Page 26 of Vicious Rule

“Are you talking as my pretend girlfriend, who seemed to be pretty real last night in bed, or as my right hand?” he asks, which is a valid question.

So I answer him truthfully.

“Right now, I’m talking as the person who’s supposed to be the most valuable part of your business.”

Something resembling relief comes over him, and he finally gives me a smile. “It’s that phone call from my father. That’s all. I’m fine. We’re fine.”

I remember how Gideon used to get every time Helix would call or come to visit the hotel. It was like a pall came over his son’s very existence until he left, and then Gideon would suddenly be happy again.

That Alex feels something similar surprises me, though. As the favorite son, he’s always seemed very close to his father. Then again, if he’s willing to work behind Helix’s back on business with Nico Olivetti, clearly the relationship I thought they had doesn’t exist.

He’s never reacted to a call from his father this way. Ordinarily, Alex would end the call and immediately tell me what Helix said. Why isn’t he doing that today?

“Maybe if you told me what he said I might be able to help.”

I’ve never said anything that wishy-washy in my life. Why the hell am I suddenly unsure of myself and my place in the Rule organization? If this is what it’s going to be like now that I’m sleeping with him, I need to fix this problem.

When Alex doesn’t answer, I rephrase my question in the way I normally would ask. “What did Helix have to say that’s making you all crazy?”

For a second, he stares at me like he doesn’t understand the question, but then he smiles. “That sounds more like you. What the hell was that thing you said before? That didn’t even sound like something you’d ever say.”

Feeling more relaxed, I laugh and answer, “I know! I think our time together last night affected my brain. I sounded like some shy girl who’s not sure of herself.”

A shit-eating grin spreads across Alex’s mouth. “That’s what a night with me does to a woman.”

Since my usual self has returned, I do as I always do when he says things like that and roll my eyes at his ridiculous ego. “I’m sure. So what’s going on with your father? What does he want you to do that’s going to upend everything we’re doing here?”

“Is it that obvious?” Alex asks as he leans back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head.

I shrug, not sure if that’s the way I’d describe it. “Not so much obvious as something I’ve seen before. Every time your father called your brother before he transferred the title of the hotel, Gideon would look like someone tied his insides up in knots.”

As usual, even the mention of that sibling makes this Rule tense up. “That’s because my brother is a candy ass who can’t handle himself.”

It’s almost instinct for me to defend my former boss who I still consider a friend, but I remain silent. I’m sure the look on my face is screaming how I feel about this current attack on Gideon, though, because as Alex levels his gaze on me, I see in his eyes he’s expecting me to say something.

“This is new,” he says with a chuckle. “Every other time I’ve talked shit about my brother, you practically bristled with anger.”

“That’s not true,” I say, correcting him. “I told you that first day when I agreed to work for you that whenever you do that it makes you look bad, not Gideon. You know how I feel about men who intentionally make themselves look weak. It’s your choice, though, I guess.”

Like it did that first day, my condemnation of his behavior makes Alex fall silent, but I can tell he’s bothered by what I said there. It’s not that I’m still loyal to Gideon. It’s that Alex needs to show people he’s the leader of the Rule family here, and every time he punches down at his brother who isn’t even in the business anymore, he looks bad.

“Whatever. I'm not interested in talking about my brother. This is about my father, and I'm not sure what I need to do about him. All I know is that he's coming to see me this afternoon so that means I need you to make sure that you don't say one single word to him about Nico and what we're doing together. Understand?”

“I don't know what you're doing with Nico Olivetti, Alex. You haven't told me a single thing other than you're working with him. You promised you'd show me that you trust me. So why don't you actually give me the details so I can know what's going on here?”

Alex stares up at the ceiling and lets out a heavy sigh. “What we're doing together is selling guns. He wanted to get me involved and trafficking some women, but I said no. I'm more interested in dealing with things that don't breathe and cry. Plus there's more money in guns.”

“So why don’t you want to tell Helix about that?” I ask, not believing for a second that’s all Alex is up to with Nico.

Lowering his gaze to meet mine, he smiles. “I’m not doing this for the family business. This is my deal that only I will get to reap the benefits from.”

I stare at him in disbelief. All this time I thought he was just bragging about going behind his father’s back. Part of me may have believed it, but I didn’t fully comprehend what Alex is attempting until right now.

“Are you sure you should be doing this? Your father isn’t a man to play with. No man who tells people about woodchippering someone as payback for pissing him off is. If he finds out—”

Alex holds up his hand to stop me. “He won’t. The only people who know about what I’m up to are Nico and me. And now you. He’s not going to tell my father anything. I’m not either. So that only leaves you, Sasha.”

I’ve heard him talk like this to others before, and the subtle threat comes through loud and clear. That he thinks he needs to bully me into remaining quiet tells me he still doesn’t trust me.

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