Page 30 of Vicious Rule

This is what I get for mixing business with pleasure. With anyone else, if I found out they betrayed me, they’d be done. Over. A bullet to the head.

I should be able to do that with her too. Why not? If she turned against me, she’s no one I need anymore.

“Do you know what my father wanted to talk about?” I ask her, still watching for any hint of her betrayal.

Sasha shakes her head. “No. I can tell you he asked for my help. Do you know anything about that?”

Her comment throws me off, and I forget all about where I was going with this conversation. “What the hell do you mean he wants your help? With what?”

“I have no idea. He never got around to asking me for whatever he wanted. He’s going to, though, and when he does, I need to know what you want me to do.”

Irritated that everyone around me is acting like I can’t trust them, I start pacing across my office, needing to burn off all the nervous energy coursing through me now. “What the fuck does he mean he needs your help? Why would he ask you for help?”

Then it dawns on me. He plans to have Sasha spy on me.

“He wants you to report back to him everything I’m doing. That’s it!”

Sasha screws her face into a look of pure disbelief. “I don’t think so, Alex.”

I stop in front of her and grab her by the shoulders. “It’s perfect. That’s what he’s going to do. So you know what I’m going to do? Let you. Go ahead. Tell him you’ll watch my every move for him. You can be his perfect little spy.”

My plan sounds perfect to me, but to her, it’s anything but. Pushing me away, she slaps me across the face hard, making my cheek sting.

“Alex Rule, you can go straight to hell! I’m sick and tired of all you Rules.”

As I rub the pain out of my face, I try to convince her of the perfection of my plan. “No, listen to me. It’s the answer to everything. He wants me to off the Olivettis, and he clearly thinks I’m up to something. You tell him what I tell you to say, and he’ll be satisfied. It can’t fail.”

She glares at me for a moment before slapping my face again. “Have you lost your mind? This man kills people for fun! He woodchippered someone, Alex. Woodchippered! Do you not hear what I’m saying? I will not die for this job. I won’t die for you either.”

Her unwillingness to support me when I know she would for that asshole brother of mine sends me into a rage. “If my name was Gideon, you’d be willing to lay down your life, but you won’t do this for me?”

The third slap to my face comes out of nowhere and stuns me for a moment. I stare in shock at her as she glares at me, ready to take another shot if I’m not careful.

“Don’t ever hit me again,” I warn her, barely able to contain my anger right now.

“Or what?” she snaps.

I take a step closer to her so I’m just inches away from her face when I repeat my threat. “Just don’t. Now you will do as I want. Understand?”

This time, I’m watching for her hand and grab her by the wrist before she connects with my cheek for yet another time. Surprised, she tries to pull away, but I’m not in the mood to let her go.

“Planning to slap a woman, Alex?” she asks with not a hint of fear in her voice. All I hear is pure disgust.

And I know for damn sure if Gideon wanted her to lie for him, she’d do it in a heartbeat.

“Only one who’s asking for it,” I answer as I search her eyes for a reason why she’s like this with me.

“Nice,” she says, shaking her head even as she tries to tug her arm out of my hold.

“Why won’t you just do this? You’d do it for my brother. I know you would.”

That enrages her, for some reason, and she slaps me with her other hand, stunning me again. “Gideon trusted me! All I get from you is a night of great sex and then more bullshit lies. Now let me go! I want to be as far away from you as I can.”

Her blue eyes flash nothing but hatred for me. I should be happy she at least complimented me on the sex we enjoyed last night, but I can’t get past the fact that in every word she utters, she’s comparing me to that goddamned brother of mine.

“No. You’ll stay right here with me until you don’t look like you want to kill me,” I say against her mouth.

Before I can move away, she spits in my face, and something snaps inside me. Grabbing her other wrist, I hold her to me as I shove her body back against the wall. She wants to play rough? Good.

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