At twenty-three, Katya is a fully actualized adult whereas I’m just becoming one. But I do know that she was emotionally stunted due to trauma in her life that she has now overcome.
Katya welcomes me inside. “Hey, Nina. I thought we could spend some time outside on the patio. Alek has a guest over.”
“Oh? Who?”
“I’m not sure. Some man. Alek hasn’t really told me much.”
Before Katya and I can head for the backyard, we’re intercepted by Alek coming into the foyer. It’s always nice to see my surrogate father figure. But what shocks me to my core is not the sight of Alek.
No. It’s the man behind Alek.
Because that man is Luca Moretti himself.
Chapter Two
Luca
Alek Morozov invites me into his home.
“Luca, I wasn’t expecting to see you here today,” he comments as he leads me into his office. Alek is just as tall as I am and just as handsome. It makes the two of us a dangerous combination. Powerful men who can take on the world.
“I came because of something that happened last night. At my club.” I settle into the seat across from his desk.
“What happened?”
“We made an alliance two years ago now. Not many people know about it.”
“That’s because we haven’t needed to use it much. Dimitri has been quiet since I made a temporary truce with him over Katya,” Alek explains.
“Right. But that might change. It’s time we proceed forward on our alliance. Make it go public.”
He shifts around in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the idea. “Are you sure? It could put us both at risk. It could piss Dimitri off. I mean, a Russian and an Italian working together? It’s going to raise a lot of concerns for a lot of different people.”
“Who fucking cares? We’re mafia men. We’ve handled a lot. We can handle this. And the point of an alliance is so no one can touch us.”
“What does this have to do with last night? You didn’t tell me.”
I sigh and check my watch. Time is precious time. Every second counts and last night I was interrupted. When two pretty young women came into my office. Two young women that I later learned who they really are.
“Your surrogate daughters were at my club last night.”
Alek goes eerily still. “What? You must be mistaken. Nina and Susanna –,”
“Were at my club last night. I didn’t know who they were at first. But after they left, I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I looked into them. Lo and behold, they are your surrogate daughters. The ones you promised me in marriage to make this alliance happen.”
“Not both of them. Just one of them.”
“Of course. You said we had to wait until they were of age. Are they of age yet?”
Alek looks like he doesn’t want to answer but he knows he has to. For the sake of our alliance. “Yes. Susanna just turned eighteen this year.”
I remember Susanna from last night. The feisty blonde. But the quieter brunette caught my attention in a way I hadn’t been expecting. “And Nina?”
“She’s nineteen.”
It’s still young. Normally I prefer women a little bit older, seeing as I’m in my thirties. But this marriage alliance isn’t for the sake of lust. It’s for the sake of making sure I always have Alek on my side. Since he’s married to Katya Ivanov, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could make a true alliance with Dimitri at some point. I would much prefer that the two Bratva men stay broken than become good friends. That would only hurt me.
“Are you sure it was them at your club?” Alek asks. “They’re good girls. They don’t sneak out and do things like that.”
