anya seemed upset over their father’s death. But it’s not them that are hunting for Matteo. It’s the men who can’t get rid of their pride.

Case in point: my own brother. He can’t admit defeat and he feels like Dante making peace with the Russians is defeat when in reality it’s just smart business.

Finn will never see it that way.

“So, what do you want to do?” I ask. “Kill Ivan?”

An unsettling smile crosses his face. “I have a better idea. I want Ivan to hurt for what he did. Then we can kill him. But first, we take his daughter.”

I straighten up. “I’m fine with killing Ivan. But kidnapping?”

“Dante kidnapped Nadia and now he’s married to her. You didn’t have a problem with kidnapping her over a year ago.”

“You’re right. But this seems excessive. We’ve already done the whole kidnapping thing. Let’s just kill Ivan and be done with it. Now, I have a job to execute some fucker who beats his wife. Care to join me?”

Even though we work with Dante, we still hire out our services to other people. Killing people is not that hard when you know exactly how to do it so it’s never traced back to you.

“No. I want to kidnap his sweet, precious daughter just to watch him shit his pants. And then we kill him.”

“And the girl? What happens to her?”

“I don’t care,” Finn mutters. “We kill her. We fuck her. We give her back. I don’t care as long as Ivan is dead.”

“Lots of Russians tried to kill Dante, Erik included. You want to go after Erik Koslov next?”

Finn’s face twists into a scowl. We both know we don’t have the power to take a man like Erik down. Not without Dante’s help and Dante will definitely not help with that. Not when he married Erik’s sister-in-law. Not when he doesn’t want to put his new wife at risk.

I’ve never loved a woman so much that I would team up with my enemy to keep her safe. I can’t even imagine.

“We go after Ivan,” Finn says. “We grab his daughter. We make him suffer a little. And then we kill him. Problem solved. Now, are you in or out?”

I know I’m in before I even say anything. That’s the problem with me: I never go against my brother.

Elena

Aiden walks me out of the ballroom. That’s the interesting thing about him: he doesn’t shout at me. He doesn’t drag me out of the room.

He just… calmly guides me away from the commotion.

But I’m still being kidnapped and that’s still terrifying.

“My dad,” I gasp.

“Your dad will be just fine if you keep walking.”

“But he’s getting hurt.”

“My brother won’t kill him in a room full of people.” He pauses. “Well, he would, but he doesn’t want that right now. So, for your sake, it’s better if you just play along and no one else has to get hurt.”

We keep walking further away from the party and still, no one has tried to come after me. Does anyone even notice I’m missing?

“What’s going to happen to me?” I whisper.

He looks at me with a stoicism that makes it hard to read his features. “Nothing. As long as you play along.”

“Why are you doing this?” We’re almost through the hotel lobby. The moment we’re through the front door, I know that’s it for me. “You work for Dante, right?” A memory crashes right into me. “I remember you. You and your brother. On Nadia’s wedding day to Viktor. You helped Dante kidnap her.”

“Guilty as charged.” Except, he doesn’t sound guilty at all.

“Dante wants peace. Why are you doing this?”

“Because my brother and I never signed on for peace. He’s a force of nature.”

“And you?”

“I can be your worst enemy or I can be your best friend. It doesn’t matter to me.”

I dig my heels into the floor and Aiden stops walking. “So be my friend and let me go.”

“I’m sorry but right now, I’m your enemy. Now, let’s keep moving.”

“Aren’t you worried about your brother?”

“My brother will be fine. He’s been in worse scraps. Now, come along.”

I look behind me and hope that someone is coming for me.

Yet, no one is. That reality is crippling. No one even cares enough to come after me.

My mother will probably be happy to get rid of me. I know deep down that she hates me – why else does she criticize me so much?

Aiden pushes open the front door and the cool night air wafts over me. I could try to run but I can’t risk anything happening to my father. He’s the only person I have in my life who truly loves me. I would rather die myself than lose that.

He leads me over to a simple black sedan and gently pushes me into the back. This whole kidnapping has been strangely calm. He gets into the front seat and waits, checking his watch occasionally.

I try the back door for good measure but it’s locked.

Aiden’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “You’d think it would be that easy?”

“I had to try.”

