I tell Eric all the plans I have for his business, and he couldn’t be more pleased. Which is as I hoped. After all, Eric is the most important person to convince. Kevin and Jared are easily influenced by their brother’s decisions, so this’ll work out in my favor.
As I’m walking over to them, Adrian walks up to me, cutting me off. “Giovanni is here,” he says quickly. “He spoke with Sloane. He knows who she is.”
Well, shit.
I knew he’d be here tonight, but I didn’t think he’d get to her this quickly. I wanted to be present when he saw her. I wanted to be able to see his eyes widen and his jaw drop as if it were playing out in slow motion. To see who his sister is and come to the realization he will never have the privilege of knowing her.
He’ll never know how spirited she can be when she talks back. How much her words can mean to a person or even how her smile can make you feel like you’ve accomplished an impossible task.
I think about how their encounter must have gone. Sloane isn’t stupid—she’s heard the name from Max before. But Giovanni wouldn’t out himself to her off the bat. He wants to go about this the right way, just like I did.
Sloane didn’t just fall right into my arms; I had Lev working with Sloane’s father to get a better idea of the situation. Once he left her house, he told me where her brother would be taking her. While she was still asleep, I had Lev go back and get her clothes. Her father bombarded him with questions, but he knew not to take it too far—no matter how much he loves his daughter.
Seeing her in person for the first time felt like a breath of fresh air.
I could see the fear in her eyes, but that fear doesn’t exist anymore. She looks more . . . captivated now.
“She knows his name and didn’t question anything?” I ask.
“Lev texted me. He told her his name was Ace.”
“Ace?” I laugh. Of course he’d use that as his alias. He doesn’t know if her father’s told her about him yet.
“She’s with Lev now,” he tells me.
My eyes gaze across the room trying to find Giovanni, but instead I see Sloane talking with Kevin and Jared. “No, she’s not.”
She’s making them laugh. Kevin even places a hand on his face to cover his burst of laughter. They seem to be swooning, which is good. This may even be the best part of the plan. She’s a miracle worker.
“Um . . .” Adrian pauses, and so do I, as Kevin reaches down to place his hand across Sloane’s stomach. “You didn’t . . .?”
“I—no, she would have told me.”
She would have told me if she were carrying my child. If she had a brain, any brain at all, she wouldn’t keep something like that from me.
“Then she’s a fucking genius,” Adrian grits out. “She’s making sure Giovanni has nothing above you.”
The world around me moves in slow motion. The Valentino brothers are family men. Family means everything to them. I assume she found that out without me even needing to tell her.
“She is something else,” I admit, gulping down a bitter taste of disappointment that I don’t care to acknowledge. “I’m going over there.” I brush past him and many other people as I approach Sloane.
“It’s very early, so there isn’t much to feel yet,” she snickers, and I want to crumble under the weight of my panic.
“Well, if it isn’t the man himself.” Jared pulls me in and pats my back. “Congratulations, brother.”
Brother. A term they don’t use lightly.
“Thanks, man. It’s a great feeling, it truly is.”
“Hi, my love,” Sloane says, standing on her tiptoes to reach my cheek. “Play along,” she whispers softly in my ear.
There’s a lump in my throat when I hear it was just a plan to deceive the people standing in front of me. This is what I wanted. Why am I feeling upset right now?
I’ve never wanted kids, but it feels like Sloane is taking away something I could have. A future where I’m not all alone. Someone to come home to and hold. The sound of pure joy from the ones who surround me. It’s as if Sloane could show me the light at the end of the tunnel, but she’d never stick by my side. I’ve hurt her too much.
Or maybe she could forgive me.
I’ve never wanted anyone else by my side since Kirill died, but damn does it feel so fucking good to have Sloane by my side.
“Mikhail, you’re creating one hell of a name for yourself,” Kevin chimes in.
I roll up the sleeves of my shirt. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s worth it. The assets have proven to be worth it as well,” I explain.
“Eric told us before we got here what you’ve done. You turned a two-million-dollar revenue into eighty-five. I’ve never seen that done before, especially with a building like this.”
He’s talking about the club. I don’t do much with it besides tell other people how to run it while I’m not here.
“It’s the location. Many in the city thrive at night.”
