Page 11

The day after we return to Boston, shit is already stirring up, and I’m called into a meeting with the Kuznetsovs and my brothers.

All they told me is that it’s regarding Andrei, and I have to be there.

I’m agitated the moment I walk into the Kuznetsov’s building. This is the last place I want to be. I hate dealing with the mafia side of business, but right now, I don’t have a choice.

Serafina is on my mind as the elevator carries me up to the top floor of the building. The thought of her makes me smile.

Things have changed between us since that night we shared in New York. I can’t pinpoint what it is, but I’m closer to her now. She gave me something that no one else can have. Her virginity. Herself.

While we haven’t spoken about it or made any move towards spending intimate time together again, I am constantly thinking about her…and that night…and her smile…and her laughter.

She’s so beautiful.

She’s funny and kind and sweet and so fucking smart.

She’s incredible in every single way.

The elevator doors slide open.

Luka is standing just outside, next to Arkady.

“Hey man, you’re late,” Luka complains.

“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t factor in the traffic on this side of town,” I reply. I hate being late. But I couldn’t even find parking. “Where’s Yil?”

“He’s inside, chatting to Rodion and Radmir already.”

“We better not leave him alone there,” I say, turning towards the boardroom.

I walk in behind Luka and Arkady.

All of the Kuznetsov brothers are here, sitting around the long glass table.

“Hi, sorry, it’s my fault we were late,” I apologize as soon as I step inside.

“No problem, man. There was an accident on Third Street. Traffic isn’t usually this bad,” Rodion says, gesturing for us to take a seat.

“Let’s get started,” Radmir says, standing up and setting his palms against the table. “We called you guys in today because shit has hit the fan. It’s about Andrei, as I said, but it’s more about the Enzos' involvement in the situation,” Radmir huffs, pulling his mouth to the side.

“We’re still looking for him,” Rigor comments.

“We are. We’re definitely still looking.

But the Enzos are now assuming that we are the ones hiding him.

Us, or you guys. So they’ve started sending spies out to investigate the Andreevs and us Kuznetsovs.

Two days ago, we found out that a new worker we hired at one of our warehouses was a spy. He works for the Enzos.”

“Fuck,” Arkady mutters.

“Exactly,” Rodion agrees.

“How did you catch him?” I ask.

“We got intel from our man inside with the Enzos. He managed to get word out before any damage was done, and we pulled the infiltrator aside and questioned him.”

“The problem is that we don’t know where else they might have spies, and we need to triple security while also increasing our search efforts to find Andrei. If we find him, it might solve everything.”

While I’m listening to them, I’m thinking about Serafina.

This world, whether I like it or not, is my world. I keep one foot in and one foot out. I’ve done everything in my power to be more out than in. But it’s in my blood, no matter how much I want to deny it.

There are murmurs around the table as smaller conversations break out about how we should be proceeding.

Rodion holds his hand up and waits for everyone to be quiet.

“There is another problem.”

“Of course there is,” Luka muses with annoyance.

How can I keep her safe from all of this?

How can I keep her close to me while still keeping her safe from this?

“There is another rival group that has been messing with our operations. So far it isn’t anything massive, just here and there—causing shit, making life harder—but obviously they are just getting started.”

“Who is it?” Yilian asks.

“We think it’s the Orlov family.”

“Think? So you don’t know?” Arkady remarks.

“We need someone to go check it out.”

“I’ll do it,” I say, almost immediately.

My brothers shoot me confused looks, their brows knitted tightly.

“You sure?” Rodion asks.

“I’m sure. I’ll check it out this week and have some intel for you by the weekend.”

“Great,” he nods. “Then we can meet again on Monday. In the meantime, please re-vet any new employees. We can’t have Enzo rats running around in our houses.”

“Done, we’ll get right on that,” Luka says, standing up.

“Thanks for coming through, guys,” Rodion says.

***

The Kuznetsov brothers stay to discuss other business while my brothers and I catch the elevator down to the ground floor.

We’re quiet, lost in thought, trying to figure out what is going on and the best way to deal with all of it.

We all step out of the elevator and walk through the lobby, out onto the street without speaking. It isn’t until we’re outside in the cold winter wind that Luka turns to me and says, “I’m really surprised you volunteered.”

“Why?” I ask.

“You tend to avoid the mafia business at all costs. I’ve only ever seen you get involved if you’re forced or paid to do it. What happened to you wanting to stay under the radar?”

Everyone is obviously wondering the same thing, because all of them turn to look at me, their brows raised in expectation as they curiously wait for my answer.

For a long time, I stay quiet, weighing my options.

Do I tell them the truth, or do I keep her entirely out of this?

“Dude, what’s going on?” Arkady punches me in the arm.

Tilting my head to the side, I sigh and close my eyes for a moment.

I have to tell them. They’re my family.

“There is someone that’s come into my life who I would like to protect—from all this shit, you know. Someone that means a lot to me, whom I would like to shield.”

“Okay, but then why are you volunteering to deal with it?”

“Because if I can anticipate and work out the problems before they happen, then they will never affect her,” I admit.

My brother’s eyes are tight on me. Luka, Yilian and Arkady stare at me for a while before Luka says, “Nico, if this girl means that much to you, don’t you think we should meet her?” He starts laughing. “I would really like to meet her.”

“Me too,” Arkady agrees.

I clench my jaw.

Serafina means a lot to me. It’s not until this exact moment that I realized just how much she means. I want her to meet my family. I want her to be a part of my life.

