[Aldo]
“Me neither,” Dawn says out of the side of her mouth. “There’s something they’re not telling us. Something they know.”
We both share a look of caution toward one another. Are we in the depths of a trap? Could this all be a move to force Luca’s hand?
The thought suddenly strikes me and scares the shit out of me. What if that’s the whole point? What if the other Russians were trying to warn us?
My mind goes into overdrive as I come to a stop in front of the group. I can instantly see who Sergei is. He’s a wolf of a man. Standing over six feet, thick gray hair and a beard, all groomed, and a suit that barely stretches across his barrel chest. He’s sixty-five but looks like he’d put me in the ground with ease. He’s covered in tattoos.
We share one last look and get out. I immediately slide open the rear van door and grab our things. When I come back, I catch a glimpse of Leandro’s father, Nicholas Colombino, the biggest Don of them all. Luca even answers him.
He’s the same age as Sergei, but he’s wiry where the other is muscular. He’s covering his frame up in a baggy jacket, where Sergei is showing off his power. The two have shown who they are by how they are. I swallow, and he just grins at me.
There are not many men that scare me.
Not many men that I wouldn’t think I couldn’t fight.
But Nicholas Colombino is one of the men I’d never want to cross. The stories I used to hear about him when I worked with Dante, dad’s friend and also a don, were horrific. The stories I’ve heard confirmed since working for Luca are worse…
Sergei turns to one of his men and whispers in Russian. His man nods and points at us, replying in the same tongue.
All the while, Nicholas grins at us. He nods again and smokes his cigarette. Sergei’s conversation with his man is over. He nods. Nicholas licks his lips and smiles. He opens his hands wide.
“Friends of Lucas’, thank you for delivering the van here. At first, I wanted to question his move to send two such interesting characters…”
I look at Dawn and she’s looking at me. It’s then that I notice everyone is looking at her. A fierce protectiveness jumps up in my chest. Sergei is smirking.
“But now seeing you, I understand why. It seems the Miami sun treats you well.” He laughs, and his entourage laughs along with him.
Sergei’s man translates for him, and he grins too. He winks at Dawn and she doesn’t give him anything back.
I take back what I was thinking before, I would fight both of these men. I don’t give a shit what their histories are. Dawn is not theirs to have. They’d have to go through me to get her-
The thought strikes me like a lightning bolt. I look at Dawn in awe. I would fight these men for her.
Nicholas nods, and it is our signal to leave. The two groups immediately converge, and men come from the shadows, descending upon the van and its contents.
The trip is over.
The secret has successfully been transported from Miami to New York. Who knows what will happen now?
As we exit the warehouse, I’m not sure which thoughts consume me more, the van or Dawn and I?
We get back outside and Leandor is approaching us, a car is following him. He smiles and spreads his hands wide. “Please accept this ride on our behalf. Our driver will take you all the way to JFK. Thank you again.”
That’s it. He keeps on and soon the car is stopped in front of us and the driver is waiting for us to get in. Dawn and I share another look and then shake our heads.
This is the most bizarre deal I’ve ever been involved with. But then it makes me think that maybe Luca is letting me be more involved than normal. Maybe the trust is at a higher level? Or maybe these New Yorkers just do things differently?
We sit in the seat, and the driver immediately gets moving. We leave the block quickly, and soon we’re out of the dockyards and headed out for the highway. I can see the signs for JFK already on the boards.
It’s just us in the back, a screen divider separates the driver in front and he’s not even acknowledged us once.
“That was bizarre.” Dawn is shaking her head. “Are we just super close to the action in Miami or something?” She laughs.
“I know!” I shake my head in awe and the feeling of dread and the knots that had been plaguing my stomach these last few hours are gone. “It felt really weird. Like we weren’t worthy.”
“And you didn’t have the eyes of those men on you,” Dawn says, she shivers afterwards. “It felt so…”
“Horrible,” I say.
“Yeah,” she says. Then she grins. “Was that a hint of jealousy?”
I blush slightly. “Well, no-” I come to a stop, however. My silence betrays me. “Maybe.”
Dawn grins.
“Look, I know I’ve been super weird these couple days. And definitely not there for you, as I could have been.”
“You’ve been stressed,” Dawn begins.
“But I’ve also been rude.” I push my point home. “I’m sorry for that. I don’t want you to think that I was just using you to hook up or for stress relief.”
I’m gesturing at the driver and the world around us. The sky is bleary, and the only thing I want to do is get back inside somewhere. There’s no warmth in the car either.
“I’ve had some fun too,” Dawn says. She reaches over and grabs my hand. “But thank you.”
We sit in silence for a bit. It just feels so comfortable. It feels so right. I feel like I could trust her with anything…
“Aldo?” Dawn begins. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“It’s about my brother.” she says.
“Yeah?”
“What did you mean before about the Russians? That he might know something? Or the note you mentioned?”
My heart stutters then. I clasp her hand and don’t let go. With everything that Leandro has just said, that there are others who aren’t too happy with their business deal.
I wonder if another Russian family has been spying on us. If someone within either family isn’t happy, it wouldn’t be safe to talk about it here.
Especially as I notice that the intercom light is on.
The driver’s eyes dart away in the rearview mirror.
I squeeze Dawn’s hand back. “Don’t worry. Later.”
Dawn gives me a confused look, until I raise a finger to my lips…