Roses & Ruin

Chapter 47 (Lexi)

"Make no mistake, offering Aleksandra's hand in marriage was to build bridges between two prominent families. This does not mean she is disposable. I hold you accountable for her safety. She will always be Petrov blood, which means she will always be respected as a Petrov should" Vitaly told the men.

Since when? The Petrov's don't even respect me themselves. But it's a pride thing here.

"Mr. Petrov, with all due respect-" Anthony began. He was cut off by a loud bang, which I assume was my father's fists hitting his desk.

"RESPECT. Exactly, right" he shouted. "I now want to be informed as to what the Irish are up to. If they're eager to neutralize you we can only expect them to take action against your newest ally. If you can't get a handle on things then we will, but know that'll be at a great cost to you" my father spoke rudely, angrily, and loudly.

"I spoke with my father. I want to be involved in your operation Anthony Rizzo. I'll be the Russian representative to the issue until further notice" I heard Andrei telling him.

Oh no. Andrei is a troublemaker. He isn't someone I would want around Anthony while Anthony is trying to fight off his enemies.

"This is an Italian matter. I don't think Mr. De Luca would be eager to share this issue with our associates" Anthony tried turning them down.

"Aleksandra won't be going to you Rizzo's until the situation is handled. And until your cousin takes on this full commitment with my daughter we won't be moving forward with our deal. Will that motivate your boss to accept our request?" Vitaly spat at him.

I heard Italian being spoken between Anthony and Mia's brother. They must be deliberating. My gut clenched at the mention of my name.

Maybe I won't have to get engaged to Enzo if they mess this deal up. I hope that's true, but I also worry that'll only mean my father will find new allies, then who knows whose hands I'll end up in. It could be someone old, ugly, abusive, or all of the above. At least with Enzo he doesn't seem so bad.

I jolted when an argument broke out between all the men. This could end very badly. I couldn't make out just one voice or the other. Who was saying what or what they were saying. There were three languages going around all at once. English, Italian, and Russian. I couldn't keep up. And then I was caught.

I heard my name be called down the hall and realized one of my dad's men saw me snooping and was waving me away from there. I begrudgingly left the door, but I was afraid I'd be hearing gunshots soon or something.

Vitaly doesn't take kindly to raised voices, but Anthony doesn't seem like much of a pushover either. If he's being disrespected I think he'll say something about it.

When I suddenly heard a door swing open I jolted and whirled around. I had only just gotten to the end of the hall, so I had a view of what was going on.

"Yeah, you'll be informed. I'll handle it personally" Anthony snapped from over his shoulder as he stormed out. My brothers quickly followed him. They were swearing all up and down at him, but in Russian so he couldn't understand.

I quickly followed after Anthony as he stormed to the front door.

"Hey, is everything alright?" I asked him. He side eyed me, but didn't say anything. I grabbed his arm which made him stop short. He looked down at the contact and quickly pulled his arm away.

"Aleksandra, pack a bag. You'll be under the protection of the Rizzo crime family until further notice" he told me. I did a double take. I thought I just heard my father say I wouldn't be going anywhere until things were handled.

"Don't worry baby sis, I'll be helping Anthony exterminate those rats" Andrei added. Oh shit tits. I looked at Andrei then Anthony. Anthony's jaw was tight, but he said nothing.

"I'll inform Enzo of this new arrangement. Just go get your things" was all he said before he walked out the Petrov front door.

I guess I just became Anthony Rizzo's newest problem.

-

I packed a bag as I was told and on the car ride to some new safe house location I was better told what the hell was going on. I guess Domani De Luca declared this an official mob war between the Italians and Irish. They expect more attacks and are planning an attack of their own, which means they want me somewhere safe along with many others.

Andrei volunteered to help pick off the Irish because he loves the violence of it all, and because Vitaly felt there should be a Russian representative involved to 'help' handle the enemy of their newest allies.

Vitaly just wants a spy amongst the Italians. That's what this is really about.

I have no idea what to expect in the coming days. How long does a mob war last? And I was already at a safehouse once and it was attacked right away. How safe is this safehouse gonna be? Will I be alone?

There were so many questions, but with all the tension I couldn't really ask them. Anthony was on the phone most of the drive after he initially told me a bit about what was going on. Andrei was with us, so it wasn't like we could talk comfortably.

I just wanna go back to my shitty apartment, go to shitty castings for half assed work, and leave all this behind. Mom wanted a normal life for me. I understand why she had us run away. Could I ever do what she did? Run? I don't know the type of people she knows. Fake passports and a nest egg of money. I'm not prepared for it.

Will I be dealing with Anthony one on one? I don't know if I could fight the sexual tension if that were the case. Where do we go from here?