Page 83 of Villainous Kingpin

“No, it’s not that,” I muttered. I was sick and tired of the tears and wallowing in self-pity. People went through worse things than a heartbreak and a crazy almost father-in-law who tried to rape and kill you.

“Then what is it?” she spat bitterly. “You’ve never disappeared on us. You never ignore your mom or uncle. And then you go and stay with that Russian. It had to be something bad.”

Anguish flooded my veins and cut through each breath I took.

“Things with Bas didn’t work out,” I murmured softly. The three of them held their breath, waiting for me to continue. I’d rather they hadn’t. I’d rather Juliette started to spit out threats. But none of them said a thing. “I-I found out something Uncle and Mom kept from me.”

Juliette stiffened. “Are you adopted too?” she whispered, disbelief on her face.

I shook my head. “No, I found out that Mom was shot in her knee. It was what ended her career. Gio DiLustro.” And my boyfriend’s father did it.

“What the fuck?” The three of them whispered. “Are you sure?” Jules asked.

I nodded, my eyes on the road. “Yes, I’m sure.” My eyes focused on the road, though my mind was somewhere far away. “Brennans and DiLustros are enemies because Gio DiLustro tried to use Mom for her connections.”

“What connections?” The three of them asked.

“Oh, just a tiny insignificant detail,” I retorted bitterly. “Mom’s connection to the Russians. I learned that Grandpa kidnapped my grandmother. She was the daughter of the Pakhan, the head of the Russian mafia.”

“Russian mafia?” Juliette repeated, blinking confused.

“But I thought Brennans hated Russians,” Ivy muttered.

I shrugged. “I think there is a lot we don’t know. Uncle kept us in the dark about a lot of it. Mom, too.”

Although, I couldn’t blame Mom. I could imagine losing the ability to ice skate was like losing a limb for her. I’ve seen her figure skating tapes. She was magnificent on the ice.

“We should talk to them about it,” Davina recommended. “Don’t let it fester.”

“They need to be confronted,” Jules agreed.

It was too late for that. They kept us in the dark and I fell into the trap. If I had known what Gio had done to Mom, I’d have never gone around Bas. Would I? The familiar pain swelled in my chest. Love had turned bitter. Betrayal stung. But I pushed it all down into a deep, dark corner for now. I’d deal with it some other time.

“Let’s focus on going into Morrelli’s casino and me counting cards so we can get some cash,” I told her. “Please do that for me,” I pleaded softly, my gaze finding her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Please.”

Jules’ blue eyes held mine, searching my face. For what, I didn’t know. But whatever it was, she finally caved in.

“Fine,” she agreed and Davina’s hand came to my shoulder and squeezed in comfort.

It made no sense that I told so much more to Sasha, not my girlfriends. Maybe it was easier because Sasha was a stranger until three weeks ago.

An hour later, the four of us strode into the Morrelli & Associates casino, downtown Baltimore. We changed into our dresses in the parking garage, then entered the casino. It took exactly twenty-two minutes for Nico Morrelli to show up at the table I sat down at merely five minutes ago.

“Ladies,” he greeted us, his wolflike gray eyes traveling over the four of us. The three-piece-suit he wore was dark blue with thin grey stripes. He just needed an old-fashioned hat and he’d give Al Capone vibes. Except this guy was a lot hotter than Al Capone and a lot taller. “You’ll come with me.”

Well, that didn’t take long at all. I sighed and put my cards down.

“We want our money back,” I said coolly, meeting his steel gaze.

The man was deadly; it was written all over him. But I felt no fear. Maybe after what happened with Gio, my tolerance for threats grew.

His mouth curved into a smile and he pushed his hands into his suit pockets. “Of course, Miss. Flemming.” Then he turned to Davina, Juliette, and Ivy. “After you, ladies.”

Juliette came up to me and the reckless cousin that she was, she whispered, “You know there are four of us. We could take him down.”

I shook my head, suddenly feeling tired of all the bullshit. As if we could take anyone down.

“He’s probably calling Uncle,” I muttered. “We haven’t done anything wrong. So let’s not kill the old man and get out of this intact.”