by Aria R. Blue
Ivy pulls away a second later, glancing down at Belle’s stomach. “Are you…” She turns to me. “Is she…”
“I’m pregnant,” Belle says.
“Twins,” I say at the same time.
Ivy’s whole face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Best news I’ve heard all year. Congratulations.” She hugs my wife-to-be once again.
I open the umbrella now and place it over their heads.
The rain splatters on top of it. Some water drips down my arm, soaking my sleeves.
I hold the umbrella tighter.
“She said yes, Ivy. I’m going to marry her,” I say, grinning at my sister.
Ivy lets out another high-pitched squeal.
“Can I plan everything?” she asks, holding Belle’s shoulders. “From the venue to the dresses to the ceremony.”
“You know what? Yes,” Belle says. “Even the thought of planning a party exhausts me.”
“That’s perfect. Planning parties is what I live for.”
The two of them grin at each other.
Warmth hits my heart at the sight of them getting along.
A flash of silver catches my eye. I turn to find four men standing farther down the road, watching us.
The Reznikov’s.
They’re dressed in all-black, like they’re here for a funeral. The only color is the silver of their umbrella’s shafts. Flashing cars pass by, making that silver shine red and yellow.
“Is it them?” Ivy asks, hands already reaching for her weapon.
“Put that down, Ivy,” I say, looking wearily at her purse.
It houses a gift given to her by our father—a double revolver with a pink mother of pearl grip.
“I’m not going to put it away just because you asked me to, brother,” she grates out, even as she keeps the gun hidden.
I take a deep breath.
The tension between us has been rising for the past few weeks. All we seem to be able to do is bicker back and forth.
She wants to be a gangster, and I want to keep her away from this life. I know I can’t tell her what to do, but I don’t want her to learn her lessons the hard way.
Like I did.
“Ivy. Please. We have Belle with us. Can you please take her inside while I deal with this?”
She glances at the four men. They’re walking away now.
Ivy nods, and gently holds Belle’s arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to the apartment.”
Belle pries her arm away, and tugs on my white shirt. “Leo, I have a bad feeling about this. Stay.”
“I can’t,” I say. “They’ve crossed the line.”
“Who, those men? They didn’t even do anything,” she says.
“That’s what it looks like. But the fact that they’re even standing on my territory shows their insolence. This is starting to get out of hand.”
My head is clear. Calm. Too calm.
The kind of stillness that precedes a violent storm.
Those Russians have just threatened me.
By showing their faces near my home and just standing there like gargoyles when I had my woman and my sister by my side, they tightened the noose around their own necks.
I’ve let this go on for far too long.
The last few weeks have been hell.
We’re having these battles with the Reznikov family—interfering with business, torching down clubs, that kind of stuff.
Both of us know that we’re headed towards war. By this point, it’s just a matter of when.
Father keeps saying that we should hold back and wait. He’s hoping that they’ll come to their senses. But all that’s happening is that I’m running out of patience.
“You’re going to end this tonight, aren’t you?” Ivy asks.
I nod. “Tell father that the plans have changed. We’re fighting them. Tonight.”
“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Belle asks.
I cup her cheeks, and press my lips against hers. “I’ll come back to you. I promise.”
She grips my shirt even tighter, but I pry her wrists away.
Belle’s face is an unreadable mask. She’s upset. But she’ll soon come to understand why I had to do this.
It’s all for her.
If she weren’t here with me right now, I wouldn’t have this fire burning through my veins.
Protect her, it screams. Destroy everything that’s a threat.
The doorman in the white uniform ushers the ladies inside. Both of them are lethal.
Ivy can hold her own in a fight.
And Belle turns a man like me into a savage.
Tonight, I’m going to fight for her. I’m going to fight for the future we’re supposed to have together.
She’s already done her part.
By coming to Chicago, she has shown her fortitude.
It’s my turn now.
Rain beats down my head and drips down my brow as I walk in the opposite direction of the men.
They’re insignificant—messengers sent by their boss.
And their boss is who I’ll be dealing with tonight.
I’ll see how Maxim Reznikov likes having his evening plans disturbed.
40
Belle
“Ivy, explain the situation to me,” I say.
We’re inside his apartment now. I don’t even look around. It smells like him, and that’s the only comfort I allow myself.
“Right. What do you want to know?” she asks, handing me a glass of cold water.
I grip the glass between my shaky hands, and let the coolness seep into me. “This war. What is it even about?”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Not in a way I understand it.”
“Well, I must warn you though. This is one of those things that get more complicated the more you try to make sense of it.” She raises her dark gold eyebrows expectantly.
I nod once. “Okay. Won’t think too much about it.”
“Three families. They’ve known each other for generations. Their fights are legendary, and the hatred is basically in our DNA by this point. Even when it looks like things are starting to change, we’re always right back where we started.”
