7
Antonio
She’s uptight, pissed, and I don’t even attempt to console Aleksandra. Instead, I ask the one question that’s been nagging at me since Roberto’s death.
I hadn’t even known there were two kids, twins. Hell, the little boy had been a surprise.
“Are the twins mine?” I glance at her out of the corner of my eye as we head for the complex. I’m bringing her home, to my fortress, where she’ll be safe.
I hope to turn her and convince her to divulge anything she knows about her brother’s business and his plans. But I don’t suspect that she knows much. She’s likely on the outside, given no responsibility from the bratva.
“No,” she says a little too quickly. “You’re not their father.”
I bite down on my bottom lip.
“I don’t believe you,” I say.
“Your name isn’t on the birth certificate,” Aleksandra says.
I’m not surprised. I had tasked Ardian with checking, but he hadn’t returned to me with any information. He’s been overwhelmed with his new position. We all have taken on more responsibility.
“Semantics. That doesn’t mean they’re not biologically mine. There’s a test for that,” I remind her. Just because she insists that they’re not my kin, I can find the truth out myself.
And what will I do with the results?
I pulled them from harm’s way because there’s a chance the boy might be mine. And now twins?
Even if they’re not mine, Aleksandra and her children don’t deserve to be caught up in the war. They’re innocent.
She purses her lips and glances out the side window. It’s the quietest I’ve ever seen her, which has me rattled. The twins must be mine, or she’d push for me to run DNA tests and prove I’m not their father.
I approach the gate, and Otello opens the wrought iron, allowing us entrance inside the property. He closes the metal doors once we’re inside.
“This is your home,” Aleksandra says. She stares out the window, glancing up at the three-story accommodations.
“I hope you’ll find it satisfactory,” I say and pull into the garage. I shut off the engine and open the back door while Aleksandra steps out from the passenger side.
There’s a heavy stillness in the air, and I walk up to the entrance. “Come with me,” I command. I don’t open the door yet. I snatch the children’s backpacks, glancing through them to ensure there are no hidden weapons inside.
“I need to make sure there isn’t anything you can use against my men or me.”
Not that I think the twins would know how to use a knife properly, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one buried away for Aleksandra.
The bags contain nothing more than their scribbles and a half dozen markers. Again, I check their plastic lunch boxes. There is no sign of a weapon.
“Do you think I gave them a knife or a gun?” she snaps.
“I’m going to have to search you,” I say to Aleksandra.
She rolls her eyes and puts her arms straight out. “Get on with it.”
I check her coat pockets and run my hands along her body, feeling over every curve to ensure that there isn’t a weapon tucked away. Although if she had one, wouldn’t she have attempted to use it on me sooner?
She’s clean, except for her phone, which I snag.
“Hey!”
“Who do you plan on calling? Your brother, the bratva?” I shut off her cell phone and remove the sim card.