Fuck.
This is the guy who killed my cousin. It’s clearly not Vladimir, since this guy not only has several inches on Vladimir but also a good fifty pounds.
The hooded guy jumps up and walks out of the frame, not once looking in the direction of the camera, and the video ends.
Damn it.
I gaze up at Nikolai who’s already watching me. “Any idea who this guy is?”
Nikolai shakes his head. “Not really, but I had my guys go through it with a fine-tooth comb, and they found something.”
“What is it?”
“I will show you once you uphold your side of the bargain.”
Since I expected him to pull something like this, I came prepared. I hope it’ll be enough.
I place both of my hands on the table and say, “Trust me when I tell you there’s no way I’ll marry Alessandra.”
His gaze zooms in on my wedding band before snapping up to my eyes. “Someone I know? A certain jewel . . . perhaps?”
The fact that he’s not outright saying Gemma’s name makes me feel a little more charitable toward him, so I nod at his questioning gaze.
In response, he does the last thing I expect. He throws his head back and laughs and laughs. Everyone except Zeno and me stare at him like he’s just lost his marbles, and I can’t blame them. They don’t understand that I married the most perfect woman and that there’s no way in hell I’d ever consider marrying someone else.
Seeing that Nikolai kidnapped Alessandra because he thought she was engaged to someone else proves he does understand what the right woman can do to a man.
Nikolai pushes his chair back, still chuckling to himself. “Well, I guess congratulations are in order. I’m sure Alessandra will be thrilled about the news.”
I was expecting he’d tell her, but this is too important to miss otherwise. I’ll just have to ask Gemma for forgiveness if she’s mad about her cousin finding out this way.
Nikolai takes the tablet from the table and puts his other hand in his pocket. “As soon as we’re away from the blockers, I’ll send you the still photo of the video that we think might help find the guy who did this.”
I dip my chin. “Thank you.”
With a nod, and still grinning, he heads in the direction of his vehicle, and so do we.
The other two guys who came with Nikolai and Vladimir walk ahead of us, chuckling about something. I don’t hear everything they say, but I catch the end of it.
My blood freezes inside my veins. “What did you just say?”
Everyone stops dead in their tracks.
“You,” I point at the right guy in front of us, “what the fuck did you just say?”
“Uh.”
Nikolai hisses something at him.
The guy gulps. “I was wondering if you were the lucky one to take the Fiore princess for a ride since Luigi Rizzo never had a chance to before he was killed. No offense or anything.”
I pull my gun out of the back of my pants and shoot him in the leg.
Nikolai yells something at the other guy before he even thinks about getting his gun.
The guy’s on the ground, blood soaking his pants.
I close the distance between us in a few steps, holding my gun to his head. “Don’t you ever talk about my wife again. Capiche?”