42 42) Loyalty
Edward
John, Marco, Vasili and I sat in my home office. Vasili sat next to me on the couch whilst Marco and John sat opposite us. "Before we start I thought it would be good if I fully introduced myself," Marcos voice held a coolness to it that I knew never ended well. His hostility was shining through and I was worried.
"Marco, Vasili already knows you," I added in not liking where this was going.
"I feel like it would clear the air, no?" He tilted his head. "I am Marco Agassi. Besides my multi-billion euro company I come from a long heritage of Italian Mafia royalty. My grandfather decided to break away from the mafia and work with the police since he did not agree with the way the mafia worked. He was one of the first mafia leaders to fully work with the police and bring down others gangs by free will. By the time my father had gotten the role we had started working with Interpol to handle bigger more international cases. Now I work with Interpol and governments all around the world to stop criminals.
"But I'm sure you already knew that Vasili," he glared. I looked at Vasili who glared back, "answer the question Vasili."
"Yes," he growled out. His response shocked me since Marcos other life was such a well kept secret. If people found out about his families heritage and what he did, not only could it put him at high risk, but everyone involved so it was something we all kept secret. I was surprised he even mentioned it to Vasili since only close family members knew about.
"Well to add onto your knowledge I work with Pablo, Sasha, Arsenio and Edward," Marco responded. Vasilis head snapped to my direction as soon as Marco mentioned my name. It was not something I wanted to tell him so early on in our relationship especially after today. We had just made things official between the two of us and I had no idea where Marco was going with this, but I felt slightly irritated.
When I was nineteen my father had introduced me to Marcos family fully. I always knew the Agassis, but this time was different. He showed me their other world. The world where they helped dismantle mafias and gangs all around the world. What they did was extremely dangerous and it was a surprise to find out my father was helping them all along. At that age Marcos father had started training him to take over in a few years and I felt compelled to step in as well. My father had helped his father for almost all his life and I felt that it would be a great honor for me to do the same.
Marco and I had gone through extensive training for years. Whether it was combat, weapons, spying and negotiations we did it. By the time I was twenty five I could put a gun together with my eyes closed. In a way it was my fathers way of putting me in the army, but special division. It was a great honor to help clean up the world of drugs, murderers and human trafficking. Yet after last year when Amanda got kidnapped by one of Marcos enemies my mother had put her foot down and demanded I stop. When Amanda was taken it was scary for all us especially since she was pregnant.
After we got her back and I decided to walk away from it, but helped Marco where I could without getting over involved. That was why I was allowed to have guns in my house, simply because I use to work so closely with British intelligence that they knew if my cover was blown I would be one of the first people targeted. "Get to the point Marco," I sighed.
"Now that we are all caught up, why don't you tell Edward the truth?" Marcos voice could freeze water in a split second. Vasili looked like a deer caught in headlights, a part of me wanted to stop this, but I knew he would not go through all this work only to embarrass him. "Tell him the truth Vas." It was definitely a command.
"This doesn't involve me I swear. I don't even know what's going on," Vasilis voice was stern and I admired how strong he was, but I was worried. Something did not feel right.
"Fine. I gave you the opportunity to defend yourself but you chose otherwise. I will tell him the truth," I looked at Marco curiously, "Yavok is in the Russian bratva. Leader in fact. Those men that were here were sent to kill Vasili and take you for ransom. Yavok has been using Vasili to get close to you so they could get close to me. It seems we have a common enemy he can't handle on his own and everyone knows I don't help anyone without them getting cuffed as well. By gaining your trust they could influence you to influence me."
His words hit me like a giant bus filled with explosions set on fire.
"That's not true!" Vasili stood up and stood in front of Marco, he had turned red and balled up his fists. I could tell Marco was ready to fight by his stance alone.
"I gave you the opportunity to explain yourself, you chose not to," Marco snarled taking a step forward.
"Marco no!" I jumped in between them and pushed him back. When he lost his temper it was very hard to control him, a side I was grateful Amanda never bared witness too. "Vasili talk," my voice was practically pleading as he stood there equally angry.
He gulped down then sighed, "Look when I was young my family had no money. At times we would go to sleep without any food and no guarantee we would get some anytime soon. We tried to be stable but at the time everything was so hard. My father decided to join the local gang in our town. We got loads of money by how my father worked up the ranks over the years. When I was twelve my father was practically a millionaire and also the second hand to the leader. An accident happened killing him and that was when my father took over."
My heart clenched trying to envision a young Vasili, with the same pleading blue eyes filled with hunger. I clenched my jaw and looked away from his face.
"After my father took over we moved to Moscow. I started ballet, Yavok went to university and my sister. My mom had a restaurant because she loved cooking. None of this would have been possible if my father did not become leader. It doesn't excuse what has happened whilst he was in power, but if it was not for him sacrificing so much for us I would not be here today. "
"When I was twelve I... I got involved in something that would have brought shame to my parents. They sent me to New York and when I came back everything was just... tense. The different gangs were at war and my father was in the middle of it. Since no one really knew my face after five years of being gone I had to live on my own. Yavok stayed with my father whilst my sister left. If my sister and I were discovered we would have been targets immediately and killed to get to my father."
"Last year they planted a bomb in my father's car, he was with my mom," his eyes glazed over as he recalled the event. I just wanted to reach out and touch him, but my judgement told me better. What if that was what they wanted? For him to get close. "I never wanted to be a part of this. I never wanted to work with Yavok. Most times I ask him to tell me nothing so I have no idea what is going on. Okay. I'm shocked why someone would want to kill me. I'm practically, a nobody."
We all kept quiet as his words soaked in. I wanted to believe him, but I knew from what happened tonight there had to be more to it.
"I don't trust you but luckily for you Yavok is on his way. He will be here first thing in the morning," Marco grunted. His words seemed to go into one ear and go through the other as I just stood there looking between the two men.
John silently sat on the chair as usual inspecting the situation. To him this may have seemed to be a confrontation, but to Marco, Vasili and I this was deeper. By far deeper. I had no idea what to believe. There was no way Vasili could fake all of that. Fake the feelings and the attraction we had to one another. Yet there was no way Marco could lie about something so big knowing it would hurt me. It just did not make sense. Nothing made sense.
Yet a part of it also made sense. My first day with Vasili he kissed my neck in his house which was not something you would do to someone you had just met. We became close friends quickly when he arrived in London and now we were together. He had me wrapped around his fingers and was always so closed off about anything. He never told me anything and never mentioned his past. I knew Marco was not lying about Vasilis family. Some of the tattoos on his body were obvious gang tattoos and I definitely knew that since I had worked with multiple people with matching tattoos.
He covered it up well with others, but someone like me with a trained eye could spot it. That was why Arsenio would not stop asking him about them. Arsenio knew as well. I had hoped it was just a coincidence, but now everything was mounting up against us. It felt like my heart was breaking as I connected all the dots.
"Edward," Vasili tried to reach out for me, but I stepped away.
"Ed," Marco as well tried to touch my shoulder, but I felt overwhelmed. This was not a panick attack no. This was genuine heartbreak all over again.
