Page 129 of Betrayed in the Dark
“I’m so sorry, Vin.” She sniffles, struggling to hold back tears. “I didn’t mean to get the family involved in all of this. I just wanted to save Eli.” She pauses before continuing, “I know I’ve let you down, but please don’t look at me like that. I can’t bear disappointing—”
Vin’s bulky arms wrap around her, cutting off her words as he pulls her against his chest.
“Dammit, Madeleine,” he says firmly. “Why didn’t you come to me? I’m your big brother. I’m supposed to take care of shit like this. I’m supposed to take care of you, and I failed you.”
She softens in his hold, her armor breaking as tears slide down her cheeks. Throwing her arms around him, she says, “I couldn’t tell you. Not any of you. I wanted to. So many times, I came close to it, but I couldn’t risk it. I’m so sorry.”
“Shh.” He rubs his hand in soft circles against her back. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You took care of one of our own, and you did it knowing what that would mean for you. You’re so fucking selfless. I just, I wish I had figured out what was going on sooner.”
Leo, Mauro, and Alex approach her as Vin releases her.
“We’re family,” Leo says. “There is nothing we wouldn’t do for you.”
Mauro’s hand lands on her shoulder, and her eyes look up to meet his. “Fam… Family,” he manages to say in a gravelly whisper.
“You’re the glue that holds us together,” Alex tells her with a slight smile. “Besides, we’re the Alaries. We’ll take care of this in the same manner we always take care of things.”
Madeleine glances between all of them. “With guns, blood, and violence?”
“But, of course,” Vin answers, flashing a wide, white-toothed grin. “Would you expect anything less?”
She shakes her head, a small smile briefly appearing before just as quickly fading away. “What are we going to do?”
“Well.” He rubs his palm over his cheek, scratching at his facial hair, appearing deep in thought before turning to Alex. “If I get you Alastor’s phone, how long will it take you to decode the calls and find what we need?”
Alex shrugs. “If I preprogram my system with the correct code words to flag, I can have the information ready in a matter of minutes.”
“Good,” Vin replies as he rolls up his shirt sleeves.
“What are you thinking?” My hand reaches for Madeleine’s. Our fingers interlock, and all four brothers notice, their eyes fixated on our connected hands until Vin speaks.
“We act as if this wedding is still happening,” he affirms.
“And why would we do that?” I ask, not liking this idea one bit.
“Because tonight, at the rehearsal dinner, we’ll take Alastor’s phone, and then Alex will do what he does best. I want physical proof that the Vasiliev brothers are involved with this. And once we have it, I’ll call a meeting with them and the Manacordas. Tonight, after the dinner.” He sighs, rubbing his temple. “We may be a powerful family, but the Vasilievs are just as powerful. We can’t afford to make any mistakes, and we need hard evidence to back up our claims before taking action. Because when we do, this will, no doubt, start a war between our families. We need to approach them tactfully.”
“And how do you expect to get your hands on Alastor’s phone?” Madeleine asks. “He keeps it securely on himself at all times, never letting it out of his sight.”
“I have my ways,” Vin answers.
“I don’t like this idea,” I tell him. “No offense, but it feels like we’ll be outnumbered by too many of our enemies with no escape route and no backup if we need it.”
“Oh, we’ll have backup,” he affirms with a firm grip on my shoulder. “Just trust me. My plan will work. And after tonight, this whole nightmare will be over.” He motions between me and Madeleine. “Then, you two lovebirds will be free to do whatever the hell you want.”
Madeleine looks up at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Like we haven’t been doing that already.”
Vin quickly covers his ears. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” He walks around his desk and takes a seat, leaning back in his chair. He steeples his fingers before him, his eyes darkening. “It’s time to remind everyone who the Alaries are and what happens when you mess with one of our own.”
I reach for Madeleine’s hand, intertwining our fingers as I bring her hand up to my mouth, brushing my lips over her knuckles. “I won’t let you be anywhere alone with Alastor tonight. Someone will always be with you, understand?”
She looks up at me, smiling. “Yes, hu—”
“Where have you two been?” Vin’s deep voice cuts off her words as he appears by her side, fastening the buttons on his jacket sleeve.
I offer a casual shrug. “We had something we needed to take care of.” Madeleine looks up at me under her dark lashes, her eyes bright, her face glowing. “Something that couldn’t wait,” I add.
“If that’s code for a quickie, I don’t want to know about it.”
