“Do you know how to do that unsupervised?” I joked as I nodded to where he was spreading butter on two slices of bread.
“Just about. Terza went food shopping, so I had to improvise,” he shrugged. “Do you want something?”
“Get out of the way and let me do it.” I walked around the counter and gave him a light shove, setting my phone down and taking over the task. Rafe had many talents, but none of them involved domestic tasks. He’d had my mother there to take care of his cooking, cleaning, washing, and everything else domestic, since the day he was born. I wasn’t much better, but I could handle the basics.
“I can make a sandwich!” Rafe defended, but he also happily stepped aside and sat at the counter opposite me.
“I’m sure you can, but we need to talk anyway,” I told him as I set to work.
“About what?”
“Killian Carroll just rang me. He had some Armenians in his club last night,” I began. “Adamian’s men. They got pretty messy, and started bragging to Killian and his brothers that they’re close to taking the Russian’s down completely. Apparently Adamian plans to take their business and their turf, then the docks.”
“Fighting talk,” Rafe said with a raise of his eyebrows. “It’s bollocks though. Maybe Adamian has the manpower to take over the Russian territory and business, but he’s a long way from taking the docks from us and our allies.”
“I agree,” I nodded. “I’m not worried, but it does make me think about why Kozlov took Gia and lured Cara in to get hands on her too.”
“You think they were hoping to leverage my sisters for the docks? That the Russians and Armenians were competing for it?”
“It sort of makes sense. Neither family has any hope of winning a war to get it, and they clearly weren’t willing to work together. Ransoming your sisters for it, likely seemed like a good plan to them,” I shrugged.
“It’s a possibility,” he nodded. “But a stupid idea. I’d have taken them both down to get Gia and Cara back. They couldn’t have won either way. Most of London will back us up if this comes to war.”
“Maybe Adamian is underestimating this family too,” I suggested. The leader of the Armenian family, who mainly ran their drug and gun operations, quietly, in the most deprived areas of the city, had done so for many years. He imported his goods through Scotland, hence why Rafe and I had never had any dealings with him. He had always seemed like a smart and shrewd man from what we had heard of him, but he wasn’t acting so smart right then, if he thought he could come for our docks.
“Then he’s a fool and he will live to regret it,” Rafe announced, and I whole heartedly agreed. What’s more, I hoped he came after us, because he was probably the bastard who had sent those monsters after Cara, the one’s who had violated her. I’d relish the opportunity to kill that bastard, slowly and painfully.
“It just worries me how confident those pricks were last night. Killian said they were full of it, bragging to anyone who would listen once they’d drunk enough to loosen their tongues. They were sure they were going to take the docks from us. What if Adamian plans to take Gia or Cara this time?”
“He’d have to have some balls after our retaliation with the Russians.” Rafe paused and looked pensive as he considered what I had been weighing up since Killian told me everything. “Let’s call Dante. Let him know what’s going on, and to keep Cara extra close. She was hopeful they would complete what needed to be done and could head back tomorrow anyway, but I’d rather be safe in the meantime.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
***
“Why must she always be the last one? It was the same when I collected her from school when she was little, always the last one out of the building,” Rafe groaned as we watched all of Gia’s classmates disembark from the coach that had brought them back to school from the airport.
“You know she runs on her own schedule. She’ll never hold a job down, and Christ knows how she’ll ever find anyone who’ll put up with her. She’s going to be your responsibility for life,” I laughed.
“Thanks for that,” Rafe sighed. We both looked up at the loud thud of the coach door snapping shut, then the engine started.
“Woah!” I shouted as I ran over, Rafe right behind me. I went to try and stop the coach but one of the staff members stepped in my way.
“Can I help?” the exhausted looking, middle aged woman asked.
“Mrs Hughes? Where’s my sister?” Rafe asked as he stepped up to my side, seemingly familiar with the teacher.
“Gia didn’t come on the trip, Mr. De Santis. She…she told us you had a family trip to France planned. I…there was an email, from you, confirming as much, and that Gia wouldn’t be in school either,” Mrs Hughes floundered, looking suddenly very nervous.
“Fuck!” I hissed under my breath.
“Where the fuck is she?” Rafe despaired as he looked to me.
“Is Gia not with you?” Mrs Hughes asked.
“It’s fine. We know where she’ll be. Thank you for your help. Please don’t worry any more about it,” I assured her, before she got too upset and started raising alarm bells. The last thing we wanted was the police turning up and getting into our business.
“Yes, thank you, Mrs Hughes. I think there’s been a misunderstanding with my sister, but I have it in hand,” Rafe agreed. I was relieved when the woman just nodded and walked away.
