Page 19 of Odin

At the bottom of the page, there were a few group shots. In the bottom corner was Cordelia, standing between two boys with each arm wrapped around one of them. The boy on the left was a younger version of Alex. The boy on the right was Anthony Martino, but I knew him by his profession. I was looking at a younger version of the chief of police.

I shut the book and silently handed it back to him.

"He wasn't always so law-abiding. His father was underboss for the Conti family before the merger. Tony was the first son in the hierarchy, so it was natural that he was being groomed to take over for the entire empire. However, when you listen to him campaign, you would never think he'd been a part of the underworld."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"He was my best friend in high school, but now I don't recognize him, and it's not because he wears a uniform." He took a deep breath and stared off into space. "Doc, I am only telling you this because I think you'll handle business the way the correct way, and then I can wash my hands of this mess. We'll never speak about this.

"My father was an associate of the Conti family. That's how we became friends. However, Cordelia and Tony were an arranged marriage that would happen at the end of senior year. Theyactually dated and liked each other, so it wasn't a hardship, as some of these things go. It was a perfect solution, except they didn't bank on Giuseppe Lombardo starting a turf war. Sure, they were friends, but they had the same vision, and Lombardo was better at muscling out the competition, no matter who it was.

"He pursued the Conti soldiers with a vengeance, leaving good men for dead. The Lombardos didn't stop and went after anyone with an affiliation. It was so rough my father had to declare that he was no longer an associate. Tony lost his father in the first round of targets. They think Lorenzo Lombardo was the trigger, but no one knows for sure. Right after that, he lost his mind. Tony wasn't taking chances, and he married Cordelia in a private ceremony.

"Now, he has a personal vendetta against the Italians. You would too if they made you annul your marriage and abort your kid over a turf war. I wouldn't normally care to be involved–they're not my enemies, and they don't affect my business–but he's not focused on the streets, where he needs to be. There are new players popping up that shouldn't be, which makes it harder on everyone else. I am afraid there's no coming back from that."

***

It was late when I crept into the penthouse. Six puking kids later, and I had been glad when my phone had gone silent. They were going to be fine, but it had to run through their systems. Their parents were worried, and since they paid well, I went with it.

The penthouse was dark as I stepped off the elevator. Not hearing a sound, I stripped to my boxers, leaving my clothes at the doorway. If I had picked something up from the kids, I didn't want it traveling any further. I headed to the livingroom to check and make sure the girls were alright. I really wanted a shower first, but my desire to see Serena overrode any reasonable thought. I stopped and stood in the living room. My wife was curled up on one couch, asleep. Katalina was on the other, asleep. The coffee table was overflowing with plates full of snacks, and some dumb show was playing on the TV.

I didn't clean up, but I turned the TV off. They looked comfortable enough that I wasn't too worried. Walking over to Serena, I watched her for a few seconds before I kissed her forehead.

"Odin? You stink." Her eyes weren't open, and I doubted she'd remember this conversation tomorrow.

I shushed her quietly. "I am home, baby. Go back to sleep." I kissed her again and turned to Katalina. She was facing the back of the couch, and when I took a picture, she didn't even move. Sending it to Volkov, I let him know she was safe and that I would see her home in the morning. He saw the message but never responded.

As I washed the night away, I replayed the conversation I had had with Alex.

There must have come a point where it wasn’t practical anymore to fight each other. The other factions of the city had been formed by then. If I had to guess, they were encroaching on the embattled territory. The two men had quickly squashed their beef and arranged the marriage of their kids. Everyone lived happily ever after, and no one paid attention to the destruction they'd left in their wake.

It was probably the chief's life mission to take down the Lombardos. The Old Man especially. They'd cost him his father, his first love, and his kid. I could understand that. If someone tried to take Serena from me, I’d go on the warpath. An eighteen-year-old kid wouldn’t have the same resources, and each year probably added another layer of bitterness.

The question now was, could Serena’s mother, Cordelia, still be in touch with her high school sweetheart?

Chapter 10

Serena

This was torture.

This might have been worse than torture.

I'd been through enough that I shouldn't be thinking like this.

I smiled as Mrs. told another stupid joke. They weren't even funny, and her continuous attempts at humor were falling flat. She'd make someone not even present the butt of the joke, and then laugh like it was the funniest thing ever. She'd throw her head back and let loose. I swore her laughter bounced off the ceiling. An awkward silence would settle over the table after each joke. No one wanted to tell her she was only talking to inflate her own importance.

My parents were both full-blooded Italians, but my grandfather's career choices had made our family a pillar in the community. It wasn't uncommon for the family to donate a large sum of money to a community fundraiser, only to turn around and work the streets the only way they knew how. As prominent Italians, my mother and I were members of the Italian Women'sSociety, and every couple of months, they held a luncheon. There was a wide representation in the room, from politician's wives like Mrs. , to trophy wives and businesswomen in their own right. The requirements for membership were simple: be Italian and have a bankroll.

I had made a face and told Odin this morning that I would be in attendance. I hadn't been feeling happy-go-lucky this morning, and my husband had tried to make it better. He had cracked a few jokes about making some connections, but when they didn't work, he had kissed me senseless and told me to call if I needed him. Little did he know we didn't want the connections these people offered. I would rather be anywhere else but here. Preferably in bed with him.

I let my mind wander to my husband. He always tied a small ponytail at the back of his head, and I often wanted to pull the tie and run my fingers through his hair, to scratch his beard and trap my fingers in it as I kissed him. If Odin was home for a while, he'd walk around in his black boxer shorts. I often caught myself staring at the muscles on display and imagining what it would be like to lick them. Lost in my own musings, I didn't realize that I was smiling. The last anecdote Mrs. De Luca had told was far from amusing.

My mother elbowed me in the side, and I quickly tried to rearrange my lips back into a poker face. It was too late. Mrs. De Luca had seen my smile and was moving in to humiliate me for it.

“Serena, what are you thinking about, dear?” she asked me. She could smell blood in the air and moved to strike. I braced myself for the impact, but I wasn't providing her any more gossip than necessary.

God, how did I get out of this one? When I had realized I had feelings for Odin,it had caught me off guard. There was a wide range of emotions that I wasn't ready or willing to unpack.

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