Beautiful Trouble: A Dark Mafia Romance

Anthony sat watching placidly. I couldn’t read him at all and didn’t even try.

“Should I get Roman?”

“Not yet. Unless you think you should.”

Another pause. She was trying to think of what to do. “Does Darren want to meet?”

“He’s considering it. I think it’s hard for him to put aside the past.”

“He could if he tried.”

Darren gave me a soul-sucking look. I smiled back sweetly.

“I agree with that, Cass. It’s why I called.”

“We need a ceasefire. Roman is planning something and I think it’s going to be pretty dangerous.” Cassie sounded genuinely concerned. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but it’s important.”

“I’m not interested in a ceasefire,” Darren said before I could stop him. “I’m the one winning right now. Roman needs to give something up if I’m going to back down.”

“What do you want?” Cassie asked.

He glanced at me then down at the phone. “I want Roman to step down as an Oligarch and renounce any privileges he’s accrued. I want him to give up any affiliations with the crime families and remove his money from any Oligarch-backed venture. In short, I want him out of my world and out of power. Only then will I consider a ceasefire.”

Cassie was silent. I seethed with rage. I didn’t know Darren was going to ask for something that big.

“He’ll never agree,” Cassie said finally, sounding defeated. “The Oligarchs matter too much to him to stop.”

“We’ll come up with something else,” I said, staring death at Darren. “There’s got to be something else we can do.”

“I’ll talk to Roman but I can’t promise anything.”

“Thanks, Cassie. I’ll work on Darren.”

He leaned back and grinned at me.

I hung up the phone.

Heavy silence. I wanted to punch him in the smug face.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I finally said, throwing my hands up.

“You said I could give her my terms and I did.”

“They were ridiculous.”

“They’re more than fair.” He glanced at Anthony. “He doesn’t deserve to keep living.”

“Bro, you know he’ll never go for it,” Anthony said, studying his nails. “Maybe you should consider something a little less extreme. Like make him give up half his territory and any connections to the Drozdovs or something. Knock him down a peg but don’t gut him completely.”

I gestured at Anthony. “He agrees with me.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Anthony didn’t meet my gaze. “I only think this war has gone on too far.”

“You just feel guilty,” Darren said, waving it away. “I’m not listening to any of this. Roman has my terms and now it’s his turn to respond.” Darren stood and walked to the door.

“You’re being unreasonable. I wouldn’t have made that call if I thought—”

“You should be happy I was willing to talk to her at all.” Darren stared at me, a strange mix of rage and desire. “You’re the only person I’d stoop so low for.”

Then he left. I slammed the table with my hands then glared at Anthony. “You must be happy.”

“I can assure you I am not.”

“Your brother’s fighting a war for you.”

“This isn’t for me. This is for him and always has been.”

“Roman tried to—”

Anthony cut me off. “Listen to me. You might’ve married my brother, but you’re not part of this family yet, so don’t tell me about my family’s past. You don’t know shit about me.” He stood up.

I stared at him, trying to decide if he was being serious or just fucking with me. “You can make all this stop, you know.”

“Nobody can make this stop, not even you. Darren’s consumed with this shit and he will be until it’s done.”

“You can at least try. You see how it’s ruining him, don’t you?”

Anthony’s face clouded over. “I see it better than you think.”

“Then talk to him. Get him to offer better terms.”

“I’ll think about it.” He drifted to the door. “Don’t think this means you’re important. Never forget who you are.”

Then he left.

I stared up at the ceiling and closed my eyes.

“As if any of you fuckers will let me forget,” I whispered to nobody at all.

27

Penny

The irony of being rich but having nothing was never lost on me.

I lived in a big house. I was comfortable. I was given whatever I wanted.

And yet nothing was mine and I rarely went anywhere.

That bridal store was the first time I’d left the manor grounds in months, and of course it ended in a bloodbath. That wasn’t my fault but still. There was a reason Darren wanted everyone to stay inside the house.

Mother didn’t seem bothered. Erin was too lost in her own little world to notice.

But I chafed against the restrictions.

I’d never let Darren know that—it would only break his heart. I knew why we were supposed to stay sequestered as much as possible, but that didn’t ease the boredom and loneliness.

Winter helped with that. It was so nice to have a friend that wasn’t deeply tied into the fucked-up world I grew up in. It was strange at first, since Darren didn’t want me interacting with her, but now that they were married, I felt like I finally had another sister.