Page 43

Chapter 43

Massimo

Gemma just left my office after Gabe and I debriefed her on everything we learned from Mancini’s spy. It was heavy; and a harsh reminder that not every family in the underworld values loyalty to their family members the way the Santoros do.

"Nova isn't going stir-crazy?" Gabe asks me.

"Jerome is keeping her busy with cooking and baking lessons." I smile, remembering the smear of brownie batter on Nova's brow when I popped into the kitchen earlier.

Glancing out the window of my office and seeing the garden maze—it's peaceful and beautiful, tranquil; all the things I want Nova to have—my smile fades. I’d love nothing more than to take Nova outside into the garden, and out in public to show the world she’s mine. But I can’t risk anyone catching sight of her, whether in person, by drone, or satellite. I know I’m being closely watched.

Still, I can’t deny that having Nova all to myself makes me happy—the beast does enjoy keeping his beauty all to himself.

I regard Gabe, leaning back in my chair. "What's really on your mind?"

He rubs his finger along the carved wood of the chair's armrest. "You mean, besides what you offered to Gem?"

Ah, yes, for her to stay here and be my second-in-command, which would mean the two of them could finally have a chance to explore the insane chemistry between them .

"Yes, Gabe, besides giving you a chance to actually make a fucking move. You're welcome by the way."

He grunts a laugh, but his expression turns dark. "From everything we learned from Pepe Russo, this has the very real potential of blowing up in our faces, Mass."

Once Russo started to still his guts—and before I really made him spill his guts— he had given us more information than just about Nova and her father's psychological abuse.

"Vito was there and heard everything Russo said," Gabe reminds me with concern etched on his face. "He knows that Mancini was directly involved in the threat against Sophie, and that he's neck-deep in that death ring and is a key supplier of victims for the sex slavery part of it."

All of which could make my family hate the Mancini name—and Nova—even more.

He rubs his forehead, eyeing me. "Plus, Vito saw you go batshit crazy on Russo. He's going to be even more suspicious now."

Yeah, and there's that.

"I need to call Rurik Frolov."

His concerned look deepens. "Why would you call the Pakhan of the Frolov Bratva? And Rurik Frolov is like a ghost."

Few know what he looks like. He operates in the criminal underworld with an iron-fist but with anonymity. I have a way to contact him, though, because of a favor he owed my father. With my father's death, that favor passed down to me as the Don.

"You're going to call in Tommaso's favor," Gabe deduces. "But why?"

"Because of what Russo said about what happened with Sophie—that Mancini had coerced the hacker into helping them."

"Yeah." He frowns. "And?"

"He also said the coerced hacker suddenly stopped helping them, and they were being protected by someone. So, for Mancini to back off, that someone would have to be extremely powerful. Someone likely with ties to his world."

"Russo mentioned the hacker had connections to Brown University," Gabe connects the dots. "That's in Frolov Bratva territory. "

The Frolov Bratva may not be as active in Providence, but that city still falls within their territory. I know through my connection with Renzo that Rurik guards it fiercely, especially because that's where Kianna Finley is going to school, and is under his protection.

Gabe frowns severely. "If this hacker that Mancini coerced is now under Rurik Frolov's protection, he won't give them up, Mass. You won't get justice for the sins against Sophie."

My jaw hardens and shifts. "If the hacker was being coerced, I won't be seeking retribution against them. But they could have information on Mancini or the French mafia that can help us."

"You need to bring Marco and Vito in on this," Gabe insists. "They're your inner circle and can help counsel you."

"There's nothing to counsel me on. I'm doing this."

"It could blow up in our face."

I appreciate his loyalty. "These are my decisions and actions, and I'll bear the consequences. I'll protect the family how I see best."

"And Nova is part of the family?" I see the question in his eyes. "Even if she hates you after what you've done?"

"What I've done," I grit, "is keep her safe away from Mancini and fucking Julien Moreau. Or did you forget what we learned about what Julien has planned for her, or how Mancini abused—"

"I'm not the enemy here, Mass. I'm only playing devil's advocate for how your family could very well see Nova and not love the way she was brought in. How Creed could react to her, especially given that it's confirmed Mancini was the third party that backed Sophie's father and the others to kidnap and deliver her to that death ring."

