Page 49 of Vicious Rule

“Do you have to get up?” she asks in a sleepy voice.

I push her blond hair back off her face to reveal those beautiful eyes. “Salvatore found something out. He’s going to be here in a few minutes.”

“What time is it?”

“Almost dinner time. I guess I should tell the cook to get going on something to eat.”

Sasha sits up and scrubs the last of the sleep from her face. “Remember you told your mother he’d make her something special.”

I nod, sure he’ll come up with something great. He’s never let me down before.

“Would you mind keeping her entertained while I deal with Sal? It shouldn’t be too long.”

A penetrating gaze is her response before she finally answers, “You know I will, but I hope she didn’t hear anything. That could be awkward.”

Since I’m in a playful mood, I joke, “I’d think the fact that you slept with my brother too would be awkward.”

Instantly, Sasha glares at me. “Do you think that’s funny?”

She has no idea how much it bothers me, but I don’t want to discuss that at the moment. “Not really. Just thought it would be cute to mention.”

As she gets out of bed, she begins to search for her clothes while she says, “I think you’re jealous. You’ve mentioned that a handful of times in the past few months, you know. That tells me you’ve thought about it.”

Unwilling to let her know just how much I have thought about her with my brother, I look away, hoping whatever I’m feeling isn’t written all over my face. “Trust me, I’m not jealous. I don’t give a damn what you did before me.”

“Trust you?” she says as she steps in front of where I’m looking so I have to face her. “You can’t even look me in the eyes when you say that.”

“Fine. There. I’m looking you directly in the eyes and saying it again. I’m not jealous.”

That makes her smile, and she bends down to kiss me before sweetly saying, “You don’t have to be, you know. He and I were never what you and I are.”

I want to know what that means, but I don’t ask. It’ll only piss me off anyway, and what Salvatore has to tell me in a few minutes is going to take care of that just fine.

“Good. Now remember, my mother heard us fucking loud and clear, so keep that in mind.”

Throwing my head back in laughter, I enjoy how flustered Sasha looks after I say that. She’s always so cool and composed that seeing her like this is a nice change.

She slips her dress over her head and as her face pops out the top, she says with a frown, “You’re a bastard. You should know that.”

“Feel free to ask my mother about that too, but I don’t think I was. I know who both my parents are. Ask anyway, though. Could make for good conversation.”

Sasha grumbles some words I can’t understand before turning to walk out. “Don’t forget dinner with your mother. I am not going to be your stand-in, Alex.”

While she storms away, I say, “See, we’re not fake. That sounds like something a real girlfriend would say.”

She throws me a dirty look before slamming the door behind her. I doubt she’s really angry, though. No worries. I’ll give her something to make her smile later tonight.

After a quick shower that made me see stars and question the need to actually be clean, I slip on a loose, white button-down shirt and a fresh pair of black pants and make my way down to my office as I try to figure out who did this to me. A hundred possible names run through my head, but there’s no point in playing the guessing game. I’ll know soon enough.

I pour myself a drink and down it before setting myself up with a second one and sitting down behind my desk. I need to keep calm. Whoever did this to me will be my main focus until I return the favor and put a bullet in their brain. Then I can get back to my deal with Nico and handling the rest of his family for my father.

Thank God everything else I’ve set up in this country runs like clockwork because if it didn’t, I’d be working twenty-four seven. No thanks. I leave that working your fingers down to the bone to Gideon. He can take that workaholic shit and shove it up his ass.

Sal knocks on my office door and strolls in before I have the chance to invite him to join me. I swear this guy takes liberties he shouldn’t dare to, but he does such a great job whenever I call on him that I let him slide. I should stop that since it’s creating a strange dynamic between us, but I’ll deal with that another day.

“I’m glad you’re sitting down. And you have a drink too. Good. You’re going to need it,” he says as he sits down in a chair in front of my desk.

“Feel free,” I offer, pointing over at the bar, before taking a gulp of scotch.

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