I force my arm against his chest, pressing my elbow on the pulsing vein in his neck as I attempt to stop air from reaching his lungs. I press the muzzle of my gun against his jaw. “Stay the fuck away from her,” I seethe.
“Oh, right.” His eyes widen with recognition, dark irises lit with a gleam of malice. “You saw that, huh?”
“Stay. The fuck. Away from my wife.”
“We were just talking.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I spit out, squeezing my gun harder to his jaw wanting nothing more than to paint my walls with blood and brain matter. “I don’t care that you’re family, Rome. If you so much as look at her the wrong way, I will gut you.”
“Funny,” he moans as I add more pressure to his throat. “I don’t see Isaia walking around with his intestines hanging out, and from what I’ve heard, he’s more than looked at her the wrong way.”
I narrow my eyes, and he smirks. “Rumors spread fast, cousin. Surely you know by now these halls can’t keep secrets.”
“My office sure as fuck can,” I hiss, dragging my gun up the side of his face, pressing it against his temple. “And if you choose to play games that involve my wife, I’ll wash your blood off my carpet for a week with a goddamn smile on my face.”
Nicoli walks in and raises his brows. “Why am I not surprised? Alexius, put your gun away. Let’s grab a bottle of bourbon and settle this like men.”
Rome snickers, and I snarl, pressing my gun harder against his head. “This is your first and last warning. Stay away from Leandra.”
“Seriously?” Nicoli cocks a brow at Rome. “Leandra? Listen, cousin.” He crosses his arms and steps closer. “I can try to stop my twin from kicking your ass for coming home and screwing up all our plans. What I can’t do is find a cure for being dumb as fuck.”
“I simply introduced myself.”
“One does not simply introduce yourself to my brother’s wife,” Nicoli says. “You see her, turn around, walk away, and pray to God that Alexius didn’t see you breathe in her direction.”
“Jesus,” Rome mutters. “I never would have guessed some woman would have Alexius by the balls.”
“She’s not just some woman.” As I step back, I let go of him with a jerk, aiming my gun at his forehead. “She’s my wife, and she’s pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Rome’s eyebrows almost touch his hairline as he straightens his coat collar. “She’s having your child?”
“Twins,” I reply, deadpan.
“Well, that’s great, cousin.” He holds his arms wide, glancing between Nicoli and me. “You’re going to be a dad. Hopefully you’ll do a better job than our fathers. Although, locking up the mother of your children isn’t quite what I’d call a good start.”
“You should learn to shut your mouth when you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“As I said,” he straightens his collar, “these halls talk.”
I scoff, my fists burning to mess up his smug fucking face. “You know, you have some nerve coming back after you left like a fucking coward.”
“I had my reasons.”
“You didn’t want to get your hands dirty for this family like the rest of us. Yet here you are, back to come to your father’s aid—the man who tried so fucking hard to wipe out my family but never succeeded because the worst mistake he ever made was underestimating us.”
“No one is more aware of my father’s shortcomings than I am.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be here helping him.”
Rome inches closer even though I’m still holding the gun with my finger on the trigger. “It doesn’t matter what my father did or did not do in the past. Being part of the Dark Sovereign is still my fucking birthright.”
“A right you gave up the day you decided to be a fucking coward and ran away with your tail between your legs.”
“You think you know everything, but you don’t,” he seethes.
“You showed me all I needed to know when you turned your back on this family.”
“Girls!” Nicoli calls out. “You’re both fucking pretty. Now, can we stop bickering like little bitches in heat?” I take my eyes off Rome for a second to see Nicoli take a seat on the couch, light a cigarette, and then lean back. “We can stand around insulting each other until the cows come home. It won’t solve a single fucking thing.”