Page 22

When he says things like that, he reminds me of Father.

At fifty-five, Yannick was younger than him by five years, but, like my brothers and me, they were so close they could have been the same person.

“I agree,” Cassian says. “A week ago, we had nothing. I’m sure our enemies thought we’d never get our hands on them. Or that we’d given up the search.”

He’s right. I’m just not a glass half full kind of guy. It’s all or nothing with me.

“Speaking of enemies,” Aleksandr cuts in. “Did you deal with the little firecracker?”

He means Gabrielle. I grin back at him. “Sound asleep.”

Cassian chuckles, but Aleksandr’s expression remains stern.

“Do you really mean to go through with this marriage?” He gazes at me, clenching his jaw. The whole marriage thing was a wild card that was never part of the plan. It was a last-minute idea I got when I realized we’d have to revert to plan B—use Corrado to find Moretti. Plan A was always to kill him.

“Of course I do.” I look Aleksandr straight in the eye, knowing he disagrees. Although he’s my second-in-command, he won’t outrightly challenge me. He knows arguing is pointless when I’ve already made up my mind.

“Is that really wise, brother?” Cassian asks with a cautious tilt of his head.

“Yes.”

“What about the arrangement with the Bureikos? You were to marry Camilla, the eldest sister.”

I stifle a groan. I can’t stand the Bureikos. Thank fuck I don’t have to take one as my wife. “Arrangement cancelled. And if they don’t like it, they can take their business elsewhere.” They won’t do that. But if they did, I wouldn’t care.

People like us don’t need people like them. We own half of New York and have our fingers in assets worldwide. I only do business with those who can further our empire or make life easier. The Bureikos do neither. I only honor our old alliance because of Father.

“The marriage with Corrado’s daughter is a wise move.” Yannick clears his throat, pushing off the wall. I’m glad he can see things my way. “Honestly, the idea is ingenious. It grounds Corrado and lays the trap wide open. His daughter was his greatest asset. This marriage means he can’t use her to dig himself out of his hole. It also blocks the Bellandis from getting more powerful.”

Yannick is definitely a man after my own heart. I swear sometimes he can read my damn mind.

“Okay, I’m seeing the picture.” Aleksandr dips his head and scrubs a hand down his beard. “Also liking the fact that we shit all over the Bellandis. That never gets old.”

“Corrado’s going to want his daughter back,” Cassian adds, thoughtfully. “And that’s the trap, right?”

I smile back at him. “Exactly. That bastard is going to try everything in his power to get his princess back. And he’ll go to the person most likely to help him—a.k.a. Moretti.”

Aleksandr’s expression loosens, but I can tell he still has reservations. It’s written all over his face. “What if it doesn’t work? You said Corrado looked like he was telling the truth. That he didn’t know how to get to Moretti.”

“He’ll find a way.” I sound surer than I have any right to be. Call it experience. I know what fuckers like Corrado are like. The criminal underworld has become a game to me now. The game’s always the same; the players just change over. “Moretti is the most powerful person he knows, and Moretti needs Corrado because of his contacts. He’ll come to his aid.” Whether I like it or not, Micah Moretti is the one person who could give us a run for our money. He already has.

Cassian sighs. “You’re right, but are we seriously going to rely on waiting on Corrado to make contact with Moretti?”

“No. That’s why we need the Irish.”

They all exchange curious glances, but Yannick looks most intrigued. We haven’t had relations with our Irish cousins since my mother’s death.

“You’re serious?” Aleksandr levels me a hard stare.

“Yes.”

From the moment we found out about Moretti, I thought about making contact with our cousins who absolutely loathe us.

My parents’ marriage created a Russian-Irish alliance neither side was keen on. Our relatives fought like hell to stop it from happening.

But no one on earth could prevent my father from marrying my mother. The world could have ended with fire raining from the sky, and he would have found a way to make her his. He wouldn’t have allowed a little thing like the Irish hating us to stop him. Those were his words exactly.

When she died, her family blamed him and severed all business ties. She was most beloved by all, and they claimed that Father was careless, allowing his enemies to get to her.