At that moment, Finn comes running out of the hotel and dashes into the passenger seat. He’s covered in sweat… and blood. “Drive, drive, drive!”

I look out the window and see that Erik and Viktor and a handful of other men are running through the hotel lobby. The large glass windows give me a perfect view of them as they reach the door.

But they don’t reach me in time before Aiden drives away.

And I still don’t know what has happened to my father.

Dante

Shit, shit, shit. None of this was supposed to happen. I married Nadia for peace and Finn and Aiden just pissed all over it.

Ivan is lying on the ground, his face a bloody pulp but he’s still alive. His wife hovers over him but she doesn’t get on the ground to comfort him.

“Dante,” Nadia whispers, taking my hand. “I have to know. Did you have something to do with this?”

I stare down at the woman I love like fucking crazy and hope she can see the hurt in my eyes. “How can you ask me that? I wouldn’t risk our marriage over Ivan fucking Romanov, trust me.”

“Ok. I just had to hear it with my own words. So, then why did Aiden and Finn do this?”

“Because they were never happy I made a deal with Erik in the first place. Finn especially. They still wanted revenge and they’re going for it.”

Erik and Viktor storm back into the ballroom and right up to me. Nadia steps in front of me before either men has the chance to grab me.

“Don’t,” she warns. “Dante had nothing to do with this. This was all Aiden and Finn.”

“They work for you,” Viktor growls. I always hated his fucking face. The fact that he once tried to marry Nadia still pisses me off.

But I got her in the end.

“They do,” I say. “But I didn’t send them to do this. They’re still hitmen for hire. They do their own thing a lot of the time. They’re not loyal to the Mafia or Bratva.”

“Good. So then we can kill them without consequences.”

“I never said that.”

Viktor narrows his eyes. “Then what is your solution? Because we didn’t kill you for peace and now men you’ve hired think they have the right to come in here and try and kill another one of our men. So, how do you plan on dealing with those hitmen?”

“Viktor is right,” Erik says. “Killing Aiden and Finn is the best course of action.”

“Hold the fucking phone. If one of your men tried to kill me and I suggested you kill him, would you?” I ask.

When neither Erik or Viktor give me a clearcut answer, I know I’m right. I’m always fucking right.

“I didn’t do this.” I motion to Ivan, who’s now sitting upright at least. “And I will deal with Aiden and Finn. I will make sure they never do anything like this again. Now, I have to go find them and tell them to back off.”

Erik stands toe-to-toe with me. “I’m warning you, Dante. You better make this right. You still haven’t dealt with your man, Matteo, for killing Sergei.”

“Like you gave a fucking damn about Sergei,” I reply. “You hated him just as much as I did for how he hurt your wife. None of you care that Sergei is dead. You don’t miss him. You just want Matteo dead on the principle of the thing. But I think that’s bullshit. Ask Anya. Anya, do you want Matteo punished for killing your father?”

Everyone turns to look at her. She scowls at me for putting her on the spot.

“I don’t miss my father,” she admits. “I’m ok with pardoning Matteo if it means peace.” She turns to Erik. “If you try to kill Matteo, what’s to stop Dante from attacking you again? And then you attack him and so on and so on until you’re all dead.”

Erik sighs deeply. “You make a good point. But Matteo killed one of our own. It’s better he just stay in hiding and out of the way. But Aiden and Finn are not in hiding. They came here and attacked one of our own. That cannot stand. Dante, you need to go deal with them.”

I stand up straighter. In this moment, I’m aware that I’m one of the only Mafia men in this room. The rest are all Bratva. I’m out numbered. They could easily kill me if they wanted. It’s only because of the woman next to me that they don’t.

I drape my arm across Nadia’s shoulders and draw her in close as a reminder to not attack me. If I get hurt, she gets hurt. Not because I would hurt Nadia. Far from it. But because innocent women tend to get hurt in the wars of men.

“I’ll tell Aiden and Finn to stand down. I’ll make sure they never do this again.”

“You better,” Erik warns.

“Or what? You’ll kill me? How do you think Nadia will feel? You care for your sister-in-law, don’t you? Or how would your wife feel if her sister was heartbroken?”

