Chapter 70: Chapter Fifteen

Alice

There was no time to hyperventilate as the cold spring air hit me square in the face. It was a chilly Chicago day, not that I’d been outside much in the last year.

Not since every De Lange Family member went into deep cover.

My family was too involved to walk the streets.

Meaning I was both target and bait.

Seeing the sun, feeling it on my face, well that wasn’t something I’d been allowed to feel in a while.

Being pulled from Eagle Elite was even worse.

They’d shown up in black cars.

Students had watched while I was walked to the car and told I wouldn’t finish my junior year.

And the rest was history.

You’d think I’d be used to stress.

But this was next level stress.

I would be walking into the most dangerous house I’d ever been in. This was worse than my brother, this was worse than my father. Worse than facing the barrel of a gun.

This would be torture if they discovered me.

And Andrei just wanted me to do what? Look pretty on his arm and try not to hurl on the dinner rolls?

I imagined that everyone was armed.

I took another faltering step in the unfamiliar heels as Andrei wrapped an arm around me. He felt warm, his breathing was even, calm. And he looked almost annoyed that I wasn’t walking fast enough.

Annoyed that I was petrified.

Then again, now that I knew more of who he was, I figured, I should be just as scared of him as I was the rest of the Italians.

Because he was their friend, wasn’t he?

Which meant I was his enemy too.

My stomach sank as we approached the large immaculate house, with its water fountain in the middle of the driveway and its gorgeous brick stature.

Two men were standing in front of the door.

One looked angry at me for existing, while the other looked curious.

The one with the angry look gave Andrei a long stare and sighed. “They let you out tonight?”

“Cute, Vic, you kill any puppies today? Strangle them?”

The guy named Vic looked like he was ready to smile, but then he muttered. “Pain in my ass, every day of my life… damn babysitting duty.”

“The door.” Andrei winked at him. “You should probably open it for us.”

“How’s the finger healing up? Hmm Andrei?” This time he did grin as he opened the door. “What has it been? Ten months? A year?”

Andrei stiffened. “Remember, tit for tat. One day when you’re sleeping on the job, I’m going to take your pinky.”

Vic barked out a laugh. “Just make the cut straight so I can sew it back on, crazy bastard.”

“Swear.” Andrei put his free hand on his heart as he pulled me through the door.

What sort of people joked about stuff like that without breaking out the guns and getting into fights? In my own family, joking like this only got you a black eye, but these guys? They laughed!

Instead, the first thing that happened was an adorable little toddler ran up to me and hugged my legs. “Pretty dress!”

Stunned, I just stood there, and then she looked up at me with these beautiful crystal blue eyes and repeated it again. “Pretty dress.”

“Thank you.” I smiled down at her. “I like your doll. What’s her name?”

Andrei didn’t leave my side, but I suddenly felt eyes on me.

Slowly, I looked up, and anyone might think I’d just waltzed in there and announced I had a bomb strapped to my chest.

And then slowly, I exhaled as I looked around the room while the little girl still clung to me like I was a Barbie doll.

I recognized all their faces.

Including their wives.

They were the monsters I had begged to save me.

The monsters that never came.

The ones I prayed would destroy us all so it would stop.

So he would stop visiting me in my room.

So the pain would stop.

Nixon Abandonato approached then, all six feet two inches of him, muscles on top of muscles, enough ink down his arms and legs to make a person dizzy, lethal, beautiful, dangerous.

He bent down and picked up the little girl.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled her head beneath his chin. “Daddy, don’t you like her dress?”

Daddy?

This beautiful little creature was his daughter?

I felt suddenly dizzy as Nixon tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. “Yes, it’s a beautiful dress, one you won’t be wearing until you’re thirty, all right Serena?”

“Yes, Daddy.” She beamed, apparently unaware that a tight cocktail dress wouldn’t be in her future for a very long time, or, if the look on his face was anything to go by… ever.

