Page 43 of Vicious Rule

Salvatore nods before asking, “Anything else?”

Waving him off, I shake my head. “No.”

Just before he reaches the door, I change my mind. “Wait. Tell Sasha to come back in on your way out.”

He grunts something about loving the chance to talk to her again before leaving. All I can think is he shouldn’t be looking forward to what she’s likely going to give him, including a slap to the face. Sasha doesn’t hold back when she hates someone.

It’s one of my favorite things about her.

A minute later, she strolls into the room looking like she wants to kill someone. Probably Salvatore. I should have warned him again about pissing her off.

She points at the door and then shakes her head. “That man is the bane of my existence every time he shows up here. I swear one of these days, Alex, I’m going to actually do what I fantasize about with him and then he won’t bother me anymore.”

“Take a ride on little Sal?” I ask, dying to see the look on her face at that choice idea.

Her reaction is priceless. Squinching up her face like she just tasted a lemon for the first time, she rolls her eyes. “Ugh, that is the most disgusting thought I’ve ever had. Thank you. Now if you can never say those words again, I can live a happy life. Take a ride on little Sal. God, no.”

I knew it would be worth it to tell her that.

“Okay, enough about Salvatore and his dick. Get my father on the phone so I can talk to him and find out just what the hell he needs from me today,” I order, already dreading the conversation I’m about to have with Helix Rule.

Sasha hurries out of my bedroom as I wonder how two people who are so alike can have such a difficult relationship. My brother thinks he and our father don’t get along, but I’ve always suspected that he gets more respect from Helix than I do. What I get is constant watching to see what I’m up to, while Gideon is left alone for months at a time.

I’d fucking kill to be left to myself for a few weeks, for Christ’s sake. But my father would never let that happen. I swear to God the man wakes up and instantly thinks of calling me before he even has his damn coffee in the morning.

I know why too. It’s not that he’s simply curious. He doesn’t trust me to do this job. Oh, he says he does and happily announced my taking over the family business here in Italy, but I know he doesn’t believe I can do it without him hovering over me like some fucking mother hen.

Anyone who thinks I’m the favorite child of either of my parents is insane. Gideon is my mother’s favorite, and Autumn is my father’s. I’m just the first born.

Sasha hurries back into the room as these thoughts ramble around in my brain. “I didn’t tell him what happened, but he’s pretty angry you didn’t call back last night.”

I take the phone in my good hand and nod. “Fine. Do me a favor and get me some breakfast. Tell the cook to make me some eggs and bacon. And find out where the hell that doctor is because my shoulder is fucking killing me!”

She winces at my bellowing, so I quickly add, “Just find him, okay?”

“I will,” she answers with a gentle smile. “I just wish you weren’t in pain.”

Turning on the bravado, I wave off her concern. “I’ll be fine once he gets here with something to take the edge off.”

“We need to have you start taking those pills he left with me. Maybe they would hold you over?”

Those won’t help with the pain. Those are just to make sure there’s no infection so my injury gets worse.

Shaking my head, I scowl. “Later.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

I think about how I’d love to throw this phone out the window and have her climb back into this bed with me so we could have some fun that might take my mind off the pain, but I don’t say anything about it. Maybe tonight, but for now, I’ve got work to handle.

With a shake of my head, I give her my answer before turning my attention to the phone call. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?” I ask, trying my damnedest to be as casual as possible.

“What’s up is I called that house last night and you never called me back,” he snaps. “You better have a damn good reason for that.”

As a spike of blinding pain tears through my shoulder, I answer, “Well, I was busy getting shot, but we can talk now until the doctor gets here with more drugs so I’m not in pure agony.”

I’m not usually that snide with my father, but he had to hear me talking to Sasha before I got on the phone. Maybe he could ask if I’m okay instead of riding my ass about not calling him back about something I’m pretty damn sure could have been handled in a goddamned text message.

My father doesn’t say anything for a few seconds before he finally asks, “Did I hear you right? Did you get shot last night? Who? Who the fuck did that to you?”

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