I despise Mondays. School is a shit hole, I hate people. My father thought it would be a good idea to ship me off to America, he's trying to keep me safe while my uncle is on the loose. I have so much respect for my father, he is a force to be reckoned with, he holds so much power in Russia and I aspire to be like him when I eventually take over.
For now, though, I'm leaning against my car in the school parking lot, waiting for Dom and Rome to turn up. I'm shaken out of my thoughts when I hear my phone ringing. I answer it without looking at the caller ID.
"Alec," my father's thick Russian accent came through the phone.
I release a small breath I didn't know I was holding, "Yes father?"
"I need you to talk to the Rossi boys, get them to send a message to Lorenzo, he needs to stay away from Viktor. Diavola said she will handle him for us."
I nod, even though he can't see me, "but that means they'll know who I am, they will kill me if they know I'm related to Viktor."
He sighs on the other end, "I know son, but Diavola asked for you to do this. I see it as a trust thing. Please do this, you know we need the Italians to trust us."
"Okay, consider it done, they're pulling up now. Wish me luck. Talk soon otets."
(father)
Dom and Rome make their way towards me, they greet me with a bro hug and a pat on the back. My nerves are unsettling. How do I talk to them about who I am? Who am I to send them a message? Why does Diavola want me to send the message when she could have? I think to myself. I get to cut out of my thoughts when Gio, Andrè, and Emèlia pull into the lot as well.
"Dude, are you okay? You look nervous as shit right now." Dom nudges me. I shake my head to clear any doubts, "Yeah look, we need to talk." I look at everyone in the eye, they give nothing away. We're all taught to keep our emotions in check. Display no weakness.
When the other three make their way to us, I gesture towards behind the gym so we can talk privately away from prying eyes. I make my way over, everyone following me. I grab a smoke out of a bag and light it up. I inhale and exhale, the smoke soothing my nerves.
"What's this about Alec? You're scaring us." Emèlia mutters, I can see her nerves coming through.
We have all been good friends for years now. She is like the baby sister of the group. Us boys always look out for her. She's always one to show emotion, yes she's involved in the mafia but she wants nothing to do with it.
I ignore her and I look Dom in the eye, "Believe me when I say, this is nothing personal. I had no say in this. My real name is Alec Petrov, my father is Ivan and my uncle as you all know is Viktor. I have a message for you to give to Lorenzo. Diavola, wants him to leave Viktor alone. She's going to take care of him." Dom's eye twitches I can see the anger starting to radiate through his whole body.
I am a fucking dead man smoking. Secretly wished the smoking would kill me quicker.
I see everybody's tenses when I mention my last name. They're all looking at me with wide eyes, fists clenching and unclenching, jaws locked.
In a blur, Dom has me up against the brick wall, hand around my throat, my smoke forgotten about now.
This is it, this is where I die, thanks a lot Diavola you bitch!
Gio's phone starts ringing, he answers it. Everyone looks at him except Dom who is staring daggers into my soul. I look at Gio and see his face pale, mouth parting as a goldfish caught out of water. He blinks out of his trance.
"Dom stop!" Gio booms. Dom only grunts in response. Gio takes the phone away from his ear and puts it on the loudspeaker.
"Tsk, tsk, I wouldn't do that if I were you Dominco. Poor little Alec had no choice, he is not responsible for what his uncle is doing and you know deep down that is true. Besides, best friends don't kill each other. Alec is now under my protection." The angelic voice laughs.
"I wanted to see if I could trust Ivan and Alec, which they have passed. I wanted to know if he would out himself, to stop his uncle —" She pauses, "Now I know, so if I were you I would let Alec go, he looks like he's losing a bit of color in his face, he's too cute to die just yet." She giggles.
"What the fuck.." Andrè whispers, eyes wide looking around the area, thinking what we're all thinking. She's watching us right now.
Dom instantly lets me go, I choke trying to catch my breath back. We all look around trying to see if we can spot her.
"It's no use, I can see you but you can't see me —" she laughs a hearty laugh, "oh my god, call me fucking John Cena, that was so funny and unintentional." We hear Gio and Rome snickering.
"Don't look so serious Dom, not all Russians are bad. I don't have much time, I have a hair salon appointment in 10 minutes. I need you to tell Lorenzo to stay away from Viktor, he is mine. I will send him to the depths of hell, along with his men who get in the way, please don't be one of those who get in the way. It would be a tragedy to lose another Rossi." She sighs.
"What are you talking about? Losing another Rossi?" Rome exclaims, snatching the phone from Gio.
"You don't know?" she clicks her tongue, "Mama Rossi is no more. She died a long time ago. I am truly sorry for your loss boys, I would have hoped your father would have told you all. Looks like Papa Rossi is hiding secrets. Tell me, have you found Valentina yet?"
The Rossi boy's eyes bulge out of their heads when they hear the news of their mother. Their eyes gloss over, they're trying to hold their tears back. I already knew about it, thanks to my father keeping me updated but in no way was I going to tell them. They loved her so much, when she left with their baby sister they were so heartbroken. Dom especially, was the closest with Valentina, he lost himself that day when he found her bed empty. He always opened up to me about it all, that's what best friends were for.
"Ti svelo un piccolo segreto, lei è al sicuro." she hangs up the phone. Leaving all of us to gather ourselves and our thoughts.
(I'll let you in on a little secret, she is safe)
I let out a chuckle, which startles everyone. They all look at me like I've grown two heads just after having an intense conversation.
Diavola, you bitch. I will get you back for this.
I sigh, "Look, I'm sorry I lied. I had to leave Russia, my uncle not only wants the Italian Princess, but he also wants my father and me, dead. He's planning to take control over our mafia." Hanging my head in shame.
"What did she say in Italian?" Emèlia murmurs. She looks to the Rossi boys who share glances. I look to Andrè who has his brows furrowed in confusion.
Andrè's phone all of sudden starts ringing, his breathing hitches, he grabs it out of his pocket with shaky hands, holding it out, putting it on speaker for us to hear.
All of us tense at the sudden anticipation, he answers it but nothing comes through. All of sudden the call cuts out. I look around the circle we have formed around the phone. It calls again, with an unknown number, Andrè answers it again.
"Sorry about that, damn Russian scum knocked my phone out of my hand —" she breaths out, gunshots and screams are heard in the background, "Andrè, I need you to tell your father that I am cashing in my favor, tell him Diavola is collecting what he owes me. He will know what I am talking about." The call ends.
We all gape at Andrè in disbelief. How the hell is Luis Pierre involved with Diavola?
"It's safe to say, that our fathers have some explaining to do." Rome scoffs.
You've got that right Rome.