Bryce (Steele Protectors 3)

by Carole Mortimer

  “What does that mean?” Bella prompted the blond-haired man.

  “I’m not sure yet,” Haydn answered honestly. “I wanted to talk to you before we go any further with the situation.”

  Bella’s eyes widened. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Because this is the Italian Mafia. We can’t just march in there and start asking your brother questions. One of us needs to talk to someone from the Russian bratva before we do that. Probably Nikolai Volkov.”

  She nodded. “Bryce told me he knows him.”

  “Really?” Haydn gave his brother a speculative glance. “I would be interested to hear under what circumstances he did that. Did he also tell you of his connection through friends to the head of the Russian organization, Gregori Markovic?”

  “Yes.”

  “Just stick to the original subject, Haydn?” Bryce demanded as his brother looked about to ask more questions.

  Haydn chewed on his bottom lip before answering. “Money is being syphoned out of Zalotti’s accounts, both personal and business.”

  “To where?”

  “To another single account.”

  “Belonging to…?”

  “Well, there was quite a trail to follow and then firewalls to break through before I discovered that the main account belongs to one man.”

  “Who?” she demanded.

  Haydn shrugged. “I’d rather not say right now.”

  Bella continued to frown. “Why do you need to speak to Volkov or Markovic before we do anything about this?”

  “You aren’t going to do anything about anything,” Bryce snapped.

  “He’s my brother!”

  “And I’m your lover!”

  Her chin rose. “I think I would know if that were true.”

  “I can take you upstairs right now and make sure that it is.”

  Bella snorted. “I don’t think so.”

  “You—”

  “If we could get back on subject now?” Haydn eyed the two of them impatiently. “Save your lovers’ tiff for later, because right now, we have more important thing to consider.”

  “We aren’t lovers,” Bella muttered.

  “Fine,” Haydn dismissed.

  “No, it is not fine,” Bryce bit out harshly.

  “You—”

  “Be quiet, the pair of you!” Haydn cut in impatiently. “Don’t, Bryce,” he warned as he would have spoken again. “To answer your question, Bella, we need to talk to the Russians because Markovic is the kingpin in London, and, with Nikolai’s assistance, the rest of the underworld listens when he speaks. In the circumstances, I think it might be wise to run the situation by either Markovic or Nikolai before this thing with your brother explodes in any of our faces.”

  “Is Matteo in any danger? Don’t look at Bryce,” she instructed as Haydn did exactly that. “Just answer me. Truthfully, please,” she encouraged huskily.

  “Again, I’m not sure, which is why I think it would be useful to involve the Russians.” Haydn’s eyes narrowed. “How did your brother seem to you when you saw him earlier?”

  Bella’s thoughts once again went back to that meeting with Matteo. “Changed. Not the Matteo I remember.”

  “Hm,” Haydn murmured distractedly. “Anything else that seemed off.”

  “No, I don’t— Yes,” she corrected. “I didn’t recognize any of Matteo’s bodyguards. My Uncle Franco was still there, but Matteo’s two most trusted men were noticeably absent. When I asked where they were, he said they had both retired but—” She reached out to grasp Bryce’s arm. “I’ve realized who the guy in the coffee shop reminds me of,” she explained as he frowned his concern. “He’s a younger version of one of my father’s and then my own bodyguards. Bryce, I think he might be Luca Betonni’s son Stefano!” Her voice rose in her excitement. “He was only twelve or thirteen the last time I saw him, but the guy in the coffee shop this morning could definitely be him.”

  “We need to know what you know, Haydn,” Bryce insisted.

  His brother exhaled noisily. “From what I can tell, and his money transfers to an outside bank accounts seems to indicate, there’s a possibility that Zalotti—your brother, Matteo,” he corrected with an apologetic glance in Bella’s direction, “is no longer in charge of the London Italian Mafia.”

  “Then who is?” Bella demanded.

  “Does the name Franco Ricci mean anything to you?”