“Wow.” A voice came from the right, and there he was stomping into the kitchen looking every inch the rumored Italian Godfather, only young, so young and attractive it almost felt like a sick joke.

Andrei shrugged. “Maybe I’m tired of your constant shit.”

“You love it.”

“Pink cupcakes.” Andrei actually looked relaxed as a grin spread across his face. “With sprinkles.”

“Knew you’d like that touch.” Chase laughed from his spot in the kitchen. “Would have paid to see Tex bring that in on the plate.”

“It had polka dots, the plate.”

“Don’t worry we have a Hello Kitty card for you too, all of us signed it,” Nixon joined in, a smirk on his face.

Andrei grumbled a curse.

“Happy birthday, man,” Nixon held out his hand.

Andrei tentatively shook it.

Wait. Was this a meeting?

Dinner?

Birthday party?

And then a gorgeous woman came around with a giant cake, two more women followed.

The wives.

Nixon’s wife Trace, Tex’s wife Mo, and Phoenix’s wife, Bee.

What sort of warped universe did I just walk into?

My father told me they tortured people at night.

He said the monsters drank blood.

He made me think they were this thing of fiction, like a vampire or werewolf, with no soul, no heart, just killing.

“Well?” Nixon pointed to the cake. “Blow out your candles, old man.”

Andrei’s hand gripped on my hip.

I flashed him a quick smile. “You know if you don’t, they’ll probably just pull a gun on you.”

Nixon’s expression shifted, and then he narrowed his eyes on me. “Told her a lot about us, haven’t you?”

“Well.” I gulped. Here goes nothing. “I am his girlfriend, so…”

Everything happened all at once.

Trace tripped, the cake slid from the tray, Mo tried to grab it just in time for Chase to lean in and accidentally shove them forward and then another guy standing behind Nixon turned.

Cake went flying across his face.

Candles included.

Oh shit, shit, shit.

It was Phoenix.

He used to be a De Lange.

My stomach sank.

He would recognize me.

He would.

I used to play at his house when my dad had meetings with his, when I was little and curious and had a stupid crush on him because he was five years older and looked so… pained.

Cake dripped from his face as he glared at Trace.

And then Trace stepped forward with a smile on her face and ran her finger down his cheek and sucked off the frosting. “Perfect, you like chocolate right, Phoenix?”

He glared and then went for her. “That’s it.” He pulled her into his arms and swung her around while she laughed and then rubbed his face all over her back.

Phoenix dropped to the ground. “Get them, Junior. Get Aunt Trace!”

He went running toward her.

And then Serena fought to get down and jumped in front of her mom. “Captain America attack!”

“Aw man!” Junior dropped his hammer and started yelling and convulsing on the ground.

“What’s he doing?” I asked under my breath.

A chuckle fell from Andrei’s lips, and I blinked up at him. He was beautiful when he smiled, absolutely gorgeous. I sucked in a shocked breath and quickly looked away.

He leaned in, his lips tickling my ear as he whispered, “Little man’s hulking out. It’s best to just let him finish.”

Sure enough, he jumped to his feet and yelled, “I’M GREEN!”

“RUN!” The little girl shouted and then ran behind Chase, who pulled out two knives from sheathes on his back.

The knives were actually real!

“Samurai!”

“Iron Man!” Dante, a guy close to my age and someone I’d seen at school a few times and given a wide berth, jumped onto a chair.

“Spiderman beats both Samurai and Iron Man!” Someone else came running into the room. His hair was longer, pulled into a man bun that made him look downright sexy.

“Noooo, Uncle Sergio always picks Spiderman!” Serena wailed

“Forfeit.” He winked and started making spewing noises at Junior and Serena who both fell into fits of laughter and hugged his leg, pieces of cake and all.

Yup, warped universe.

This was so opposite of what I’d grown up with that I wanted to burst into tears. It didn’t match with the stories.

Phoenix De Lange, or now Nicolasi if the rumors of him cutting the De Lange brand from his arm were true, was smiling at his child, not trapping him in a room.

