Page 70 of Koroleva

"It might not have been the son. What about Massimo?"

"But who is interrogating whom here, you or me?" Andrey ignored me.

"Maybe he did it behind his son's back." I looked towards Dante. We hadn't considered that possibility. Neither of us could vouch for R's father because we were on the outside of his movements. "What's the matter? Run out of excuses? You know as well as I do that the 'Ndrangheta has always wanted to take control, and the only thing standing in their way was the Bratva."

There was a knock at the door; we fell silent. It was one of the waiters asking Dante to come out, that two guys were making a big fuss and causing trouble.

The manager obeyed, leaving us alone, and I took the chair opposite Andrey, moving it closer to him.

"Do you know what I think, Russian?" I asked, leaning forward. "That you're looking in the wrong direction. Maybe Massimo wanted the whole pie, instead of half, but he never started an open war with yours, unlike Cheng." Andrey frowned.

"Now you're blaming the Chinese?"

"You lack information to make a judgment. Tell your boss to ask R how Yuri died; maybe that will help clear up your doubts."

"Yuri died in a shootout."

"That's true, although you were given a distorted view of the facts. Listen to me, tell Koroleva to ask R; tell her it's my wedding gift, but try not to let her know it was me. I believe there are things your boss should know, even if they hurt. Maybe that will change the good opinion she has of her husband." Andrey was studying me intently, I saw it in every gesture, every expression.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Confession for confession, that way we're even."

"This isn't even. You've stabbed me, electrocuted me, and tied me to a chair."

"And I remind you that you've broken my ass, which, for the record, is similar." Andrey snorted.

"You know I'm going to tell her all this as soon as I see her, right?"

"I expected no less. I'll also tell Romeo." I placed my hands on his thighs, and he looked at them. "It's nothing personal, Andrey. You know I really like you deep down, but I know our position on the board. You and I are bishops, capturing other pieces so they can execute their master stroke. We owe it to our king and queen." Although he was attentive, the blonde yawned. The pentothal was serving its anesthetic function. "Take a nap; I'll come for you when you're in a better mood, maybe you'll have a revelation in your dreams. I'm going to give Dante a hand." I stood up and grabbed his chin to give him a kiss; he bit my lip and drew blood. I licked it and smiled at him. "This isn't over between us."

"We'll see about that."

?????

I told R what he wanted to know. Of course, I omitted the part about the sexual encounter with Andrey.

As soon as calm was restored in the place, I returned to the office. It felt good to throw a few punches; now I was much more relaxed. The Russian was sleeping like a baby. I looked at him with a smile on my face as I wiped my damn mess off the sofa and lay down on it. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. A phone call alerting us to what had happened at the port was our wake-up call.

I finished speaking and looked at R.

"I'm not surprised," my boss admitted. "I would have thought the same thing; it's really the most logical explanation. And did she tell you what her intention was in proving that I was the culprit? Revenge? To kill me?"

"I didn't get that far in the conversation." R shrugged it off.

"Maybe even both. That woman has more balls than many men I've faced." I glimpsed an admiring tone in his manner. Something seemed to have changed between them.

"Did you guys have sex?" I asked. R smiled like a fool.

"What? We had to seal the marriage; if it's not consummated, it's not valid."

"Yeah... You know what you're doing."

"To be honest, not entirely, I just know that Nikita is a beast in bed."

"I'd prefer you omit certain details; I don't want to visualize you guys like that." Just like I didn't want him to imagine me that way with Andrey. "Putting aside your sex life. What do you want me to do from now on? Do you need anything specific? To protect you 24/7?"

"No. Keep doing what you've been doing. Stick to the Russian and keep me informed. I'll prove to my wife that she's wrong and find the real culprit to rub it in her face."

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