“Yes. I’d like to come over with someone because I need to tell you something.”
“Someone?”
Carmine and Sera speak at the same time.
“Yes. My boyfriend. But I shouldn’t say anything more over the phone.”
“Fuck you, Alejandro.”
I jerk back, not expecting that at all.
“Charming as always, Carmine.”
I shift my attention from my phone to Alejandro. He’s grinning and rolls his eyes.
“How’d—Never mind. May we come over?”
“Yes.” It’s Sera who answers.
“Carmine, you know I won’t wait in the car. I will leave my gun there. I’ll drive us, so no guards.”
“Why would you bother when you’ve got a dozen on each side of me?”
My brow furrows as I continue to look at Alejandro.
“Pablo and Florencia live to the right, and Madeline and Javier live to the left. They fell in love with their houses. It’s not their fault there’s an eyesore between them.”
“Fuck you, Alejandro.”
“Broken record, Carmine. You sound like Niko’s fucking parrot.”
I’m completely lost, so Alejandro explains.
“Niko Kutsenko, the third oldest brother, has a swearing African parrot. The animal’s cool as shit even if his owner’s a piece of shit.”
I don’t know a ton about the Kutsenkos beyond there are four brothers who make up the Elite Group—Maksim, Alexei, Nikolai, and Bogdan. Their cousins on their father’s side are Anton and Pasha, and their cousins on their mother’s side are Sergei and Misha Andreyev. The four cousins are the next most senior members of their branch. With the shit we might be in the middle of, I suppose I’ll learn more about them soon. I sure as fuck will if—when—I marry Alejandro.
That last thought doesn’t feel as scary as I assumed it would.
“We’re home, Toria. Come over when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Sera.”
“My men will search you, Alejandro.”
“As long as they don’t like it too much.”
“Vaffanculo, bel ragazzo.” Fuck off, pretty boy.
“Come una polla, Carmine.” Eat a dick, Carmine.
Sera and Alejandro chuckle, and Carmine mutters something. I’m clearly missing somethingagain. Alejandro leans over to whisper to me.
“Apparently, while they were dating, Carmine pissed her off. She sent a penis cake to Salvatore’s house that had that written in English in raspberry glaze. There were photos Joaquin came across when he hacked Gabriele’s phone a couple years ago. We shared it with the bratva and mob. He’s never lived it down.”
“Shared?”
“Being nice to those twats was worth it at Carmine’s expense.”