In fact, the entire scene was unreal.

Because my every dinner — my entire life, in fact — had been spent being seen not heard.

An older man walked into the room; a glass of wine held against his lips. A black fedora sat on his head, and a matching scarf was wound around his neck.

Immediately, Chase was there, pouring into it, and then Trace was kissing the old man’s cheek.

“Who’s this?” He was pointing at me, and then looked down at the cake. “That Andrei’s dessert?” He pointed down at the mess all over the living room and kitchen.

Andrei released me then, walked over to Phoenix, and swiped his finger across his jaw and then licked the frosting the way Trace had done previously. “Did you make this frosting just for me, Phoenix?”

Phoenix glared.

I hid my smile.

Because I liked that Andrei tested him.

I liked that he was an equal.

More than I should.

“Just call her Black Widow,” Andrei piped up, answering his question with ease.

“Well.” The old man clasped his hands together and gave us both a funny look before grabbing a towel. “Should we clean up and eat before Chase pulls his gun out over the mess?”

“Not my house.” Chase held up his hands and eyed Nixon. “You may want to Google how to get frosting out of the hardwood.”

“Google this,” Nixon flipped him off.

Junior did the same.

Nixon shot an apologetic look to Phoenix, who was already looking up at the ceiling for God or someone to deliver him.

And then an arm was getting looped in mine. “So, Black Widow, do I know you?”

“Uhhh,” I smiled at her as brightly as I could, my fur coat suddenly feeling like a death trap on my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Sorry.” She frowned and then looked at me again, really looked at me. Her hair was cut to her chin, she was gorgeous in a flirty romantic way. “You just look really familiar.”

“El, stop pestering her.” Dante came up and wrapped an arm around the woman’s shoulders. The woman who I knew was his wife.

I hadn’t stayed at University long.

But I remembered them.

And then another fuzzy memory shot to the forefront of my mind.

Of Dante and Andrei, of all people.

Of a fight in the middle of the quad.

Of long stares, whispers of a war between the Russians as they tried to overtake Eagle Elite University.

And then I sucked in a breath and found myself swaying a bit.

Andrei.

I knew he looked familiar.

We’d had Bio together.

I had sat in the back.

He was in the front, often seen taunting teachers, and frequently known to throw ridiculous parties where there were rumors of gambling, shootings, and so much sex that they became legendary.

Then there was an accident…

“So, you’re his girlfriend now?” El kept our arms looped and led me to a chair, good because I really needed to sit and try to figure out how to navigate.

I wasn’t just in over my head, I was already drowning, gasping for air, and Andrei was doing nothing to help. At all.

“Uh, yes.” I needed to sound more convincing.

More memories surfaced.

They’d closed the spot where they held all the parties. Chase’s wife had died there.

Phoenix had shot her.

That much the De Lange Family knew, that much they’d told me.

After making a deal with the Russians.

I shot a look toward Andrei. Her pact with that man, our enemy, was the reason that we were getting hunted, and yet he was… breaking bread with them?

Was it not true then?

Any of it?

I numbly found my seat.

Sheep in wolves' clothing.

These people were killers.

And they were sharing a meal like it was normal.

I shivered in my seat. “What do you mean? The club?”

Tex stopped chewing and shared a look with Nixon who was staring me down like I had two heads. “You know, the club, where Andrei holds court?”

“Oh,” I forced a smile as my mind trudged up visions of being chained to a bed while I was given bathroom breaks. “Sorry, I guess I just never really thought of it that way.” I scrunched up my nose.

Try prison. Dungeon. Cell. “I’m actually new.”

“New?” Chase piped up his eyes were so intense that I wanted to look away but knew I couldn’t.

That earned him an elbow from Luc, his wife.

“What?” He mouthed then ripped off a piece of bread and kissed her on the cheek.

She blushed and rolled her eyes while I exhaled in relief. He didn’t know who I was.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t still be breathing.