“Enough,” Anya says. “No one is killing anyone. Ivan is not dead, fortunately. Let’s focus on that instead of trying to kill each other.” She turns to me. “Dante, just make sure they don’t attack again. No threats. My husband made peace with you. You’re married to my sister. I don’t want you to die.”

Anya hated me a year ago but in that time she’s warmed up to me. Mostly because Nadia loves me and for no other reason but I’ll take whatever I can get.

“Fine,” Erik says. “No threats. But Dante, fix this.”

Ivan manages to stand up and begins to look around frantically. “Where’s Elena? Where’s my daughter?”

“She’s probably hiding,” Anya says.

Elena and her father are close so I can assume she didn’t want to see her father get the shit beat out of him. But something tells me that she isn’t hiding.

I remain standing beside Nadia while Anya and Viktor rush off to find Elena. Ivan doesn’t stop crying to know where his daughter is. Elena’s mother doesn’t even look put out.

“Dante?” Nadia asks. “Do you know something?”

“No. But I have a gut feeling and it’s not something you’re going to like.”

Her eyes widen. She understands.

By the time Anya and Viktor come back, both Nadia and I already know the answer.

“We can’t find her,” Anya says. “We asked the hotel staff and they said they saw her leave with a man.”

“Leave with a man?” Ivan asks. “She wouldn’t just do that.”

“Not unless she was getting kidnapped,” Erik says flatly, shooting me a look. I raise my hands in surrender. This was not my fucking idea.

“Kidnapped?” Ivan squeaks. “My daughter was… kidnapped? Those thugs took her!”

“It looks that way,” I say tightly. Ivan rounds on me with fury and tries punching me. I easily dodge out of his way. “I had no part in this.”

“But this changes everything,” Erik says. “It was one thing when Finn and Aiden tried to kill Ivan but now they’re asking for a war by taking Elena. Fuck.”

“I will get her back,” I say.

“You better,” Ivan warns.

I look him straight in the eye and say, “I will get her back. I want peace.” Sort of. I mean, would I complain if a bunch of Bratva men died? No. But I made a vow to Nadia and I will not break it.

“She better not be harmed. If my daughter is hurt, I will come for you, Dante.”

“And then we’ll have another war on our hands,” I remind him. “Let’s just stay calm. I’ll get her back. No war needs to happen.”

Except, Finn and Aiden lit the fuse and it’s going to be hard to stop it from burning everything in its path.

Elena

“Where are you taking me?” I work up the courage to ask.

Finn turns around in his seat and eyes me over in a way that makes me feel naked despite my dress. “You’re a hot little thing, you know that?”

“Finn,” Aiden warns.

“What? Just stating a fact.”

“We don’t need to toy with her. She serves a purpose. Hurt Ivan. Don’t be a pervert.”

He huffs. “I wasn’t being a pervert. I was just stating a fact. She’s hot.”

“And nineteen.”

“So? She’s an adult.”

Aiden sighs, shaking his head.

Fascinating. They don’t exactly get along. Maybe I can use that to my advantage. Except, I’ve never interacted with men like this. My father kept me sheltered. Be a good girl. I tend to get tongue-tied around men. My mother always criticized me for not having more charisma but then again, she usually criticized me for anything and everything.

“Where are you taking me?” I try again.

Finn’s smile chills me to the core. “Why would we tell you that? You’re our prisoner now.”

“Why? What have I done to you?”

“It’s not you we’re punishing. It’s your father. He thought he could kill Dante so we’re enacting our revenge.”

“But that was over a year ago now. And Dante chose not to kill my father. Please. Don’t do this.”

Finn pouts at me in a mocking way. “How cute you think that begging wills save your life. It won’t do shit.”

His words are a slap to my face. No one has ever spoken in such a cold manner to me before. Not even my own mother.

“Finn,” Aiden says in a warning tone.

“What?”

“You don’t need to talk to her that way.”

“She’s our prisoner. I can talk to her however the fuck I want.”

Aiden sighs. “I can’t stop you but cool off on being an asshole. We’re already kidnapping her. That’s bad enough. You don’t need to be an ass on top of it.”

“Brother, I am always an ass.”

“Don’t I know it.”

