Page 23 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Ricardo

When Pharrell blindly agreed to dinner with the Bratva, I wondered just what his plan was. To walk into enemy territory and give them full access to you was stupid.

Careless, even.

I couldn't stand by and let him complete such a suicidal mission. When he told me that the plan involved me going along with him, I felt a bit better. If I was there, I could help him should trouble arise.

I also suspected that he had Pip in his corner, no matter whether or not he told the other man what was going on, I spotted him more than a few times, popping in and out of places since my arrival.

He always seems to be shadowing Pharrell and though he had no gun in his hand, I was sure he had weapons on him.

Thinking about where we were headed, I wondered if we should have called in reinforcements. Maybe gotten Dante or Preacher on the line to see if they were willing to help.

I'd even take Yamamoto as backup. At least with him, he wouldn't betray us. He was loyal to his core. He wouldn't mind shedding a little blood to help an ally either.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts as the car Pharrell hired drove us to the restaurant.

He was quiet, more so than usual. I stayed silent too. At least I tried to.

I lasted all of about five minutes before I said, "Do you think everything will be okay?"

He tore his gaze away from the window to look my way. “I'm sure everything will be good. Having you there will deter them somewhat. I also have contingencies in place.”

I snorted. “Contingencies being Pip?”

His smirk had my cock hardening. I wanted to climb in his lap and taste his mouth. I wanted to strip us of this formal wear until we were nothing but skin.

I needed him.

I needed his pleasure and his touch.

It had become my obsession.

“I’m learning that I should not depend on one plan. Your idea with the shipment gave me a clue as to what I was doing wrong.”

I raised a brow. "Oh really? I've been helpful?"

He hummed and leaned forward enough to press his soft kiss against the corner of my mouth.

Goddamn it, that wasn't enough. I needed more.

Not thinking, I grabbed his face and pressed a hard kiss on his lips.

Mind you, the privacy panel was down, which meant I was giving one of his men a front row seat to something they did not need to see. I yanked myself away as quickly as I had touched him and curled myself into a ball by the door.

What the fuck was I thinking? I should have been more careful. I should have controlled myself. Instead, I mauled him in the car in front of one of the men, which would only make the whole situation worse.

We were going to see his dead wife's family for goodness’ sake.

It's like I had no tact.

He reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it until he had my attention. "You're fine,” he mouthed, careful not to speak.

The driver had focused back on the road, though I could sense at any moment he would be tuned into the discussion we were having. When we reached the restaurant, Pharrell didn't wait. He climbed out and stuck his hand in for me to take it.

I did, and he helped me until I was standing beside him looking at a nondescript building that could have been any business. There was nothing special about it, and outside of a small sign calling it "The Restaurant," there was no logo or unique design to be found.

"The place is bland," I said to him slowly.

He smirked. "It's meant to be that way. The less attention it draws, the better."

I then followed him through the front door and into a rather cozy space.

One table sat in the middle of the room.

It was lit with candles, making the space feel somewhat romantic.

Though I suspected that was more a facade since these two men were not here for a date since the Bratva was notoriously homophobic.

And if that wasn't enough of a reason, then the fact that we were there specifically for a discussion about all the recent murders of Bratva people.

Definitely a boner killer.

A waiter motioned us to have a seat in two of the empty chairs on one side of the table. Pharrell discreetly pulled mine back and pressed the hand to guide me into the seat. I smiled at him briefly, then turned to face the front.

I had no clue who would be walking through those doors.

The Bratva were unknown to me, and even if I had been familiar enough through my connections with Dante, this would likely be a different faction. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long.

Five men strode into the room, powerful and menacing. Two of them were identical, and I shivered at the way they stared us down. The other three were obviously related, though the resemblance was less. One in particular stood out the most.

He was obviously the ringleader, given how he was a couple of steps ahead of everyone. When they reached the edge of the table, they took their seats in the same formation they had walked.

The leader in the middle, the twins on either side of him, and then the remaining two stood behind him.

“Pharrell,” the leader bit out. His voice was meant to be a whip of strength against the man beside me.

I frowned, hating how they were trying to attack him already. Pharrell's hand moved to my knee. It was as if he could sense I was upset.

I took a deep breath, then listened. A conversation ensued that made my blood boil. The Bratva demanded repayment for the lives lost.

