Chapter 21
Alexander
“One of the warehouses was hit last night. We lost two men.”
Fuck.
Every muscle tensed.
Apparently, my visit with Vitelli hadn’t gone over very well. Perhaps I should have been more direct with sharing what would happen if he didn’t back down and stay the fuck away from my family.
The last thing I wanted was to wake up to hear we’d been attacked.
My brother had come to deliver the news.
Sinclair was noticeably angry, eyeing me with no hint of amusement.
Instead of being dressed at eight in the morning like I’d usually be, I was standing in bare feet, in the same jeans splattered in blood and smelling like the woman I’d fucked for hours.
I’d barely managed to grab a cup of coffee before being told of his arrival.
“Which one?”
“Does it matter? Half our product is gone. Thank God, the fire department did their jobs and don’t worry, I was able to handle the incident without having the police involved.”
“Where?” I snapped.
“Near Indulgence. You were busy with the woman and while a few of the guards left their post at the warehouse, the place was torched. It has all the markings of the Russo family in case you wanted to know.”
With my jaw clenched, I glared out the window. It was obvious he was accusing me of not doing my job. “A fight broke out at the club. The bastards used the fight as bait.”
“Obviously,” he said, the single word laced with sarcasm. “I heard about your late-night visit with Russo. Why the fuck didn’t you call me?”
“For what reason? This is my situation to handle.”
He stormed closer, shaking his head. “That’s where you’re wrong and where you’ve always been wrong, brother. This situation is about our entire family. We work better together.”
“Not this time.”
“Oh, yeah? Let me guess. You’re going to go off halfcocked like you did as a teenager. Right? Running away when times got tough.”
Before I knew what I was doing, I fisted my hand and lifted my arm.
He appeared shocked but refused to back down. “Do it, brother. Why don’t you fucking do it if that will make you feel better. God knows you’re only capable of seeing things your way.”
Exhaling, I slowly lowered my arm. My behavior was solely based on emotions. That needed to stop. “You’re right. I should have called you. There was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
With his hands planted on his hips, he paced the floor. “Yeah, I get it. This shit with Russo needs to have a solution. He didn’t explain the meeting with our father?”
Snorting, I realized I’d let Russo off easy. “He wasn’t so inclined. He said I wasn’t a strong enough leader to learn the truth.”
“Well, you haven’t had your eye on the ball, brother.”
“Do you have something to say to me, Sinclair?”
“I think I’ve said it.”
“No, you haven’t. Do it. I need to hear whatever you have to say or keep your damn mouth shut. Do you understand what I’m saying? Brother?”
His eyes opened wide. It was rare when I went off on one of my family members. Twice in twenty-four hours was unheard of. My nasty demeanor was usually reserved for the assholes who dared cross me. The situation was getting to me.
“Fine. You want to hear it, then here it is. You’ve spent every minute since being released from jail fucking a woman when you should be doing your job.”
When I took two long strides toward him, he bristled but held his own. “Shut the fuck up.”
“What, Alex? Does the truth hurt? Are you willing to destroy the rest of what our father built because of her? Are you willing to throw everything away for a good fuck?”
I tossed the mug in my hand, the ceramic shattering against the wall. “Fuck you.”
My anger was so significant, I walked toward the window before I did anything rash. I shook my head as I stared out the bulletproof glass toward the backyard. When the hell had life gotten so fucking out of control? Thankfully, he remained quiet.
“You’re right in that it’s time to deal with the Russos before everything gets out of hand. Permanently.”
His sigh was exaggerated. “There is no other choice. They won’t stop there. Now we just need to determine who in the hell tried to frame you for murder.”
“I went to the mausoleum and was overwhelmed by how many of our ancestors were buried there.”
“You’re overwhelmed by death.”
Shaking my head, I knew he was right. Guilt did that to you. “The Russos are at the center of this, but I’m still uncertain how or why, which makes any concept of retaliation that much more dangerous. At this point, we still don’t have confirmation he was responsible for attacking the courthouse.”
“Do you really need that?”
I laughed bitterly. “Maybe years ago, I wouldn’t have cared, but as you’ve so eloquently pointed out, we all have far too much to lose. All the evidence needs to point toward them.”
“Jesus, Alex. It’s not that I disagree with you, but you’re thinking with your dick, which isn’t like you. She must be something special.”