“The Russians. The Italians. And us.”
She smiles when I say ‘us.’ “That’s right. The Reznikov’s, the Monte’s, and us. As you already know, these three families rule the city. We normally manage to be civil with each other, but right now, it seems like everybody wants different things. War and strife only occur when there’s conflict, and there’s a buttload of that right now.”
“Conflict over what?”
“Honestly? I don’t even know, girl. My money is on hurt egos and toxic masculinity. It could be sheer boredom for all I know.”
“They start wars because they’re bored?”
Ivy shrugs her slender shoulders, and examines the ends of her hair. “There have been some events that precipitated this, making them bitter towards each other. Stolen shipments, stolen money, crossed territories. Nothing out of the ordinary, if you ask me. Just triggers. And it just escalated from there. Right now, the Reznikov’s are doing everything they can to provoke us into a full-blown war.”
“Basically, you’re saying that you don’t know why they’re fighting either,” I state.
She uncrosses her legs only to cross them the other way. “What I’m saying is, it doesn’t matter why they’re fighting. It’s what’s about to come next that’s more concerning.”
“What happens in a war, Ivy?” I ask slowly.
She takes a deep breath, and exhales, “Apart from the obvious, morals are forgotten. Men turn into lawless savages. Anything and everything is acceptable, and they get away with it without consequences.”
“Will he be hurt?”
She lets out a soft laugh. “My brother isn’t the one you should be worried about.”
“I don’t understand why he couldn’t just let those four men on the street watch us from a distance.”
“To understand that, you need to know that each of the families have their own territory. They stick to their territories and their territories only. Coming uninvited to ours is a sign of deep disrespect. To make matters worse, they came to one of our homes.”
I try to take deep breaths to calm myself.
When the deep breaths don’t seem to work, I try taking a sip of the water. The cold water has become room temperature now.
I place the glass aside on a table, and fidget with my fingers. “I knew that there was a reason he didn’t want me here. But seeing him like that, in the middle of all that danger…it’s still painted in my mind, you know? I can still see it when I close my eyes.”
“The fight with the street gang today?”
I nod quickly. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’ll tell you one thing though, Belle. Sometimes, displays of power are necessary. It’s needed for the greater good. What you saw this morning is a small part of the puzzle. If those riffraffs weren’t put in their place, they would’ve gotten reckless and hurt even more people over time. Power can be deadly, even more so when it’s in the wrong hands.”
I rub my belly absently.
He knows. He finally knows about our babies, but he’s not here right now. And that thought crushes me.
I’m in his home, but he’s gone. Again.
Back to square one.
Ivy’s soft voice breaks through my gloom. “It’s not always going to be like this. Whatever he’s doing out there right now, he’s doing it for you. Leo hates this life. He hates what Chicago once turned him into. But he’s going through it all again. All for you. I’m not saying this to make you feel guilty, but to remind you that he’s willing to do things for you that he wouldn’t do for anybody else.”
It’s not me I’m worried about.
My needs are no longer the first I think about.
It’s all about my babies now. I just want the best for them. They need their father as much as I do.
I rest both my hands on my belly now. “I really, really hope you’re right.”
Ivy smiles at my hands, and says, “You’re going to make a great mother.”
“You think so?”
“You’re worried about them, and they’re not even out into the world yet.”
I chuckle. “I think all mothers are like that.”
Ivy’s smile fades. Her green eyes become emotionless. “No. Not all mothers.” She pauses before she asks, “Did Leo ever tell you about my birth mother?”
I shake my head.
“Or about my sperm donor?”
Sperm donor?
“I thought you were close to your father,” I say, confused.
“Leo and I aren’t related by blood. Anthony Blackwood isn’t my biological father. The only reason he adopted me is because I was being neglected right in front of his eyes. I was the daughter of his underboss. Too bad my mother betrayed him at the end.”
I think about what Leo told me in the car earlier today.
Her name was Anastasia. She was one of the most trusted members of the gang. But she turned out to be a rat.
“Anastasia was your mother?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “You know about the execution? Leo told you some random-ass stuff.”
I smirk. “I asked him some random-ass questions.”
She huffs. “Anyway. The reason I’m telling you this is because I want you to know that my Dad might be the leader of a powerful crime family, but he’s also a good man. He didn’t have to take me under his wing. He had way too many responsibilities as it was, even back then. He didn’t have to take care of a little girl who was alone in the world. But he gave me a home. A family. A life.”
“That’s not how Leo described him,” I whisper.
He painted his father as a selfish monster.
As someone who threw money at all of his problems instead of dealing with them himself. As someone who abandoned family when they needed him most.
“Leo is a stubborn man. If he decides that he doesn’t want anything to do with a person, he will shun that person for life. He didn’t talk to his own father for eight years.”
“He seemed to have his reasons,” I say quietly.
