Married to the Mafia Boss

Evgenii

As Gregori drives from the property, I call Ivan’s phone. He doesn’t answer, it just rings. I tell Gregori to head for his house, he’s probably not near his phone or trying to arrange something.

When we pull up to the house, I run inside and nearly bowl Tori over. “Evgenii, what’s wrong?”

I am frantic as I say, “Shirley’s been kidnapped. I need Ivan to give me men to go find her.”

Tori’s eyes widen. “He isn’t here. He said he had a meeting.”

“Did he say where?” I ask, running a hand through my hair. I can’t think straight. I know it’s that fucking Mikhail who’s behind this. Even if Ivan doesn’t believe me, I can’t rule him out as the most likely suspect.

Tori shakes her. “He didn’t say. He just told me to stay here, not to go out anywhere because it’s dangerous.”

I nod. “Okay… Okay.”

“Go to Alessandro,” she says suddenly.

Yes, Shirley is like a sister to him. He must know by now she’s taken. He’s the next best person to help me, even if I’m acting erratic.

I get to the house, and a guard comes out of it as I walk quickly toward it. “Evgenii, calm down.”This is from NôvelDrama.Org.

“Is he here?”

He steps aside, and something tells me Alessandro is expecting me. I vaguely recall where his office is, and my attention is quickly caught by the sound of Ivan speaking to someone. I walk in that direction and into his study.

Alessandro and Ivan both look at me, calm and collected.

This pisses me off, so I storm forward. “Have you any idea what’s happening? Shirley’s been taken! A dozen of our finest men have been slaughtered. My house looks like a horror film. Give me men, give me the best soldiers from both families, and I’ll go find Mikhail and ring his fucking neck until he tells me where she is.”

Ivan gives me a harsh look. “Remember your place, Evgenii.”

I clench my fists, but I don’t respond.

I watch as Alessandro gets up from his table and walks to a small table to his left. He pours some expensive-looking whiskey into a glass and comes to me. “Come sit down.”

I know they’re trying to keep me calm, but I don’t want to be calm. The woman I love has been kidnapped. I can’t step out of line, though, so I take the glass and take a huge gulp.

Alessandro doesn’t seem surprised and sits back down, crossing his legs. “We’ve already got our best men on the street scouring for any clue. Shirley isn’t like my sister. She is my sister, as much as Arianna is, and I will do whatever is necessary to find her and bring her home where we can keep her safe.”

I look at Ivan as he sips his own drink, nodding while Alessandro speaks. “We also need to manage damage control for the mass shooting at your property. I suggest we sell it and move you somewhere safer. Your days of anonymity at that address are clearly over.”

I look at Ivan incredulously. He’s worried about damage control. “Mikhail is instigating this. The truces with our two families are just a ruse. I would stake my life on it.”

Ivan looks at Alessandro as the younger man speaks. “I also think Mikhail is running this. The man is just… too present at the moment. Especially where Shirley is involved, but…” he pauses as I down the rest of my drink, “I think he’s doing this against his father’s wishes. Rumor is that his father is back as Don because Mikhail was basically bankrupting the family with parties, drugs, and prostitutes.”

I turn back to Ivan, feeling like I’m the tennis ball between two players looking back and forth. “Personally, I don’t think Mikhail would have the balls to betray his father. The man’s love for puncture wounds, salt, and lemon juice are legendary is his fondness for slowly burning the skin off with acid.” He says it so casually, and I’m not surprised because I’ve heard the same thing. “But Alessandro believes he is cunning enough to work through others to achieve what he wants.”

Alessandro gets up and collects our glasses for a refill. “If you’re wondering why we’re calm, Dominic and Carmine are tracking down the little asshole right now. Once they know where the little rat has holed up, they will pick him up. We can then extract what information we need from him and return him to his family to be dealt with.”

I put my head in my hands. “If they hurt her…”

“Evgenii, I give my word, I will find Shirley before any harm comes to her or the baby.”

I almost get whiplash from looking up so quickly. “Baby? Shirle’s pregnant?”

“So many pregnant women, sometimes I mistake who’s pregnant and who’s not,” Alessandro tries to backtrack as casually as he can, but I see Ivan doesn’t buy it either and looks at his business partner knowingly.

Alessandro sighs. “I promised Shirley that I wouldn’t tell you she’s pregnant. She wants to tell you herself.”

I’m flabbergasted. Of all the surprises that have been sprung on me over my forty years of life, I never thought of myself as a father.

But that just cements that I need to be the one to save her.

I put my glass down with a thunk and practically leap from the armchair I’m sitting in, but before I can even consider raising my voice, Ivan snaps, “Sit down, Evgenii, you’re no good riled up, and you won’t solve any problems going in half-cocked.”

“I need to do something,” I plead with him. “Waiting for something to happen will drive me mad. You know this, Ivan. You have a wife and children you adore.”

Before Ivan can respond, there’s a loud knock on the open door, and we all look at Carmine standing there with Dominic.

“We have CCTV footage that proves Mikhail was the last person to speak to Shirley. She went for an appointment with a Dr. Green, then she spoke to him in the lobby, and finally she got into the car and was followed to the house,” he explains. “We got the plates of the car that followed them, and you won’t believe this power move, but it belongs to the Pacheco family.”

I glance at Ivan as he stands up and buttons his suit jacket. “Alessandro can gather his men and go to the Pacheco mansion. It’s barely protected because they’re so remote. Also, they don’t think we know, so they won’t expect an assault of any kind. If I were a gambling man, I would bet that is where Shirley is being held. Carmine, Evgenii, and Dominic can take some of my men and go pay back the Pacheco family for their kindness by attacking the biggest drug-distributing houses that belong to them. Kill anyone who’s armed. We will send a message that our families are not to be trifled with.”

He looks at Alessandro, who nods. “Except I doubt Evgenii wants to go anywhere but the Pacheco mansion.”

He’s right. I want to be in on that, and I want to get Shirley back. I look at Ivan, who nods. “Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment.”

Alessandro smirks as he stands next to Ivan. “Oh, I have no doubt Evgenii will kill every last person in that house.”

I look at them, clenching my jaw. “Do you have weapons?”

Alessandro chuckles. “Do I have weapons?”

He starts walking, followed by Ivan and the others. I follow. He leads us out the back door and toward a large building. There are three on the property that I can see from where I’m standing. The other two buildings look like cottages, so probably family members that live here. The third looks like a vast storage unit with guards surrounding it. A guard scans a card, and his fingerprint and the big garage door rolls up.

The lights come on automatically as we walk into what is definitely an armory stocked well enough for a small city coup.

Alessandro holds his arms open. “Bags are in the back with the body armor. Tech will be provided from another location by Carmine. Help yourselves, except for that little enclosure in the back. That is my personal collection.”

Ivan and I curiously walk over to see some fast-action revolvers, somewhat over-the-top-looking guns, and Ivan chuckles. “Not bad. You should come to my compound sometime. I’ll give you a tour of our stock.”

We spread out, and I pick up a bag, and after selecting several handguns, I start loading the bag with ammo. Then I load the guns and put them in the holsters I secure to my body.

When I’m done, I walk to the entrance, where most of the team is waiting for me. Alessandro raises an eyebrow. “You really are going to kill everyone in that mansion.”

I nod thoughtfully. “Every person there knows Shirley is being held captive, possibly being hurt. They all will pay for not having a part in freeing her.”

We walk out of the storage building that starts to lock up.

I’m coming, Shirley.