9 ◆ Trusted Allies ◆

◆ MILES ◆

Brichese, Italy

"Your father's got balls, I must say. First one to try to do lucrative business with me." That's what Leandro had told me while he was tentatively signing the dotted lines of that revised contract.

As if the guy actually gave a crap about what that piece of paper said.

Well, it was merely for formality. Everyone knew that, including Ricchar and Mamma, because weeks before that contract signing, I could already tell Leandro and Pappa had secured a deal that would be mutually beneficial for their businesses.

"I'm just done with his shit."

At Niccolo's loud complaining and familiar scowl, I almost laughed. It seemed I wasn't the only one who had a shitty night. "Really done? You sure?"

Pretty sure his uncle wouldn't say the same. Godfather and boss, too. But I couldn't care less about Ilya's opinions of Niccolo, so, I just chuckled when Nicco kept his back to me.

"Self-centered pathological liar. Selfish fuckin' hypocrite." He swore again with a deeper frown etching dimples on his cheeks. He only swore this much whenever he was genuinely irate. Or terrified and anxious.

I had a handful of good reasons to bet on.

Pappa must have threatened to actually kill him this time. Not just torture him for hours to show dominance.

Then, perhaps my cunning father blackmailed and threatened Nicco to try to control him for the rest of his life. For most of the time, anyway.

Of course Pappa would do that to Niccolo after he got caught spying on our clan. To keep his enemies closer... That kind of bullshit.

Plus, Niccolo had abilities they constantly made use of in the family business.

I could call the cops on him now and enumerate all the criminal things he'd done the past year. But I knew well they wouldn't find any dirt on him anywhere. Guy's gotten that good at hiding his tracks. "Wait. Ilya talked to you again?" I stared at my ex, curious enough.

Because of his above average tech and surveillance skills, Niccolo could still talk and meet up with his godfather and boss without my father ever suspecting a thing. But maybe...Pappa had found out about Ilya planning something big again?

"You said Ilya stopped contacting you."

"Sure." Niccolo sighed. "For a while. Because Erian finally paid him a visit and Ilya thought the guy would be his errand boy again." He shook his head. "That's his thing. Just wants someone he could boss around. Manipulate till he can't anymore."

As I tried not to react, I chewed on my lower lip, recalling that day I had found out about Ilya's true identity and family background. The guy had actually been a protected informant before he got sucked into the world of organized crime, perpetually seduced by the allure of immense power and the promise of immeasurable wealth.

"What can we do? For now?" Niccolo looked to me again.

"Don't get too excited. For one," I muttered nonchalantly.

"Shit. We gotta talk to Ricchar. Soon."

"Yep."

"I'm serious." He frowned at me again. "Leandro's not gonna back out of the deal."

I stretched my back and yawned. "We'll figure somethin' out."

"There were kids in the containers, Maxim." Niccolo sighed out loud and hit his forehead with his fists, looking more distraught and sounding morally dehumanized by what he just witnessed. "Those fucking Tomassinis, I swear—"

"Can't say I'm surprised."

"They're just monsters." His anger and remorse convinced me of his innocence.

But, I also shouldn't jump to conclusions. Act on impulse. Hatch a plan in haste without my cousin's advice or go signal. First, I had to make sure Ricchar and my mother had nothing to do with the Tomassinis' atrocious crimes—Leandro, his father, and his uncles, especially—before we hashed out a course of action with Ricchar.

Insurance. I had to figure out the best possible way to put those cold-blooded criminals behind bars, without risking my whole family's freedom in the process. In all likelihood, they weren't innocent but I had to look out for them, too. "Just don't do anything drastic."

Niccolo only gave me a weak nod, still distracted by a lot of things obviously.

"Stop tracking them for now. Stay here. Just chill out."

"Lorenzio's been trying to contact you." Niccolo glanced at me, but with a less irate expression now and a monotonous voice that told me he had calmed down a bit.

"Why?" I wondered, actually curious.

Why would Enzo would want to talk? On the phone? Must be about his brother's deals with my self-absorbed prick of a father.

So it was Enzo who had been leaving me messages a couple hours ago. Why did he need to talk to me? I thought he wouldn't want anything to do with me after I tried to beat him senseless at the hospital when Mykaela was still here in Italy.

What now? Did the guy file a lawsuit or something? I swore under my breath. It wasn't anything unlikely.