He stands and comes around the desk to grip my shoulder. "Just be careful with Rurik Frolov. If even a portion of the rumors are true about him, he's a ruthless, cold son of a bitch. I'll go check on the girls. Unless you want me to stay?"

"No. I'm good." I watch him walk to the door. "Thanks, Gabrielle."

He looks over his shoulder at me, the scar down the side of his face and neck, catching in the sunlight. "Don't be reckless."

I smirk. "Chaos and mayhem—that's Vito's playground. Mine is strategic calm and control. "

Unless I'm sinking into Nova's tight, wet heat, then I quickly lose all control.

Gabe chuckles and shuts the door behind him. I don't waste any time in grabbing my phone and calling the number my father had given me for Rurik Frolov. I'm expecting to leave a message, but the call is answered on the fourth ring.

"Massimo Santoro," a cold voice with a slight Russian accent answers.

"And how would you know that?" Unease filters through me.

"Prior to Tommaso's death, he called to provide your contact and reminded me of the favor I owe to the Santoro family, and that you would call when it's time to collect."

Sadness at my father's death squeezes my chest like an anaconda.

"Tommaso was a good man." Rurik's voice is less cold and harsh.

"Why do you owe my father?" I ask once I can speak around the lump of emotion in my throat.

"He never told you?"

"I never asked." In all honesty, the reason or circumstances didn't matter; all that mattered was a debt was owed, and I had called it in.

"Someone I loved like a sister was murdered by the French mafia. Tommaso provided information I needed to find and end those responsible."

"We have a common enemy, then."

There's silence over the line before Rurik speaks. "So the rumors are true. No, don't answer that. It's not important. What is important is the French have just upped the bounty again for getting the Mancini Princess back. It's up to four million."

"Is that a threat?" I growl.

"Not at all, moy droog . My friend. You have an ally in me against those mudaks ." Some emotion cuts through with his words, and he clears his throat. "Now, what can I do for you?"

As the leader of our family, I was raised living and breathing strategy. I was taught to look at every move on the chessboard and consider its possible ripples and implications. I want to know more about the French mafia, but Mancini is my main concern right now. However, Rurik hates the French mafia, so he may supply some information on them for free.

"I need you to confirm something and provide me with whatever intel you can," I say.

"Color me intrigued. Go on."

"You have a hacker under your protection."

"This conversation is over." Heat has cut into the ice of Rurik's voice.

Anger flares within me, but I tamp it down. "I don't want the hacker. I want what information they can tell me about Mancini."

"The answer is still no."

Rurik Frolov has a reputation for being cold and heartless, but beyond that, he's an enigma. However, his reputation for never reneging on a deal or debt is rock solid. The fact that he responded so quickly, and damn near irrationally, tells me this isn't just some hacker under his protection.

They're family.

So I counter with my own. "Sophie… The woman who was in the middle of what the hacker was involved in—the hacker who aided those hunting Sophie, but who also helped and played a pivotal role in saving her."

"Get to the point, or this conversation is over."

I take a guess that he doesn't know all the details. "Sophie is my sister-in-law."

The line is dead silent as the realization of my statement hits.

"Is that a threat?" His voice is pure ice when he finally speaks.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Rurik. No, it's not a threat. I know the hacker was coerced into helping Mancini. What I want and need is whatever intel they have on him."

He's silent, and I wait patiently. He'll assess this from all angles—strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats—a SWOT analysis for the criminal underworld.

"What do you want to know?"

I ease back into my chair and rest my ankle on my knee. "Everything you can tell me."

He expels a harsh breath. "The first major task Mancini had them do was to get blueprints for a top-secret holding facility—specifically, subterranean holding cells. After that, he had them perform other hack jobs, almost like he was testing their skills before getting to the part involving Sophie. Then he had them hack into security systems and replace camera feeds at Sophie's university, and protect him and his crew by keeping their movements off the radar."