My stomach flips with excitement and nervousness.

I can’t believe it.

“Is this—oh, my words—it’s the pretty little thing in the black dress, isn’t it?” Arkady teases me.

“Calm down,” I say, as his excitement begins to rise.

“I knew it,” he shouts.

“How come Arkady has met her? That’s not fair,” Luka complains.

“He hasn’t really met her, he’s just seen her,” I argue.

“Nico—we need a family dinner. You know that Jade and Aliya will kill you if you have a girlfriend and they don’t know about it.”

Shit . I didn’t consider that. My sisters are very protective of us.

“Okay. Okay, fine. I’ll invite her to dinner. But you guys have to promise to behave.”

“You know we can’t do that,” Arkady laughs.

Shaking my head, I’m laughing too as I walk away from them. “I’ll ask her and call you idiots later to set a date,” I say, tugging my car door open. At least the traffic looks like it’s calmed down, and it’s not going to take me several hours to get back to the other side of town.

A quick glance at my watch tells me it’s past four. Just about time for the home commuter traffic to start. Damn. I'd better get going now. I won’t get back to the office in time to ask Serafina in person.

My stomach flips with nervous tension.

Asking her to a family dinner is a big deal.

It’s not something I take lightly.

I reach for my phone, sitting in the holder on my dash.

But hesitation causes me to draw my hand back.

Meeting my family might freak her out. It’s freaking me out, so why wouldn’t it freak her out?

The other thing is that as soon as I open that door and she steps onto a much more personal side of my life, it’s going to be a lot more challenging to keep her separated from the mafia entanglement my family has.

Is it fair of me to do this to her?

Probably not.

I clench my jaw, turning at the traffic lights, my fingers drumming anxiously against the steering wheel.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m fully aware that I’m going to ask her, regardless of the risks. My moral battle is raging, but she’s too important to me, too special, too much of an obsession for me to walk away from her at this point.

But I do decide that calling her while she’s at the office isn’t the best choice.

So I’ll wait till I get home, and I know she’s home as well.

***

It’s eight o'clock when I pick up my phone, having dragged it out long enough and unable to muster up one more minute of patience. I dial her number.

Serafina answers the call after three rings and sounds out of breath.

“Hello?” she mutters into the phone. Her heavy breathing has me thinking about the cute sounds she makes when I lick her.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I muse.

“Oh my goodness. Nico. Um. No. I didn’t realize it was you.” She’s flustered.

“You’re trying to tell me you don’t have my name saved in contacts?”

“No, I do.” She laughs. “But I was in the shower and I ran—and then I almost slipped, but I grabbed the phone and answered it all in one movement, and honestly, I was just trying not to laugh when I answered. It felt like the perfect moment—you know, in the cartoons when—um. Never mind. I didn’t look to see who was calling.

That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” She giggles quietly.

“So, you’re standing with the phone in your hand, dripping wet—naked?” My voice sounds deeper as the images of her body drift into my thoughts.

“Maybe,” she replies seductively.

“Mm. You’re making me forget why I called you.”

She starts laughing, and the beautiful sound snaps me out of my lustful dream.

“Maybe it was about the meeting tomorrow? Or an e-mail? Or that file?” she starts rattling off work lists.

“Does your brain ever switch off from work mode?” I ask, amused.

“Sometimes. Rarely. I like my job,” she says defensively.

“I know. It shows, because you’re so good at it. But I do know why I called you.”

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense.”

“Are you free for an early dinner on Saturday evening…?“

“I’d love to,” she answers too quickly. I can’t help laughing because she has no idea what she’s getting herself into. “Wait. Serafina. You should withhold your answer until you hear the full invite.”

“Oh. Okay,” she says, sounding nervous now.

“You might want to change your mind,” I say.

“Tell me,“ she huffs.

“Are you free for dinner on Saturday? I would like you to meet my family.”

The moment of silence that follows my invite is heavy, and my heart begins to pulse loudly in my ears.

“Sera—“

“Are you serious?” she asks, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

“I am. I would love for you to meet my brothers and my sisters.”

“That sounds—that’s really—yes, I would love to come to dinner on Saturday.”

“Great.”

“Yes.”

I feel like a teenager having just asked out his first-ever date.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright.” She’s still smiling. “I hope you sleep well.”

I don’t want to say goodbye yet. “What did you have for dinner tonight?”

She laughs. “I had leftover spaghetti. What did you have?”

I sit down on the sofa, getting comfortable. “I had a steak and some salad.”

“Really? I didn’t know guys ate salad,” she teases me.

“I’ll have you know that I make a killer salad. It’s made up entirely of avocado, rocket leaves, and balsamic vinegar.”

“I’m not sure that counts as an actual salad.”

“It does. It’s an avowed salad.”

She’s laughing, and I can’t stop grinning.

“Sera, I should let you go—I just remembered how naked you are. You’re probably freezing cold, and I’m taking up your time.”

“No. I wrapped my big, fluffy robe around myself.”

“What color is it?”

“Pink, and there is a hood with bunny ears,” she giggles.

“Imagine that—little Ms. Perfect Assistant, who dresses to kill at the office, wears a pink fluffy bunny robe at home. I think I’d like to see this…"

We talk for an hour, teasing back and forth, laughing, enjoying each other’s stories. By the time we end the call, my cheeks are aching from smiling so much, and I’m a thousand percent excited to introduce her to my family.