Chapter 4

KILLIAN

“So, I take it that he is leaving?” Dad asked, and I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t trust that he would be leaving as easily as he said he would.

“As an initial, yes,” I said, and Dad raised an eyebrow. “He might end up trying to find a different way to negotiate. He knows that he can’t afford to fail, seeing as he won’t be getting what he and his other inmates wanted him to do. I know that he might classify that as a failure on his account.”

“And what do you plan on doing?” Mom asked, shaking her head in question.

I put both my hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. She smiled and shook her head at me, knowing that I wasn’t the type to like her getting worried. If anything, her being part of such discussions was not something that I liked, but I knew that I couldn’t do anything about it. She would be in the place that she wanted to be, and as her son, I was to respect her decision regardless of what it was.

“We are going to wait for what happens, but I am not going to allow him to stay. You know that they have been enemies for years now, and the last thing that I am going to do is make an enemy think that I would be willing to work with him or to ‘share’ a territory,” I said, assuring Mom, who nodded. She put her right hand on mine, tapping it twice for me to remove my hands, and I nodded. “You rest assured, Mama, I won’t be doing anything that would harm the pack or the family. The Bernardi will be put in place. If I allowed them to stay, it is because the pack is benefitting. But they will be leaving after the wedding.”

“Who is the fucker marrying anyway? Last I checked, he was never one to announce his relationship with anyone,” Dad asked, and I shook my head.

“I didn’t bother asking about it. You know that it is the least of my concerns who he marries or is with, to begin with. The woman is here, but he didn’t introduce her to me, and he didn’t need to,” I said, and Dad nodded.

The last thing I needed was to find myself interfering with the Bernardi women. Anyone in that family can be manipulative, as far as I was concerned, and the last thing I needed was for one of us to have a weakness that could end up being fatal. I didn’t repeat mistakes that happened in the past. If anything, I learned from them.

“As long as he leaves without causing us a fuss, he could marry a mouse for all we care. I just don’t want him to roam around you, nor do I want you associating with him. The drinks that you bought are enough, and the girls that were sent here are to be trained before leaving the house,” Mom said, and I chuckled. I knew that she would mention it. I was thankful that she was open to allowing them inside the house to begin with. I actually feared her saying something about it when she saw the car pulling over. Thankfully, she didn’t speak, but her expression said more than she needed to anyway.

“Don’t worry, Mama. I will find their right positions, and they will be out of the house soon enough,” I said, and she nodded. I smiled at her and looked at Dad, who got up from his chair, clearly hearing Vladimir, who was outside.

The two of us were still heading to one of my clubs as it had its opening, and I needed to check for the positions that I wanted the girls to fill. It was one of the main reasons why I needed them trained to fill the slots by next week, and judging by the fact that they came from the Capo’s place, I knew that they would be. I just needed to ensure that they were loyal. Otherwise, we were going to have a problem.

“The girls have settled and are speaking to Liana and getting the needed instructions right now. Mom is already calling the doctors to arrange that they get them checked, and then we will be able to start working with them,” Vladimir said, and I nodded in response.

Mom smiled and got up from the chair. Dad wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest, wanting her to be more assured that things would be under control. The last thing we wanted was for her to be worried about where things were going to go.

“Well, I guess we will leave you two to tend to what you have to do,” Mom said, and I smiled before walking up to her. Dad unwrapped his arm from around her, and I cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

“We will be back within a few hours. We might be a little late, but I don’t want you worrying, okay?” I said, my voice softening before she nodded. I smiled and nodded at Dad, who wrapped his arm around Mom and pulled her out the door.

We both waited for a few seconds before Vladimir turned his attention to me. I wasn’t stupid; I knew that something was wrong—or at least that something had happened. He just didn’t speak so as not to disturb Mom, who I knew would grow nervous if something happened.

“One of the girls is missing.”

“Which one?” I asked, frowning in confusion. He shook his head, and I raised an eyebrow.

“I am not sure. Alexander said that he brought five girls over. There are only four. The girls were questioned, but neither one of them knew who the girl even was. One of them says that she was bleeding,” he said, and I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose. This was the last thing we needed right now, but then again, I knew not to expect any less from the Italians.

“Find the woman and bring her to me,” I said, glaring at the wall ahead of me. “Also, I don’t want anyone finding out about this. The last thing we need right now is for a problem to occur, and if Elton thinks that this would be a method for us to agree to work with him, then he is in for a surprise that he is not going to like.”

“Also, I want all the girls in my office when we are back from the club,” I said, walking out of the office, knowing that Vladimir would follow once he’s given the proper orders for what I asked.

“Let’s see what we have to deal with this time…”