Why else would he talk to me again? I already got his batshit older brother to sign the revised contract, as my father had instructed. Did Pappa need me to take on more corporate kiss-ass duties and personally deal with the Tomassinis again?

Fuck if I had to meet with Leandro another time. I'd rather quit my one and only serious job than discuss business or do anything that required me and that psychopath staying in the same space. I might do something that would actually shove my soul straight to hell this time. "Enzo texted you? The shit does he want?"

"Give him a call." Nicco walked past me and let out a loud sigh. "Sounded urgent."

◆

◆ MAGNUS ◆

"Everything's already been booked, Sir. The agent in Copa just confirmed. I just sent you the email thread."

"Thanks." I was about to hang up on my assistant when he coughed loudly.

"Sorry. And the pilot's on standby, just waiting with the crew. Mrs. Roiz need anything else for the flight?"

"No. All good." I zipped up my biggest suitcase and checked the time. In half an hour, the jet should already be humming on the airstrip, ready to take off. "Thanks."

"Just text me if you two need anything else. Have fun."

"Later. Go back to bed, Noah." I ended the call and glanced at my wife.

She was already dressed, her black hair bunched up by some clips. Her phone kept her busy, too. "I just phoned Ara."

I looked up after shoving my other gadgets into my briefcase. "Who's Ara?"

"New girl at the office," Evonne said. "Told her to file a three-week leave."

Perfect. "Okay." I grinned at her casual tone.

She never liked taking too much time off work, but, like always, she compromised.

Leaving this soon shouldn't be an issue. Her father didn't have much to say over the phone last night. Not that I expected the opposite. The fact that I didn't break my word or leave his only daughter a childless widow too soon must be enough of an apology.

To my satisfaction, she didn't fight me on this impromptu getaway the second time I asked, even though at first the idea of leaving California more or less annoyed Evie. Confused her, too.

We needed this break. Long overdue. Two suitcases. A few pairs of shoes. Some gadgets. Cash, five cards, and a handful of jewelry.

It should be enough. My wife didn't need much to adjust to a foreign place, despite what others thought of her. Of people like us. We wouldn't be gone long, anyway. But if Evonne would like to stay in another tourist spot after our first destination, I would gladly oblige.

"Evie." I double-checked the contents of my briefcase, waiting for her to turn around and look at me.

"Yes?"

"Ready?"

"Mm-hmm." She didn't get up from her seat. Evonne looked busy on her tablet. Someone cooing. Faint giggles and nursery rhymes in the background. Maybe she was watching an animated movie.

"Leaving now."

"Are you done? Don't forget your pills."

"Done." The pills. I grinned. As if I'd die without them. I only bought another bottle yesterday because she told me to. Not because I needed them. "And yours?"

"What?"

"Your pills," I said louder. I wasn't a hundred percent sure, but last time we talked about it, she still took birth control pills like they were a necessity.

"Um... Yeah." Evonne stayed lounging in the other couch, the beige loveseat beside the coffee table I bought her years ago.

The same day I paid millions for this property. Our first real home as husband and wife. I missed this old house, but not as much as I missed spending quality time with her. "What're you watching? Smut?" I quipped when the living room fell quiet again. "The good kind, I hope."

"No." She cackled.

It widened the smile on my dry mouth. Too long. It had been too long since I last heard her real laugh. I shut my briefcase before approaching the couch where she sat alone, her tablet flat on her thighs.

Her head barely moved. A smile remained on her bare lips as she watched a video clip of kids playing with inflatables in a pool. Then another.

Familiar yard. Then the screen showed photos of two babies in costumes. Too many photos and videos for my liking.

"Okay. Enough. Binge-watch all of 'em on the plane." I drew in a breath when she didn't even glance up to make a face at me. "Evie."

"What?" she mumbled, sounding a little annoyed.

Of course. I was the only one excited to leave this place. A familiar pang of fear wormed its way into my thoughts, but I kept up a straight face.

What if she changed her mind?

Maybe she wanted a kid now. Or two. It was one of the few plausible reasons behind her decision to give us another try.

If I were her, I would've slapped me with the divorce papers and just bolted without a word that night I showed up here like nothing happened. Tit for tat. But she did the complete opposite.

"Want to reschedule?" I settled on the other end of the couch, placing her calves on my thighs so we would fit.

Her loose sweatshirt hid most of her upper body, her pants barely covering her pretty ankles. "Are we leaving now?"

"In five. Whose kids?"

"Ardelle and Sylvain's babies," Evonne muttered with a big smile, with her back and elbows pressed onto the other armrest.

