“You learned from the best, boy.”
I chuckle. “When are you going to stop calling me that? I’m thirty fucking eight.”
“When you stop calling me old man.”
Touché.
“So, how useful is the next hit going to be?” I ask, staring at the address he gave me.
“Very. I’ve got as far up the line as I can. It’s up to you now.”
I scratch my head. The fact that both Enzo and I can’t locate this Preacher bastard worries me. There are no links to any past Mafia families. No leads to gangs.
“How’s my baby girl?” Lev asks.
“She’s fine.” Half a lie. How do I tell him she’s lost the spark he loved? That she’s drowning quietly behind her strength? I believe she’s where she’s supposed to be. With Hallie. With her gallery. With our protection. Which is my primary reason for keeping her in the dark. Because the night I rescued her, I madethat decision to keep her blindfolded. To carry her shaking body in silence to the car.
I need to keep her safe from a distance; I can’t let the feelings that flooded my body that night come back to light.
I saved her because it was my duty to her father. I continued to because of my own vow. That no one would ever hurt her again.
And that includes me. I’m not a man who deserves her. All I would bring her is more violence and destruction—the reason Lev sent her away from Russia in the first place.
“She has her art showing tonight, right?” Lev asks, pulling me out of my spiral.
“Yes. She does.” I hesitate. “You know, you could just call her. Or visit.”
Silence. Lev’s paranoia is stronger than his desire. He always feared his life would bleed into hers. Lily has been through trauma that could have broken her. She needs to lead a normal life away from the mafia. She doesn’t need more pain; she only deserves happiness.
A gunshot cracks through the line, and my chest seizes. “Lev!”
His tires screech, and metal grinds.
“Lev. Dammit. Are you there? What’s happening?” I shout, my voice breaking.
I shake my head. Why the hell is he even calling me when he’s not in the safe house yet?
“I’m fine. Someone’s onto me. Let me get somewhere safe, and I’ll call you back.”
I clench my fist. I wish I were there like the old days.
“Be safe,” I mutter as he hangs up.
I lean back in my chair and pull up both trackers—one following Lev and one following Lily. Lev’s a feral animal even inhis sixties, but age is creeping up on him, slowing what used to be effortless.
Maybe I do need to go home. But, I can’t. Because leaving America means leaving Lily. And with the Preacher on our tails, that ain’t happening.
Lily has ties to the mafia, and that in itself puts a mark on her. Which is what Lev sacrificed his happiness for. To cut those ties. And I owe him.
I’ve known Lev since I was fifteen. He murdered my piece of shit father and took me with him. Instead of killing me, he saw value. He trained me. Fed me. Raised me better than blood ever did.
Together, we forged an empire in Russia, moving between families, keeping our people alive—especially his daughter.
I remember the devastation on her face when her mother took her away. She was ten. I was given the job of following Maria in the truck to the airport to ensure they got there safely. Lev broke that day. I watched from the hallway as he gave her a little box. How she cried as he told her to be brave.
I cleaned the destruction he left behind in his agony. He did it out of love. He let her go so she wouldn’t drown in blood.
And I took the job he couldn’t handle. I protected her from afar.