As I flexed and fisted my hand, the images washing through my mind were not only filthy, but they were also life changing.
I felt it in my bones. She’d yanked at all the bad parts of me, refusing to care about them.
Insisting in her own way there was good furrowing somewhere deep inside.
A part of me wanted to prove her wrong. “I took her to the family mausoleum.”
“Why?” He sounded surprised. No one had dared been taken to the revered space outside of a funeral.
And there’d been only three in my lifetime.
I thought about Sebastian, surprised he’d been on my mind so much lately.
Yes, it was true that it felt as if he’d been communicating with me from the other side.
But I had no idea what he was trying to tell me.
“Because she needed to know what I am.”
“And what are you?”
I turned to face him. “A monster.”
He shook his head. “No, you aren’t. Do you act like one when you’re pushed against a wall? Yes, but you have your heart in the right place.”
“You’re assuming I have a heart.”
His features softened. “I’ve questioned that, but you do. I can tell you care about this woman, but we are on the cusp of a war that only you can stop.”
“The Russos acted in retaliation for the death of Lorenzo.”
“A murder we didn’t commit.”
“No, but someone did.”
“Then who?”
The nagging about Catherine had yet to dissipate. “I’ll set up another meeting with Russo. You’re going to join me.”
“They will try and kill us.”
I laughed. “Do you really believe that, brother? They have as much to lose as we do. They aren’t entirely certain we’re behind Lorenzo’s death either.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“If they’d initiated the attack at the courthouse, the chances of me leaving outside of a body bag would be slim.
Whatever evidence there might be, which I’m beginning to doubt given what my lovely guest has already told me, it was planted, leading the police and the Russos to me.
But they know his death wasn’t my style. ”
“Alright. You’re brutal, but I’ll give you that. Then who?” Sinclair asked, as weary of the bullshit as I was.
“This has everything to do with the meeting between Russo and our father.” Sighing, I looked away, still dealing with the aftermath of knowing. “This is about that goddamn alliance from years ago.”
“With Emmeline?”
“I think so, but Russo wouldn’t tell me for certain.”
He sucked in his breath. “Have you told her?”
“Hell, no. I don’t want that to be the last memory of her father.” I could tell the comment sparked something. “What?”
“What if the alliance wasn’t about Emmeline? Think about it. Maybe Russo is desperate, and his enemies are breathing down his neck. If he truly wanted an alliance, he wasn’t going to suggest the one thing that almost caused a war years ago. He’s not that stupid.”
He had a good point. “Then what? How?”
“Generally, when two parties are in a discussion about entering into an agreement, both have something to offer.” The sly look on his face kept my attention.
“Go on.”
“What if Pops wanted to get Uncle Armand off our backs?” He waited to see if I could connect the dots.
“You mean with his insidious demand that the Don of the Prince family be married?”
He nodded vehemently. “Makes sense.”
“There’s one problem. Vitelli doesn’t have a daughter.”
“What do you know about Catherine?”
I allowed my thoughts to return to the filth from earlier. “Enough to know she was tossed in the middle of this shit.”
“Everything happens for a reason. Right?”
Footsteps drew my attention, Jarvis entering the room with a thick file in his hand. “You’re right that it has something to do with Catherine.” He hesitated before walking any closer. “Maybe everything.”
“The dossier.”
“Yeah.” His hesitation was followed by a deep sigh. “I don’t know what to make of it, but there is no room for coincidences any longer. I’m sorry, Alex. I wish I had better news.”
After two long strides, I snatched the file from his hand, furiously flipping through the pages.
Very little shocked me any longer and while the information itself was similar to the jacked-up evidence in the legal case against me, the fact she’d kept the information about lineage from me was unacceptable.
As Jarvis had expected, my anger was off the charts. When I said nothing, Jarvis cleared his throat. “What I don’t know is if Catherine has any idea. From everything I’ve found, she’s not had one noted connection with who she really is.”
A vacuum sucked all the air from my lungs as I read the information again. Even breathing was difficult.
“As you said. Coincidences do not exist. Not in this world.”
The fact I’d not only shared the darkest part of my life with her but had also told her in no uncertain terms any kind of betrayal wasn’t allowed infuriated me more than it should.
But I was finished with playing games with everyone. My father was dead because of it and she obviously had answers that she’d never intended on telling me.
What the fuck type of game was she playing?