He sighed, stretching out on the couch. He seemed strange, maybe a little distant. He was usually so fast to make some kind of comment, but maybe it was because of Alexei that he was holding back his normal dirty banter.
“Your family ambushed us when we left a deal.”
“The whole mob isn’t my family.”
He shrugged. “Fine. Call it whatever you want. The Russians shot first, but we’ll shoot harder.”
“Vince,” I said softly, “this is crazy. I never wanted a war.”
“Doesn’t matter what you wanted, does it?” he asked. “It’s happening, probably was going to happen eventually no matter what.”
I sighed, bouncing Alex slightly. “I don’t want people to get hurt because of me.”
“Nobody is getting hurt because of you,” he said. “This is because your mob doesn’t respect its superiors.”
I clenched my jaw. “They may be mine, but I don’t feel like I’m one of them right now.”
“Fine. Is this all you wanted, to ask me questions?”
“No need to be an asshole.”
He shrugged. “Been a long fucking night.”
“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
I stared at him and then stood. “You don’t have to keep protecting us. I never asked for a war.”
“He’s my son.”
I nodded. “Yeah, he is.”
I walked past him, opened the door, and then left.
That man was so infuriating. He couldn’t see past his own wants and desires, and he seemed to think he was the center of the world. So what if he was tired? He could at least take a second to talk to me. I’d thought he was dead.
But he didn’t owe me anything, and he was doing the best he could. I sighed as I opened my own door and went into my room, annoyed that I was pushing him, and annoyed that things were spiraling so far out of my control.
I walked over to Alexei’s little bouncy chair and set him down. He seemed more tired than anything else, and so I let him lie back and bounce around while I got out my phone and dialed Sophie’s number.
She answered on the third ring.
“Hey,” I said. “How are you?”
“Hi, Kaley.” Her voice sounded tense.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a lot happening right now,” she said. “I can’t really talk much.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
There was something going on here, too. I had no clue what it was, but it had to have something to do with the attack.
“Is everyone else okay?”
“Look,” she whispered, “I heard some attack happened. Some guys got killed—nobody we knew—but things are really tense here.”
“Things are tense here, too.”
“I have to go. Don’t call again. Just stay where you are. I’ll call you when I can.”
“Soph, I just wanted—”
But she had already hung up.
I stared down at my phone, surprise running through me. Soph had never been that short with me before, never hung up on me. Obviously this war was taking its toll on both sides, and I was stuck right in the middle.
I had no place in the Italian mob. I didn’t know anyone, except for Vince, and he seemed to barely tolerate my existence. He hadn’t really said anything about wanting to be a father to Alexei, though he did say that he’d keep him safe.
Since I had left my family and run to the Italian mob, I had never really felt too isolated. I knew I had made the right choice, even if I did miss living back with my own people.
But now, suddenly, I felt incredibly alone. I had nobody but Alexei, and he couldn’t help me. I was responsible for him, responsible for keeping him safe. My family wasn’t going to help, and only Vince was willing to keep me safe.
I didn’t know how I had ended up here: alone in a room I didn’t know, surrounded by people I didn’t trust. I walked over to Alexei and picked up him, holding him against my chest softly.
It was just me and Alexei. I had to do what I could for us, for him, figure out what was best for the both of us. I couldn’t rely on my family or on Vince.
I had to keep my son safe. War or not, that was my top priority.
20
Vince
I woke up around one. After Kaley left, I’d gotten a few more hours of much-needed sleep.
I felt a little bad about the way I had talked to her, but fuck it. She had brought about this war, all because of her actions, and so she needed to know the truth about it. Men were going to die because she’d come to us for help, and although I clearly had some part in making the damn kid, I didn’t ask her to run away from home and show up on my doorstep.
Still, I shouldn’t be a fucking prick. She was the mother of my kid and still incredibly gorgeous on top of that, and even when I was pissed and exhausted from a long night of violence, I still wanted her. But with that baby in her lap, it was hard to do anything more than just stare at her.
I rolled off the couch and took a quick shower, my mind still roaming around Kaley’s body from the day before. I loved the way her pussy felt wrapped around my hard cock and the way our bodies moved together.