Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess

by Hardin, Michelle

  Nathan finally ceased his pacing and turned toward Adrien. He moved toward the man slowly, and Adrien backed away in fear.

  Nathan narrowed his cold gaze on the man. “You have information that I need. If you hesitate in giving it, then you will no longer be of value to me, I’ll put you in the hands of those two men standing right over there.” Nathan motioned behind him as Lucca and Mickey moved forward.

  Adrien immediately knew that he did not want to be left in the hands of the two men. They looked at him with murderous intent in their eyes. He could have sworn their eyes were the eyes of the devil himself.

  Adrien looked away from the men. “I will tell you all you need to know. But you must realize who you are up against.”

  “We will get to that, Adrien,” Nathan said. He turned to his men. “You four, pull up seats,” he said to the guys. “The rest of you, clean up in here. By the time I’m finished with this conversation, I want these bodies out of here being disposed of.”

  The men moved swiftly to follow his orders. By the time Nathan was ready to take a seat, the guys had already pulled him up a chair. They all took their seats, leaving Adrien Stone in front of them on the floor. Nathan wanted to be sure the man knew his place now. He wanted Adrien Stone to feel about as royal as the dirt on the bottom of his shoe.

  Adrien struggled to sit up from the floor. He dragged his aching body across the floor until he reached the wall, then he leaned back against it.

  Nathan felt no sympathy for the man.

  “You will answer my questions swiftly and honestly, Mr. Stone,” Nathan said. “If you lie to me, I will know by the time the sun rises tomorrow. Regardless of what you may think, my influence runs deep. It knows no zip code, borders, or boundaries. You have absolutely no idea how dangerous the son of a Russian whore can be. But you can easily find out if you cross me. Do you understand?” Nathan waited for Adrien’s response.

  It came in a quick nod of his head.

  “How many members of your family are in New York?” Nathan asked.

  “It’s just me,” he answered.

  Nathan eyed him for a moment, silently deciding whether or not to believe him. He remembered Anastacia’s words regarding the Stone family. They were liars, masters of deception, and dead set on obtaining money. Nathan sighed. He had neither the time nor patience for lies, and his gut was telling him that Adrien had just lied.

  “Mikilo, hand me your gun,” Nathan said coolly. Mickey did as he asked, and a look of alarm flashed across Adrien’s face. Nathan shook his head in disappointment. “I told you not to lie to me.”

  “I didn’t,” Adrien said frantically.

  Nathan rolled his eyes. “You just lied to me again. That’s two times now. Do you think I have time for your shit? I’m a concerned fucking husband looking to protect his wife, and this is what I get.”

  Nathan aimed the gun at Adrien and shot him twice. Once bullet pierced his upper thigh, and the other went through his shoulder. Adrien howled in agony holding his wounds, while Nathan leaned forward and watched him squirm. He sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, waiting impatiently for Adrien’s wails to calm.

  Once his cries turned to heavy breathing, Nathan spoke again. “How many members of your family are in New York?” Nathan asked him again.

  “Ten,” Adrien cried.

  Nathan nodded his head, satisfied that Adrien finally got the picture. “Where are they staying?”

  “They are staying at the Grand Luxury Hotel.”

  Nathan searched his eyes for a moment before deciding he was being honest. “Do you see how easy that was, Adrien? Now had you been honest in the beginning, we could have avoided any extra bloodshed. I will not tolerate dishonesty.” Nathan shook his head firmly. “Not when my wife’s safety is involved. Do you understand?”

  Adrien nodded his head.

  “Good,” Nathan said. “Now tell your reason for being here.”

  “We’re here for the girl.”

  “To kill her?”

  Adrien lifted his gaze from the floor to Nathan. “Are you crazy?”

  Nathan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re not here—”

  “To kill Silas Steele’s daughter? Fuck no!”

  Nathan frowned. “Then what the fuck do you want?”

  Adrien didn’t speak. He sat completely silent until irritation began to show in Nathan’s features.

  “I want the guarantee of protection before I tell you that,” Adrien said.

  Nathan arched a brow. “What?”

  “I want protection,” he repeated.