They didn't care that Stasia had betrayed her husband because she had always been loyal to them. And as far as their rat went, he was simply doing his job. They couldn't see how any of it was wrong.

They didn't want to anyway.

When the conversation became heated, Pharrell asked me to step into the hall. I raised my brows and didn't move. Technically, I was breaking orders by not following his request.

But I also couldn't find it in myself to leave him to face whatever was going to happen alone. He needed support. And while Pip probably had a good shot, I didn't want to depend on him to keep the man I was caring for safe.

The man that I was obsessed with.

“There's nothing that can be done about the past, Vlad. All we can do is move forward. How would you like to handle that?” Pharrell asked the leader.

Vlad chuckled, though it wasn't in amusement. “Nothing to be done about the past? Yes, there is revenge. That is something that can be done about the past.”

The sound of guns clicking threw my attention to the men behind the table. The twins who were sitting had perfectly blank faces. Neither of them moved a muscle. But the ones in the back had guns trained at us.

I cursed myself for not being ready. If I moved now, they would surely put a bullet through my brain.

Pharrell hummed softly, then tapped his finger twice on the table. “You seem to have forgotten who you're dealing with, Vlad. I'm not one of your street thugs you can intimidate with those little Berettas.”

I turned my head to look at Pharrell.

Being a part of the Romano family for ages, I knew what it looked like when a man was confident, when he felt assured that this wasn't his end. I also knew what they looked like when there was no hope.

Pharrell was definitely in the first category.

Vlad cocked his head to the side. “Do you have any last words?”

Pharrell mimicked the movement and tapped the table twice again. Little red dots appeared on Vlad’s forehead.

More popped up on the forehead of each Bratva member.

Pharrell leaned back at his chair taking a relaxed pose.

“As you can see, I came prepared. I wondered if this wasn't going to be a civil discussion.

Of course, The Restaurant would be upset by any blood shed here.

I could possibly be banned from their services.

But it would be worth it to deal with an asshole like you who can't follow the rules in the first place.”

Venom poured from his lips with each word. They landed on their mark as Vlad's expression fell. His confidence waned as he lifted a hand to motion for the two men to drop their weapons.

The red dots remained though, making it clear that our guys, whoever they were, were not going to stand down.

“Now then, where were we? I would like to get started with this negotiation. Are we to be allies or are you wanting a war, Vlad?”

Vlad's jaw clenched. He looked at the dots on his men, then back at us.

He dipped his head once and said, "Allies, but I will not help you in any way. This allegiance is merely to not kill you."

Pharrell pushed his chair back and stood in motion for me to follow.

“That's fine. So long as I don't have to watch my back thinking that you're going to stab me, we're good. What happened to Stasia is horrible. I loved her.”

His voice caught.

“She chose to back him up. I loved my wife, and I would do anything for her. There was never a time when I questioned her loyalty. Not until she stood wrapped around another man walking me into a trap. That's when all love I had for her was lost.”

I watched Vlad while Pharrell spoke. He didn't lose his angry expression, but there was a slight shift in his gaze as if he somehow understood and just didn't want to admit that Pharrell was right.

We all knew that if this had happened in the Bratva, it would be handled the same way.

Marriage alliances were a wonderful thing and helped for many years, but if one of those people chose to go against their partner, they were fair game.

Stasia had made her bed. She just chose the wrong bed partner.

Pharrell and I left the restaurant and climbed back into the car. We were driven a few streets over, then stopped. The door opened and Pip launched himself into the vehicle with Henri right behind him.

A couple of other guys climbed in too, weapons strapped to their chest and grins on their faces.

"Good work," Pharrell said to the group before pulling out his phone and typing away at the keyboard.

My jaw dropped as I watched all of them discuss how epic it was to fuck with the Bratva. How they wished that they'd had more time to really screw them over and maybe blow their brains out.

The last part was definitely Pip. Henri didn't care. He was happy he didn't have to deal with the paperwork that would come from The Restaurant.

Apparently, banishment included a lot of fines and signatures, something Henri didn't enjoy.

The longer I stayed with these men, the more I learned about them. And the more I learned, the more I found myself feeling whole, like there was something about them that just made sense.

I wanted to have more time with them. Getting to know them was healing a part of me I hadn’t realized was even broken.

I hoped that whatever was coming our way wouldn't end it too soon.