"I hear Antonio is sick."
My jaw tightens. Antonio was determined to keep his health from the other families, but nothing stays secret forever, which I tried to remind him, and it appears the secret is out. "My uncle is fine."
"Come on, Saint. Everyone knows. Cancer, right? No one has seen him in months. You've taken over everything," he chuckles. "Even somehow ended up on the board with Nero." He tsks. "Shame. He's a good man. Strong leader. No man deserves to go out that way."
He's not wrong, but I'm not in the mood to play nice. "Get to the point, Alexei."
"The point is, when he's gone, you'll be vulnerable."
I laugh. "I've been my uncle's enforcer since I could hold a gun," I remind him. "I'll be fine." The Marini family is solid. Antonio made sure of that.
Alexei shakes his head. "Killing is easy. Holding the territory and men together," he knocks back a shot, "that takes a gentler hand."
I smirk. I can't help it. "Are you offering to mentor me?" This is fucking hilarious.
"I'm offering you support." He signals the bartender, orders another drink. Two this time.
"In exchange for?" I want to see where Alexei is going with this.
"Intel on the Neros. Their operations. Their weaknesses. In exchange, I'll back you when you take over. Publicly. Make sure the transition is smooth."
I stare at him. "You want me to betray my wife's family?" I'm not opposed, but I know better than to get in bed with Alexei. He's toxic in an unpredictable way, and while I enjoy a bit of chaos, I'm not interested in starting a war.
"I want you to be practical. The Neros are weak. Your lovely wife has been... helpful already, hasn't she?" His smile sharpens.His smile chills my blood. Not because I fear the fucker, but because he's implying something I don't like. "You should be happy I haven't eliminated her. After all, she's causing me a lot of problems."
My hand goes to my gun. "Careful."
"You are the two who might want to consider being more careful." He takes his drink from the bartender. "You two are good, I'll give you that, but you let something slip, and a little mouse ran to tell me."
My fingers flex. Fuck. There's absolutely no way we have a mole in the organization. No way.
"Apparently, you like fucking your wife while plotting against her brother."
I freeze, and Alexei chuckles. "I don't blame you. Nothing makes my blood burn like the idea of killing."
"What is it that you want, Alexei?" I pull back my jacket, so he can see my gun. He barely reacts. "And be specific."
"Alliance."
"Not interested."
"No?" He glances at Gemma again. "Shame. Because when Antonio dies, and he will, I'm coming for Marini territory. Maybe, Adrian will help. After all, he'd love to know who's been targeting him."
The threat is clear. And worse, he knows about Gemma. About what we've been doing.
"Think about it," Alexei shoots back his vodka. "My offer is for a limited time. Help me finish what you started with the Neros, and I'll make sure you survive the transition."
He starts to walk away, and something inside me snaps. The molten lava of my anger burns over, and I react before I can stop myself.
I grab his collar, slam him against the bar. "Touch my wife. Threaten her. Even look at her wrong, and I'll gut you."
His men move forward, but Alexei raises a hand, stopping them. He's still smiling.
"There it is. The attack dog Antonio trained so well." He pats my cheek, and I make a note that he's going to need to lose that hand. "I'm not interested in your wife, Saint. I'm interested in what she knows. What you both know. And I'm offering to keep your secret. For a price."
"Fuck your price. And fuck you."
I release him, step back. His men are tense, hands near their weapons. But Alexei just straightens his jacket.