  “Are you making a demand? Do you think I owe you something?”

  “N-no. I ju-just—”

  “You just what?” Nathan snapped. “You come to my fucking city with intentions to harm my wife, and you have the nerve to demand that I protect you?” he shouted.

  Adrien cowered back.

  “Fuck you!” Nathan yelled. “You get your life, nothing more.”

  Adrien cleared his throat. “That would be all well if I wasn’t positive that Silas Steele was going to kill me as soon as I step foot in France without his daughter.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Nathan asked. “You said you didn’t know much about Silas.”

  “I lied,” Adrien said with a hint of a smile in his eyes. “I’m a Stone. It’s what we’re good at. We make people believe shit that isn’t true.”

  “And the truth would be?”

  “That I work for Silas Steele. I’ve been working for him since Cecilia was one-year old.”

  Nathan’s jaw ticked. He knew of the name that Carter’s biological father had given her. That assured Nathan he was telling the truth.

  “Her name is not Cecilia,” Nathan said angrily.

  Adrien rolled his eyes. “Please have some mercy on me. I’ve said that maid whore’s name one too many times tonight already. Regardless of what Anastacia said, Carterina Mensah was not a sweet woman. Ana was a fucking toddler when my mother poisoned her mother. My father told lies to keep his precious Anastacia happy.”

  “You will call my wife by her name, or you will not refer to her at all.” Nathan sat back in his seat, daring Adrien to test him again.

  “Silas doesn’t allow us to call her by any other name—”

  Nathan waved off the fearful comment. “I am not Silas. You will have protection for as long as you prove useful to me. Tell me what I need to know. Start from the beginning.” Nathan was ready to find out what he needed and get back home to his wife. He didn’t like leaving her alone for so long. Not while she was depressed.

  Adrien nodded. “When we first found out Anastacia had a child, my family was livid. They threatened her and the child. They sent me to try and convince her to turn over our money and property, but Anastacia was stubborn. She wouldn’t listen. She was young and just about to inherit the family money. We knew that after she had it, she would have power. Although I advised against it, the family wanted to attack swiftly and while she was still vulnerable. So against my wishes, they wanted to hire a contract killer. It was something new to me. I don’t approve of such impersonal practices, but the older members of my family pushed me to finish her, so I did as they said. In order to get my father’s men back, we needed the money. Power came with that money. Anastacia can be a vengeful lunatic when she is unleashed. It terrified me to think she would have all of that power. She’d already had that Luchini kill our mother in the name of revenge for her mother.”

  Nathan frowned in confusion. “For her mother?” he asked.

  Adrien nodded. “Yes, my mother killed her mother.”

  Nathan sat back and nodded. Interesting. He hadn’t know that. He’d thought that Anastacia’s mother had died giving birth to her. Nathan took a breath and gave Adrien a nod. “Continue,” he commanded.

  Adrien continued. “Even though I didn’t want to kill her, I couldn’t let her have our father’s power. So my sisters and I found a killer through some old friends of my
father. Spook Steele. New, but talented, was how they described him. Twenty-eight years old. We contacted him, and not even a week later, Silas Steele was standing at our door. He told me that I was not to pursue Anastacia or his child anymore. He threatened my life and promised me that he would wipe out my entire family. He’s been forcing me and paying me to work for him since then. ”

  Nathan and guys scooted forward to the edge of their seats.

  “His right hand men are Aziz Malik, Naveed Soloch, and Scott Flanagan–not their real names. I don’t even know their true identities, but I’m sure you can find them. You’re friends with Freddy Russia, right?”

  Nathan nodded.

  Freddy Russia was indeed a good friend and ally of Nathan’s. Nathan had met the man when he was only twenty-two years old. Because they both had Russian mothers, Freddy liked to refer to Nathan as his little brother. Freddy Russia was one of the most dangerous men in the criminal world. He was known most for his eerie fascination with fire. Nathan had learned a lot from the man. As soon as Freddy had accepted him, a whole group of crazy ass motherfuckers accepted him and the guys. Those were the men responsible for their name— they weren’t called The Five until Freddy Russia called them The Five.

