"Why betray your husband? I thought you two were quite the team. Saint seemed very... protective at the club."
"Our marriage was arranged." The bitterness in my voice surprises even me. "Saint was fun, but I'm not done playing." That's pretty much what Saint said to me, and yet, I still feel a zing of guilt at my words.
Alexei's brow raises. "And your brother?" He leans forward. "You'd betray your brother so easily? Not just to your husband, but to his greatest enemy?"
Alexei sounds genuinely curious, so I answer.
This time, I don't have to pretend to be bitter. "Adrian stopped being family when he chose to sell me off."
"So this is revenge? Wounded pride?"
"This is pragmatism. You want Adrian's territory. I want—" I pause. What do I want? Not Adrian dead, right? "I want Adrian to know how it feels to lose something."
Alexei chuckles. "Hell hath no fury."
I ignore his words. "Do what you want to Adrian, but I want your assurance that Sera and my nephew will be safe."
"Sera. Your brother's wife?" He pretends not to know her, but he does.
"Yes. Whatever you do to Adrian, she and the children stay out of it. That's my condition."
"And if I kill your brother?"
I hate that the thought barely affects me. But it's Adrian's fault. I'll never forget what he said to me at our mother's grave. I'm expendable to him, so he's been rewarded with the same.
"Like I said, Adrian has made his choices. Sera and the children are protected by the code." There's a code of conduct,no wives and children, but the Russians, specifically Alexei are known to throw that out when it's convenient.
Alexei taps his fingers on the desk. "And what makes you think you have any leverage to make conditions?"
"Because I know things even Saint doesn't know. Hell, even some things Adrian doesn't know." His eyes spark. "I learned at my mother's heel. And unlike my brothers, I never thought I was too good to be educated. I know every weakness, every vulnerability, every secret." I lean forward. "You want Adrian's empire? I can give it to you."
He's quiet for a long moment. Then he laughs.
"Pretty little princess, coming into the wolf's den to make deals. I love it."
"I'm not a princess." The words come out harder than I intended.
"No?" He stands, comes around the desk. Stops too close. "Then what are you?"
I stand too, refusing to be intimidated. "I'm the most dangerous thing in this room." It's about time these men realize that. I am Bianca Nero's daughter. It's time they remembered that.
He looks at me. Really looks at me. Then he smiles, genuine this time, not mocking.
"Alright, Gemma Marini. I accept your terms."
Something flickers in his eyes—amusement? calculation?—but it's gone before I can identify it.
"You give me intel on the Neros. I leave your sister-in-law and her spawn alone. And we keep this between us."
"And you don't tell Saint." I add this at the end. Saint stays out of this. He doesn't get to play. This is mine.
"And I don't tell Saint." He extends his hand. "Deal?"
I stare at his hand. This is it. The point of no return.
If I shake his hand, I'm betraying every member of my family, including my husband. But as I hesitate, I remember all that's been done to me. So, I hold out my hand.
"Deal."
