Page 12 of The Brigadier
The lady of his life was Raphaella Bernardi, who just happened to be the estranged daughter of the oldest Italian Cosa Nostra in the city. Her grandfather had come directly from Sicily, her father, Luciano Bernardi still holding court although he wasgetting close to retirement or being killed given he’d grown fairly careless.
Because of her connection with Aleksander, she’d been initially ostracized to a point but there was always a method to the madness when two distinct crime syndicates were involved. The connection had been well worth the risk, an unlikely alliance formed.
Plus, they were madly in love, planning a huge family.
“I don’t like what I’m hearing,” Vadim said.
“We’ll keep an eye on it,” I managed.
“Good. I don’t like surprises,” Vadim said, still eyeing me carefully.
My thoughts once again drifted to seeing Chantel two nights before. When I’d last seen her, she’d been wearing pigtails and braces. Now? Shit. I’d fallen asleep after the dinner and had fantasized about her. Since then, I’d done what I could to keep myself awake.
Vissarian would kick my ass for the lurid thoughts I’d had, visions that could burn down the world.
“Find out as much as you can. The last thing we need to do is jump to conclusions,” Vadim said. “However, if we have issues, we need to deal with them quickly. We have our largest ever shipment of pink diamonds coming in from South America in two weeks with buyers lined up. We can’t fuck that up.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Aleksander growled. “I have a feeling that’s what they’re really after.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Remember?” I finally piped in, although most of me was still miles away on that patio. Goddamn it. What the fuck was wrong with me?
“I heard something from Danny about Bobby the asshole?” Vadim asked.
When I didn’t respond right away, he moved in front of me.
“Sorry. Yeah, I need to deal with good ole Bobby the Snake. His loan shark business is getting out of hand along with his interest rates. Somehow, he’s gotten several people from Brighton Beach who will never be able to afford to pay him back. He’s doing some false advertising.”
Vadim chuckled. “He’s such a fucking hack. Yeah, deal with him. I’m sick of him acting like he’s been in our favor for years. He uses that shit.”
“Yeah, I know.” I looked away again and my cock was twitching just thinking about her. What the hell was wrong with me? Every seductive thought was strictly forbidden, for God’s sake.
Vadim was forced to touch my arm just to get me back into the fold. “What is going on with you? I’ve never seen you so preoccupied.”
I laughed, hating the fact that my balls were tight. “Vissarian came into town with his wife and we had dinner. He’s doing business here.”
“O-kay. Did you guys have a fight?”
Sighing, I was suddenly quite grateful there were no soldiers of any kind in the room. “No, but he’d beat my ass.”
Vadim snorted and Aleksander laughed.
“What are you talking about?” Aleksander asked, fully amused. “Your brother actually came into town to see you?”
“Not just me. My brother never does anything without dollars being attached. Yes, he’s here. And for kicks and giggles, along for the dinner and moving to New York for a job is Chantel Kuzmin.”
I could tell neither one had any clue where I was going with this.
“Vissarian’s adopted daughter who used to sit on my knee, while I read stories to her?”
“Isn’t she a little young to be moving to New York by herself?” Aleksander asked.
I could instantly tell Vadim was calculating years and birthdays. “Nope. She’s what, twenty-four?”
“Very good. She’ll be twenty-five in two months. Graduated with honors with not one but two master’s degrees. She found some crappy job in advertising.”
“Oh, fuck. Let me guess,” Aleksander piped in. “She’s not a little girl any longer.”
“Uh, no. I didn’t even know who she was in her skintight emerald green dress that highlighted every curve God gave her and legs that were meant to wrap around a man’s waist. Until it was too late.”