“You’re fucking paranoid.” She lifts her hands at her sides and lets out a bitter laugh. “Whose bidding do you think I’m doing exactly? I’m nothing, Settimo. My fiancé felt the need to remind me of that before we got here. He also threatened my father’s life, by the way, not that you care. I’m fully aware you never said anything to him after we… after youwonme. In fact, apparently you kicked him out of your little poker clubhouse, and who do you think he blames forthat?”
“That’s not my concern.”
Her eyes go wide, and her mouth falls open. “Seriously? You…” She blinks and shakes her head. “You’re as bad as the rest of them.”
Alex passes by me, hitting me with her shoulder as she does, and I spin and grab her arm before she can leave. “Just tell me what’s going on, Alex. I won’t hurt you.”
She shrugs me away and takes a step back. “You won’t?”
“No.” The word flies from my mouth immediately, although I’m not sure it’s the truth. There’s a desperation in my tone that disgusts me. “I won’t. Promise.”
She’s wearing a halter dress with short sleeves and one of those elegant-but-useless scarves with it. She unwinds it from her neck and shoves it at me. It slips through my fingers and falls to the floor. My lips part, and I feel like I just got punched in the stomach. Hard.
A nasty purple bruise covers her neck.
I’ll fucking kill him.
“You’vealreadyhurt me, asshole.” She bends to pick up her scarf, but I cup her jaw and guide her to standing. She looks at me like I’ve betrayed her and I’m the biggest scumbag in the world. Maybe she’s right.
“I’m sorry,” I say, meaning it. “I didn’t know he would do that.”
She rolls her eyes even as they fill with tears. By her voice, I think it’s more out of frustration than sadness.
“Itoldyou he would do that. Remember? Right before I let you fuck me?” She shoves my hand away. “I should’ve bit your dick off.”
“I didn’t tell him you weredisobedient. Nothing I’ve done has had anything to do with you.”
“You didn’t tell him anything! That’s the point, he just blamed me for—”
Clicking heels sound behind me, and I turn my head to see a woman who looks to be in her forties heading this way. I don’t recognize her. She must be somebody’s wife.
She walks past us into the bathroom, giving us a weary glance as she does. As soon as the door is shut, Alex scoops up her scarf and starts toward the ballroom. “I need to get back.”
“Alex.”
She hurries her steps, and I stride after her. I grab her by her shoulders and pin her back to the wall. Her eyes go wide, and it’s another punch in the gut. She thinks I might hurt her.
“I’m sorry. Truly. But I need one more thing from you, and I swear to God, if you give it to me, Iwillprotect you.”
“What else could you possibly want from me?” she seethes.
A sigh rushes past my lips. “Just tell me. Are you involved in anything I should know about?”
“No.” Her voice is firm, and her eyes never leave mine. “Can I go now?”
“Is Paolo up to something? Or Leo?”
“How would I know that?”
“Is Nikita?”
She doesn’t respond to this one right away. I’m close enough to her that I can feel it when her breathing stops. Her muscles tense.
“Who’s Nikita?”
“You fucking know who Nikita is, Alex. Don’t lie to me.”
She pauses and roams her gaze over my face for a few moments. When she locks eyes with me again, all I can see is her fear.