“It’s not just the location—don’t sell yourself short. You’ve turned it into something I’ve only seen in Vegas. It’s a good thing a place such as yours is out there.”
I smile. “Vegas was my inspiration. I made some pretty great memories there a couple years ago.”
“Mikhail, could you turn this building into something like Sky Lounge?”
I run my hands through my hair as I think through my answer. Is it possible? “Those weren’t the plans I had for this, but I could work with the idea. You’d have to tear out a lot of the walls. Apartments could be made from the office floors above as well. Rent those out for extra profit.”
“See?” Kevin downs his glass. “This is exactly what I’m looking for. I’m tired of having this building empty. I want to do something risky with it. You’ve got to lose something to gain something, am I right?”
“Sounds like music to my ears.” I nod.
“As for the cut, we’d like thirty percent of the club’s income.”
“Twenty,” I bite back as Sloane grabs onto my hand tightly. She’s trying to tell me to quit, but I won’t. It’ll take millions to get this place fixed up, and I’m not selling myself short.
“Twenty and we get a floor of apartments for our pesky teenagers. And you don’t card them. They’re nearly of age—there isn’t much of an issue there.”
“Liability is an issue, Kevin.”
“A risk you’ll have to take, just as we’re taking a risk with you if we choose to make the deal.”
“That’s fair enough.” I press my lips together.
“Good. We’ll speak with you soon.” Jared smiles as he and Kevin walk off toward Eric.
“Mikhail.” Sloane pulls me close. “You didn’t tell me you made that much money.”
“It never came up,” I admit. “You want to donate another million to puppies? If so, here.” I take out my card and hand it to her. I admire her for going behind my back and doing what she wanted, but all she had to do was ask. Hell, I would have taken her there myself if she would have just told me what she wanted to do.
She puts her hands over mine and pushes the card down. “No. It’s dangerous. The government won’t just look past that much money.”
“Raslabsya.” Relax. I cup her face in my hands. “Every single penny I make comes from a reliable source. Well, some.”
“What do you mean ‘some’?”
“A couple million is washed.”
“Okay, well, that ends now. You can’t have anything traced back to illegal activity.”
“Okay.”
She looks up at me as if I might be lying to her, but I’m not. The washed money is child’s play compared to what this place will end up making. “You’re not going to fight me on it?”
“No.” I press my lips to her forehead. “You’ve done so much for me. I trust you.”
My own words send my mind into a spiral. I clear my throat to speak up about my mistakes, but I’m cut off by the sound of Emily’s voice coming through the speakers.
“Hi, everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for coming tonight and showing your endless support. To those who donated, your kindness goes such a long way. Two of the highest-paying donors will be speaking up on behalf of 324 Parkway. Mr. Stepanov, everyone!”
Applause fills the room, and I look to Sloane. Her smile is bright for me.
“Go!” She shoves me in the arm, and I bend down to kiss her. I know I shouldn’t, and I know she’ll think it’s part of my act, but it’s not, and I can’t help myself. I’ll only be able to feel the softness of her lips on mine a couple more times before she leaves me to go back to her own life.
I make my way toward the small platform. Emily hands me the microphone, and I grab it.
“Thank you, Emily. There are so many things to be thankful for in this moment, but I owe so much to my wife. She taught me patience is a virtue and with time you’ll get what your heart craves. She taught me love can be shown in many ways, and I have no doubt in my mind she’ll teach that to our little one on the way. Hell, I hope they get all your qualities.” I take in a deep breath.
It’s all just a lie.
“My donation will be going to food banks and orphanages. Growing up in a low-income household, I understand the struggles life can throw at you. If my donation serves any purpose, I only hope it will be recognized as a small act of kindness toward many. Thank you all.”
I hand the microphone back to Emily, who’s wiping tears from her eyes. I flash her a gentle smile as I make my way back to my “wife.”
“That was almost too good,” Sloane says softly.
“Spoken from the heart.” I wink.
“Spoken from lies.”
Her words feel like a sharp stab right in the heart. But I can’t be upset with her. She’s emotionally checked out of whatever this is between us.
“Thank you, Mikhail! Now for Mr. Genovese, everyone!”
Everyone claps for Giovanni just as they did for me. I watch Sloane intently, noticing her eyes widen once she sees Giovanni. It’s a look of familiarity.
