Page 81

Clear.

But should probably seek therapy.

Camila’s session was just as straightforward, although I did accidentally learn that she tried escaping Indigo Hills once and was publicly whipped by Franco for the failed attempt.

The nod I get clears her, but by the end of the sessions, Grey looks a little glassy-eyed.

“Why don’t you take a break and let Lexi do a couple,” I suggest.

He hesitates, and I know he doesn’t want to subject his mate to the grueling work of sifting through truths and possible lies. So, it’s a testament to how exhausting this is when he yawns, nods, and says, “Maybe just a couple. I’m going to grab a coffee.”

“Go. I’ve got this.” Lexi plants a small kiss on his cheek before practically pushing him out of the room and sliding into his place.

Then it’s Andy’s turn.

She sits across from me with her tablet face-down on the table and her hands folded on top of it and the expression of someone who finds this process professionally reasonable and personally insulting in equal measure.

I understand. I ask the questions anyway. That’s the job.

We work through the standard sequence.

“Name?”

“Andrea Balistrieri.”

“What’s your pack affiliation, position, and rank?”

“Mafia pack. Lexi’s second in command.”

“Were you always part of the Giovanni regime?”

“No.” She pauses slightly then says, “I was married to one of Franco’s generals. Toros. Lexi killed him during her first shift. I was part of Franco’s pack until his death.”

I debate whether to offer her my condolences on the loss of her husband, but when I see the hard glint in her eyes, I decide against it. “Did you feel a particular loyalty to Franco?”

“I gave my oath,” she says.

“I’ll rephrase. Did you feel a loyalty that extended beyond the obligations that came with your alpha oath?”

Her expression darkens. “No.”

“And do you feel a particular loyalty to Lexi?”

She softens, glancing at her alpha. “Yes.”

The temperature in the room lifts slightly.

I move on to questions about her access to information, relationships within the pack hierarchy, and whether she’s ever met with Ramsey alone. She answers everything with the precise economy of someone who has been debriefed before and knows how it works. No embellishment, no defensiveness, no performance of innocence. Just facts, delivered clean.

Then I get to the question that always changes the temperature in the room.

“Tell me about your history before the leadership change,” I say. “Before Lexi.”

A pause. The first one she’s taken.

“As I said, I was married to Toros.”

“For how long?”