  She frowned her puzzlement. “We saw him earlier today. He was my father’s second-in-command, and after my father was killed, he took over the same role for Matteo.”

  “I read your parents were gunned down in a restaurant,” Haydn said slowly.

  “Yes.”

  “Did they ever discover by whom?”

  She shrugged. “I always assumed Matteo found out and—and took care of it.” Her gaze lowered.

  “What if the shooters were hired and paid for by someone close to them?”

  Bella went cold inside. “Franco Ricci?”

  “Yes”

  Could Franco really have done that? Bella felt sick at the thought of such betrayal. Her father had trusted Franco implicitly. No doubt Matteo had done the same.

  Until proven otherwise?

  It was rather a large leap to take, but at the same time, it explained the way Matteo was now.

  “He was present in your brother’s study for the whole of the time we were there earlier.” Bryce was obviously thinking the same things Bella was.

  Could the older man’s presence possibly have been the reason for Matteo’s coldness toward Bella?

  She winced. “Are you saying Franco Ricci had my parents killed and has now taken over the organization and is using Matteo as its puppet head?” she demanded of Haydn.

  “It’s all only a theory right now,” he said slowly.

  “If Haydn believes that’s what happening, then it is,” Bryce put in firmly.

  “How is any of this even possible?” Bella began to pace the sitting room, which caused the red silk robe to billow lovingly about her curves, which in turn caused Bryce’s scowl to deepen.

  “It’s not as hard as you might imagine,” Bryce answered her. “The head of any illegal organization is necessarily vulnerable unless he surrounds himself with people he can trust absolutely,” he explained. “You’ve already mentioned that Antonio and Luca are no longer with your brother.”

  “I didn’t recognize any of the other bodyguards now at the estate.”

  “Only Ricci is the same.”

  “Yes,” she confirmed. “But the Zalotti family have been the head of the Italian Mafia in London for three generations. They’re known as such worldwide by the other Mafia families.”

  Bryce nodded. “Which is why Ricci needs Matteo to remain at its head.”

  Bella swallowed. “But why didn’t Matteo fight back? What possible reason could he have for allowing— Franco Ricci is using me,” she realized with a sinking heart. “He’s blackmailing Matteo into doing what he wants him to do by threatening me.”

  “You don’t know that,” Bryce soothed.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “No—”

  “You know I’m right, Bryce,” she insisted dully.

  Had she really misjudged the situation so badly? Believed all these years that she had gained her independence from the Zalotti name by her own determination and courage, and instead, Matteo had been paying the price for giving her that freedom by relinquishing his own the past eight years?

  Chapter Ten

  Unbelievable as all this might sound, Bryce knew his brother’s computer skills were off the charts amazing, and always correct. If Haydn said information indicated Matteo Zalotti was no longer the head of London’s Mafia, then Bryce had no doubt that was the current situation.

  There was also the fact that both he and Bella had felt there was something off about Matteo earlier. That it seemed as if he was hiding something.

  Could the something Matteo was hiding possibly be that he was no longer the h
ead of the London Mafia? That after his father’s death nine years ago, he possibly never had been?

  Because, as Bella suggested, her brother was protecting her?

  If that was the case, then Bryce had no intention of allowing the situation to continue. Or of Bella being under any sort of threat. Or her brother being blackmailed to ensure her continued safety.

  “We need to speak to Nikolai,” Bryce told his brother firmly. “If anyone knows how to deal with this situation, it will be him.”

  “You need to speak to him,” Haydn corrected. “The two of you seem to have bonded, and I’ve never met the guy.”

  Bryce gave a firm shake of his head. “I’m staying here to protect Bella until we know for sure what’s going on.”

  “Don’t use me as an excuse,” she snapped in agitation. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself if I need to.”

  “Abso-fucking-lutely not,” he refused harshly. “First you have some crazy stalker, and now this Ricci of the Italian Mafia might be threatening you too. It isn’t safe to leave you here unprotected.”

