Mafia

Truths, comitments and horses

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katya. Are you coming riding with us today as well?" She shook her head and looked to Elena who was smiling down at her, "my mama says I'm not old enough yet, but aunty Elena says I can come with you to the stables and pet the horses!" She proclaimed, like petting horses was the most amazing thing in the world. And for a little girl, it was pretty close to the truth. 

"Luca, you look well." I rose to my feet and saw Elena greeting Luca who had taken up much the same position as he had when he was waiting for me as he came to pick me up. 

"The same can be said of you, Elena. You look better," She smiled softly and nodded, "It's hard, but I'm hanging in there. Every day is a little easier then the one before." I couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult things must have been for her in the beginning, and I hoped to god I would never find out. 

"Is Dmitri inside?" Elena nodded, "He's in his office with Vigo, their discussing business as usual, I'm sure you can go right in." Luca's eyes slid to me and I swallowed at the look in them, knowing without doubt that he was still pissed at what I'd done. 

Pushing away from the car, he came to me and pressed his lips to my temple. 

"We'll talk more tonight, have fun with the horses," he muttered before he let me go and I watched him go up the stairs and disappear into the house. 

"So," Elena quipped and looked first at Katya, then me, and continued, "let's go check out the horses, shall we?" I grinned, winked down at Katya who was bouncing up and down in excitement and hoped this was going to be a good day, even if it got a little derailed at the first hurdle. 

***

Luca

He was still attempting to decide what to do with the knowledge that Ana had shared what she did with Elena, when he was led to Dmitri's office by a beautiful woman that had introduced herself as Irina Karyakin, Vigo's wife no doubt. She was slightly taller than both Ana and Elena, but not by much, and she was not the kind of woman that would have immediately struck him as Vigo's type. This had nothing to do with her appearance, but how he could immediately sense she was a woman pure of heart, much like Ariana. Still, there were demons in her eyes that spoke of darker times, and he knew some of what had transpired when Vigo and Irina first began their relationship years ago. 

"I'm sure you can go right in, they're expecting you." Irina said in her soft quiet voice and gave him a genuine smile. He nodded, still deep in thought and knocked once before he opened the door without waiting for a response and walked right in. 

When he entered, the two men already in the room turned their eyes to him, and he was not for the first time, struck by how dissimilar the two men was to each other. Dmitri with his dark steely eyes and dark coloring, opposed to Vigo with his blonde hair and eyes that Ana would describe as ice blue, they were like night and day in comparison to each other. It was no secret that the two men were as close as brothers, having grown up together and ascended the ranks of the russian bratva together, very much like Luca and Gabriel had done in the Cosa Nostra. Theirs were a bond forged in blood and hardship, one just as strong, if not more so, than those of family and genetics. 

Luca loved and relied on his cousin Vincent for much of his business, but there was only one man he trusted without conditions, and that was Gabriel. It was without doubt, Vigo was Dmitri's, Gabriel. 

"Luca, I see you made it without difficulty." 

Grabbing a seat in the sofa across from the one Dmitri was lounged on, Vigo in a chair between them, Luca gave him a rueful smile and turned his eyes to the window overlooking the massive grounds owned by the russian boss.