Page 36 of Born into Mayhem

He laughs, and when I scowl, he laughs even harder. “Whatever you say, Dario, but when this blows up, keep my ass out of it, and don’t you dare fucking hurt her. That’s Nat’s little sister.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I say again.

When he’s convinced I’m telling the truth, he says, “Fine, but this is definitely going to make things a lot more interesting.”

“What do you mean?” I ask the question, but before he can answer, the door opens and Sandro walks in followed by the Melnikov men. I look back at Dominic, but his face is unreadable again. Sandro takes the chair next to me while the others sit where they can or remain standing. My brother shrugs when I give him a questioning look,letting me know that he’s just as clueless as I am about what’s happening.

“Thanks for meeting with me,” Dominic tells them. “I’ll make this as quick as I can. As you all know, my family still controls a part of Italy. We have an agreement with the other families, and everyone has always honored that agreement, but that’s recently changed.”

“Is the problem here or in Italy?” Lev asks, no doubt thinking of his daughter and grandkids.

Dominic holds up a hand to reassure him. “In Italy. Everything is very secure here. I would’ve already told you if it wasn’t.” There’s a slight reprimand in his tone, but Lev ignores it, choosing instead to cross his arms over his chest and hold Dominic’s gaze. I hear my cousin sigh before he very briefly gives me ayou see what the fuck I’m talking aboutlook.

Ignoring his father-in-law, Dominic continues. “We were attacked and lost one of our men. I put everyone over there on high alert, waiting to see if my suspicions were correct. I just found out that we’ve been hit again.”

I turn and meet Sandro’s eyes. This is the first we’re hearing about this, and it must be serious if Dominic is choosing to tell us all together.

“What do you need from us?” Roman asks, reminding us all that our families are united and indebted to each other.

“I appreciate the offer,” Dominic says. “I’m going to be sending Dario and Sandro to Italy with several of our men. I know Leonardo Fontana is responsible for the attacks, and I want him taken out. I can’t just go in there and kill him, though,”

“Why the hell not?” Vitaly asks.

“Because this isn’t a Bratva,” Dominic says, and the tone makes it clear they’ve had this discussion before. “The other families will turn on me if I do that. I don’t have solid proof it’s Leonardo. Things have to be done in a certain way.”

“Our way is easier,” I hear Vitaly say with a soft laugh.

“So what’s your plan?” Matvey asks.

Dominic looks over at his father-in-law and says, “You’re not going to like it.”

“You’re not taking Nat to Italy,” he says, and there’s a definiteend of discussiontone to his voice.

“No, I’m not,” Dominic agrees, and then he looks over at me, “But I’d like Dario and Sandro to take Mia.”

Too many people talk at once, and I’m left too stunned to get a single word out.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lev shouts, raising his voice above all the others. “You’re out of your fucking mind, Dom.”

Dominic calmly waits for everyone to settle down before he says, “She’ll be perfectly safe. You have my word on that. I just need someone who’s going to catch Leonardo’s attention, someone that he’ll go after, and someone who I know can protect herself for the very brief time that she’ll be left exposed.”

“Fuck no,” Lev says, shaking his head and looking like he’s about to murder someone. “Get some other woman to do it.”

“I don’t have anyone as trained as her,” Dominic says. He turns to me. “Can she hold her own? Would you trust her to take down a threat?”

“Definitely,” I say, not even having to think about it. “She’s better trained than some of our new recruits. She has a huge advantage because men see her and underestimate her based on her size, but she could kill anyone you put her up against. She’s smart, quick on her feet, and she’s good with weapons.”

“No,” Lev says again.

“They will protect her with their lives, Lev,” Dominic tells him. “I need your help with this.” He looks at all the men who fill his office. “I’m asking for help from the Melnikov Bratva, and I’m hoping that you’ll give it.”

“No,” Lev corrects. “You’re asking me to let you use my daughter. That’s not the same thing. Your family has helped us in the past, and we’re grateful for it, but this isnotthe same thing.”

“It’s different,” Dominic admits, “but it’s necessary. I don’t have anyone else I can use.”

“We won’t let her out of our sight,” Sandro says.

“She’ll be safe,” I say, knowing it’s true because I won’t fucking allow anything to happen to her.