Page 63

I swallow, embarrassed to be put on the spot like that, since that is clearly my voice. And though I have no recollection of that particular incident, I can wager a guess as to when it could have happened.

"I was under the weather," I mutter, but she has to take it a step further and play another recording.

One where I'm actually crying.

I can't live without her…

Heat creeps up my cheeks as I realize I wasn't just crying. I was fucking sobbing.

"Motherfucker," I mutter under my breath.

"Sounds familiar?" She quirks a brow, knowing she got me.

"When was that?" Sisi frowns, looking at me questioningly.

"When I sent you away," I mumble, "I might have experimented with some narcotics," a lot of narcotics "but I don't remember it very well."

"And you were criticizing me," Bianca chimes in, and I'm getting increasingly pissed at her.

Did she really have to embarrass me so thoroughly in front of Sisi?

But I don't have time for that now. Not when I need to make it clear to Sisi that I'm not a drug addict.

"It was one moment of weakness." I turn to Sisi, grabbing her hands in mine and urging her to look me in the eye. "And it was a one time thing. I swear," I tell her, needing her to know I'm not secretly shooting up.

She purses her lips, narrowing her eyes at me.

The others are talking in hushed voices, or at least that's what it sounds like, because all of my attention is focused on Sisi and her reaction. I don't want her to think I have a drug problem on top of all the other problems I have.

"That doesn't sound like one time," she replies skeptically, and I curse out.

"Okay, maybe it was a few days. One week tops," I amend, cringing at my own explanation. "But I haven't touched it in months, hell girl. I swear to you." I give her my pinkie so she can see I'm in earnest.

She doesn't look convinced, but she does lace her pinkie with mine.

"Fine. You're off the hook," she says and I breathe out, relieved. "But only because you sound so damn cute crying about me," she leans in to whisper.

"Sisi," I groan. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not cute." Because how can any self-respecting man be cute? "You can call me anything else. Like sexy, handsome…" I pause to think, "Fierce?"

"Of course," she readily agrees. Almost too readily. "You're fiercely cute," she continues, thereby ending me.

But as she raises herself on her tip-toes, brushing her lips against my earlobe, I can't help the way I become hypnotized by her.

"Don't forget that blue is my favorite color," she whispers, her voice husky and sexy and doing weird things to my heart.

"Cut it out, love birds," Marcello's voice ruins the moment as he all but snatches Sisi from my side.

"I may accept that you're together," he motions between us, almost in disgust, "but that doesn't mean that you get to rub it in my face," he says before promptly placing himself between the two of us.

A smile threatens to pull at my lips and I look at Sisi to see the same reaction.

"Damn, 'Cello, but you're taking the overprotective brother to a whole different level," I drawl, sneaking my hand behind his back and grabbing Sisi's pinkie once more. She can barely contain her amusement as she looks up at her brother.

"That's right, Marcello," she nods, "I thought we'd agreed I'm an adult and I can decide for myself. Besides, we're already married."

I feel a surge of satisfaction in my chest as I hear her defend our relationship, and as I catch her eye, I can't help but wink at her.

"Look at you being all sappy," Bianca interjects as she comes forward, hand in hand with Adrian.

As if she should talk. She forgets how much sappiness I've had to endure from her for years.

"I have to say I'd never thought I'd see this day, Kuznetsov," Adrian chuckles. " You , hitched?" He shakes his head, as if it's the most preposterous thing. "Gotta say, for a long time I thought you were in the closet." He shrugs, lazily looking at Bianca with an adoring look.

I roll my eyes at them. Since when has my sexual orientation become such a hot topic? But I don't reply, because it wouldn't be fair to call myself straight either. Not when the only object of my attention is her. If anything, I'm assisied . And if that's not a term, then I'm making it one.

Circumventing Marcello's rather unyielding form, I swoop Sisi up in my arms, a little tired of this little game he has going.

I know he has a lot of misplaced guilt because he was the one who gave her away to Sacre Coeur, but that doesn't mean we'll forever have to mind his tender sensibilities.

