“Whatever information you have, your husband should deliver it.”
She rears back like I’ve slapped her, but when what’s-his-face lets out another blood curdling shriek, her eyes dart past me.
“What’s going on?” she asks, a slight tremor in her voice.
“Are you hearing me?” I close the distance between us and cup her jaw, forcing her to look at me. “You do not show up at my doorstep. Thisthingbetween us, it’s over. I thought we came to an agreement about that. You’re a woman married into the familia, if you have something for the don, you give it to Paolo. Understood?”
She breaks from my hold and takes a step back. You’d think she was the one having her nails pulled off by the way she looks at me.
“Sure,” she says, composing herself and managing to narrow her eyes.
I walk around the desk and sit in a chair, sighing as I gesture to the one she stands beside. “Sit. You may as well tell me whatever you need to while you’re here.”
Her teeth grind, but she sits in the chair. She’s moving past hurt and into anger. Good. That’s easier to stomach.
“I just thought you might want to know, I’m pretty sure Nikita is planning to kill you.”
“No shit?” I ask, leaning back in my chair. Alex no longer looks struck by the man’s muffled screams. She focuses her glare on me. “Well, that’s surprising. I’ll be sure to watch my back. Is that all?”
“No,” she grits, her pretty hair flowing when she brushes it to the side. “I think his plan is to put Leo Romano in charge. I’m pretty sure that’s what this whole thing with me and Paolo is about. Nikita wanted—”
“I know.”
She closes her mouth and shifts in the chair. She blinks and her glare disappears. “What?”
“We have our own moles within the Bratva. We got all the info we needed and know what Nikita planned.”
Alex opens and closes her mouth. “I don’t understand.”
My eyebrows lift. “What don’t you understand?”
“You knew?” she asks, her voice low. “You knew what they wanted me for, and you chose not to tell me?”
I thought about telling her. I really did. If I thought I could see her, speak to her, even text her without it eating me alive, I would’ve.
I keep my expression as neutral as possible and shrug. “I’ve been busy, Alex.”
“Busy.” She stands and looks away from me as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Of course.”
She takes a step toward the door, and I stay put in my chair. She’s hurt, she’s pissed, but it’s good that she’s leaving. I need her to. Ineedto never see her face again.
She pauses with her hand on the knob, her back to me.
“You don’t need to worry about Leo Romano,” I say, hoping to put her mind at ease. “He’s dead.”
“What?” she asks, her back to me.
“Died earlier this evening in a raid… No one knows of his betrayal. He died with honor.” I clear my throat and sit up straight. “It’s what my father would’ve wanted.”
Alex lets go of the knob but doesn’t turn around. “What does that mean for me and Paolo?” she asks. There’s hope in her voice, and I frown when it hits me.
“Honestly? It’s probably best if you go ahead and get married. Right now, your father’s butcher shop hasn’t been one of our targets, and a big part of that is out of respect for Paolo. He’s a made man, and your father is his soon to be father-in-law. Your father has halted all business, and as long as he isn’t dealing for Nikita, he’ll continue to be safe.”
“Ah,” she says, taking a deep breath. She turns to me. “So it’s because of Paolo that my family is safe…”
It takes me a minute to understand why her voice cracked when she spoke.
I open my mouth, but she cuts me off.