Page 6 of Angelo's Vengeance

"I left a note this time," he said defensively as if that made up for it.

I tapped my glass against the table. "We talkin’ business first, or are we just here to bust Maxim’s balls for being a glorified babysitter?"

Ilias smirked. "Why choose?"

Maxim sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "You’re all just bitter. When it’s your turn, I’m going to bust your chops. When’s your wife going to give you one, Con?"

Conall shrugged. "When she thinks the time is right, or maybe we’ll just cuddle on this one and offer to babysit. It’ll be the best of both worlds. We’ll get to love on a baby and then give it back.”

I could fill in the blanks, but I didn’t say anything. My sister had complicated feelings about her childhood and our mother. She always said she didn’t want to marry or be a wife. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any real choice regarding the wife part. The blood oath we’d had to sign years ago sealed her fate. Thankfully, Conall was a good man, and they seemed happy together. I knew that Conall would love nothing more than a house full of children, but he would let her decide if she wanted them.

So far, of the four of us, it has been nice to see Maxim and Conall happily married. I wouldn’t go so far as to admit that the blood promise our fathers insisted on sealing their unholy alliance with was a good thing, but the four of us became friends because of it. It was also the motivation we needed to ensure our fathers died because of it… so maybe some good things had come from it. I also knew Cora and Francesca wouldn’t change anything. It helped me knowing that — marginally.

The words barely left his mouth before Ilias and I side-eyed him at the same time. "You are married, O’Kelly," Ilias drawled. "You need to study some ‘Art of War’ or some shit. Wage a campaign or something. You want kids, right?"

Conall scowled, rolling his eyes. "I’m not going to war with my wife, you dipshit, and you have no room to talk. You’re not even married yet, you know jack shit.”

The Irishman growled something under his breath about Greek bastards, but I waved him off, steering us back to the reason we were here. I didn’t want to get into a talk about wives or women. That was a quagmire of a topic for all sorts of reasons, and one I didn’t want to think about either. It brought up thoughts that were better left in the dark.

“Speaking of war and hostile takeovers, can we get to business? Take care of some issues? That’s why I drove over here to meet with you, arsewipes."

"Sure, sure. Let’s not admire the majesty of the club," I sulked, though I didn’t trulymean it. I knew they appreciated all the work done here, twice.

Fortunehad always held significant meaning for all of us. First, it was where our fathers had made us take the blood oath. We burned that rundown piece of trash to the ground, howling like crazed maniacs the entire time, the heat of the flames on our backs and the thrill of rebellion slamming through our veins like the best drug in the world. Then, when we had established ourselves, we bought the property and eventually builtFortune, transforming it into a refuge for ourselves. Unfortunately, it was burned to the ground in an almost ironic twist that I doubted the man who did it even understood. Looking back on it now, it was nearly funny. Dante Caruso had no idea when he did it that we had burnt the original club.

Maxim cooed, "Uncle Angelo did great, didn’t he, Vasily?" He smirked. "Even though he had a practice run."

"Fucker. Give me my nephew. I want to hold him." I reached for the baby but lost to Conall after a bitter tug-of-war with Maxim.

"You guys suck. This is supposed to be daddy time,” Maxim whined.

"Well, you bring him here and have to share." Conall shrugged. "Not our problem if you don’t like it. Let’s hit the highlights before Cora shows up and wants your balls."

“I hate you all.” He peered over at his son, tucked into Conall’s arms as if contemplating snatching him back, but I knew that it gave him endless satisfaction to have his child so loved, even if he had to sacrifice a little bit of his bonding time. He reached over and tossed a few peanuts in his mouth. “Business then,” he said sternly. “I am seeing gains and strong profits from our business on the West Coast. Cartels are pushing products, but you guys know that. We encountered some trouble recently with our trucking supply in Arizona, but I had Maddox and Pike take care of that," Maxim shrugged.

The Volkov Bratva operated on both coasts, greatly benefiting the Commission because we could leverage Maxim’s connections. When we agreed to collaborate, we arranged to protect each other and share in profits whenever possible. Naturally, we each had our own territory, some of which remained distinct. Ilias, in particular, was likehis own little island and was as rich as Croesus.

Pike Walters was married to Maxim’s cousin, Natasha Petrova Walters, managed a one-percenter motorcycle club in Arizona, and had a connection to another MC. This had proven useful more than once. Pike’s brother, Eli, now worked exclusively for Maxim in his operations in California, although the guy was such a wildcard that I was surprised Maxim allowed it.

"I also heard from a bratva in Moscow, the Antonovs, that they’re looking for territory in Jersey. They’re aiming to… collaborate,” Maxim added.

"Color me intrigued," Ilias leaned in. "Why would they be interested in Jersey, of all places?"

"Apparently, they want to work with the Volkovs, which would give them a foothold in America. I’m researching them myself, but I wouldn’t mind if everyone else looked into them and shared their opinions. I’m uncertain how much influence we can exert. If I discover they aren’t the type of people we want to do business with, we can make theirlives pretty miserable if they come anyway. That might be fun," he added with a smirk.

"I’ll check it out. I’ve heard of them, but I’ll dig deeper," Ilias said, pulling out his phone to start a text thread.

I had no doubt he was texting one of his brothers to look into it. The Anthakos family was large. Ilias had two brothers and two sisters—one of whom was a pain in my ass. Both brothers were heavily involved in the Anthakos smuggling and shipping empire, with connections everywhere. Typically, if there was information out there, Ilias’s brother Kostas could find it. However, I’d be surprised if Maxim’s contact couldn’t uncover everything on her own. Veronica Walters was a hacking superstar, and while I didn’t mention it to Maxim, I relied on her all the time. He’d be a little pissed off to know I was contacting her—not that I gave a shit.

"Not that you’re not great … but why are they eager to work with you?" Conall asked. He had been occupied with little Vasily, and I must admit the guy was a natural with babies.

"They want to work withus, actually. We’re making a name for ourselves in certain circles, according to Matvey Antonov.Efficient at business, brutal, loyal, and anti-trafficking."

I didn’t mind how that sounded, and I could tell from how everyone shifted that it didn’t bother anyone. Our reputations in business were solid, and we stood firm against trafficking. Our fathers had been pieces of shit, but we didn’t have to be. We’d been born into the business, but we all agreed that we’d dismantle that part of what they’d built. If we were proud of anything, it was that we’d made progress in that area.

Maxim rubbed a hand over his jaw, looking more than a little tired—one of the joys of having a baby in the house. Still, the little guy was pretty cute with his tiny fingers and toes. Even the eyelashes were intriguing, fanning out from each eyelid perfectly, just like a doll.

"The Antonovs value loyalty," he shrugged. Conall frowned, and we all immediately thought of Cosimo Oliveto. He had blown smoke up our asses about how impressed he was with our loyalty to each other. In the end, all he wanted was information about his brother’s death, which meant he had been looking for Francesca and Theo. Notgood. “They have a big family. We’ll look into them. See what we find. I just wanted to let you know about the contact so we’re all on the same page. We don’t want to be surprised again.”

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