  “I—”

  “I’ll stay here with Bella,” Haydn cut in. “My brothers might think of me as just being the computer nerd of the family, but I have the same ninja skills they do,” he assured Bella dryly. “Well…maybe not the same as Bryce, but I can still kick ass when I need to.”

  Bella made a mental note to ask Bryce at some other time why his skills differed to his brother’s. Right now, there were more important things for them to deal with. “I want to come with you—”

  “No.” Bryce’s tone was uncompromising.

  She scowled at him. “You can’t stop me.”

  “Try me.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do, Bryce.”

  “Right now, that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Bryce stated. “Having you there with me could put someone else in danger,” he added before she could say anything else.

  “You?”

  “Maybe.”

  Bella glared her frustration, sure Bryce was only saying that to stop her from continuing to insist on going with him. But if there was even the remotest possibility that she might cause Bryce to be hurt… “Okay, I’ll—” She broke off as her doorbell rang for the third time this evening.

  Haydn grimaced. “Erm, I might have called Rourke earlier,” he told his brother.

  Bella’s brows rose. Yet another of Bryce’s brothers knew where she lived and had come to visit?

  “Why didn’t you just invite all the brothers over here?” Bryce was obviously of the same opinion. “We could have had a fucking party!”

  Haydn looked unperturbed by the outburst. “I did call all of them. Atticus is still away with Jenna and not expected back until Friday. Logan and August are also away right now. Lucan is in the States. Rourke was the only one available. Stop glowering at me,” he snapped at Bryce. “It was pretty damned obvious after talking to you earlier that your head isn’t where it needs to be. Not the one on your shoulders, anyway,” he added pointedly.

  “You—”

  “Stop it!” Bella stood between the two brothers before the exchange could become physical. “One of you needs to go and answer the door. Preferably before Rourke kicks it down,” she added dryly as the doorbell rang again, and for much longer; obviously someone, and it probably was Rourke if Haydn had invited him, was keeping their finger on the button.

  “And you need to go and put some fucking clothes on,” Bryce snapped.

  Bella threw up her hands in exasperation. “I am more than adequately dressed. But I’ll go and do it if it pleases you, sir,” she added in a sarcastic tone.

  He snorted. “That will be a first.”

  Bella moved to stand in front of him, fingers lightly caressing his abs through his T-shirt. “That isn’t what you said earlier,” she murmured in a sultry voice.

  Bryce turned to glare at Haydn as he gave an amused snicker. “Shut the fuck up.” He turned back to Bella. “Your arse is going to be so sore again later,” he promised her.

  “Ooh.” Her eyes widened with mocking excitement. “That sounds…intriguing.”

  Bryce made a disgusted noise. “I give up.” He strode out of the room and down the hallway.

  “Much as I enjoy watching one of my big brothers about to explode,” Haydn drawled softly, “I think you might want to do what Bryce says before he brings Rourke back here and then doesn’t bother waiting until later to spank your arse but decides to do it in front of the two of us.”

  “He wouldn’t— You’re right, he would,” Bella acknowledged as Haydn gave her a pointed glance. She quickly turned on her heel and hurried from the room and up the stairs.

  By the time she came back down a few minutes later—fully dressed in the thin blue sweater and lowrider jeans—the three men seemed to have decided on a course of action in her absence. Bryce and Haydn—who was the only one who had the computer skills necessary to access the online evidence to show Volkov—were to go and see the Russian while Rourke stayed here with Bella.

  Bella had seen this brother before too, of course, again at the hospital while visiting his stepsister. Rourke and Logan were the youngest Steele brothers, and twins. Physically, they were identical, both tall, very dark, and very handsome, but the two men were completely different otherwise.

  Logan’s hair was overlong and messy, and he always had stubble on his chin, taking laid-back to the extreme, both in his manner and his clothing.

  Rourke had sophistication and charm, and had shorter, expertly styled hair, was always clean-shaven, and wore formal tailored suits with silk shirts and ties. Even now, on a Sunday evening, Rourke wore a perfect-fitting charcoal-gray suit with a pale gray shirt and striped tie. Bella was pretty sure his soft black leather shoes were also handmade.