“Eight years, Belle,” she says. “Not a single month went by without our Dad reaching out to him in some way, only to be rejected.”
I think about my own father. Some actions are just plain unforgivable.
But that’s not what Ivy wants to hear right now.
“Things have changed now, I’m guessing?” I ask.
“Things have finally started to get better,” she smiles. “This feud between the crime families has brought our family closer.”
“How odd,” I muse.
There’s a loud bang on the door.
I jump in my seat. Ivy is already on her feet, her pink gun pointed towards the door.
“Who is it?” she shouts, gesturing me to go hide in one of the bedrooms.
I remain frozen.
I don’t want Ivy to face this alone. Whatever this is.
“Open the door, Ivy. It’s me,” comes a calm voice.
“Dude, you scared me,” she shouts, putting her gun away and going over to open the door.
The man on the other side of the door is armed.
He points his gun right at Ivy’s forehead. “I’ve gotten information that she’s here.”
“Nico?” Ivy blinks rapidly.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Ivy, but I will if I have to. So, please. Cooperate.” He smiles sadly, and looks over his shoulder at the two men behind him. “Boys.”
Ivy lets out a pitiful wail, and thrashes as the two men drag her away. “Nico? Nico, they’re hurting me. Ow, my hair. Nico, tell them to put me down right this second.”
We’re in a luxury residential building. There are neighbors and security.
People are supposed to come forward to stop them.
But I’m starting to realize that this is just how mobs run.
Nobody sees anything.
Nobody hears anything.
The mob gets away with whatever they want.
“Who are you?” I ask. “Where are you taking her?”
The man turns to me with a feral smile. “I don’t think we’ve been officially introduced. I’m Nicolo Monte.”
He steps into the apartment, and closes the door behind him. He looks around a little before pouring himself a drink from a glass decanter.
His eyes land on my baby bump. “I didn’t know you were expecting. That makes my job so much harder now.”
It’s a miracle my voice is steady. “If you lay a finger on me, Leo will end you.”
“Oh, I’m counting on that,” he chuckles.
He takes a sip of his whiskey, and looks up at me. Strands of black hair fall over his forehead, and I see that his eyes are rimmed with red.
A sad man.
His piercing blue eyes are a pool of empty sadness.
It makes my knees quake. If he weren’t holding that gun in his hand, I would have asked him if he was okay.
“Why are you here?” I ask again.
“I’m here to make a deal with you, Belle.”
“I’m not interested in anything you have to say.”
His sad eyes harden. “You value your life, don’t you?”
I remain quiet.
“Surely, you must at least value the life growing inside you?”
“You’re a fucking monster.”
“I’ve been called much worse,” he laughs. “You’re looking at me like you know who I am. Do you think you know my story?”
“I know that your wife left you. And you’ve been throwing tantrums about it ever since.” Dangerous territory, but I can’t help the words that escape my mouth. This man just threatened my unborn children.
“He seems to have told you everything,” he says. “Did he also tell you that he’s the reason why Luna left me?”
“What?”
&
nbsp; He lets out a low laugh. “It always just comes down to who’s telling the story, doesn’t it? Your boyfriend painted me as the bad guy. But there’s more to the story than what he told you.”
“He probably left out the parts that were unnecessary,” I say, defending my man. Always defending my man.
“That’s what he does, doesn’t he?” Nicolo snaps. “Leave out the parts that are unnecessary?”
Everything comes rushing back.
The Rose.
The West Wing.
His kids.
His past.
Leo did have a habit of leaving out some parts of him, but that was only because we were still getting to know each other back then.
I can’t start doubting him now.
All I know is that his intentions are good and his heart is pure. Everything else will fall into place when it will.
Nico chugs his drink back and pours himself some more.
“He’s going to come home any minute now,” I whisper. “You should leave before he gets here.”
“He’s not the only man who runs this town, Belle. All of his men are off planning a strike on the Reznikov’s. They’re preparing to deliver a death blow.”
“How do you know that?” Leo decided to strike against the Russian mob literally minutes ago.
“How do you think? I have informants. They pass on information. About his plans for tonight. About the secret lover that he hid in his apartment.”
“Fiancée,” I grind out.
“Congratulations,” he says lazily, taking a big sip of his drink. “I’m so happy for you two. No, really. I care about Leo.”
His eyes become distant again.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with such expressive eyes.
For a second, I wonder if it’s all a show he’s putting on. But the anguish I see in his eyes has to be real. I don’t think anyone is capable of faking this level of agony.
I try to put myself in his shoes.
He loves a woman—a woman he married. A woman who wants nothing to do with him now.
He still doesn’t know that Luna was pregnant when she walked away from him.
When he finds out about his kid, that agony in his eyes is only going to multiply. Whatever he’s doing right now, he’s making decisions with his desperate heart.
“This is all for Luna?” I ask gently.