“I’ll see you soon, Angel. Hang in there.” I toss the phone on the table after the line goes dead. “Okay, talk.”
Oleg picks up the half-empty bottle of Beluga, pours a splash into a shot glass, and pushes it toward me. “First I want to extend my sincere apologies for my men. They were not aware that you were driving the car with Ms. Kelly. They have been punished for the way her extraction happened.”
A flare of fury sears my gut. “If they’re not six feet underground, they haven’t been punished severely enough.” I wait until he pours some vodka into his glass from the same bottle and downs it before I shoot back mine. It’s a welcomed burn and my voice is gruff as I ask, “So, they weren’t following your orders?”
He shakes his head once. “My orders were to bring her to me. Not to do it in a violent manner. And most definitely not in a way that would look like we were targeting you. We do not want war. Even though by your actions lately, it seems you do. You’ve cost me millions with your little stunts, Alessandro.”
I press my tongue against the tip of my incisor and peel my lips back. “I don’t want war. I want you to fuck off out of Tampa.” Then I lean forward into his space. It costs me, and I stifle a grunt of pain. “You know your days here are numbered. We won’t allow trafficking in our city.”
Oleg tilts his head, dark eyes studying me. “Yourcity. Interesting. The Zerillis have a say in what goes on here too, no?”
“For now,” I say, keeping my expression neutral.
He quirks a brow. “I see.” He glances at Toly and then back at me. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Santino Zerilli has turned a blind eye to your trafficking for a while now,” I bluff. “Maybe even getting a cut?” The hooding of his eyes tells me I’m on to something. “New York’s not happy with him.” I leave it there for them to assume the worst.
He blows out a breath and taps his empty shot glass on the table a few times, thinking. Then his dark eyes lift to meet mine. “What if there’s a way for us all to get what we want?”
I fold my arms, mainly to put pressure on my ribs to relieve the ache. But my patience is also wearing thin. Every second Lennon is their captive is one second too long. “I’m not in the mood for bullshit, Oleg, so you better not be trying to play me.”
He holds up a hand, chunks of gold jewelry on his fingers and wrist catching the candlelight. “No bullshit. How about I give you some information first? As an act of faith.” He waits for me to nod. “Here it is. Santino Zerilli, he is not the one who made a deal with us for a cut of the skin trade profit. In fact, when I had a little chat with him recently, he didn’t seem to know about the deal at all.” He shrugs. “I didn’t enlighten him.”
I glare at him, letting the disgust I feel make itself known. I saw the results of his “chat” with Santino firsthand. He beat up a cancer-stricken old man.
Oleg leans forward. “It was his son Emilio who made the deal with us.”
He smirks as the shock and anger flash in my eyes before I can mask it.
That goddamn snake.He went behind not only our backs but his father’s? He’s a dead man. Not that I was going to let him live after finding out what he did to Lennon, but at least now his death will be sanctioned by the Commission.
“Think.” He taps his temple with a thick finger. “Santino has been sick, no? Emilio will be in charge anyway soon.”
My hard gaze flicks between the two men. “Is that what Emilio told you?”
Oleg shrugs. “It is the way, no? He is the heir.”
That’s not what Santino or New York want. But Emilio must believe it, or he wouldn’t be so fucking stupid as to make a deal behind his Don’s back. “Why would you tell me this? What’s in it for you?”
His gaze moves to his son, and he rolls his eyes. “Toly has become smitten with the Zerilli girl, Giada. Our proposition is this… we help you take down Emilio, since we understand this will have to happen for his treachery, and you convince Santino to sanction a marriage between Toly and his daughter Giada.”
I glance at Toly, who is watching me with something like excitement burning in his eyes, but it’s a darker energy. More dangerous. Fucking psychopath.
Oleg continues. “When we merge the families, we take over Zerilli’s businesses. His legacy can live on in Giada’s and Toly’s children. The Commission still gets its percentage of Zerilli’sbusiness plus a percentage of ours and we would, of course, agree to cease trafficking operations in Tampa.”
I stare at Oleg over the flickering candle, trying to wrap my head around this unexpected offer. It really sounds too good to be true.What am I missing?
Toly pipes up, a smirk plastered on his mug. “You won’t have a problem agreeing to break off your engagement, I assume. Considering your obsession with the Kelly girl.”
A problem?Fuck no. In fact, handing Giada over to the Russians would be the best revenge for her betrayal. I stare at Toly. “Does Giada want this merger with you?”
He shrugs a beefy shoulder, his mouth curling into a dark smile. “Who gives a fuck what she wants.”
“Indeed.” A fresh wave of hope blows through me. I force it back. There’s too much to think about here. Too many pieces to put in place. “What percentage of your businesses are you offering?”
Oleg lifts his palms. “I think twelve percent is fair.”
I quirk a brow. “Maybe a fair place to start negotiations.” I slam the rest of my Vodka and shake my head. “I’ll have to talk to New York. I don’t know if they’ll go for this.”