  “Is that arrangement okay with you?”

  Bella knew she must look visibly taken aback by Bryce asking her opinion. Basically because she was. “And if I say no, it isn’t?”

  He shrugged. “Then I’ll stay here with you. I can easily telephone Nikolai and explain the situation to him and tell him that Rourke and Haydn are on their way to see him, and why.”

  She looked at him searchingly. “You would really do that?”

  Bryce knew he’d been acting like a jealous idiot since Bella came downstairs wearing the red silk robe—and he hadn’t forgotten the black bra and panties beneath! But that was probably because Bryce really hadn’t liked Haydn seeing her dressed in so little or looking so wanton, with her hair loose about her shoulders and her lips slightly swollen from their kisses earlier. She had obviously never looked in a mirror and seen herself like that, or she would never again doubt how desirable she was.

  Bryce nodded. “If that’s what you would prefer, yes.” His knuckles beneath her chin lifted her face up toward his. “Is that what you want?” he prompted huskily.

  She glanced at Rourke as he and Haydn chatted softly together on the other side of the room. “Don’t your brothers think helping me at all is a bit odd?”

  Bryce shrugged. “It’s what we do.”

  “But I didn’t hire any of you—”

  “Family and friends don’t need to hire us for our protection,” he bit out. “And from the moment you stood guard outside that bastard’s hospital room five weeks ago, ensuring he couldn’t hurt Jenna again, you became both.”

  “But—” Bella’s words were cut off when Bryce’s lips claimed hers.

  It had been the last thing she was expecting with two of his brothers in the room. It wasn’t just a barely there peck on the lips either, but a full-blown, openmouthed, tongue-stroking-her-tongue kiss that robbed Bella of her breath and made her knees weak.

  She drew much-needed air into her lungs when Bryce ended the kiss minutes later. “What the hell was that?” she gasped against his throat as he continued to hold her tightly in his arms, his cheek resting against the top of her head.

  “I’m staking my claim.” The words rumbled in his
chest.

  “Your claim—”

  “Let’s not start arguing again.” Bryce sighed as he straightened. “I’m new to this, okay?” He held on to the tops of her arms as he lowered his face to her level. “But that was me letting anyone who wants to know that I’m not finished with you.”

  Bella gave a dazed shake of her head. “You’re right, you really are bad at this.”

  “Yeah, I am,” he accepted. “But that doesn’t make my intentions any less sincere.”

  “And what might those intentions be, Mr. Steele?” Bella bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

  “I’m going to marry you one day soon.”

  Bella’s amusement fizzled into bemusement, and all she could do was stare at Bryce, eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape.

  “I guess Max did get your tongue, after all,” he mused.

  After all that had happened today, after Bryce had just stated he intended to marry her one day soon, he remembered the name of her neighbor’s cat? She wasn’t even sure she remembered her own name right now!

  “He’s a rather handsome and unforgettable cat as I recall.” Bryce’s answer was Bella’s first indication she had spoken the words out loud. “I have to go now.” He reluctantly released her. “I have the key to let us back in, so go to bed if you need to. And try to behave for Rourke while I’m gone, hmm?”

  She frowned. “Define behave?”

  Bryce found himself chuckling, knowing his life would never be boring with this woman in it. “I’ll be happy if you just stay here and neither of you is hurt before I get back.”

  “I— Did you mean it?”

  Bryce instantly sobered as he saw the uncertainty in Bella’s expression. “I don’t make jokes about things like marriage.”

  No, he didn’t look as if he was joking. “You’ve only known me for a day.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve known you for one day, five weeks, six hours and thirty-five minutes.”

  “But who’s counting…” she murmured incredulously.

  Bryce touched one of her creamy cheeks. “Who’s counting,” he agreed. “There hasn’t been a minute of that time I haven’t thought about you and wanted you.”