  “Aziz and Freddy Russia have history. Silas tried to defend Aziz, but Freddy practically laughed in his face then set Aziz’s arm on fire. Since then they’ve been enemies. That’s how you can check me out and see I tell you nothing but the truth. Silas told me years ago that I was to stay away from his daughter after his brother told him we had asked for Anastacia’s death. Ana doesn’t know this. Silas forbid us from communicating with her. She hates Silas, but Silas loves her so much that he hates that she exists. He can’t stand the passion he still feels for her. He terrorized her because she didn’t love him anymore.”

  “Wait,” Nathan interrupted. “Love him anymore? But she barely knew him.”

  Adrien frowned. “Barely knew him?”

  “Weren’t they only together one time?”

  Adrien raised his eyebrows then let out a short burst of laughter before wincing in pain. “Shit,” he sputtered. “Of course she would lie about that.” He shook his head. “If I was her I’d be ashamed too.”

  Nathan grunted in frustration. “Ashamed of what, Adrien?” he asked sharply.

  “Anastacia and Silas, were an item, a couple. They became a couple about a week after she ended her relationship with Cesare Valente.” He pointed to Kyle when he mentioned his father. “They got married a month afterwards, but she left him a few months after that. Hell, Paolo Luchini didn’t even mess with that relationship. Silas is fucking crazy, kid. He’s been torturing Anastacia ever since. It’s like a never ending game to him. He gets off on making people’s lives miserable.”

  Nathan shook his head in disbelief. This couldn’t be true. Anastacia never mentioned having a relationship with Carter’s biological father. “You’re lying. Anastacia wouldn’t keep that from us.”

  “Yes she would, boy. I have friends in the Steele family. Friends that know shit. They told me that Silas married my sister, and get this, they never got a divorce. Even as we speak, Anastacia is still married to Silas…” he chuckled.

  “Bullshit!” Nathan snapped. “Why would she keep that from Carter?”

  Adrien rolled his eyes. “Because that’s what Anastacia does. She only tells part of the story, never the whole thing.” He shrugged.

  “Enough of this,” Nathan said. He didn’t need to hear any more about Silas and Anastacia’s relationship. “Finish the story.”

  Adrien nodded his head and sighed. “Like I was saying before, Silas hated that Robert and Anastacia had never tested him— Ana stayed away from the girl, and Robert raised her alone. Silas checked on Cecil— Carterina— often. Aziz advised him against it, but Silas didn’t listen. He went to Robert’s home disguised as Robert so that he could spend time with her. He would come back and talk about it. He said she was unlike any child he had ever had. You must understand that Silas usually doesn’t keep his offspring— he sells them. I heard he had a son, but Aziz said the boy ran away eight years ago. I think Silas killed him. Anyway, something happened when Carterina was about fifteen years old. I don’t know what, but Silas came back from his visit enraged. A day later we were meeting about business in France, and Robert showed up and attacked Silas. Before we could pull him off, Robert had taken a knife and put a long scar on Silas’s face. He told him that if he ever came around his daughter again, he’d kill him. Silas was stunned more than he was afraid.”

  “So now Silas has a scar?” Nathan asked.

  Adrien shook his head no. “He did. But after what happened to Robert, he had it removed. It looks like it never even happened.”

  Nathan nodded and sat back in his seat. “Why did Silas send you here?”

  “Why else?” Adrien shrugged, looking bored. “He wants his daughter. He just wants to look at her. If you let him get his hands on her, she’ll spend the rest of her life in a viewing room for his slaves. Silas is good at what he does, and he’s smart, but he’s also an unhinged nutcase. He still talks about his brother like he’s alive. And his current obsession is the girl. He wants her. If she looks anything like a Stone, then protect her from him with your life.”

  Nathan frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  Adrien pursed his lips, looking at Nathan as if he should already know the answer. “If she looks like a Stone, then she looks like Anastacia. I hate Ana, but I know of her famed beauty, only enhanced by the brown skin she inherited from her mother. When I say that Silas can’t handle his passion for Anastacia, I mean it. If the girl resembles her mother, Silas may be a sick enough bastard to forget that he sired her.”