I bite down on the inside of my cheek while I swallow a comment. I wrap my arm around Sloane and shake my head. I don’t know why I’d even think something like that.
He steps up onto the platform and grabs the microphone out of Emily’s hands.
“Wow. I won’t lie to you all . . . that’ll be hard to beat,” Giovanni begins.
Everyone laughs but me.
“When I was younger, I lost my mother to abuse. She never left because she didn’t want to leave me with a man whose heart was tainted. Growing up in Sicily proved difficult. My mother didn’t have the resources to help us break free of the many trials and tribulations the man threw at us. So my donation will be going toward shelters. Shelters for women, the homeless, the ill—I could go on. Life deals some real shitty cards, and we must use what we have. I want to help the people who feel they have no way out, as my mother did. But I have to tell you, nothing I do would ever come to life without my wife, Nina. My ideas are just that: ideas. But Nina breathes life to them. She’s the reason I do anything. She’s taken half my heart, and my child has the other half. Cheers, everyone. And to Mikhail. The bottom of the chain can be fucking brutal, but our love for our wives and children makes life worth living. As you implied, loving someone makes you anything but weak.”
I bite down on my teeth in frustration. He’s using my own words against me. Two years ago, I pointed a gun at his head while he was vulnerable. Thinking back on it, I have no idea how I managed to get out of that alive. His men ambushed mine. I told him I’d show him just how fucking brutal the bottom of the chain can be. That’s why I took the clubs. I wanted to prove myself to yet another person who’d doubted me. I called him weak for falling in love. I called his wife his biggest mistake. But I didn’t know what it would feel like to protect Sloane. If I knew that back then, I would have kept my words to myself.
Before Sloane, I never understood how Giovanni could risk everything to be with Nina. I still don’t think I understand to the full extent I could. Nina’s a walking target. Enemies of the Cosa Nostra would take Nina to get to his head.
But maybe that’s why it works. He has something to fight for. He has someone to protect.
Falling in love isn’t weak. Not admitting it is.
I look down at her. She’d be the most important thing to me, but I can’t allow it. Not after what I’ve spent the past two years doing. The target is on my back, and that’s where it needs to stay. If I were to somehow convince Sloane to stay with me, she’d never be safe—especially if I get this property. It’s not the Romanos, Genoveses, or the Koziovs I’d have to worry about. They’d come after me, not her, because she’s their blood. It’s the Clarkes I’m worried about.
The Irish had an alliance with the Bratva and Cosa Nostra for years until word got out that Sloane’s father was sleeping with the Capo dei Capi’s wife. Sloane’s mother betrayed the family. Then my fucking brother had to get involved. He caused all hell to break loose between the three families. The Irish cut ties with the Italians and Russians without looking back. We were deemed unreliable backstabbers. Honor is the one rule men aren’t supposed to break.
Unfortunate for me.
They’ve been living under the radar ever since Kirill killed Sloane’s mother. I know they’re coming for me because I’m taking over parts of their land too. They don’t work in the open like I do. They play with blood, waiting for someone to do the hard work for them.
That’s another reason why this bid is dangerous. They’ll kill me to take it. It’s the easiest way, I’ll give them that, not having to play nice with people they hardly know. I kind of admire them for it. They don’t fool people just to get on their good side. They keep their eyes on the prize, guns drawn, and they’re instantly rewarded.
I look away from Sloane and see Giovanni walking toward me, pulling on his tie. “Go see Lev,” I tell her. “I need to talk to Ace.”
Giovanni creeps in closer, and my heart picks up its pace. She needs to get the fuck out of here. I have no idea what she knows about Giovanni, and I don’t need things to change right now.
“Go,” I demand.
Her eyes flood with questions. “Kindly adjust that tone of yours,” she mutters, her arm knocking into mine as she leaves me with Giovanni.
Giovanni watches his sister walk off in the distance before he comes to a halt in front of me. “Your idea of revenge is different from mine.” He lifts his drink as his lips form a small curve.
My head falls back. Everyone around me is pushing every wrong button.
I shift my stance. “Killing her wouldn’t serve any purpose. But I will admit, your sister has been a huge help.”
“Couldn’t have my wife, so you go after my sister? That’s quite the obsession you have.” He clicks his tongue. “Tell me, how does it feel to live in one person’s shadow and then one day the sun breaks through, only for you to fall under another’s?”
