There were too many secrets there. Ones that I now found myself entangled in.
“You need to hear Theo’s explanation from Theo. It’s the only way you’re going to ever be able to trust him again.”
“So youdoknow what happened.”
“I did my job. I went to Monaco, I made sure Theo behaved at the wedding”—not that I’ll ever tell you how—“and I found out the information you wanted and brought him back to talk to you. Anything else, you need to work out with him.”
King tapped the envelope on his hand as if thinking that over, and then pulled his seat out at the table.
“Very well, then I believe our meeting is over.”
I gave a clipped nod and headed out of the room, ready to go up to the Libertine bar and have a drink. Then I all but ran into Alessio.
He grunted, “Fuckin’ hell,” and then shoved his long hair behind his ears. “You wanna maybe watch where you’re going?”
The surly tone was so out of character that it shocked me more than our run-in. I was always the serious one amongstmy brothers, so to see him so wound up was unusual. But then again, if King was riding him half as hard as he’d been riding me about Theo, I could understand the tension.
The cybersecurity of our members fell under Alessio’s purview. So the fact that some fuckwad had infiltrated his systems must’ve had his panties in a bunch.
“Seems to me you’re the one who’s distracted.” I pointed to the small tablet in his hand. “What are you working on?”
“What do you think?”
“Judging by your fantastic attitude right this very moment, Theo’s latest…issue.”
Alessio snorted. “Is that what he’s calling it? An issue? ’Cause from where I’m sitting, it’s a catastrophic fucking problem. One I’m somehow left to figure out?—”
“I’m sure you will.”
“I’m glad you are, because I’m not. Whoever this is, they’re good, Shep. As good as, if notbetter, than me. And that’s not fucking cool.”
I could see how that would stick in his craw. “They’re not better than you, they’re just playing a different game. Once you work it out, you’ll crush them. You always do.”
“Tell King that.”
I chuckled and glanced over my shoulder to where I’d left our boss. “I’m going to pass on that. He’s waiting on Theo, and you know how he feels about waiting.”
Alessio nodded, but as I went to step around him and make my way upstairs, he grabbed hold of my arm. “About Theo…”
“Yeah?”
“You know I track the monitors, right?”
“Right.” What was he getting at? Had he somehow worked out that Theo had removed his tracker before going to Istanbul? It’d taken me a minute, but how would Alessio know unless he’d seen Theo’s arm?
“Well, I just thought you should know that it showed a certain prince wasn’t in his palace last night?—”
Oh fuck.
“—and instead showed him in very close proximity to you.”
My mind began to race as I thought back to the hot encounter we’d shared last night.“So? You know he sometimes stays at Villa Monaco.”
“Uh huh, but it’s a rare day thatyourtracker is inhisresidence at the palace, like it was the day before.” Alessio raised a brow. “Anything I should know there?”
Other than I’m a fucking idiot who once again forgot all about our damn trackers?No wonder Theo had removed his.
“Nope.”
