“Why the fuck didn’t you come to me earlier?”
“I was going to tell you after the funeral. I knew how you’d react. I’m sorry to keep it from you. But I was trying to put a stopgap in your uncle’s obvious plans. Plus, I had a visit from Armand.”
“A warning.”
Jacques shook his head. “I’ll call it a threat and one I didn’t take lightly. Your father was my best friend and whether you choose to believe it or not, I have every intention of continuing to look out for his welfare and that of his entire family.”
Alexander bristled. Now, his eyes never left me, searching for my reaction when I had none. I was valuable property. The cool slice of anger began to creep into my toes, feeling the adrenaline that suddenly tickled my senses.
In our stare, the connection grew deeper, stronger. More powerful.
“Fine, Jacques. Just know from this day forward, you work for me.”
“What do you want to do, Alexander?” Jacques asked.
With a smile curling across his lips, Alexander’s eyes lit up with the same fire he had when claiming every inch of me.
The rules of the game had just been changed, the ante hitting a new level.
I wasn’t just his captive for a few days.
I was his forever.
“The answer is easy. I’m getting married.”
CHAPTER 23
Alexander
“The Russian attack has been confirmed.”
Jarvis was no longer amused, just as irritated as I’d become. “Meaning?”
“Remember Jimmy?”
I was standing in a room full of my soldiers and my brothers, preparing for a war that originally had nothing to do with my family. Unfortunately for the Barishnikoffs, they’d made the battle very much about us.
Now it was time for me to crush the opposition.
“Of course I do. What did our mole discover?”
“Additional confirmation the Russians are involved by way of Jimmy being shot. The dumb kid took a swing at discovering information as you ordered and failed.”
Bristling, I shook my head. “Dead or alive?”
“He’s alive and I took the chance you’d want him and his family in protective custody, his medical bills paid for.”
“You thought right.” I’d already determined the attacks on the warehouses hadn’t been done by Russo. I’d simply been too enraged at the time to decipher the clues. Russians were messy, leaving behind telltale signs.
Also, one of our security cameras had captured a single picture of one of the perpetrators and the tattoo on his neck.
A sign of Bratva loyalty.
I’d give the Russians credit. They’d done just enough to push two enemies into fighting with each other. Upon reflection, the proposed alliance was likely the reason we were all still alive.
For now.
“What now?”