"How did Mancini get his hooks into the hacker?"

"That, we could never find out."

"How did you get him to back off?"

Rurik chuckles darkly. "I sent him a gift: his top capo's head."

That would be more than enough of a message for Mancini, especially since he's not strong enough to go up against the Frolov Bratva. Their territories are close, and Rurik could easily march in and destroy him.

However, frustration boils in me that I'm not getting more out of this favor.

"We did discover a few more interesting things about Mancini," he adds, as if he can sense my frustration. "How well do you trust your syndicate, Massimo?"

I sit rigidly in my chair, but keep my tone even. "As well as you trust any of your allies, I'm sure."

He grunts. "Something is rotten in your ranks."

"How so?" I ask tightly.

"This cannot get back to moya krasota, " he says quietly, almost to himself. "She'll kill me."

I know a bit of Russian and catch the meaning—my beauty. A part of me is tempted to taunt the cold Russian, but I hold my tongue. One, because who the hell am I to mock another man for being captivated—and maybe a little fearful—of the woman in his life? And two, because I need whatever information he's holding.

"The hacker—"

"You could just use their handle, or at least pronouns, Rurik. Or say 'your hacker'."

He hisses out a breath. "It's complicated. This hacker doesn't work for me, and their complete anonymity is crucial."

In other words, whoever they are, he doesn't want any connection between them and the Bratva, or even the knowledge of if they are a male or female .

"Back to my intel, or are you no longer interested, Massimo?"

"Continue."

"The hacker wouldn't quit digging into Mancini, even after I ordered them to back off."

"And?"

"They discovered there were strange deposits in one of Mancini's encrypted accounts. They traced where they came from and found four sources. Care to guess who the money came from?"

My jaw shifts, and my left eye twitches. Vincenzo, Camillo, Achille, and Gastone. "I think I have an idea. For how much?"

"Two million each."

Were they buying into whatever deal Mancini had with Glucoaid-X?

But at that buy-in price, how much exactly had Mancini actually promised them they'd make?

None of the 'Ndrangheta Dons were fools when it came to business; they'd make sure they got a solid return on their investment. However, the buy-in price seemed excessive for what Mancini could realistically deliver.

"Was there any other activity in the account?"

"Only one transaction." Rurik laughs coldly. "To drain the account, which was then dispersed among charities of the hacker's choosing."

"A little vigilante trying to balance the scales of justice." Whoever this hacker was, I could respect that.

I frown as I contemplate everything Rurik has shared. "Any insight or thoughts on how the French mafia play into this?"

"Julien Moreau wants Nova," Rurik says with even more ice in his words. "Rather than purchase her from an auction, I suspect he's purchased her straight from the source."

My teeth grind and my hand fists.

"I think it goes without saying, Massimo, don't fucking let him or Mancini get their hands on her. You don't need to admit shit to me. Just know that to strike at the French, I'll send whatever you need to assist your efforts. You only need to say the word."

"I'll hold you to that. "

"Watch your back with your syndicate," he warns, and the line goes dead.

I consider what Rurik shared. Besides the information on the 'Ndrangheta Dons, I didn't learn much new that I could use to formulate a plan of attack against Mancini. However, what I did learn reinforces my plans to protect Nova in every way I can, as it adds more weight to my theory that Vincenzo, Camillo, Achille, and Gastone are conspiring directly with Mancini.

I flip through the emails on my phone to pull up the blood work report Jerome's friend ran on Nova after she collapsed in the basement room. A sharp pang of regret hits me as I remember my actions and our tumultuous start, but I push it aside as I scroll through the report, searching for what I need.

I reread the results, a slow smile curling my lips. This is perfect timing—almost as if the universe is giving its blessing.

According to the report, Nova should be ovulating right now. Filling her with my cum isn't a problem; I just pray nature quickly takes its course.

The biggest problem is the marriage. Both for it to be done in a way so it's legally binding but not severely disappointing for my bride.

My cunning mind whirls as I strategize and plot. Any guilt for the underhandedness of my actions is eclipsed by my excitement of what's to come.