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As tiring as the constant conflicts were, it seemed I could never quite find it in myself to stop, to pause and take a break like my brothers did whenever new whims hit them. Yuri and Val especially….

Even though we had recently handled the Pesci forces and brought them down as they deserved, even though I should’ve been satisfied with leaving it at that, I couldn’t shake the sense of unease that followed me. The hunch that things weren’t quite as settled as everyone else wanted to believe.

And that hunch of mine was right.

While sitting in the spare office, fingers nimbly moving across the keyboard of the laptop I swiped off Damien’s desk, I found myself looking at the very woman who had me on edge.

Not because she committed heinous acts against us or caused any big scenes worth noting, but the opposite.

The heiress of what was left of the Pesci fortune was still out there. She looked and seemed innocent enough, but with money, weapons, and manpower behind her, there was no telling what she could be capable of if she put her mind to it.

Sure, she was a woman. Most women in our world were nothing but breeding stock, aside from the rare few who managed to forge genuine connections in their more-or-less forced marriages. And while that was generally true, I knew better than to write her off completely.

She may have been able to hide in the shadows, disarming everyone else with those big brown eyes, but I wasn’t prepared to fall into the same trap.

Even if my brothers and the Levovs were content with how things were going, I took it upon myself to keep an eye on her, just in case she really was planning on playing some sort of trump card on us all.

And that was exactly how I found myself rifling through whatever records I could find on Aria Pesci.

I usually left the tech stuff to my brothers, but given how the Levov database we had access to was only available online, I had to suck it up and step out of my typical realm.

It wasn’t all that bad—at least I could focus in that dark room all by myself.

The only downside was how limited that information seemed to be. Regardless of the records kept on her father Enrico and her recently deceased brother Esidor, she might as well have been a ghost.

Even if the two of them had been more than keen to marry Aria off to a Levov in the past, they did an incredible job at keeping her far removed from the public eye. She seemingly had no involvement in their past dealings, which only made me more suspicious of her. More curious.

I hated to admit it, even to myself, but she intrigued me, and that only made me more determined to find out as much about her as I possibly could.

Scrolling through an article highlighting something of note concerning the Pesci family, my attention was pulled away when the door creaked open behind me. With a glance over my shoulder, I sighed the moment Yuri and Val came in.

So much for that peace and quiet.

Yuri wore an amused grin at my obvious irritation, carrying a small bag of trail mix or something. He shoveled some into his mouth while Val came around and dropped himself into the armchair across from me.

"So…what are you doing sitting all alone in the dark?" the latter asked as he rolled his sleeves up and reclined.

"Nothing that concerns either of you."

A moment later, a quick yet vaguely sharp sensation pricked my cheek, and then an almond hit the floor.

Unimpressed, I threw a warning glare at Yuri.

He only chuckled, looking amused with himself. "Don't be rude to your dear brothers…indulge us."

"I'm not your source of entertainment. Go bother Alex for that."

Val shrugged. "Tried that. He's particularly grumpy today for some reason."

"I couldn't imagine why..."

"And it's not because of us," Yuri contested, throwing something else at me.

I managed to block it, however, and it joined the almond on the floor. "I'm not cleaning that up."

"And we're not leaving until you tell us what you're doing," Val warned me in a nonchalant tone that suggested he entirely meant it.

Sighing again, I rubbed the bridge of my nose before finally giving in. "All right…do you remember Aria Pesci?"

They both nodded, and Yuri murmured, "Something about her, anyway…"

"She's Esidor's sister and the last living heir of Enrico's. I've been doing some digging on her since everything was cleared up," I admitted, keeping a detached air about me. I didn't want them to think I was too invested in something that seemed like a non-issue at the moment. Because I wasn't.

"If she's the last one and everything's been fine, why are you looking into her?" Val asked, both curious and more interested than he had been.

Setting the laptop aside, I crossed my arms and glanced between them. "She reached out to us recently—apparently, she wants to make amends—and in doing so, she made it clear she stepped into her brother's shoes. Despite her dad and brother being dead, she has taken the reins and is now carrying the Pesci name."