"Okay, that's enough," I address everyone, my tone serious. "I think we can move past the animosities, Marcello. Sisi is my wife, and that's not going to change whether you like it or not. Instead of commenting on my love life, we should be discussing other important businesses." I nod at them.

They all stare at me as if I've grown a second head. Even Sisi is gazing up at me, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly parted.

"Now it's not fun anymore," Bianca sighs, and the others seem to join her, all looking rather disappointed. Instead of arguing, they turn their backs to me, returning to the basement. Even Marcello looks suddenly disinterested and doesn't even blink twice at Sisi and I being so close to each other.

"What's happening?" I ask Sisi, a little confused about what just happened.

"They were taunting you because you're so easily riled up," she confides, a sheepish smile on her face. "Especially when it comes to me."

"Goddamn," I mutter, already tired of this.

And they wonder why I don't like to socialize.

Heading inside the basement, we go to the meeting room where a round table occupies the center of the space, with chairs strewn around in disarray. There are a couple of computers to the side and a big projector illuminating the other side of the room.

"This hasn't changed much in the last ten years," I add, shooting a glance at Marcello. I'd been a fixture in his house due to our parents' friendship, and I'd been here more times than I could count.

"At least you dusted it off before you called us here," I swipe my hand on the table, noting it's clean.

"Vlad," Sisi pokes my arm, "stop antagonizing people," she mumbles, shaking her head.

Shrugging, I just take a seat at the table, watching attentively as Sisi does so as well, so I can pull her chair right next to mine.

As the others take their seats as well, I turn to Bianca.

"How come you're here? Isn't your contract expiring in a few months?" I raise an eyebrow.

I'd gone through a lot of trouble to get her a job with some connections in Russia and I hope she's not slacking, since that would reflect badly on me. And with my reputation already in tatters around the country, I don't need that abroad too.

"We're here to help, you idiot." She rolls her eyes at me, her hand going to her belly, and stroking what I realize is a rather large bump.

My eyes widen.

Now that's something I would have never expected of Bianca.

"She's four months pregnant," Adrian explains, "so she's taking it easy with the assignments. But when Marcello called to tell us about your situation, she insisted on coming here," he adds dryly.

Adrian and I had never gotten along, mostly because he's always been jealous of my friendship with his wife. I don't know why he would be, though, since I've made it clear to him that Bianca's never been on my radar as a woman, or anything really except my partner in arms.

But somehow he got it into his head that I was a threat, and he's never stopped being a pain in the ass about it.

"Why, Hastings, I must say I am impressed," I jibe, "already," I glance at my watch, "thirty minutes and you haven't insulted me. We might become best friends yet."

"As if," he snorts, "you have a better chance of becoming a canonized saint," he mutters under his breath.

"Wouldn't be too hard," I shrug when I note Sisi's small smile. "I'd just make sure to become mummified after death. You'd do that for me, wouldn't you, hell girl?" I murmur softly, leaning into her and inhaling her fresh scent.

She turns so that only her profile is visible.

"Only if I get to join you," she answers saucily, "we'd be two mummies," her voice is breathy as fuck and damn if my cock doesn't jump in my pants at that sexy sound, "wrapped in each other and ready for the afterlife."

"Fuck, Sisi," I groan.

"Ew," Bianca's voice puts a damper on my growing erection. "I see now why you're with her," she says before she points at Sisi, "or why you're with him." She shakes her head, disgusted.

"Can we drop the odd morbidities," Marcello says, massaging his temples with his fingers and looking completely done with us. Catalina, on the other hand, seems a bit more receptive to our relationship as she sends a comforting smile to Sisi.

That alone puts her in my good books.

Even Marcello, for all his sputter and protests, managed to surprise me by inviting Bianca and Adrian. It might not be much, but there's always strength in numbers, especially when they happen to be an assassin and a trained fighter.

Just then, Enzo and his wife stride through the door too. My eyebrows shoot up as I realize Marcello's really gone big with this.

"Nero should be here soon." Is the first thing Enzo says as he takes a seat around the table.