“I bet you thought of everything to say back to me after our conversation at the church, huh?” I say with a smug smile. “But I couldn’t tell you. You took care of the only shadow I know, remember? Or do you need a recap?”
“No, I perfectly remember the way he begged for his life right before I scattered his brains across the wall.”
“I’m glad you did.” Giovanni killing Kirill was an act of mercy; the drugs would have been more painful. I lean my head slightly to the side. “Thanks to your act of kindness, I’m about to own the majority of this city. Towers so tall . . . Come to think of it, you’ll quite literally be in the shadows.”
“Her father won’t let you breathe once he finds you. I’d take the opportunity to end you right now, but if I let him, there’ll be another alliance for my family. That’s something you’ll never have.”
“Her father responds to me. And I think you’re forgetting she’s my wife.”
“Is she though?” he says coldly. “Careful, Stepanov. The floor you’re stomping on is made of thin fucking ice.”
Rage boils my blood to see Giovanni stand proudly in front of me after everything he’s done to my family. All the pain he’s created. He wears confidence on his lips as if it were made only for him, and that pisses me off.
I mean, what the fuck? How would he feel if I took his cousin Carlo away from him? Fucking pussy would be up all night wishing his demons away, but they would cloud his vision. Sorrow would flood his eyes and he’d lie in bed for days on end. But me? I take back, and I refuse to let a man beat me when I’m already down.
Giovanni’s threats don’t mean shit to me. Half the crap he tells me is nothing compared to what I’ve heard from my brother. But he’s not here to make me stronger anymore.
As I stare into Giovanni’s eyes, which lack emotion, I realize that if Kirill worked with him, maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation.
I back away from him to search for Sloane, making eye contact with many people until I finally see her. She’s talking to Adrian, pulling on his tie. I stare at her, watching the way her body moves. She’s trying to flirt with him, but she’s failing miserably. I know how her body reacts to me. Her muscles turn to liquid at the slightest touch of my skin. But she’s stiff with Adrian. She looks at me and then quickly away. Her head falls to the side, allowing her beautiful curls to flow with the turn of her head.
Adrian’s a fool for falling for her words coated in innocence. He’s had his eye on her since the very beginning of all this, and I don’t blame him. Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms and watch them.
Dimitri walks up and nudges me in the shoulder. “Looks like he finally got her, huh?”
A smile overtakes my lips. “She’s not his—it’s just his turn.”
He looks at me, searching for the meaning behind my words. But when he sees Giovanni, his mouth drops. “Oh,” he says.
“Giovanni.” He introduces himself, reaching his arm toward Dimitri.
Dimitri leans into me and whispers, “Can I shake his hand? Or would that be wrong?”
I give him a sideways glare.
“Right, okay,” he says, leaving Giovanni’s hand in the air.
“Mikhail,” Giovanni says. “Why don’t you meet me at the warehouse tonight? You remember where that is, right?” he challenges me.
The brief memory of him hovering above me with a weapon comes to my mind. I hold back my eye roll and agree to meet him. Giovanni turns around and finds his wife. He whispers something to her, and she turns to look at me with a smile. I smile back, but my smile isn’t as genuine as hers.
Looking back at Adrian, I see Sloane is still with him. I watch her press her lips together in frustration. She’s beyond pissed at me, but that only makes me hard.
I make my way toward the entrance and pay the valet. Sloane meets me in front of the car.
“Adrian, take her home for me and stay with her.”
He nods and gets into the driver’s seat, starting the ignition.
Sloane stands in front of me. We’re only a few inches apart. It’s as if she’s trying to have a face-off.
“Get in the car,” I say to her.
“What if I don’t want to?” She tilts her head higher.
My eyes slowly rise to meet hers. “Well, that’s all up to you, isn’t it?”
Her chest falls as she shoves past me to get in the car. “You’re not coming?” she asks through the open window.
“I’ll see you in a couple hours. Try not to miss me too much.”
“I don’t have to try.”
Yeah, right.
I watch the car drive off. I swear to fucking God, if Adrian ends up pulling some shit with Sloane, I’ll castrate him myself.
I’m already dealing with Giovanni; I’d like to keep my enemies to a minimum.
