I sigh and send a message to Thomas, one of the clan members, to go to Bill’s club in Chatham before leaning back in my chair. “A damn wasp stung him in the middle of the evening-and it’s not even June yet.”
Georgiy chuckles, and yes, I guess it is funny, but I don’t want to laugh. This time I had Georgiy to help me, and thankfully nothing serious happened while I was away. But what if Marco got shot? What if the whole thing turned out to be a trap? In the Mafia world, you never know what to expect at any given moment, and I can’t drop everything at the first cry from Romeo. Damn, I guess it’s time…
“Maybe it’s time to find a new nanny, huh?” Georgiy pretty much repeats my thoughts. “I know you work from home, but there’s no way
around it, man. You can’t bring your son to work if you know what I mean.” “I know.”
I let out a deep breath and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Yeah, I know he’s right. Our last nanny was a nice old lady who ran away-quite literally-after Romeo tore her coat into pieces to make a mantle for Dolce. Who would’ve thought it cost over two thousand dollars?
I paid her for it, of course, but it still wasn’t enough. Mrs. Teresa announced that it was her last straw, and if there was anyone capable of
handling my little beast, it wasn’t her. I mean, I’m glad she spent only three weeks with us before showing her true opinion of Romeo-but sooner or later, every nanny leaves with the same last words.
Romeo is too difficult, too loud, too out of control. He’s too much.
It’s not something any parent would want to hear, but to be fair, Romeo hasn’t always been so restless and demanding. In fact, just a few years ago he was a playful and curious child with just a bit too much energy. He used to be so bright and open to the world around him-but ever since his mother died on a mission, Romeo has turned into this wild version of himself that refuses to listen to anyone.
“You know how hard it is to find someone who gets along with Romeo.” I sigh and shake my head, staring at the ceiling. “I’d have to go through a dozen candidates to find a woman willing to drive all the way here only to be met with another one of his tantrums. And I have to be extra picky, you know?”
Yes, Romeo’s attitude isn’t the only thing that narrows my options. I can’t let someone unpleasant, unprofessional, or involved with the police or our rivals in the Mafia world-and trust me, we have plenty-close to my
son. There are just too many things to be cautious about, and it usually takes weeks to find at least one suitable candidate.
Georgiy hums in agreement, typing something on his computer. “Yeah, I know. Have you thought about hiring a full-time nanny, then?”
A full-time nanny? As in, a woman who would live with us here?
Well, maybe it would help her and Romeo to get to know each other better…or maybe he would think that I’m trying to find a replacement for his mom.
“I don’t know,” I mutter, rubbing my face to get rid of the heavy thoughts. “I feel like it would be too big of a change for him.”
“For him, or for you?” Georgiy asks with an obvious hint, and I don’t even know what to say for a moment. But he doesn’t wait for my response and only sighs with sympathy. “Whether you want it or not, you have to change something-or the next nanny will run away even faster than the last one.”
Well…he’s right. Of course, he’s right. Georgiy is older than me and has two kids of his own, so he knows what he’s talking about. Am I ready to follow his advice, though?
“We’ll see,” I say mindlessly and sit up in the chair, following the sound of a new message. “Do you know any good companies, by the way?”
We talk about it for a few minutes more, moving on from nanny services to talking about Georgiy’s own family problems with his wife,
Natalia, until she enters his office. He quickly bids me goodbye after that, and I can only hope that things between them are gonna get better soon. I got to know them quite recently, but we’ve been good friends ever since our families finally found some peace.
The story of relationships between the Russians and the Italians is
complicated, to say the least. It all started a long time ago when our families first brought the criminals into Chicago and established themselves as the rulers of the Mafia world. But one city wasn’t enough for two clans, so the Messina Clan and the Russian Bratva were fighting for decades, calling each other blood enemies and killing dozens if not hundreds of each other’s members. When I was a teenager, I was taught to kill the Russians at first
sight, and I’m pretty sure they were told the same. But as you see, things have changed.
First, a few years ago the previous don of the Messina Clan, Cassio Messina, was killed in an explosion-the same one that took my wife Sienna’s life away. As it turned out later, the explosion was organized by the Escarra family, a Mafia group coming from Mexico. By killing Uncle Cassio and proudly admitting to it, they announced their presence to the Mafia world and established themselves as our rivals.
Of course, Riccardo decided to get revenge for his father, so when he became the new don, he switched attention from the Russians to the
Mexicans, calling them our enemies. But soon after he took over the throne, Riccardo realized that the Mexicans were too big for us to defeat on our own. So he came up with an idea that seemed completely insane at the time.
He married Elena Pushkova, a niece of Yuriy Pushkov who was the head of the Russian Bratva at the time. And with that, Riccardo sealed a deal with Yuriy. A deal that was supposed to tie us into the strongest
alliance in Chicago-but in reality it was only a pretense that allowed Yuriy to get closer to Riccardo and attempt to kill him last December.
Thankfully, his wife Olga was on our side. She warned Riccardo about Yuriy’s plans, and with some help from Louis and his wife Sasha, Olga killed Yuriy and took over the crown.
Unlike her husband, Olga stayed true to her deal with Riccardo and helped him to build a true alliance between our families. So yes, even just a year ago, Georgiy and the rest of the Bratva were our enemies. Now, we’re almost best friends, and I like it better this way-especially since we have a common enemy to focus on.
Yeah, since that first grand appearance, the Mexicans haven’t left and, on the contrary, they’ve settled into their new position as the third biggest Mafia family of Chicago. Well, settled is probably the wrong word because they’ve been nothing but a pain in the ass for the last couple of years. They refuse to confront us openly, but they have enough people and audacity to sneak into our territories, lay ambushes, and behave as if they own the whole damn city.
But at the same time, Gerardo Escarra, the head of their family, is a sharp and sneaky man who knows how to use his position. He managed to strike a deal with our family through Paolo, Riccardo’s brother, who took his daughter Jacinta as his wife. It was supposed to fix the conflict between us-but it took the Mexicans only a year to get back to their old tactics.
Later, we found out that it was a part of Riccardo’s plan all along, but it didn’t make our relationships with the Mexicans any better.
Our alliance with the Russians seemed to strike the Escarra hard enough to force them to be quiet for a few months. But lately, they’ve been getting more and more active, and even though they haven’t tried to test our patience yet, I feel like they’re preparing something dirty again.
But well, that’s only my thoughts and speculations. Nothing is certain until they make their move. For now, we have no reason to start
another conflict with them, so it’s better to enjoy the time of peace that is so rare in our family and focus on the matters at hand.
I go back to work, and sometime later, I use a break between tasks to check on Romeo. His wrist is still red, and he still whimpers when I
accidentally touch it, but the swelling has reduced to a pimple in the place of the sting, and that’s a good sign. I apply more cream, shushing him gently when Romeo whimpers again, and almost offer to take him out for dinner when Paolo sends me a message. Damn it. I guess that means takeout again.
Romeo grins with excitement when I tell him-he likes pizza and French fries more than my cooking-but my heart feels heavy nevertheless.
I want him to have proper meals. I want him to not be alone while I’m working. I want him to feel safe and cared for, even if I can’t always be there to show how much I love him.
I want him to have a mother, but that’s impossible for obvious reasons. The memories of Sienna’s death are still too fresh in our minds to let someone take her place. But the least I can do to provide Romeo with motherly affection is find him a good nanny. And with a sudden surge of determination, I go upstairs, open a new window on my laptop, and type in professional nanny services.
This time, I’ll find someone willing to stay.