"You," Bianca spits out, launching herself at Allegra. Her eyes widen, and she barely evades Bianca's attack, Enzo quickly placing himself between the two of them and shielding his wife.

"I guess no one told B about the new developments," I joke, but no one seems to be laughing.

A short explanation from Enzo and Bianca finally retreats with a huff, plopping herself back on her chair where Adrian promptly tries to comfort her.

"It's nice to meet everyone," Allegra says after a complete rounds of introductions. Her accent is thick—thicker than Enzo's—and probably the best way to tell it's not her sister, since Chiara had developed a flawless English accent from all her years of travel.

Safe to say that Chiara hadn't been anyone 's favorite, least of all Bianca's, since she'd had an affair with her father, while also trying to come on to her husband.

While we wait for Nero to show up with the highlight of today's meeting, I quickly catch everyone up with what we'd found out at Sacre Coeur.

"Sisi," Catalina gasps, horrified when she hears that Sisi had been the target of such a transplant. Marcello's fists are clenched as he undoubtedly blames himself again for what happened to her.

"But that's not the most important thing," Sisi interjects, and I can tell she's trying to move the conversation away from her, since she doesn't like to be seen as a victim. "There was something else that Mother Superior said." She gives me a worried look, but as I nod, she turns toward Marcello.

"Nicolo was my biological father," she explains with a sigh.

Marcello is trying his best to stay still, but I can tell how much this is affecting him, especially in light of his own conflict with Nicolo. He'd been so obsessed with Marcello's mother that he must have assaulted her at some point, resulting in Sisi's birth.

"But the most unexpected twist," I add, "is that Nicolo fathered another," I pause and everyone looks expectantly. "Michele Guerra."

"You're joking," Marcello is the first to interject, and I just shake my head.

"I wish I were," I reply, telling him all about Michele's leukemia diagnosis and the fact that Sisi had been a match.

"It makes sense why he would prefer Raf for the succession," Catalina notes and I nod.

Michele was already hated for his attempted assault on Catalina, but as everyone hears about his current involvement with the clandestine transplants, it's safe to say he's now most reviled.

"That bastard," Enzo curses out, vowing to kill Michele himself.

"Children," I put my hands up, "we're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now the most important thing is to break down the organization, and then we can pick them apart one by one."

"Good, because Michele is mine." Marcello grits his teeth.

"Do you want to call dibs too?" I ask Sisi, since she has very good reasons to hold a grudge against him.

"Not really," she shrugs, "he's such a shit human being that he'll end up dead one way or another. I'm not particularly keen on being the one who kills him."

"I'll do it for you," I eagerly propose the alternative.

"No." She puts her hand on top of mine. "Let him flounder. Once Miles' operation ends, he won't have any more resources. I want to watch him drown like a fish on dry land," she says, her eyes full of fire as she turns them toward me.

I can't help myself as I grab her nape, bringing her into me for a quick kiss.

"And there he goes again," Marcello mutters.

"You know, Kuznetsov, for someone who proclaimed he'd never exchange bodily fluids with anyone , you're exchanging quite a bit." Adrian chuckles.

"And there goes our truce, Hastings," I groan, still keeping Sisi next to me. "But she's not just anyone ," I grumble, almost offended he'd lump Sisi in the same category as all other ordinary people.

"She's the only one who makes exchanging bodily fluids madly appealing," I speak as I look down at her red stained cheeks. There's also some blue residue from the paint on my face, but I'm not about to point that out.

Instead, I caress her face softly as I remove all traces of the paint. I wouldn't want her getting mad at me for getting her dirty, too.

"Can we stop talking about exchanging bodily fluids," Marcello interferes in a loud voice, "especially since that is my sister. And I really don't want to imagine…" he trails off, a loud sigh escaping him.

"I'll end up putting a bullet through his brain," Marcello mutters, with Catalina by his side trying to calm him.

"What can I say, 'Cello. I have that effect on people," I add smugly.

At this point, getting people to want to kill me seems to be a skill.