Page 2

It was noon by the time I stepped out of the seedy bar, feeling like I needed to sanitize every inch of my body.

But at the very least, my attempt to make amends with a disenfranchised associate of my father's seemed to be not completely in vain. As far as I could tell, it was promising, despite how much I hated being in that building.

Working with shady characters meant having to deal with their equally shady businesses sometimes, but that came with the territory, and there wasn't much I could do about that.

Either way, I hopped in the Range Rover waiting for me and went straight to the mom-and-pop diner I bought more recently, hoping to brush off the residuals of the meeting. Fortunately, I had mostly good news to share.

My cousins were already waiting for me in their usual booth, sipping on milkshakes and sharing some fries while they nattered aimlessly.

Livia, the youngest, brightened the moment she spotted me. Once I was close enough, she spoke with a hint of pleading in her voice. "Aria, please tell Angel that blondes are not hotter than brunettes…come on, say it."

I hummed my amusement while I slid in beside Silvia, the middle sister, who wore a disinterested look. "Is that what you three are occupying your time arguing about?"

"While you're busy being far more badass than any of us, yes," Angelica confirmed with a slight lift of her chin. She swirled a fry in the air. "And for the record, brunettes are overrated. There's far too many of them in this city."

Livia scoffed. "Good, the more the better." She turned her focus to me then. "Well? Which do you prefer?"

While I tried to not always entertain their mindless squabbling, I took a sip from Silvia's milkshake and hummed again. "Hair color doesn't matter at all…but definitely brunettes."

Livia claimed her victory with a triumphant grin before pointing at Angel. "See? Told you."

Angel rolled her eyes and grabbed another fry. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You'll refine your taste as you get older."

Despite only being seventeen, Livia always had a way of acting like she was older, and was about to refute the claim before Silvia began, facing me, "How was your meeting?"

Livia deflated and huffed out a breath at the topic change, but she chose to stay quiet while she sipped her milkshake.

"It went better than I expected. They seemed hesitant to try and establish a professional relationship with us again after the way Esidor snubbed the kingpin, but by the end of it, I could tell I was getting to him," I explained, settling back in the booth. "I'm expecting to hear back shortly on some new terms. Fingers crossed it'll be another bridge repaired."

"I'm sure it will be…. You're approaching things far differently than Esidor ever did," Silvia murmured.

"That's so cool," Livia mused with her chin propped on her palm. "I can't believe you're doing all of this."

"Big cousin Aria will be leading this city soon enough," Angel added with confidence, certainly believing it. "And we all get to watch it happen."

Forcing air through my nose, I dismissed the idea. "Not quite, but as long as I can redeem our name, then I won't complain. My dad and brother made a real mess of things, and it hasn't been easy, but I'm trying."

"And you look badass doing it," Livia said with a grin, clearly still basking in the idea.

Even if I did whatever I could to keep humble, I had to admit it was nice to be seen in that light by them. To be acknowledged and admired by the girls. Their older brothers were less forward about their admiration than I had expected.

Knowing how much the girls looked up to me for everything I was doing wasn't lost on me. To them, I was a sort of role model. Like the oldest sister they all looked up to, even if they would never participate themselves.

In all honesty, I didn't want them getting lost in this world themselves—they were too pure for that, and I couldn't stand the thought of them getting hurt.

While I knew they were content with watching from the sidelines, I still wanted to ensure their safety above all else. Keeping them far removed from the scene was the best way I could do that.

Even if I was still fairly new to it all and doing my best to learn on the fly, I couldn't see myself as the same as them anymore. In only a few months, I was forced to see things—had to do things—I otherwise never would have. But it was for the name I wanted to rebuild and immortalize in the underground crime syndicate. It was for me, but also for my cousins—to make sure they were given the best possible future life I could offer them.

Despite the bumps in the road, I liked to think I was doing a decent job at keeping everything in check and running smoothly.

At least, I was doing well for a beginner.

"Can you teach us how to shoot soon?" Livia asked, looking at me with that usual fascination.

