*Tallon*
Arriving at the address selected by our foes made feel like we were a group of elk wandering into a cave with no clue of the beasts that lurked inside.
It was impossible to tell what the building held behind its high stone walls and creeping vines; the dark exterior was hidden behind the bright neon lights declaring the restaurant na and its type of cuisine on the front window. But it lood over us, at least three stories tall, and as we stood in front of its simple facade, a feeling of being watched crept over .
From the surveillance caras cleverly hidden within the foliage to the n and won dressed as waiters whose outfits were a little too baggy around the waist, stares followed us as Vinny and I entered with our two chosen guards.
Dom was getting on in his years, but he was more capable than any of our n and he had an eye for these people. He’d fought them by Gio and Olivia’s side, and I trusted him to watch our backs.
Vin had chosen the bulky Manuel as our second guard, a man with more strength and integrity than anyone in our family. If anything happened, he could crush their heads between his thighs and not even blink about it.
I felt pretty confident despite walking into the territory of our enemies, and though Vinny by my side was less sure of our survival with how twitchy he seed as he glared at every person who ca near us, I knew he would be the first to jump into action if he sensed anything was off.
“Mr. Valentino.” One of the waiters, a female with a sharp smile, stopped in front of us. She had a regular uniform on, but underneath that short skirt, I had no doubt was a knife waiting to stab any of us. “This way, please.”
She held a nu in her hands, in a language that I recognized as Russian, and she gestured for us to follow her into the restaurant, turning on her heels and leading us inside without another glance, like she was positive we would follow.
We did, of course, but cautiously.
The sll of smoke hit as soon as we stepped inside, an overwhelming scent of cigars like the nice ones Gio used to smoke just perating the restaurant, drowning out the sll of any kind of food that was served there.
I glanced at the few tables we passed, full of fancily dressed n and won who paid us no mind, but I knew at least a few of them were in on this, planted to watch us. The waitress’s heels clicked on the tile floors sounding like glass with every step as she led us to a winding stone staircase.
It was short, not nearly tall enough to head to the upper floors, but that wasn’t the purpose. It led to a high platform where there was a fancy leather booth made to seat nearly a dozen n. Sitting there with their backs to the wall were two n with narrowed gazes, who were a little too pleased to see us, judging by the looks on their faces.
I knew imdiately that this was the new head of the Russian Mafia, the next generation of Zaytsev’s.
Ivan Zaytsev.
He was a tall, intimidating man with dark hair and ever-darker eyes as he watched us enter the platform. Sothing that made extrely uncomfortable already. If the relaxed man in the booth was like a king upon his throne, then this was a stage and all eyes were upon us.
His right-hand man sat beside him, with just as a sharp smile as the waitress had, like he knew sothing we didn’t and was all too excited to share it. A bad feeling welled up in my stomach–an instinct I knew was never wrong.
I kept calm, knowing that even if he had n who’d infiltrated the place, it wouldn’t matter. I ant what I said to Vin. I had contingencies, enough that I trusted them with my life and those of the family.
“Welco.” Ivan opened his arms with a sly grin like he was going to give a wide hug. “I appreciate your arrival. Here, take a seat and we shall discuss what you sent a ssage about, yes?”
His accent was heavy but he still spoke English quite well, clearly having lived in Russia for so ti like the rest of his family. But if I knew anything about these people, they’d probably been here in Italy for a long ti.
“Of course.” I smiled amicably, pretending like I bought his smiling friendly act. There was too much bad blood between us for that. Being friends was never my goal, and we both knew it.
I took the seat directly across from Ivan, with Vinny to my right. Both Anton and he stared one another down, neither looking the least bit friendly despite Ivan and playing the role of friends. Dom and Manuel stood directly behind us, both stone-faced and wary as they eyed our surroundings, looking for any potential threats.
“Vodka, Mr. Valentino?” Ivan offered a glass, pouring the clear liquid into the fancy shot glasses and giving an expectant look.
“Thank you,” I said politely, reaching across the table to grab one of the shot glasses. Vinny shot a wary look, but I knew these n. They held too much respect for themselves and what they did to poison a good shot of vodka just for .
Still, I slled it first, and the strong, one-hundred-proof alcohol hit like a ton of bricks to my face. Still, I threw my head back, swallowing every last drop in one go. The taste was awful; I wasn’t going to lie.
I kept the grimace from appearing on my face, but sothing must’ve slipped through as Ivan clicked his tongue, looking chagrined.
“My apologies, friend.” He gave a sharp grin. “It is not the finest Russia has to offer, I promise, but it is cheap. Elite it is not, but money is tight nowadays, you see? We’re not in quite the best shape as we once were, you understand, yes?”
The dig was pointed but lacking any subtlety, just like them. Anton chuckled, crossing his arms as he surveyed us like we were bugs underneath his boots.
“Of course I understand.” I brushed the comnt away. “That’s actually what we ca here to talk about.”
