I try to picture Aurora as a little girl learning these rituals of womanhood at her grandmother’s knee. My chest tightens. “She’d be proud of you. Your art. Tonight.”
“Thank you.” She fidgets with a strand of hair, her cheeks flushing with pleasure.
I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Never even imagined such a thing was possible for me. These quiet moments. This window into someone else’s life and habits.
Sex, yes.
Power, always.
But not this sense of intimacy that arises from letting someone see you. With being seen in return.
My rib cage feels too full, as if pressure’s inflating the inside like a balloon.
I only know that I would kill for this woman. Die for her. I’d do whatever’s necessary to preserve this fragile, beautiful thing we’ve created.
Which brings me back to Gio Falcone and his thinly veiled threats. My knuckles ache to smash into that asshole’s smug face.
Aurora spins away from the mirror, fully dressed and armored for her first art show. She radiates confidence. Nothing like the frightened woman I dragged from that alley.
She perches on the edge of the bed beside me, and her hand finds mine. “Are you going to tell me what happened at the meeting? Or are we pretending everything’s fine?”
I sit up, gripping her hand in return. “Nothing’s fine.” I run my thumb across her knuckles, tracing the delicate bones beneath her skin. “The Falcones are lying about wanting peace. Roman knows it. I know it. Everyone knows it. But Roman wants to play along. He wants the truce they’re allegedly offering.”
When her hand tightens and her breath hitches, my instincts start firing like mad.
Something is very wrong here.
Fighting not to clench my jaw, I peer directly into her eyes. “What are you hiding from me?”
Chapter 43
Aurora
Alexei doesn’t move or raise his voice. Just looks at me like he’s measuring the weight of my soul.
I want to lie, the instinct so sharp it burns my mouth.
Instead, a half-crazed laugh bubbles up. “I met Gio Falcone before I ever met you.”
Alexei sits motionless and unblinking, as if carved from stone. “Details.”
I drop my gaze to our hands, which are still locked together on my lap. My fingers have gone white around his. His wedding ring presses against me, leaving grooves in my skin.
We’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but that ring possesses meaning. He cares for me, even if he’s never said the words.
I need to tell him the truth.
“Red Bird’s occasionally contracts out catering and servers. Gio sometimes uses them for his parties. I worked a few events at his house. That’s where I met him. When I…I didn’t know he was mafia. I thought he was just a nice rich guy. And he was interested in my artwork. He even bought a piece…” My confession escapes in a rush and then trails off as I grapple with how to explain the next part.
“Tell me the rest.” His body is as rigid as a steel beam. Bracing for impact.
“One night, at the mansion, I overheard him talking to Benny in his office.” The memory floods my mind with perfect clarity.
“What did he say?” Alexei’s blank expression reveals nothing. “As precisely as you can remember it.”
I’ve played back Gio’s threat in my head so many times that I know it verbatim.
“Gio was talking as I walked up, but I heard, ‘He said shit. He clammed up. I looked that man in the eye, and he lied to me. Played dumb about it…thought he could play me. Keep quiet about that chaos on the island and keep the diamonds for himself. Idiot. Now he’s out of the picture. And it stays that way.’ I didn’t understand, but from what you’ve told me, I think he might have been discussing MJ, though he never gave a name.”