I study Aiden. He’s telling his brother to cool it but he’s also not protecting me. There’s no signs that he’s going to stop driving and let me go. I’m not sure if that makes it worse that he’s not as mean as his brother. It’s definitely not better.

“Please,” I try again, this time looking at Aiden. “Just let me go. You don’t have to do this.”

“You would be wise to stay quiet,” Aiden responds. “Don’t give my brother anything he can use against you.”

Finn flashes me a grin that I know will haunt my dreams for years to come. If I even survive that long. There’s one thing I know about Finn and Aiden: they’re hitmen, meaning they kill people for a living. They have no remorse. Pleading with them isn’t going to get me anywhere and yet, I have to try. I can’t just give up.

Not if there’s a chance between living or dying.

After driving about an hour out of the city, Aiden pulls up to a simple ranch house on a cul-de-sac. It blends in with every other house on the street. Surely someone can help me.

But no one is outside as Aiden and Finn get out of the car. It’s Finn who pulls me roughly from my seat.

“Careful,” Aiden says when I let out a cry.

Finn only tightens his grip. “What’s the problem? Want her for yourself?”

Aiden looks away at that. What is he thinking?

Finn walks me into the house and leads me past a simple living room and kitchen into a bathroom. There’s a shower but no tub.

“Hold her,” Finn orders.

I try to run past Aiden but he grabs me and keeps me in place. Unlike Finn though, Aiden’s touch isn’t rough. It’s surprisingly gentle.

He holds out my wrists.

“What are you doing?” I ask, struggling against him but of course, he doesn’t give me a reply.

Finn produces handcuffs from his jacket pocket and snaps one of the cuffs around my wrist and the other cuff to the handrail in the shower.

“There.” He steps back and dusts his hands off like he just did hard work. I guess kidnapping someone is hard work of sorts. “You’re going to stay here for a while. Better get comfortable.”

Aiden lets me go and stands next to his brother. The sight of them is so terrifying, I almost pass out right on the spot.

“Please, don’t do this.”

Finn’s grin deepens while Aiden’s face hardens.

“This is just part of the fun,” Finn says. “There’s room enough for you to sleep down. Courtesy of my brother. If it were up to me, you’d be standing the whole time. And hey, at least you’re in a bathroom. You can easily go pee whenever you need to. You have access to water. Everything a growing girl needs.”

“Just tell me,” I blurt out before they leave the room. “Did you kill my father? Or is he alive?”

Finn’s laugh sends a trickle of fear down my spine. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He saunters out of the room, whistling.

Aiden remains. “No. Your father is still alive.”

“How do you know? You weren’t there when your brother was beating him.”

“Because the plan wasn’t to kill him. It was to make him suffer. It’s the reason why we took you. Finn wanted to have some fun.”

“And you?” The chain on the cuffs clinks against the tile wall. “Do you want to have some fun?”

“I don’t find anything fun. Not anymore.”

That’s not the answer I had been expecting. If there’s one thing I can tell it’s this: Aiden is not like his brother.

“Why not?” I ask. I shouldn’t care what my captor thinks but if there’s any hope for compassion inside Aiden, I need to find it.

“When you’ve lived the life I’ve lived things aren’t as fun as they used to be. I’ve seen too much death. Caused too much of it. Life is more about surviving. And contentment. But not fun.”

“That’s sad,” I whisper. “Life should be about fun.”

“Says the girl kidnapped.”

I flinch. “You should know that my life wasn’t exactly fun before you took me.”

“Somehow I doubt that. Rich little Bratva girl. Kept sheltered by her father. Why wouldn’t life be fun for you?”

Because I have a mother who makes me feel like a shell of my former self. Because, even though my father loves me, he never really gives me much time and attention.

Because no one noticed that I was even missing and came after me when I was kidnapped from my own birthday party.

“You don’t know me,” I say, leaning against the wall. Suddenly, I feel tired.

“You’re right. I don’t. And I don’t care to find out anything about you. You’re just a means to an end.”

“You should have just killed my father. No one will come for me. No one will care.”

For just a moment, his eyes soften then they harden all over again. “Somehow, I doubt that. Your father will come for you. And then my brother will get the revenge he’s been looking for.”

“And what will you get?’

Aiden doesn’t give me an answer before he leaves the room.