Page 119 of Little Deer
“I don’t fucking care. She’s mine, Massimo. We’re both too fucking stubborn, but she has never had someone to fight for her before now. Her whole life has been a lie, and I fucking knew it, deep down, but I could never get it out of her. So it’s time someone showed her that she’s not fucking alone, and she’s not acommodity to pass around for people’s whims and pleasures. So I’m going to fucking get her.”
“Papa needs to approve?—”
“I already have,” Papa’s voice says quietly from the doorway. I turn to see him, Aurelio, and Alessio standing there, grim expressions on their faces. He looks at Alonzo. “And she’s the one you want? You love her?”
I glance at Alonzo, sure that he’ll balk at such a statement. Instead, he nods. “I’m going to be the one to marry her, Pietro. We’re going to drive each other insane, but she’s what I want.” He looks at his father, and Aurelio nods in understanding, a soft smile pulling at his lips.
“If she’s the one you want, then get her. But know that your life is not going to be easy,” Pietro warns. He holds up his hand when Alonzo’s mouth twists into a scowl. “No, wait. I’m not saying that because I don’t like her or won’t accept her. She’s a very smart, and strong woman. She put her life on the line to be here, and she’s helped us in more ways than we can repay. She lied about Tatiana, yes, but I can understand the reasons. I can also see that it hurt her to leave, not just Hades, but you. But she’s Russian, and Italians and Russians don’t mix normally. It may not be an easy life with them trying to undo that, or trying to punish her for leaving them, but we’ll be behind you both.”
Alonzo nods, stoic, but I can see the relief in his eyes, in the way his body subtly relaxes. “Thank you, Pietro. I’ve thought of that, but I find that I don’t care. If it means we have to fight, then we fight. Rori is…she’s everything for me, and I was an idiot who couldn’t see it and hurt her in the process. So I’m getting her back, and I’m going to fix it one way or another.”
“Good. You’ll take Hades, and one man with you,” Papa orders. He holds up a hand to starve off the argument. “Non-negotiable, Alonzo. Someone needs to be with you and report back to us in case you need help. One call, and we’ll be there.”He smirks. “We’ve won one war, getting involved in another one with the Russians will be a piece of cake.”
We all chuckle. “I’ll take Ivano or Titus with me,” Alonzo agrees. “Titus has worked with the dogs back home, so I’d prefer him, because he can handle Hades when I can’t be there.”
“Good. Nico has offered his plane to get you where you need to go.” Papa looks at me, Alessio, and Aurelio. “Urso and Zeno have offered to stay to help get things figured out here, but the rest of us need to get home. We’ve been away for too long. If you need us, we’ll come, but Urso and Zeno can get to you faster, along with Nico and his men if needed.”
Alonzo nods and grabs his bag, hefting it over his shoulder. He looks at me. We’ve always done this shit together, and I feel guilty that I can’t go with him. I can see the understanding on his face. “Take your woman and son home, Massimo. I’ll be fine.” Then he looks at Alessio. “And try not to get shot before you leave. Nico’s got no reason not to kill you now.”
Alessio scoffs, waving that away. “I’m just getting that stick out of his ass a little faster. Besides, we all know he loves me.” He claps his hand on Alonzo’s shoulder, even if it is a bit of a stretch. “Sienna will kill me if anything happens to Rori, so try to get both of you home in one piece. I already have the other women trying to calm her down and keep her from going after them herself.” He smirks. “Might have to put those knots to use again to keep her from running off.”
“Tell her that I’ll bring her friend home.” Then he shakes hands with his father and Papa, and calls for Hades. I watch Hades follow him, still a bit unsure as he whines. Alonzo bends down to rub at the top of his head, and then they disappear out the door.
I turn to look at my father. “This is such a fucking mess.”
He nods. “But we’re cleaning it up.”
“I can’t fucking believe that she’s an assassin,” Alessio huffs. “I mean, she was so sweet, just like Amara.”
“That’s the fucking scariest part. She was exactly like Amara until she wasn’t. She’s fucking deadly. And we have no idea how long she’s been here. She got in without being seen on cameras and she managed to do all that shit with getting everyone here without us ever catching on.” I shake my head in amazement. “I see why Ivan was so fucking scared of her.”
“What I don’t understand is how someone can do that being only, what, twenty-five? She’s barely a year older than Gia,” Alessio points out.
“There have been rumors of the Russians taking the best they have and molding them into what they want them to be. It’s brutal, and most don’t survive it,” Papa says, frowning. “If she were part of that, I can see why she’s the way she is. They would break her, and I doubt that she can be helped or put back together. She is who she is.”
It’s an uneasy thought to think of her getting close to us again. That she can come and go as she pleases, and we’ll never be the wiser. The thought of her getting close to Soren and Lucy again sets me on edge. I just have to hope that despite what she said about not really caring about any of them or us, other than maybe Amara, some loyalty will have her leaving us all alone.
We’re a somber group as we finally make our way down to the basement, but I stop when I walk inside and see all the women standing there, including Sofia and Ada. Nico looks furious as he glares down at Gia. “Absolutely fucking not,” he seethes. “All of you get the hell out of here. Now.”
“We’re owed this, Nico,” Gia snaps, her own temper having her stepping right into him and poking a finger in his chest. “And you’re not going to stand in our way. Don’t kill them in front of us if it upsets you, but we get to say our piece.”
“This isn’t?—”
“This is exactly what they need,” Papa interjects firmly. Nico pins him with a furious glare. I quickly step up to Lucy, but I don’t see Soren. I look around and don’t see him in the arms of anyone else.
“Where’s Soren?” I ask her quietly.
“Kida has him. She’s with Zeno and Urso in Nico’s office, trying to get Nico’s systems back online or something. I didn’t want him down here.” I nod, though I’m still feeling uneasy about him being away from us. “I feel the same way, too,” she whispers, looking up at me. “But…I had to be here for this. I just, I knew I had to.”
“I understand,cerbiatta.” And I do. She might have only just gotten involved, but she should see that she has nothing to fear from any of them again.
“You don’t go near them,” Nico orders through clenched teeth. “They don’t get to breathe the same fucking air as you ever again.”
“Is that the point of all of this?” Sienna points out lightly. “I mean, they’re all going to die anyway.” Nico pins her with a glare, but she ignores him, just focuses on the men in front of her. Then she looks at Sinead. “And this is the bitch Marco married, huh?” She wrinkles her nose. “There’s no accounting for taste, is there?”
“Shut up, whore,” Sinead snarls.
Sienna laughs. “I don’t think you’re the one in the position to give orders, bitch. You really thought you were going to win all of this, huh? That Marco of all people would help you take over your father’s territory, and then the rest of the city? What, you wanted to be a fucking queen or something?”
