Ruthless Games

LILY

“I don’t carewhat the fuck it takes, find who sent her!”

Nero’s angry roar fills the living room. It’s barely an hour later, and we’re back at the house – and we’re not alone. The living room is full of people: Chase, Miles, a group of Nero’s lieutenants, and a doctor, too, who checked my wound for glass and declared that I didn’t need stitches. Now, I’m sitting on the couch with an ice pack on my face, watching Nero practically climb the walls.

“It’s Kovak’s people, it’s got to be.” Chase says, sending me a scowl. As if this is my fault. “She had a Russian accent.”

“Maybe.” I speak up. “It could have been something else.”

Chase ignores me, focused on Nero again. “Sergei gave you a warning, didn’t he? This is escalation.”

“I’m not so sure,” Miles, the nerdy-looking guy, speaks up. “A direct attack like this, on your wife. They’d have to know it means war.”

“They’re getting cocky.” Chase argues. “Shit’s getting out of hand. Are we really going to stand for this?”

Nero paces, radiating fury.

“Get the guys out, canvas the streets. Get me fucking answers. Like how the hell she knew we were there. Did someone at the restaurant tip them off? And tell Marco to check our hardware,” he adds to Chase. “If this turns into a firefight, I want to know what we have in stock. You hear me?” he adds, raising his voice to the rest of them. “I want that bitch’s name and who sent her by dawn, or I swear to God, I’ll burn them all to the fucking ground.”

I shiver at the violence in his voice.

His guys clear out, leaving us alone. I take a deep breath, trying to relax, but Nero is still pacing. He’s barely looked at me since we got back.

“It’s not a big deal,” I speak up, my voice still shaky. “The doctor said, it won’t even leave a scar.”

“She touched you.” Nero grinds out. “She dies.”

I gulp. “And what about the guy who jostled me on the sidewalk?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood away from cold-blooded murder. “And the masseuse at the spa who pummeled my shoulders hard enough to leave marks? Are you going to put a price on their heads, too?”

Nero exhales sharply. “This isn’t funny.”

“I know,” I swallow. “But please, Nero. Sit down. You’re scaring me.”

In an instant, he’s on the couch beside me. He gently pulls the ice pack away from my face, and traces my bruised cheek.

“I’m so sorry, baby.”

“Why?” I ask. “It’s not your fault.”

But we both know that’s not exactly true. She hurt me to get to him. To send a message with the bruises she left on my face.

“They’ll pay for this,” he vows, and I believe him, even though I have no idea who ‘they’ are.

“I didn’t even see her coming,” I say, my voice cracking.

“I know,” he leans forward, bringing his arms around me. I melt against him, and he holds me gently. Like I’m made of glass. “They’re fucking cowards to the bone. Going after you instead of me. Attacking from behind…”

“And you think it’s that guy from the party, Sergei…?”

He sighs. “Maybe. I honestly don’t know just yet. It doesn’t seem like their style but… Maybe Chase is right, they’re getting cocky.” He sees the questions in my eyes and explains: “The Kovaks are a Serbian gang, real bad son-of-a-bitches. We’ve had a kind of uneasy truce, going back years. You know, they stick to their side of the city, we stick to ours. But recently…? They’re expanding. Trying to muscle in on our territory. And Barrettis don’t stand for that shit.”

I shiver again. Nero’s kept me at arm’s length from his criminal dealings since I arrived back in the city, and for the most part, I’ve been able to ignore them. Pretend like his life is all legit real estate deals and high-society functions—not a vast criminal empire, built on blood and crime.

But there’s no ignoring it now. Not anymore.

“Don’t worry,” Nero says, holding me closer. “I’m going to keep you safe. I promise, nobody will touch you again.”

I take a deep breath, comforted by the feeling of his arms around me. The one place I will always feel protected.