River burst out laughing, which honestly surprised me. I swear, only my mate and Leaf brought this side out of Vasily's prickly omega. "Tanner, stop. You're killing me, dude. Why don't you tell Leaf about your baby instead of exchanging weird food trivia? Most pregnant people like to talk about the baby they have on board, right? Even I didn’t mind talking about it, if I’m being honest. Not to mention the fact that babies make much better dinner conversation."
Leaf vibrated with excitement, talking so fast it nearly made me dizzy trying to keep up. "That's right! I was waiting to ask you about that. Oh, wow. Your first baby! How excited are you? Babies are so much fun. The part where you have to actually push them out isn't so great, but they make up for it by being super cute and cuddly."
“And they make up for that by crying all night,” Vasily grumbled.
The two little omegas ignored him and Tanner blinked a few times before he started talking just as fast as Leaf. "Giraffes give birth standing up. I don’t want to do that, so I’m glad I’m not a giraffe. But yeah… I'm not far enough along to be thinking about how bad it's going to hurt yet. At least I'm not a female bat. They give birth to babies that can weigh up to a third of their own weight. Can you imagine? I weigh a hundred and seventeen pounds, so that would mean my baby would be like thirty-five pounds, right? Give or take? I don’t want to math that. But let me say there's nothing cute or cuddly about a newborn baby that big. Wanna know a weird baby fact? Babies can't cry actual tears for the first month because their tear ducts aren't fully formed."
I burst out laughing, along with my brothers. While Tanner and Leaf continued chattering, Cyrus turned to Vasily. "The stuff the waitress was saying about a snitch… anything I should know about?"
"Where do you want me to start? Have you heard about all the shit happening around town? Ever since someone tried to shoot Pops, it's like the city has gone crazy." Vasily snorted in frustration, his jaw working from side to side. "And we haven't been able to find anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. Every lead we get leaves us just standing there with our dicks in our hands looking stupid."
Joey growled and put an arm around his mate at the mention of the bullet Tony had taken for our father. Even though he was okay now, I didn't blame Joey one bit. That had been some scary-ass bullshit.
Cyrus hummed thoughtfully. "I've been hearing rumors, yeah. Someone is trying to start a war among the families, right? Tensions are high, from what I've heard."
I pushed my plate aside, my appetite gone. "It's bad, Cy. So far Pops has been working hard to keep the peace, but if we don't get answers soon, things are going to get ugly. Look at Angelina. We've eaten at this place hundreds of times but that didn't stop her from thinking the worst instead of asking us right off. Hell, I guess we're lucky they even let us in the door, now that I think of it. If Gino Salvatori thinks one of our people snitched him out, our name is probably mud with the whole family."
Vasily held up his phone. "Handled that. I sent Pops a text so he could give both Gino and Don Salvatori a call. You want to know how we've been avoiding war so far? That's how. The minute we hear something, even a rumor, Pops or I get it squashed. I don't know how long it will last, but so far it's working."
Cyrus pulled a pad out of his pocket and scribbled a note to himself. After he'd tucked it away, he glanced up with a troubled look. "I know you don't want me getting my team involved, but say the word if you need help."
Vasily nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, brother. No promises, you know we don't like to involve you and we're trying to respect the distance you need to keep. That being said, I appreciate the offer."
Things felt a little lighter as we went back to eating and enjoying this rare family time. Well… partial family time? It wasn't planned for only the mated pairs to have dinner tonight, but Misha had plans and Pops had wanted Boris to stick around in case something came up. That's okay, I figured we had plenty more family dinners in our future. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I discreetly knocked on the wooden tabletop so I didn't jinx anything.
Since I was closest, Angelina slipped me a piece of paper with a single name on it when she brought the bill, along with four to-go containers of cannoli. "I know you guys said you didn't want no dessert, but I wanted to send a little something home for later. It's the least I could do after being a bitch. There’s a box for each couple. I want you boys to enjoy it with my thanks."
Tanner grabbed one of the boxes and hugged it to his chest as if he were afraid we were going to turn it down, then passed a second one to Leaf. "Thank you, that’s my midnight snack sorted." When he beamed that adorable smile at Angelina, the poor girl pretty much melted on the spot.
I slid the paper in my pocket, intending to give it to Vasily later, but I knew I was busted when I caught Cyrus watching me with a knowing look. Yeah, it was easy to forget after his years away that there wasn't much you could get past my big brother. I started to say something but he shook his head.
"I trust you to do the right thing, Ivan." Cy snagged the bill and stood. "This one's on me. Thank you for inviting us to dinner. It's nice to get together when shit ain't hitting the fan for once. And Tanner, welcome to our family. Congratulations to you both on your mating and also on your baby."
Leaf jumped up and slung his arm around Cy's waist. He leaned into Cy, but his attention was completely on Tanner. "I'm so glad I got to meet you. Keep an eye on my brother for me, okay? I worry about River. Oh! Let me know when you find out what you're having. If it's a girl, I can give you some brand-new outfits that we never even used with Skylar. I mean, I can give you lots of stuff she doesn’t need anymore too, but a lot of it is still new. You know what? You guys have to come to our house next time. Skylar needs to meet her new uncle."
Tanner bobbed his head up and down with a big, adorable grin. "Yes! I can't wait to meet her. And your boys, too. I've met Joey and Vasily's kids, but I guess that's only half of my new nieces and nephews since you have four of your own."
River groaned as we headed out of the restaurant. Leaf walked with us while Cyrus stopped to pay the bill. "Leaf and Tanner are going to be inseparable now, aren't they? Remind me to hide the sugar whenever they get together. And the caffeine. Energy drinks. B vitamins..."
Tanner and Leaf both giggled, hugging their boxes of cannoli close. I turned to slip the snitch’s name to Vasily while Tony lifted his key fob, looking around the parking lot as if he’d forgotten where he’d left his car. It all happened so fast that I barely had time to react.
I had a vague impression of Tony frowning when the car didn't make the chirping sound and saw his thumb moving up and down on the button right before the explosion. I jumped in front of Tanner and Leaf, even though we were far enough away that nothing had hit the sidewalk where we stood.
"Motherfucker. Who the fuck rigged a bomb on my car?" Joey lurched protectively in front of Tony. Vasily knew better than to try to shield his mate, instead reaching out for River's hand as we stood there watching Joey's car burn.
My ears were ringing so bad that their voices were muffled and my sense of smell was shot with all the smoke. I didn't hear footsteps or smell him coming, so I nearly jumped out of my skin when Cyrus rushed up beside me. I almost hit him. My fist was already in motion, but I caught myself in time.