Every situation is a test of dominance with Aleksei. There’s no conceding, no negotiation; it’s literally Aleksei’s way or the highway.
“You don’t need space, we’re pack.” He grins at me, always the predator.
I flick through the screens on my phone, tapping on the Trinity Alliance app.
“I get that on my phone too, right? Even as a silent partner. Yes?”
“Aleksei. Shut. The. Fuck. Up. You’re not in yet. You might not be in ever.”
He laughs, but as the screen shows Valentine, then Ronin accepting the call, Aleksei falls into instant stillness and silence.It’s unnerving and intimidating how easily and quickly he can shift personas.
“I don’t have the right frame of mind to be dealing with idle bullshite,” Ronin snaps before either Valentine or I can get a hello out.
“Always the gentleman, Ronin. Did someone piss in your Guiness again?” Valentine says, his air of superiority amped up because he knows how much Ronin hates it.
“I have a situation,” I say, interrupting them both.
Before I can get another word out, I’m being strangled. I drop my phone and fight to free myself from Aleksei’s powerful grip around my throat. I twist, getting a grip of his fingers and twisting them while smashing my fist into his face.
We fall apart as quickly as we crashed together.
I jab my index finger towards his face, but he catches it. “Your Omega is not a situation,” he hisses low, like a rattlesnake.
I punch him again, in the same spot on his smart-ass face, just as hard as the first time.
Snatching my phone back up, I hold his twisted smirk with a venomous stare.
“Sorry, I’m flying. Back to my situation,” I dare Aleksei, before I look at Quinn and offer her an apologetic wave.
Aleksei moves again, and I very nearly flinch. He knows it, too, given the twinkle in his eyes. He holds up his phone, showing me one of his contacts on his phone before he texts a message for me to read.
“First, though, have you found your wife, Ronin?”
Instead of aggression, there’s hesitation and reluctance from the new head of the Irish. I take his lack of an answer to my question as an answer.
“I hope she’s okay. You know anything I can do to help, all you have to do is ask. It’s been brought to my attention, you need to be looking for a dirty cop, pretty high up, called Black.”
“How do you know that name?” he growls like a rabid bear.
I ignore his question. “I recently ran into a woman named Olga and another woman…”
Aleksei makes a sudden gesture, and I hold back on sharing Catalina’s name. For the time being.
“Who are they?” Valentine asks, his impatience making it nearly impossible for me to tell the story how it should be told.
Ronin starts making noises, spluttering his violent anger. It’s justifiable, though.
I beat him in explaining the women to Valentine. “Both are involved in trafficking. They’re two people we need eyes on immediately. I have a third thing I need us to talk about, but the third is my situation too.”
Valentine and Ronin hum a similar noise.
“I want us to buy a building.”
“That’s lovely.” Valentine scoffs. “Dante wanted to buy Layne an island yesterday. Today, it’s a star. I’ll add it to the list. This can wait, Santiago.”
I snap out a bark so sudden and loud, it makes them shut the fuck up and take notice, and it makes Aleksei squat in front of me, grinning like a fucking lunatic with his thumbs up encouragingly.
I slap his hands away.