Silvia scoffed. "No way…you with a gun? That's asking for trouble."

I chuckled at both the request and Silvia's rebuttal, aware that she was right. "How about we start with something less dangerous, but still helpful, like a self-defence class?"

Livia scrunched up her nose, seemingly less impressed by that idea.

But Angel nodded. "If it means I can learn how to beat up creeps, then I'm in."

"You'll know how to do that and then some."

My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket before Livia could voice her complaints, and I pulled it out to find my right hand's name on the screen. I frowned to myself, aware that Gabriel calling me usually wasn't a good sign.

Accepting the call, I put the phone against my ear and murmured, "Please tell me you have good news for me."

A vaguely irritated sigh escaped him from the other end. "I'm afraid not. It seems someone went rogue and made up orders of their own.”

Not liking what that insinuated, my face hardened slightly. "What happened now?”

He took a moment before answering, likely well aware of how his news was about to piss me off. "I was just informed that someone intercepted a trade and got away with some of the product."

My brows furrowed. “Orders aside, shouldn't that be good news? An upper hand usually goes a long way, no?"

"Not in this case. A Novikov weapons deal was hijacked. The very people we were hoping not to cross paths with," Gabriel explained with a disdain that started to match my own.

Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose as the reality of that set in.

The Novikovs…whoever it was intercepted a Novikov trade in my name. The family closely linked to the Levovs, both impressive and very influential in their own right.

While my progress with them had been next to none as of late, I had been doing my best to try and patch things with both families. To try and begin some sort of alliance with them, if they were willing—at the very least, to not be their enemy.

My father and brother did a fine enough job burning that bridge, leaving me to scramble in the fallout of it all. Given how Esidor left things with them, it was in my best interest to not find myself in their sights.

Yet, whoever called that shot behind my back might as well have shot me right there. At least then it would be less painful than whatever retaliation the Novikovs might plan.

My irritation flared at the news despite trying to keep it hidden from the girls. "Who authorized the move?"

"I don't know yet. I'm working on that part. Everyone I've talked to so far either doesn't know or is tight-lipped," Gabriel answered, voice laced with a hint of tension. “But I don’t like what this could imply.”

That aspect only seemed to make matters worse. By not knowing who gave the order, I'd have to dig into whoever was responsible to ensure they couldn’t make things worse. That could lead to a potential rat in my ranks, and that was the last thing I needed.

Especially if it meant my standing with the Levovs and Novikovs being tanked in the process.

Taking a deep breath, I did my best to collect myself before speaking, "We need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Where are you now?"

"I'm at the East End warehouse. I can swing by now to pick you up."

"Alright, do that. I'll get in touch with Giovani and Vinny to make sure they’re there,” I huffed out, hoping we could at least iron out the gritty details before I had any Novikovs knocking at my door.

If they were to sniff me out, I had no intentions of being deceitful. A war between our families was the last thing I wanted, and diplomacy meant being honest with them. If I had answers before then, at least I stood a chance of walking away unscathed.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

With that, we said our quick goodbyes, and I was left to sit there for a moment while all three girls looked at me with equal amounts of curiosity.

Reminding myself to remain calm despite every racing thought in my mind, well aware of how much worse the situation could become if not handled correctly, I had to keep it together. If not for myself, then for them.

“What happened?” Livia asked, looking both curious and concerned.

“Someone did something very, very stupid, and now I have to fix it,” I mumbled, getting up somewhat numbly. I straightened my jacket and gave them an apologetic look. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go.”

While the girls all looked dejected at the idea, they didn’t protest.

“We understand. Go sort out business,” Angel said with a small smile, seemingly to try and ease the anger and fear roiling beneath my skin.

“And I’m holding you to those self-defence classes!” Livia announced while I started making my way to the door.

Managing a small smile for them, I gave the girls a small wave and left.

As much as I didn’t want to skip out on our time together, I knew time wasn’t on my side, and I needed to figure everything out before I lost the chance.