Repaying the Mafia’s Dept

Tristan It’s her… It’s definitely her.

The instant I saw Dmitri Oleksiak I knew Isabella Baker most assuredly had to be Isabella Viggo.

The presence of that man was confirmation enough. He’s a senior member of the Circle of Shadows and would only be present out here if he were guarding something special, or someone. And he wouldn’t be guarding a mere person who was just a point of contact. Seeing any senior member of the Shadows is the same as seeing Mortimer himself. They are the strongest and what you’d expect to find guarding a person like the boss’ daughter.

I’ll take that as evidence enough that it’s her.

I watch her car disappear around the corner, and I almost feel sorry it’s her.

She seems to be like any other young woman who wants to pursue her career. A woman who wants to live her life.

I expected a princess. A privileged, silver spooned beauty like all the other rich girls who live off daddy’s dirty money. I was quickly proven wrong as I watched her at work in the clinic. I could tell she cared about her work, and unlike her father, she cares about people.

When I saw how Dmitri handled her earlier, I got the true picture of what her life must be like.

What I saw was someone being ruled with an iron fist. Held under the thumb of a dictator who wants to control every aspect of their life. That was as clear to me as the sensation of her watching me.

As her car drove away, I could feel that strong magnetic pull you get when you can sense you’re being watched.

It’s irony at its finest. I was watching her, and she was watching me too.

I’ve been following her for the last three days. I arrived on Sunday with my brothers and got a place close to where she lives. Days ago, when I first saw her working at the center, I almost didn’t think it was her because I couldn’t imagine Mortimer Viggo’s daughter working in such a capacity.

The checks we ran on her all looked legit. Everything was made to look like she was the daughter of some wealthy businessman called Russell Baker. A very clever made up name, I have to give Mortimer credit for. He almost made a believer out of me. I almost dropped the mission thinking we were wrong.

Until yesterday when I thought I saw Dmitri. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt so I couldn’t quite tell if it was him.

Today he wasn’t. Today he dressed like any regular guy. Anyone would be easily fooled and would never know the man is a deadly assassin who could kill you before you took your next breath.

The other day when I couldn’t confirm if Isabella was Mortimer’s daughter, I thought the other man with her might be a boyfriend of sorts. He’s a lot older than Dmitri, much older than her by maybe twenty years, but that’s hardly strange. Now it’s clear he’s a guard too.

I came across Dmitri in my first encounter with Vlad. That was months after Alyssa’s death when I managed to track them down. Dmitri nearly killed me and would have too if I didn’t have my father backing me up. It was a narrow escape. We were too focused on catching Vlad to pay him the attention he should have gotten.

I wished we’d killed him. From the looks of things, it seems he might have gotten Vlad’s old job.

I pull in a deep breath and set my hands on the steering wheel.

This is it.

We found her. So that means we should be able to find Mortimer.

It’s a massive step further than I ever imagined. A path to retribution, and I can see from the steps Mortimer has taken to protect and conceal her that she’s the thing he loves.

The devil has a heart. The devil has a weakness and I just found it.

Beautiful and angelic as she is, this woman is my ticket to a man I’ve been seeking vengeance on for the last six years. She’s food for the beast inside me that’s been itching for revenge since I saw my Alyssa’s head in that box.

Quickly, I fire off a message to Massimo and Dominic confirming we’ve found Isabella Viggo then drive away, heading back to the house.

I arrive in less than an hour beating traffic.

Massimo and Dominic are in the living room sitting around the little dining table. Candace is here too sitting cross-legged on the carpet by Massimo, organizing paperwork.

She works with Massimo at the company now, but her family has always worked for mine in some shape or form. As a trusted friend we’ve known since childhood we brought her along to help with the research. Since there are few people we trust we had to rely on those we already have at our disposal. Even if we would have opted to keep her out of business, her presence here is a sign that Massimo is keeping his head above water.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Our small team included all the people in the room, my two main guards Nick and Leo who know what we’re here for, and five guards who are just here for security purposes. They haven’t been given the details of the mission. Those chosen are people we’ve known for more than twenty years and have protected us in battle.

As I enter the room, I have everyone’s attention.

“Is it really her?” Massimo asks straightening up.

“It’s her,” I confirm with a sure nod.

“How can you be certain?” Dominic asks.

“I saw her with Dmitri Oleksiak,” I answer and that’s confirmation enough. They know Dmitri too.