“Ah, yes, I got your ssage.” Ivan nodded to himself, waving to a nearby waitress who quickly ca over with a tray full of food. So I recognized as traditional Russian dishes and others I didn’t. But all of it slled delicious.
Ivan grabbed a fork and a knife, digging into a piroshki. The at fell out upon the fork upon opening the bread, steam swirling in the air as he stabbed a bite and popped it into his mouth.
I waited as he chewed, rely prolonging the uncomfortable and tense silence between us.
When he finally swallowed, primly taping his mouth with a white napkin as if he’d just enjoyed the best al of his life, I finally bit out, “I believe you’ve stalled enough, Ivan.”
“My apologies” He gave a shaless smile. “I do not wish to waste your ti, nor mine. But with our history, I am sure you can understand my hesitance with your offer. We have each left quite a bloody and violent mark on the other.”
“Sothing which has benefited neither of us,” I shot back firmly. “We’ve both lost good n, family. And this feud has gotten us nowhere. Despite your best attempts, our family is still standing and despite our exhaustive and extensive efforts, you all seem to pop back up like weeds.”
“Weeds.” Ivan laughed, sothing cold and high as he stared directly at , a chilling smile on his face. Despite his laugh, there was no humor on his face, just a strong bitter resentnt that was clear for all to see.
He’d finally dropped the mask and the play could now begin for real.
“I’m sure you can understand the analogy, yes?” I raised an eyebrow, smirking at the shadow of annoyance that crossed his face.
“No.” Ivan stared straight in the eye, his voice light and high despite the murderous look in his eyes. “I’ll be, how do you say, frank with you, Tallon. I see no reason we should work with you. Can you honestly give one reason that I shouldn’t put a bullet through your skull right now?”
“You can certainly try, Ivan.” I emphasized his na, leaning back in the chair casually like I was unaffected by the threat. “But as I’m sure you know, even if you sohow succeeded, soone will always co to replace . They would have no choice but to avenge and well, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to buy better vodka then, would you?”
I smirked as his jaw clenched, the man across from fully at his limit as he glowered across the table. Anton was no different, bristling like a cat on Halloween as he sneered at us.
“You are right,” Ivan sighed, never taking his eyes off of . “I kill you, soone else will be after my head and they kill and it’ll be a never-ending cycle like you said. Vengeance has not done wonders for the bank, no. And I do enjoy a good vodka.”
“If we end the feud, it’ll be better for both of us. We’re willing to open trades to Russia back up and make a deal for the profits on the black market. No more killing and more money in both of our pockets. Isn’t that a good enough reason to put this feud behind us?”
Ivan humd, the corner of his lips lifting into a slight smirk as he eyed like I was a particularly unfunny joke. He ran his finger around the shot glass in front of him, toying with the silence.
“You know what I’d love more than expensive vodka?” Ivan stared straight in the eyes, a cold smile on his lips. “Your head on a spike.”
He snapped his fingers and the waitress who was hovering by our table jolted into action, pulling out a Glock and pointing it at my head. Before she could pull the trigger, though, her arm was twisted behind her back and she slamd into the floor, a foot on the middle of her back.
“Why, thank you, kind stranger,” I smirked at the man with the hood who had disard her, “How noble of you.”
The stranger rolled his eyes from under the hood.
“Well, that was exciting,” I turned to Ivan with a large smirk.
“So” Ivan sneered, “you did not co alone. It doesn’t matter. We have others set in place. You and your kin will not leave here alive.”
“Please,” I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Do you an the sniper on the second floor, the couple hiding behind that fake wall, or did you an the fake cook you set up in the kitchen? I’m not as stupid as you think I am, Ivan. All of your traps had been taken care of before we even stepped foot in here, all thanks to Mr. Kind Stranger over here.”
“Stuff it, Tallon.” Alessandro rolled his eyes as he pulled off his hood, revealing his face to Ivan and Anton, who both had incredibly ugly expressions. Manuel and Dom nodded to him, both in thanks and acknowledgnt.
“You didn’t really think my own brother would betray , did you?” I raised an eyebrow, judgntally. “Our family bonds are stronger than that.”
“Wow, that was cheesy,” Vinny shook his head disappointedly.
“Incredibly,” Ivan smirked, looking like the cat that ate the cream. “But it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t stupid enough to trust that buffoon completely, so we made a little contingency plan of our own. And I’m sure you’ll find this last trick just delightful.”
That bad feeling tripled in the pit of my stomach as Ivan grinned evilly at .
“What?” I snapped.
“Oh, we have soone who wants to say hello to you. My niece is waiting just off stage for you, though she’s in a bit of a bind right now.” He laughed coldly.
“Your niece?” I questioned, rudely, “I don’t know her.”
“Oh, right. That’s not what you know her as. Well, a different na but it’s all the sa, Tallon, I assure you. My niece,” he waved his hand flippantly, “your little girlfriend?”
He landed his eyes on , and I knew exactly what that bad feeling was now.
“Our lovely Natalia?”
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