When she flipped the tablet to show me the pudgy babies on her screen, I nearly cracked a smile at their matching outfits. Christmas-themed.

Fine. They looked cute. "The twins."

"So cute. Right?" Evie smiled big again.

"Yeah. Healthy babies," I tried to say as enthusiastically as I could.

We knew the Fonaciers through Evonne's family, the Jablonskys. A second-generation Ashkenazic clan. They had ties to American politicians, some tech billionaires in Silicon Valley, and a handful of Wall Street folks. The hedge fund crowd.

"Adorable little angels," she droned on, almost hugging the tablet to her chest. When I only stared back, her lips curved into a mild frown. "Oh. Forgot to tell you." Her face turned serious. "I said yes."

"To what?"

"Last month, Ardelle asked me to be their godmother."

Right. The twins' mother. "And?"

"The christening's next month."

Of course. "I see."

"It's on the 18th," Evie murmured, her gorgeous eyes studying every second of my response. She finally put the gadget down.

I looked away and hiked up my sleeves. Was she asking for permission? "We can fly back the day before the christening."

She beamed. "Thanks."

I tried to match her pleasant smile. "The least I could do to make it up to you. Thank you for trusting me again. I owe you my life and sanity," I should say. Instead I just gave her a half-meant kiss on the forehead when she knelt between my thighs to hug me.

◆

I didn't let go. While she eyed our baggage waiting by the front door, I pressed my lips onto her warm temple as I took in her scent.

No perfume. Just a faint smell of her favorite soap. Her scalp gave off a scent that reminded me of the Belgian chocolates I bought her.

I preferred her natural scent, and after a year of not being able to hold her like this, my nether regions were starting to protest my choice to keep my hands off her for the time being.

"Did Ilya call again?" Evonne pulled away to squint at me.

"No."

She let out a sigh, her gaze cast down. Must be a sigh of relief. Her thighs were snug between mine and her knees touched the upper inseam of my pants. Her pointed nose was inches away from mine, and I could almost hear the wheels in her brain churning.

"Just stop thinking about it," I coaxed with a chuckle.

"You need to go?"

Go? Without her? Shit.

Did she mean she wanted to back out? Now?

Fuck. Two nights ago, I surrendered to the fact that she didn't want to leave this godforsaken city. But did she honestly want me to go on vacation by myself?

"You sure you feel okay?"

I pulled a face when she placed the back of her hand on my neck.

"You're a little hot." Genuine concern narrowed her fairly swollen eyes. She'd been crying in the bathroom last night before she slept beside me past midnight.

I didn't ask why. If she wanted to tell me the reason, she would've cried herself to sleep in my arms. "I'm good."

"Go now."

I leaned in to feel the warmth of her breaths, my hands squeezing the curve of her hips. "Go where?" I asked calmly.

"Bathroom," she muttered, her dark brows creased. Her pale hand didn't stop touching my crotch despite my jeans, as if something bothered her.

"Why?"

"You're kinda hard."

I sat back and nearly laughed.

"Why's it funny?" Evie grinned.

I shook my head and stroked the side of her smooth cheek. Only a coat of pinkish balm tinted her lips. Nothing else on her face. Yet still so fucking beautiful. "I just missed you." I gave her a peck on the lips, then pulled away to gauge her reaction.

A shy smile revealed her white teeth, although it didn't last. A look of shock replaced it the second I began fondling her soft and warm ass underneath her pants.

I savored the way her breathing hitched when I squeezed her perfectly round ass cheek. "Before we get outta here, can I kiss you?"

Evonne backed off a bit. The confusion in her eyes matched the uncertainty in her movements. She frowned now, eyes squinting, mouth still partly open. "You really need to ask?"

"Sure."

The questioning look she gave me only told me to kiss her now.

Properly. The way a good husband should. I was big on consent. Most especially with her. Not just because she had a mountain of trust issues when we first met. All these years, I never told her to do anything she wasn't comfortable doing. I valued her trust in me above all else. And without her, by now I'd be dirt and bones in an unmarked grave.

"Why?" Her scowl remained. Evie pouted when I didn't explain further. She arched her back to lean closer.

I shrugged.

Her arms rested on my shoulders. Now her chest touched my chin. She lightly tugged at my hair, teasing me with her soft fingers, her other hand caressing my nape. "Why d'you feel like you need to ask?"

"So you'll let me fuck you hard later."

◆