"You heard me."
He looks at her. Really looks at her. At the raw skin. The hollow eyes. The steel underneath.
"Okay." His voice is different now. "Okay, yeah, he had that coming. What a prick."
I snort.
"No one is going to be sad to see him go," I say with a shrug. "His own men despised him. Igor is probably throwing a fucking party."
"That doesn't make this easier." But his anger has cooled. Slightly. He sits down. "Here's where we are. The official story is there was a warehouse fire next to Eclipse. Alexei was inside checking inventory. Accelerant everywhere. He didn't make it out."
"Do his men believe it?"
"Igor does. Or he's pretending to. Smart man." Marcello pulls out his phone and shows me photos. "We cleaned the office scene. Moved the body to the warehouse before setting it. The fire damage covers the stab wounds. Just looks like he got caught in the blaze."
I look at the photos. Professional job. You'd never know what really happened. I'm impressed. Marcello hasn't been by my side long, but I'm starting to see his worth.
Antonio trained him well. He knew I'd need him.
"The letter opener?" Gemma asks.
"Melted down. Along with your clothes." He looks at her. "You were never there. You were home. All day. Staff can confirm."
"I didn't tell the staff where I was going."
"Exactly. So, they assumed you were in your room. Resting. Like you have been for the past week." He pockets the phone. "As far as anyone knows, you never left."
"What about Igor?" I ask. "He saw her come in."
"Igor has been generously compensated to forget that." Marcello leans back. "He's also positioned to take over as Pakhan. He'll want to keep this quiet. No reason to stir up questions."
"Igor's competent," I say. "Fair. He won't start trouble." He's been waiting his turn, not quite undermining Alexei, but also, doing the bare minimum.
"Let's hope not." Marcello looks at Gemma. "How are you doing?"
She blinks. Surprised by the question. The realization hits hard, no one asks her that. Not Adrian. Not Luc. Probably not me, at least, not enough.
"I don't know."
"That's honest." He stands. "For what it's worth? Alexei was a piece of shit. The world's better without him. But—" He looks at both of us. "This doesn't happen again. We can't keep cleaning up murders that are unplanned."
She nods. I laugh. "Marcello, be fucking for real."
"About?"
"Cleaners exist for a reason. To clean up murders. I know you've been away for years, but do not be naïve. There will be blood, as they say."
"You know what I mean."
"Do I?" I lean forward. "Because I need to know your head is in the game. You're my second now. That means when I need something handled, it gets handled. No lectures. No judgment."
He doesn't blink. "You know it is."
I lean back, take a beat. "Good." I wrap my arm around Gemma, ignoring how she tenses up. Alexei's murder broke theice, but there's a lot of shit we need to work through. "Then remember who you answer to."
"I answer to you." His voice is hard. "But don't expect me to just roll over every time you make a mess. I'll clean it up. But I'll also tell you when you're being a fucking idiot."
I smile. "Fair enough."
