Page 15 of Betrayed in the Dark
“Yes,” Vin answers as if it should have been obvious.
I take another gulp of water as I mull over his request. “I’ll do what I can.”
“Good.” He scratches at his facial hair. “I’ve arranged a meeting for you and Leo with Alastor’s stepbrother, Enzio, at his club in the city tonight.”
My brows cinch in confusion. “And why would we meet with an enemy in his territory?”
“Because Enzio has been cast aside by Alastor and their father, Adolfo. He was always set to become the CEO of Manacorda Enterprises, but after Alastor announced his engagement to Madeleine, there were some changes in the family business structure.”
“You think Alastor’s using her as a pawn in his family’s schemes?”
“Possibly. But I think you’ll gain better insight after speaking with Enzio. Face to face.”
“And you trust him?”
“We are not privileged to trust others in our world, but he wants what we want. To bring his stepbrother down.”
I toss my water to the side and then lean against a pole, stretching my arms across the top of the rope. “I might be stating the obvious here, but instead of wasting time uncovering everything, can’t we just make him disappear?” That’s how we usually resolve issues with this family. Why should this matter be any different?
“If only it were that simple,” Leo answers, giving Vin a pointed glare.
Vin rolls his eyes. “If we kill him, we risk going to war with the Russians. The Vasiliev family, to be more precise. Andseeing that we recently killed the head of their family and have a…future arrangement with them to uphold…” He tugs on his collar. “We need to try to stay level-headed in this situation. Or at least for as long as possible until we’re left with no choice but to kill him. If it comes to that, I will take full responsibility for it. But it needs to be our last resort.”
“Not that any of the Vasiliev sons seemed too upset about the loss of dear old daddy Igor,” Leo remarks. “Although, as far as I’m aware, they’re still under the impression that his death was caused by the explosion and not by me.”
“Wait…” I process Vin’s words. “Future arrangement?”
“You don’t want to know.” Leo shakes his head. “Let’s just say when we needed a favor from our cousins, the Marchettis, well—”
“I’d prefer not to discuss that right now. My sister’s safety is more important than any favor owed,” Vin states firmly.
“Okay…” I glance between them. “But how are the Manacorda and Vasiliev families connected? What am I missing?”
Vin lets out a heavy sigh. “Not only are the Manacorda and Vasiliev families related by blood, but they are also business partners. They have worked closely together for years, dealing in oil in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq.” The mention of that country churns my stomach. A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck, and I clench my teeth as I fight back the nausea, swallowing the lump in my throat. “It’s common knowledge in our world that because of their connections and land ownership in Iraq, the Vasiliev family has enabled the Manacorda family to transport oil directly from the country without going through the proper channels. In return, the Vasilievs receive a significant profit for each barrel sold. The more oil that is transported, the wealthier both families become,” Vin explains. “Basically, they scratch each other’s backs, and if we decide to kill Alastor for no good reason except that he’s engaged to our sister…”
“Then you risk creating an enemy of the Alarie family,” I respond, understanding the implications. “A rather powerful one.”
“Exactly.” Vin nods. “We must start taking extra precautions whenever necessary, which is something we should have been doing from the beginning. The women in this family are our top priority, and we need to do everything possible to ensure their safety. So, yes, your primary job is to keep Madeleine safe, but we also need you to be our eyes and ears in the hopes of finding out what’s really going on between these two.”
“Of course.”
“Madeleine is used to doing whatever she pleases,” Leo adds. “She hasn’t had a bodyguard in years—not since our father’s death—so having someone around her all the time will be difficult for her.”
“I can handle her.”
He nods. “We’ll need this problem resolved before the wedding day.”
My stomach plummets.The wedding day. Fuck, I don’t like hearing that. “Is there a date yet?”
Leo sighs, looking at Vin. “New Year’s Eve.”
My heart thuds heavily beneath my rib cage as every muscle in my body tenses.She chose a date. A date that is just over a month away.
I stretch my neck to the side. “How often do they see each other?”
“As far as we can tell, not often. He’s been to the estate only a handful of times. His primary residence is in Italy, where he spends most of his time, only visiting the States when required for business. When he does, he stays in his penthouse in the city,” Leo answers.
Good. The fewer times I have to deal with Alastor, the better. The thought of seeing them together sends a burning ragethrough me. It was hard enough to restrain myself at their engagement party, where I nearly threw her over my shoulder and took her away from all this bullshit like some caveman.
