The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 43

Nestor was gone, and Alyona sincerely wished that she could fall asleep. She spent the rest of the night trying to uncover one mystery after another. Finally, an hour before the first light appeared in the Russian sky; she fell asleep.

There was a knock on the door, and Nestor appeared once again before her. Alyona felt like the morning came too soon, but she felt a bit rejuvenated.

“Princess, it’s time to get you out of here.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Nestor was shocked at how Alyona looked ready to take on the world the next minute, though. Still, if anyone could set aside their emotions and act from a logical perspective, then Alyona qualified a great deal.

He swore silently to do all he could for her and make sure she would become Don as her father wished. He didn’t want Don’s children to fight, but if it came to that, his loyalty was steadfast to Alyona. He didn’t hate Mariyanna, but she was an unfit leader.

Agent Fox and Olga were watching Mariyanna through a tablet screen. They were in the secret room of the Don, where all family issues were dealt with, and plans were tried before reaching the other family members. Mariyanna remained frozen on a chair. Her most scintillating features were her almond-shaped hazel pupils.

“I can’t believe the both of you,” she addressed them sternly.

“I almost had her,” Olga said vehemently. “Damn that son of bitch for interfering.”

“I will take care of Nestor,” agent Fox said.

“You can’t do that; it will draw too much attention to me!” Mariyanna said. “Not that the spotlight isn’t already on me, but I don’t need more attention.”

“What if she remembered you did? What if it was why she came to meet Nestor?” Fox said, drumming his middle and index fingers on the desk.

“If that were the case, then I would have known because Alyona won’t keep it quiet if she knew what I had done. She would have wanted to use it as leverage to reclaim power.”

“We mustn’t let this come to that,” Olga said. She could feel herself being thrown out of her position once Alyona assumed her place as Don.

“Boss, we are waiting for your instruction,” agent Fox said.

“Let’s lay low for now,” said Mariyanna. “Olga, may I please have the room alone with the agent?”

Agent Fox wondered how he had been so sloppy with his job, and now Mariyanna would be faced with a lot of attention. He watched Olga shut the door. After waiting a while, he went to peep to ensure that she wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.

“We are clear,” said agent Fox, turning his focus to the screen.

“Fox, what the hell is a werewolf? Forgive me, but I think you’re starting to imagine things again.”

“The hell I’m not! I shot at these men, and they didn’t die,” agent Fox said. “One kept coming at me no matter how many rounds of bullets I wasted on him.”

“And you’re sure these men weren’t putting on a bulletproof vest?”

“They were not putting on any,” Agent Fox said. “If you didn’t order my break out, then who the hell did? I thought you found Jamie.”

“I didn’t, but from what you told me, I can safely assume that Jamie and his benefactor found you on their own. I can’t take your word that there are werewolves. There ought to be another explanation for it, Fox.”

Agent Fox nodded. He couldn’t convince her, at least not without proof, and he, too, wouldn’t have been persuaded if he hadn’t witnessed them for himself.

“Coming here was a mistake,” said Agent Fox. “We should’ve just waited for Alyona to return to Italy. If she still hasn’t remembered what happened then, we were overly cautious.”

“It’s not a mistake if things go south; it’s an outright blunder, but we’ve learned a great deal. This Jamie guy, I feel that he will reach out to you soon. Find out what his business is in all of this. They said we want the same thing; tell him to prove it by telling his boss to contact me.”

“No, I don’t want you involved in this any longer.”

“It’s already too late; I’ve been dragged into it all! This is not the time for me to shy away. I can take care of myself, by the way. Get me that meeting; that would be all.”

As soon as the connection to the video call was terminated, Agent Fox let out a stale breath. He was going to get her proof. However, he was feeling pretty shaken up by the past events.

The mere thought of their existence discredited his logic of the real world. He wondered what else was out there? Vampires and witches? He felt intrigued, and putting his fear aside as a good soldier would, he summoned the boldness to start looking for Jamie.

Agent Fox stepped out of the room and went outside, where he took a long walk around the building. As he was surveying the place, he came across Laslow, who was taking a walk himself.

“Well, I’ll be damned if it isn’t the PI,” Laslow said. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here; why the f**k are you here? You following me around now?”

“Truly, this is a coincidence because I work here too!” Laslow said, grinning. “I’m just kidding.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“F**k no,” said Laslow. “Although we had you followed. You’re good, alright, granted that your trail went cold after a while.”

Agent Fox smiled and said, “Under normal circumstances, I would have shot at them, but I’ll need some form of a unique bullet to put your kind down for good.”

“You are lucky that my boss wants you alive,” said Laslow.

“About that, earlier, two men released me. Wasn’t it a little odd that there weren’t many guards surrounding where I was held captive?”

“Yes, a loose end, but we’ve tied it up quickly. Alonso doesn’t know where you are. I heard that Taleela was here.”

“For f**k sake, I’m sick of you all calling her that! Her name is Alyona! Look, my boss wants an alliance with your boss.”

“As do mine,” Laslow said. “Set up a meeting right away, and my boss will be with her.”

“Unfortunately, she’s in Italy.”

“Then a phone call will suffice,” Laslow said. “We should drink up to forming a new alliance.”

“Not unless I know what your boss wants,” said Fox. “Come on; we will be allies; we shouldn’t hold back sensitive information.”

“I’m afraid neither of us has that clearance to open up,” Laslow said. “I’ll be drinking all day.”

“Knock yourself out.”

Agent Fox called Mariyanna and told her that one of the men who attacked him worked for her. Mariyanna said that she wouldn’t mind coming down to Russia.

Mariyanna wanted to see this unlikely group for herself. Fox tried to talk her into accepting the phone call, but she was headstrong about meeting personally.

—

Back in the casino, Alonso watched Taleela enter the building with his grandfather. He got up from his chair as they entered. They probably must have met outside when Mazza went to stretch his feet down the streets.

Alonso wasn’t sure how he had expected to react when he saw Taleela, but his initial anger gave way to gratitude when he saw her. She wore a bandage around her neck, evidently pointing to where the bullet had grazed her soft flesh.

“Alonso,” Taleela called out to him, but he turned his face away from her.

“I should leave you two to it then,” Mazza said, tapping Alonso on the shoulder before taking his leave.

“Why did you run off on your own?” Alonso asked, glaring at her. “See what the hell happened to you.”

“I’m sorry,” Taleela said, sounding like she meant it. “I got curious after meeting with that man in the restaurant.”

“You could’ve waited for me,” Alonso said. “What did he tell you?”

“I don’t know, something about me being Ivan’s daughter,” she stammered.

“And?”

“Nothing, I swear nothing makes any sense. I can’t remember any of it. I’m lucky to be alive and back.”

Alonso listened to her heartbeat; it wasn’t steady. She was lying.

“Sit down,” Alonso said. “You are Ivan’s daughter, even if you don’t remember it. I think I’ve had my suspicions for a long time now. There are certain things you should know. I wouldn’t want someone else telling you before I had the chance to explain it myself.”

Taleela sat down, waiting patiently for Alonso to come back from wherever his mind had wandered. It took a great deal of self-control for her to be with him right now. His angelic face concealed his brutal heart. She vowed never to fall for looks again.

“There’s no easy way to say what I have to say,” Alonso began; the words were heavy on his mouth.

How the hell do you confess to killing your mate’s father? He wondered if he should change the topic, but he suspected that Taleela would catch on to his insincerity.