Page 20 of Violent Pawn

“Sappy, Z, real sappy. When are you popping the question?”

“Sometime before the holidays.” That will be within the next month or so.

“Damn.” I slap the desk. “Maybe she’ll say yes this time.”

“You’re a dick. Keep it up and someone else will be my best man.”

I fling a pen at him, purposely missing but making my point. “No one will replace me. You know that.”

“I do.” Amusement melts as his brows come together. “Which is why you’re concerning me. I need you alive. Don’t lose yourself to the bottle.”

With a final look, he leaves, shutting the door. The conversation, while ending on a higher note—minus his final comment—swirls in my gut, my head, until I’m pushing away from my desk, doing the one thing he asked me not to. A command from my Capo, if he wanted to, one my vows are trained to obey…but I don’t.

Downstairs, I signal for a drink, and the server quickly rushes one over. I carry it back to the office, downing half of it in one go. With the alcohol comes old feelings of blame…and the points I made to Zeno. At the moment, they were rambles, but after some time, they’re becoming the truth.

Vanessa and Anastasia and the rest of the Elite might be saved from retribution, but the Bratva who murdered Giovanni Mancini lives on.

With them gone, my soul can be cleaned, and maybe I can find a semblance of peace.

Zeno’s orders to leave it alone be damned. If I figure out who they are, then I’ll determine where Vanessa’s hiding them.

And I’ll end this for good.

13

ANASTASIA

November

My brother being quiet and shut off to most of the world makes his tells very obvious. Following a joint meeting downtown with soldiers, we’re driving back to the mansion, but his fingers won’t stop drumming his typical pattern of two taps, one, and then two more along the wheel.

It’s probably his eagerness to return to Serafina, who’s locked away studying after her first day in class post-Italy, but a glance reveals extra tension that seems more than just being away from her.

So it’s unsurprising when he slows the car as we near the mansion to stretch out the trip.

After two more minutes of silence with only his taps echoing against the leather, I grind out, “Say it. You want to.”

“Papa.”

My entire body tenses to defend myself against the memories, while the unnatural fear that he could show up at any time clenches hold. “What about him?”

“It’s been two years.”

After Vanessa banished her papa’s Elite, she left the choice of our father to us, saying it was more our place than hers. The trauma we sustained from him is our right to erase for good.

Death sounded appealing, but it never felt like the best time to do it. After all, murdering one’s parent isn’t a quick job, no matter what he did. It’d take time and processing. Until Vanessa was constantly undermined, and soldiers were picking sides. The city was overrun with criminals assuming the Bratva was “less” without Ursin at the helm. Few respected her, and she was busy proving why she rose to become Pakhan. Dealing with our father would interfere with helping, so we sent him on a one-way trip to the Cayman Islands, with the caveat that he forget we’re his children and never seek us out. The Islands were always meant to be a temporary holding spot until deciding when to end his pathetic life.

His death is a matter of when, not if.

“What about him? You’re still tracking him, right?” Lev sends someone down every couple of months to ensure the old asshole’s still breathing.

“Living it up down there, da. Which is my point. Maybe it’s time.”

With Vanessa’s papa murdered by the Famiglia and Dimitri’s taken out by him, it’s time for us to join the club of fatherless Elite. So I don’t disagree, but Lev doesn’t like to linger in the past more than necessary. It’s why we’ve forgotten, so to speak, about Papa and have chosen to focus energy on the organization.

“Where’s this coming from?”

The mansion comes into view, and he slows the car to a speed I could walk faster than, really dragging out the trip as his taps continue, until he finally utters something I should have guessed.