“Jesus…” “Yeah,” I say, agreeing we might need to call on the lord’s help. But since he wouldn’t condone the plans we have up our sleeves we’re kind of in the shitter.

“Okay. Now that we know it’s her, we need to plan on when to strike,” Massimo states.

At the mention of striking Candace’s gaze drops back down to the stack of papers in her hands.

Like all the shit we get up to, she doesn’t agree with what we’re planning to do. But she won’t voice her opinions one way or the other. Not when she also knows this is the only way to get the man responsible for so many deaths.

We know enough now and all that’s left is a window of time for me to take her.

“Brother, I don’t mean to overstep,” Dominic says. “But if she has the likes of Dmitri watching over her we need to think of how we’re going to pull this off.”

“I’ll keep watching,” I cut in. “I’ll keep looking for a way. I just have to find one. A window.

When I find it, we just have to be ready to act.”

The plan is to take her to the island.

My island. No one will be able to find her if she’s there. I’m supposed to take her there to hide her while Massimo arranges the heist to take down Mortimer. That’s of course providing we’re told his location. That’s the plan.

“All right, you keep watching her and we’ll be ready to act,” Massimo says. “Dominic, anything you can conjure to make this go a bit faster?”

“Yeah,” Dominic replies. “I got access to her number from the clinic, so I can set up a tracker. I’ll try to make some kind of device so you and Tristan can listen in. I can’t promise anything though. It might not work.”

“Do your best bro. Right now, it’s like watching a film on silent.” It’s exactly like that, and now I know it’s her it’s gonna piss me off to no end if I can’t do anything but watch and wait. “If I can hear what’s happening around her then that will definitely make everything go smoother, quicker too.”

I lean against the wall as he nods.

“I’ll see what I can rig up. You’ll have to get close to her though and attach it to something she carries with her. I can’t think of anything else I can make that doesn’t require you to do that.” Dominic inclines his head to the side and cracks his knuckles.

“Then I’m gonna have to find a way to get near her.” She always has her bag with her. It’s a small pink suede saddle bag. Over the last few days, I haven’t seen her without it. If I am going to go for any of her belongings it has to be that.

“That should work. I’ll get on it tonight. I’ll definitely have the tracker ready by nightfall though.”

Sometimes I don’t know what we’d do without him. Fuck knows what would have happened, and God knows we’ve managed to achieve the impossible with him. Like now. All of this is him.

“Thank you,” I tell him, and he nods his appreciation.

“Good. Looks like we have a plan in motion,” Massimo says. “I’ll have the men ready for back up when you’re ready to take her. It would be best to take her without a struggle.”

“Massimo, my choices are to knock her out with a tranq or hold a gun to her head.” I have to be blunt because neither of those means are going to be without a struggle. If I do either she’s going to put up a fight. I would however prefer not to use my gun, but I will if I have to.

“Your pick,” he answers glancing cautiously at Candace as she closes her eyes for a few seconds, a tell she’s not really coping well with this conversation.

It’s understandable, more so given her fears from what happened to her in the past.

Shit. Maybe we should have left her back in LA with Emelia. She returns to arranging the paperwork, but her hands are shaking.

“Babe,” Dominic says to her noticing her reaction too.

It’s only when he moves off his chair and crouches down in front of her that she looks at him. That flush in her cheeks that only appears for him rushes over her neck and she widens her eyes at the surprise of having his attention.

“Me?” Candace says and blinks several times.

“Yeah, you. Why don’t you take a break?” Dominic smiles.

“I was just doing these for you.” She holds his gaze as if she’s surprised he’s talking to her.

“Nah, leave it. It looks fine now. Come, let me make you some tea.” The flush of her cheeks is more pronounced when he takes the stack of papers from her. He then takes her hands and helps her stand.

“Thank you.”

I can’t even take a moment to notice it might be the first time my genius brother noticed the woman who’s had her eye on him since we were kids.

I look back to Massimo as they head out and notice the strain in his shoulders. He looks back to me and sighs.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have brought her along,” he states.

“I know why you did.”

“I just hope this works.”

“Massimo, I don’t plan to fail,” I assure him. It’s important he knows that. “Failure is not an option for me. This man is the reason my wife is dead, and why our father is dead. I will do this.”

He rests his hand on my shoulder and nods. “I believe you.”

I nod my thanks.

At least we know who Isabella is now.

That by itself is a weapon I have every intension of using.

No matter the cost.