Alessandro has also seen it, and he pulls me down with Katya. The gun goes off, and bullets fly everywhere. I put my hands over my ears and wait until the squealing tires spin-off. We all stand up, and Alessandro calls, “Is anyone hurt?”
“Sonny! Sonny!” My Uncle Romero calls, and my blood runs cold. We all turn and see my father lying in a pool of his own blood with my uncle hovering over him. “Someone get an ambulance.”
Frankie hurries to him. “There’s no time. Alessandro, help me.”
“Get inside and stay inside,” Alessandro yells at me as he hurries to where my father is. I hesitate, but the glare I get from my uncle makes me rush inside and into the house. I pace up and down the entrance hall.
I can’t just stand here and do nothing. I take out my phone and search through my contacts before I dial Danny’s number. He’s the only cop I know who might help me.
“Danny, it’s Tori. I need you to run some plates for me, no questions asked,” I say. “Can you do that?”
“As long as it’s nothing illegal, sure,” Danny says. “Give it to me.”
I recite the plates to him, and he goes quiet for a moment. “Hmm, I’d stay away from this, Tori. These guys have ties to the mafia.”
“Which one? Which family?” I ask. “Please, Danny, I need to know.”
Danny sighs and says, “You didn’t hear it from me, but it’s the Volkov family. The head guy is Ivan Volkov, and that’s all I can tell you.”
“That’s all I need,” I say. “Thank you, Danny.”
I hang up and grab my brother's car keys. I hurry to the garage and get in, heading straight to the hospital. When I walk into the waiting room, Alessandro gets up angrily. “Tori, I ordered you to stay at the house.”
“I found out whose behind the attacks,” I say quickly. “I got the plates and ran them through a friend.”
Alessandro’s frown remains, but he takes me aside. “Who was it?”
“Ivan Volkov’s family, that’s who the vehicle belongs to,” I say. “I want to help get revenge.”
“You’re to stay out of this, Tori,” Alessandro growls. “This is not yours to handle.”
“He’s my father,” I spit, and Alessandro is about to say something else when a doctor comes out. “Mr. Sorvino?”
Alessandro goes to him, and they talk in hushed tones. I go to stand by Luigi, who is glaring daggers at me. I ignore him as I watch Alessandro. The doctor leaves, and Alessandro comes over to us. We all huddle in as he speaks, “Sonny is being put in a medically induced coma. It isn’t looking good, and they don’t think he will make it. I’m sorry, guys.” Alessandro looks at me. “If your information is good, I’ll send my message to the Volkov family.”
My heart breaks, but I swallow my tears. I need to focus now to enact my revenge. My lips draw into a thin line as the men continue talking.
“Why would they attack us?” Luigi asks quietly.
“Probably because of how much we’ve expanded. We’ve united several families. They wanted an alliance with us at one point, but they might see us as a threat. But for me, this is an eye for an eye, and I will have men from Miguel’s family send a personal message to Ivan The Bear Volkov.”
“Why’s he called the bear?” I ask stupidly.
Everyone stares at me, and Alessandro shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is you shouldn’t be involved in this.”
“He’s my father, and this is my family too. I am not backing out now.” I cross my arms.
Alessandro looks at Luigi. “Go home, both of you. I’ll send additional security to the house to keep you safe. When I hear something, I’ll call you both.” He looks at me pointedly. “But the decision of what to do is mine and mine alone, as head of this family. You will both respect that.”
I nod, and Luigi takes my arm, leading me out of the hospital.
Chapter 2 - Ivan
My favorite meal of the day might be dinner, but lunch at my mother’s restaurant is always worthwhile. What I hate is being interrupted while I’m eating, so when my brother Leonid comes into the restaurant carrying a soggy box, I’m praying for his sake that it’s not coming my way.
When he puts it on the table, I don’t look up as I say, “I’m eating.”
“It’s Uncle Dimitri,” he says quietly. “Or at least a piece of him.”