  Nathan felt a cold chill run through his veins. “Are you saying that he would— ?”

  “Yes, I am,” Adrien said. “And please don’t say the words because I’m just as disgusted as you are.”

  Disgusted was an understatement. Silas needed to die.

  “He thinks others are lesser than him,” Adrien continued. “It’s ironic that he’s even in the business of human trafficking. Both he and Robert were victims of it in their childhood. They were taken away from their mother when they were four years old.”

  “And their father, Dmitry, saved them?” Nathan asked.

  Adrien nodded. “He was a father figure. He purchased them and freed them from their owner when they were fifteen. Robert loved him dearly, but Silas just saw him as another master.”

  “So that’s why he killed him?”

  Adrien nodded.

  Nathan Stood from his seat and walked over to Adrien Stone. He squatted down in front of the man. “Adrien …” he said.

  Adrien swallowed. “Yes?”

  “I want you to know how much I appreciate your honesty tonight.” Nathan smiled and stood up straight, extending his hand. Adrien flinched before he realized Nathan wasn’t going to harm him. He took Nathan’s hand, and he helped him stand to his feet.

  Adrien slowly stood to his feet, groaning as the pain in his body increased. “I’m too fucking old for this shit,” he muttered.

  Nathan chuckled. “Well you will have plenty of time to rest, Adrien Stone. You work for me now.”

  Adrien looked at him with an arched brow. “Silas will come after me.”

  Nathan nodded. “We’ll see what Silas Steele’s next move is.” He helped Adrien to a seat. “Until I say otherwise, you will be protected. You will give me information when I need it and be honest with me when you do.”

  “Of course,” Adrien said with a nod.

  “Adrien. If I check out your story—”

  “I’ve told more truth tonight then I have ever told in my entire life, boy,” Adrien interrupted. “I meant what I said, young Salerno. I’m too old for this shit. Silas’s workers are his slaves, and I’ve had enough. I can’t fucking stand you, but if you’re going to take the man down who has been terrorizing me for my entire fucking life, then by all means, let
me help. Silas Steele is manic. He needs to be put out of his misery.”

  Nathan watched him for a moment then nodded his head. Although his gut was telling him that the man was telling the truth, Nathan was still going to look into his story. He knew that it would be no easy task, but he was going to find out all he could about Silas. Silas Steele was laying claim to someone who didn’t belong to him. Someone who had never belonged to him. And that someone happened to be the most important person in Nathan’s life. Silas may not know it yet, but he was about to enter a merciless war with Nathan. Not only would Silas Steele lose the war, but Nathan was determined to ensure that it was the man’s last.

  Nathan signaled for one of the remaining men to come forward. “Take Mr. Stone to our physician and get him cleaned up. Place him in one of the suites in my east side apartments and provide him with all that he needs. Take some men and head over to the Grand Luxury Hotel and the Elliot and hunt down the unwelcome guests. Double the security on my street. And— with respect to the residents— watch who comes into my building. Do you understand?”

  “Got it, boss,” the man said with a nod.

  Nathan nodded, confident that he didn’t have to repeat himself.

  Nathan began to walk across the warehouse to gather his things, hearing the guys behind him getting up to do the same.

  “Have a good evening, Mr. Stone,” he said over his shoulder as he began to walk to the exit. “Be available when I call you.”

  “I will, young Salerno. And …” Adrien’s voice trailed off.

  Nathan and the guys stopped and turned to the man.

  “And what?” Nathan asked.

  Adrien cleared his throat uncomfortably. “After all of this is over, I wish for you to ask the girl if she is interested in … meeting me.”

  Nathan immediately frowned. Adrien actually looked humble when he’d said it. But that didn’t mean Nathan was considering it.

  “I would like to see her at least once,” Adrien continued. “I understand that she is your wife. But she is … my blood. Anastacia hates me for events I could not control. We tried the forgiveness route, but Ana is just as ruthless as Alexis was. It is not fair that she kept the girl from her family. Anastacia may not have mentioned it to you, but we did love each other once … when we were children. I would like to meet Carterina.” He looked at Nathan with pleading eyes. “If only to see that she truly exists …”