The twins exchanged intrigued glances before Yuri piped up again. "She's really leading their men now?"

I nodded. "That seems to be the case, yes."

After everything with Esidor concluded, we didn't expect to hear anything from Aria or anyone else in her circle. I, for one, was under the assumption she would disappear with her family out of the way. But it seemed she had far bigger plans than that. Plans that had the potential to be irksome.

Aria extending that olive branch was what even put her on my radar, and because of it, I found myself deep-diving as far as I could into everything remotely related to her.

Alex hadn't accepted the truce yet, given how fresh the conflict was, and with Damien busy with his wife and the new baby, I took it upon myself to keep tabs on the situation.

The more I researched the woman, the more irritated I became, both at the prospect of her making a bigger mess than her family did and her even having the gall to join a world she knew so little of.

It would be amusing to watch her stumble, at least.

The twins both looked surprised to hear the news, but Yuri was the first to grin at me. His eyes glimmered too mischievously for my liking.

"So you're the one making sure she keeps in line, then?"

"You could say that. Damien's too busy to handle this one," I murmured, watching as a smug look crossed Val's face.

"What, didn't trust either of us with the job? I personally wouldn't mind tussling with an heiress," he hummed. "Sounds fun."

"Yeah, wanted to keep the little Italian all to yourself, huh?" Yuri teased, only making matters worse.

Scoffing at them both, I tried to ignore their juvenile comments. "That's exactly why I didn't bother telling you in the first place. This is serious."

"Mhmm…I'm sure it is," Yuri added, leaning against the wall next to him while he kept his shit-eating grin locked on me. "Just don't get caught up with a dangerous woman like her. She doesn't sound like the usual crime ladies we're used to seeing."

"Give it a rest," I muttered, waving them off. "She's just a woman, and she's probably in way over her head. It's a wonder she's even made it this far."

Regardless of the apparent moves she was making, she was nothing but a potential threat that needed to be put back in her place if she stepped out of line. Regardless of being a woman, or the fact that she didn't have any authority above her anymore, she still had the money, manpower, and weapons to cause havoc if she wanted to.

And if she did do something to cross that line with us or the Levovs, I was more than willing to remind her who was on top in this city.

"How do you think her men reacted when she took up the helm?" Val questioned with an amused gleam in his eyes.

Yuri huffed out a breath. "Half of them were probably ready to walk out—but then, I'm sure they'd be more than willing to cooperate with a decent paycheck."

"Is she slinging that kind of cash?"

I shrugged. "Don't underestimate the Pesci wealth. Sure, her brother was an idiot, but their small fortune was never something to scoff at. Besides, you know how women are…they tend to be better with money. They think long-term."

Yuri hummed. "I would've thought it was the other way around."

"Like you'd know anything about that," Val retorted with a chuckle.

Despite myself, a grin pulled at my lips.

Yuri huffed. "The little thing I entertain myself with is quite expensive, I'll have you know. I swear she has a new ensemble every time I see her."

"And you're the idiot who pays for that kind of thing in the first place," I remarked, watching as the realization settled over his features.

Val laughed from his chair. "He got you there. You can't blame the woman for hustling your dumb ass."

With a hint of petulance, Yuri looked away from us and puffed out his cheeks. "Whatever…at least I'm getting some."

"You're the only one getting some with a price tag," Val chirped as he stood up, crossed the space, and clapped a hand against his twin's shoulder. "That's kind of sad."

"Don't start with me—"

"Don't start at all," I muttered, throwing them both a pointed glance. "If you're going to be at each other's throats like usual, feel free to leave."

Val chuckled and used the hand on Yuri's shoulder to steer him around and guide him toward the door. "Don't worry, we'll behave. But we'll get going anyway so you can get lost in your new target."

Putting aside his annoyance, Yuri added with a smirk, "Enjoy your Italian."

Once the two of them were gone and the room returned to its previous peace, I huffed out a breath and ran my hand down my face before returning my attention to the laptop again.

The twins were relentless menaces…and they were lucky we shared the same blood.