I’ve only had the misfortune of speaking to Lucy over the phone, and now I get to see her in person. Oh joy. I had hoped Declan’s description of her as a hellcat was hyperbole, but unfortunately, it looks like it’s not.
“She’s in our room, resting.”
“I want to see her.”
Natalie, Ella’s mother, and Zahra file in after Lucy.
“This way,” I say, leading them to our bedroom.
“How could you let this happen?” Lucy demands, hot on my heels. “I thought your family was untouchable. Do I need to send some of my men to help your asses protect her?”
“That won’t be necessary. And what do you mean by your men?”
We stop at the door, and Lucy rolls her eyes and clucks her tongue. “Clearly your buffoon of a brother didn’t get through to you. I am a Morozov of Chicago. So, yes, I havemen.”
Understanding clicks into place. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growl. The Morozovs are one of five major Russian mafia families. They are cousins of the Antonovs.
“I’m not kidding. And I would flay my men alive for allowing harm to come to someone like this.”
“I have it handled. Something like this will not happen again.”
Lucy huffs and narrows her eyes, clearly not impressed by my answer.
I take her by the elbow and pull her out of earshot of the others. “Maybe instead of grinding my balls about this, you should talk to your goddamn cousins.”
“Get your paws off me, Langford,” she hisses. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
I pause. Sterling will be pissed when he finds out I told her, but if Lucy has any sway with the Antonovs, it’s worth the risk. “The Antonovs are responsible for this.”
Lucy’s brows shoot up. “Which Antonovs?”
“Sergei.”
“TDC Oil, Sergei?”
I nod.
“Fuck. What does he have on you?”
“Nothing. He wants something from me.”
“Then you better give it to him.”
“Can’t do that. But I will do whatever it takes to keep Ella safe.”
“You’re a fool. Sergei plays the harmless gentleman, but he’s a very dangerous man. He doesn’t get his own hands dirty often, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t rivers of blood spilled on his orders.”
“Then I’ll spill his blood.”
She scoffs. “A Langford ordering a hit? I thought your family was too moral for such things.”
If only she knew.“We typically are, at least the last couple of generations of us. But you should know as well as anyone that my family’s fortune was built on blood. I’m not proud of it, but it doesn’t make it any less true. I want to do good in this world, but I’m not above getting my hands dirty if I’m forced to.”
“So, what do you plan to do, Langford?”
“I’m not about to reveal my plans to the cousin of my enemy.”
Lucy narrows her eyes. “I would never do anything to hurt Ella.”
