Page 96 of Doll's Eye
Only my brothers and their most trusted men are gathered in the office when I get there. “Since when are we so cool with the Abramov’s?” I ask right away.
“It’s a long story, but we are,” Tullio says. “Take that old Kevlar off, Yulia has something better for you.”
“Better than my Kevlar? And who the fuck is Yulia?”
“Yulia Abramov. Now, take it off.”
I start undoing the vest, and Paolo comes to assist me. “I need to visit the armory.”
“We’ll see what Yulia brings,” he mutters.
“Tullio?” He looks at me. “You’re not thinking about making me sit this one out, are you?” The room grows quiet, and I try to suppress my instant temper. “Iamcoming.”
“Alessia—” Tullio starts.
“No. I have the location, and I will fight my way out of here and go at it alone if I have to.” I purposely left out the exact location where they plan on holding Massimo for the same reason.
Tullio’s shoulders wilt as my brothers and our crew all look to him. “Alright. Fine,” he concedes resentfully. “My orders though.”
“Got it, boss.” I salute him, making him smirk, and my brothers smile. It feels good to finally be part of the gang.
“Alright, boys. I brought some brand-new toys.” A beautiful woman sweeps into the room with a bunch of men carrying large artillery boxes. The way she holds herself, it’s obvious she’s the one in charge. Her dirty blonde hair is pulled back into a long braid and her dark eyes are somehow bright when they land on me. “And I finally get to meettheAlessia Bonetti.” She approaches me grinning, and I remain impassive. I politely accept the proper greeting, though I’m weary of this new relationship with the Russians. “I’m Yulia. Between your brothers and Massimo, I feel as if I already know you.”
Right away my hackles are up. All I can think about is Massimo and this beautiful woman alone together…If they fucked…God, I cannot think about that right now.
“I heard you have quite a collection of your own,” she says not at all deterred by my silence and gestures to the weapons being unpacked around us.
I glower over at Tullio. “I used to, yes.” The cheeky bastard has the audacity to grin.
“When you get back, we’ll have to make some time to get to know each other,” she adds.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Alright, let me get you suited up.” She peels off her leather jacket revealing her tattoo covered arms and shoulders.Damn, this girl is hot as fuck. Omg, am I seriously getting jealous right now when Massimo is facing dire peril?!I’m actually stunned by my own pettiness.
Several minutes later and I’m sucking it in. “Holy shit. I cannot breathe in this thing.” I try to twist around in the vest she put me in.
“It’s tight, I know, but feel how light it is. It’s stronger, too,” she explains.
“But what’s the point of it being lighter if I can barely breathe in it?”
“Oh, don’t be such a sissy,” Armando jabs making me stick my tongue out at him.
Taking another deep breath, I twist and turn some more, and I feel like my body is already getting used to it. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if my ribs weren’t still a little tender.
“Believe me. It’s better trying to breathe through this than trying to breathe when you get shot with the Kevlar on,” Yulia says confidently.
“It’s really that much stronger?” She nods her head. If she’s saying it has better protection, then she’s right. A slight shortness of breath now is better than breaking more ribs with a single shot. Or worse, something getting through.
“It can withstand getting shot with a .50 cal,” she adds.
My eyes literally turn into two saucers as I gawk at her. “Santo cazzo Madre di Cristo!”Holy fucking Mother of Christ!
She giggles and it sounds so feminine coming from a badass woman who just suited us all up with these insane weapons and new protective gear. “It’ll knock you on your ass for sure and leave a mark, but you’ll live.”
Huh, maybe I could stand to make a new friend.
I stuff my combat boots and my tactical thigh and back holsters with throwing knives and a couple of handguns, and I get to strap two heavy arms to my body—ones provided by Yulia that I am unfamiliar with, which are light in weight yet high caliber. Then we load up several vehicles and head to our private airstrip.