And I wanted to keep breathing.

I noticed a flicker of movement to my left, Andrei was very slowly peeling off the ever-constant leather gloves, from his thumb down to his pointer finger, he tugged until they were free.

So he took them off for dinner?

I waited for him to do the same to his left hand.

He didn’t.

The hand stayed covered.

And his right hand, from what I could tell, was completely flawless just like the rest of him.

Even his nails looked manicured, not covered in blood like I assumed, nor scarred, just perfect.

He reached for his wine.

And cleared his throat loudly, making me jerk away, making it so I was staring directly into Chase’s cold expression again. He didn’t even blink.

Just reached for his wine, his tattooed arms flexing with the motion. I gave him a small smile as a trickle of sweat ran down my spine.

“So,” Dante began. “How’s business, Drei? Things looking good?”

“No business during dinner,” Tex interrupted gruffly. “Though I have to say I’m curious. This is the first time you’ve brought a girl. Was it the sprinkles on the cupcake that did it?

A few of the guys snickered like they were in middle school, while Tex kept his rapt attention on Andrei like he really cared about his dating life.

“Well…” Andrei sounded annoyed.

“You know how much I love pink frosting… and since none of you jackasses can keep a secret, I knew family dinner would most likely be a surprise party with a cake since last year I showed up and almost shot Chase when he suggested pin the tail on the donkey.” He leaned back, cool, composed.

I almost choked on the piece of bread as his arm snaked around me and squeezed. Did he realize that he was gloveless on that right hand?

He rarely touched me, and if he did, it seemed like he hated every second of it.

I leaned into him and smiled, playing my part even though the bread was sitting like a rock in my stomach.

Tex flashed us a grin. “Playa, playa.”

“Please never. Ever, again, again, ever…” Chase grumbled. “You can’t say Playa. You’re too Italian, you sound like a white rapper, but like a really really shitty one.”

Tex chucked a roll in his direction.

Chase snatched it midair and grinned. “Still got it.”

“So.” Trace drew out the word louder than necessary as her eyes darted around the table and landed on me. “If you don’t work at the club, what do you do?”

Nixon gave her a drop-it look.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, like I clean toilets, wonderful manicure is that new?

When Andrei said in a bored tone, “What do you think? She’s a whore.”

Everything dropped at once.

Tex, his fork.

Nixon, his knife.

Chase, multiple F-bombs.

Phoenix’s hands over his son’s ears.

And multiple wine glasses.

Tears burned the back of my throat as I watched the shocked expressions. All looking at me to nod my head, make a joke. I could kill him. I wanted to strangle him for hurting me, for embarrassing me.

For making me play a role I never wanted to play.

But he said I had to make it believable.

So through tears of hurt and humiliation, tears of anger at the man who said he’d keep me safe, I whispered. “Good thing I come at a cost, huh Andrei?”

His eyes flashed with fury.

And then I kept eating, my fork scraping against the plate, filling the uncomfortable silence with the precision of an atomic bomb.

I imagined what they were thinking about me, and about him, our relationship.

My brother had made me feel used.

Dirty.

Unwanted.

This stranger, Andrei had made me feel worse. He’d given me hope, he’d dressed me, fed me, he’d made me think I was safe.

Only to announce I was none of those things in front of the monsters I’d begged to kill me.

No. I was going to be a whore.

Not his girlfriend.

His whore.

Until I imagined he got bored and killed me.

At least the death, I imagined, would be swift. After all, hadn’t he promised I had only to ask and I would not draw my next breath?

I lifted my wine glass to my lips and drank.

I didn’t cry.

I didn’t hunch my shoulders.

I was trained for this.

I was a motherfucking De Lange woman.

I drained my glass and held it to Andrei for more, and then I turned to Chase and beamed. “Lovely pasta.”

And in that moment, I could have sworn, the Capo saw me, really saw me, and smiled a real smile of approval.

As if it had been a test, and I had passed with flying colors.