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“Yeah. We think he’s here to keep an eye on us.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been thinking about trying to get a way in. We need to get close to him. Something that gives us an advantage. Right now, he’s one step ahead of us.”
Aleksandr smirks. “I’m surprised you still have room in your head to think, with all the additional work you’ve been doing.”
The comment catches me off guard. Then I quickly realize he’s been talking to Cassian.
My brothers are the only people who can get away with throwing comments like that. But I have my limits.
“Why don’t you say what you want to say?”
He straightens his legs and leans forward. “Permission to speak freely as your advisor?”
I shoot him a thin stare. “When have you ever needed my permission?”
“Just being respectful, brother.” He taps his chest.
“Go for it. Speak.”
He tilts his head and releases a slow sigh. “I’m concerned your mind might not be in the right place. I agree with marrying the girl, but you have a fascination with her that doesn’t sit right with me. She serves no further purpose, other than the occasional fuck.”
A flash of rage spikes my blood. “Watch your tongue, brother.”
Aleksandr chuckles. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“She’s my wife.”
“So you keep telling me, but she’s supposed to be a business acquisition. Why do you need information about her kidnapping? That happened four years ago.”
“Like all acquisitions, you empower yourself with information.”
He nibbles on the inside of his cheek. “That sounds like shit dressed up as common sense.”
“That’s my answer. It can look however it wants to you.”
“Lev.” His tone becomes serious. “It doesn’t bother you that she’s our enemy’s daughter? Corrado is as guilty for the deaths of our mother and sister as Moretti.”
“It was me who said that.”
“Just giving you a reminder.” He clenches his jaw.
“I don’t need it. The bullet wound in my chest is reminder enough.” I give him a clipped smile. “So is the memory.” I tap the side of my head. “You weren’t there when it happened. You didn’t see it. See them. Our mother and our baby sister being ripped apart by bullets. I got shot trying to save them. So, please, do not think you need to remind me of anything.”
Aleksandr rarely shows emotion—it’s not the Bratva way—but he does with any talk of our mother and sister. “I hear you. I just don’t like it. The girl, I mean. The fact that she carries Corrado’s blood in her veins is enough. If it were up to me, I’d kill them all when their use expires. Corrado, his wife, and the girl.”
I’m not sure what gets to me more. That he sounds the way I did only weeks ago, or that I no longer think like that. I can’t fault him. I understand exactly what he’s thinking. But I’m the one in charge. And it’s not up to him.
I lean forward on the desk and look him in the eye. “Aleksandr, people say we’re as close as twins. You feel like a part of me, and I’d take ten bullets for you in a heartbeat.” I nod with conviction. “But question me again, or bring harm to my wife or her mother, and you and I will have a problem.”
A flicker of shock registers in his eyes. It’s there one minute, gone the next. He knows what the fuck I mean by problem. Death. I’m just choosing my words sensibly because it’s him.
He dips his head. “Alright.”
“We good?” I raise my brows.
“Always. And for the record, I’d take ten bullets for you in a heartbeat, too.” He pushes to his feet and glances at the document. “I’ll report back later if Kieran and I find anything.”
I nod once.
