Mafia's Devil part 20

LUCIANO

I exhale and touch my forearm. It burns, but the injury is a mere scratch. The makeshift bandage will have to be changed. That can wait until I’m done with business.

“I’ll have the list like I said.” My investigator stands up while I remain seated.

My uninjured hand comes to my face and I rub hard enough to see stars.  that shape into a little figure I know all too well. Karine.

I was supposed to prepare a shipment of guns to Japan and have it ready by tonight, but I’ve done nothing the past few days. I’ve been too busy with Karine running circles around me.

It feels like I’m losing. I don’t know to who. Maybe to Karine, maybe to her father, maybe to the fuckup that’s engaged to her.

I don’t lose. Ever.

I’m not sure what I’m trying to achieve by hiring this investigator, but it has something to do with that woman. I want her to run after me so I can complain that she’s a pest. I want to keep pretending I don’t want that little ankle-biter around, but I can’t do that if she’s no longer around.

Karine is many things, but boring is not one of them. She entertains me, and I’m not through with her yet.

I stand up and get in the shower; the water setting my injury on fire. With a scowl, I wipe the cut with alcohol and replace the bandage. I don’t want my hands on myself, but Karine’s.

With the bandage set in place, I check my temperature. My fever broke days ago, and I’m one sick son of a bitch for wishing otherwise.

Just as my investigator promised, he has the file ready overnight. I’m in a downtown building, stuck in a meeting, when the email comes in.

I swipe through the contents and scoff loudly when I see the the photographs of two bare-faced babies. These rich boys can’t be a day over twenty-one. They’re soft-headed, and soft-bodied with hands that don’t have a single callous.

I clear my throat loudly, irritated as fuck. I’m a man, not a boy like these two pieces of shit. Clearly, I’m the best candidate.

“You’ve got to be joking,” I mutter. “Nothing compared to me.”

“Uh… sir? Are the results not to your liking?”

I look up and find twelve very confused executives.

This is different. Usually, I’m very attentive in meetings and scrutinize every pixel that my employees present to me.

I scowl at the man at the front, because he looks just like one boy in the email.

“Carry on.”

He keeps talking, but instead of listening, I sneak more peeks at my computer.

KARINE

When I’m sure that I lost Luciano, I ran back home in time to find Maksim in my yard. He brought more men and cars than Luciano, who I’m glad to not see anywhere.

Maksim speaks fast-paced Russian with my father, his legs spread wide and arms crossed over his chest in a defense position that eerily reminds me of Luciano.

How can these two be so similar but have such different plans for me?

“Karine,” Maksim regards me.

“Привет,” I greet him. “You didn’t have to come here.”

“Of course I did. Your father should have told me earlier, before this nonsense got this far. What is going on with you and that mutt? Is he blackmailing you? When did you last see him?”

These are questions I don’t want to answer, but Maksim is the head of my family, and I know he won’t bend on this.

“Please do nothing in my regard.” I rub my temples. This got too complicated, too quickly.

“I’m already involved. You’ll save me a lot of time if you answer my questions.” He pauses when another car turns the corner. He tenses for a split second before relaxing.

“That’s one of my cars. It…” he trails off when when passenger seat opens and his wife steps out.

“Raelynn!”

If I weren’t used to Luciano’s outbursts, Maksim’s voice would have tossed me on my ass.

He’s not happy to see Raelynn. His men part to let her through, not daring to look at her because she’s scarier than Maksim— not because she’d harm them, but because if any harm came to her then Maksim would rain hell.

Raelynn is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The twins are nowhere in sight. She runs until she’s beside Maksim, who is already commanding her to return to the car.

“It’s not safe out here,” he tells her as he grasps her arm.

I don’t want him to take her away, though. Raelynn may be my only chance at keeping him calm and forgetful.

“It’s safe. Luciano left,” I tell him.

“How do you know that?” Maksim asks.

It’s a gut feeling. An odd one. I’ve never been superstitious or nearly as crazy as my mother, but I swear the hairs at the back of my neck rise when Luciano enters a room. I know he’s not around anymore.

“I’m fine,” Raelynn assures as she slips her hand into Maksim’s. “You left so suddenly that I had to come after you.”

He squeezes her hand and tugs her in front of him so she’s out of the line of fire.

“Here’s what will happen,” he declares. “I need to know why Luciano is tied up with you, and then I’ll put three holes in him as a message to any other bastard that’s thinking of staining my family name.”

He continues ranting, but my eyes are on Raelynn. I plead silently because Maksim won’t listen to me when I tell him to calm down. We’re only cousins, but Raelynn is his world. Her word means a lot more than mine.

A worried Raelynn stares back. She knows all about how Maksim overreacts.

I mouth a ‘please,’ to her, and that seems to do the trick because she turns and clutches onto Maksim’s jacket. “Baby, I’m not feeling well.”

Maksim is instantly de-railed. “What? Why not? What’s wrong?”

My shoulders relax, because this distraction will earn me at least a few more hours of peace.

“Uh… girl stuff,” Raelynn says. “Let’s go inside. I’ll spend some time with Karine. Will you wait for me in the living room, baby?”

He nods eagerly. “Of course. I’ll call a doctor.”

“No need.”

“But—”

“Remember what we talked about? I’ll be okay after spending some time with Karine.”

I’m amazed at how quickly Maksim’s demeanor changes. Raelynn is an artist.

We go inside, and I lead her right to my room as the men stay downstairs.

“So?” Raelynn says from my bed. “Spill the beans. Are you fucking Luciano?”

a/n: hehe, she soon will be