Page 71 of Isle of Seduction
“I came for Mammona’s ravioli.” He stands up and shrugs.
“You could have said ‘hi’, asshole,” Giulia complains.
Her arms are folded over her chest and despite the amused tone she tries to infuse to her voice, I recognise the hurt she hides. Julian, Lana and Giulia were the three Moretti musketeers. Now, with Igor gone and Lana saved in his place, the vestiges of their friendship lie in tatters at our feet.
“Hi.”
Julian makes his way to Giulia and bumps his hip against the chair on his way.
“Fucking hell,” Pierce swears under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Just because Misha’s responsible for Igor’s disappearance doesn’t mean he’s responsible for every single bad thing happening everywhere else,” Pierce says calmly, as if they’ve had that talk many times before.
“Oh, but he does. Do you think just because Luc is dead, Misha’s traffic ring in the UK was dismantled? I’ve been looking for who would be his new supplier for four months. You just delivered it.” He laughs, an unhinged sound coming from a mouth twisted with anger. “Your guy? Addams? He’s in kahoots with Misha,” he says, singing the end of Misha’s name like it’s a fucking joke. He sobers long enough to issue a warning. “Better call whoever you love. If Misha’s already killing people you fucked, no one’s safe.”
Julian takes the crystal bottle of alcohol set on the dresser and leaves. The atmosphere that lingers behind is noxious and silence settles, heavy and dark.
“Pierce, I need you to find Louis’s contact details. He might be in danger,” Giulia asks.
“And we need to locate someone who was in Addams’s employ and disappeared,” I finish.
Giulia and I might work well together, but my cousin Pierce knows his shit as well as we do around hacking and finding people. I’d rather put all resources into this than be prideful.
There will be no rest for me until I can finally find what Addams has planned. And Julian might be hurt and willing to put anything on Misha Petrov, but what he said makes sense. If Addams is involved with that man, shit got just a tad more complicated. Either way, he’s a dead man walking.
We’re about to retire for the night when Pierce clamps on a hand on my shoulder. “Got a minute, cugino?”
When I turn around to Giulia, she smiles softly. She and Lana have their arms wrapped up together like teenage girls ready to cause chaos, their eyes bright with mischief. “Go ahead. Lana and I will be down at Lady in White. Join us when you’re done.”
Nico inclines his head, ready to follow and protect her.
Lady in White, one of the infamous clubs that inspired Rouge. I can't wait to check it out with my wife on my arm and see her brilliant mind at play in the decadence displayed there. They leave us in giggles and silence falls on my cousin and I.
It should be suffocating, but it isn’t. I don’t visualise making his life difficult or avenging the young boy I was. For the first time in years, I see him as a flawed man. I see him as the husband of my wife’s favourite person. It doesn’t erase the bullying, but for the first time, I might see the glimpse of the man he became.
“I wanted to talk to you,” he says, grabbing the back of his neck, visibly uncomfortable.
I take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs and wait, holding the smile that wants to take over my face. Watching him squirm is entertaining, to say the least.
“Aren’t you going to say something?”
“You said you need to talk, I’m listening.”
“God, you’re such a dick.”
“Right back at you.”
This time I can’t stop the smirk from spreading, making him chuckle.
“Okay. Here goes nothing. I wanted to apologise. For the way I treated you as a kid.”
“You’re gonna have to be specific, cugino, I’m not sure I remember well,” I taunt.
“How she fell for you is a mystery,” he mumbles while looking up to the sky as if a God will save him from me tormenting him.
So, my little wife’s been talking about me. Warmth spreads where my heart beats. The only thing that could make this moment better, knowing that she loves me, is if she said it herself. She hasn’t said the words back to me and though she doesn’t need to, her actions speak loud enough, I’d be lying if I said a part of me isn’t impatiently waiting for that moment with bated breaths.