Page 30 of Dangerous Devotion

I couldn’t help but smirk at Hawk’s blunt assessment. He did have a way of cutting through bullshit which I admired.

“Vince,” Hawk continued, turning to face me, “I know you’ve got no love for Zotov, but hear him out. The intel he’s brought could be crucial.”

I raised an eyebrow at Hawk.

He nodded, his expression serious. “You want to hear what he has to say.”

I let out a long breath, weighing my options. Hawk wasn’t one to exaggerate, and if he vouched for the information, it was probably at least worth listening to. Still, the idea of working with Zotov made my skin crawl.

“Fine,” I growled, fixing Zotov with a hard stare. “But this better be good, or I’ll personally show you the door. And trust me, you won’t like my method of escorting you out.”

Zotov’s smirk didn’t waver, but I caught a flicker of something in his eyes. Respect? Amusement? It was hard to tell with this guy.

Hawk clapped his hands together. “Great. Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get down to business. Max, why don’t you patch Vince up while we talk? No sense in letting him bleed all over the furniture.”

I looked down at my arm, and Hawk was right. Somehow Donnelly managed to make that damn wound bleed even more than before.

Max stepped closer. “Lose the shirt, then we’ll see what we’re dealing with.” I settled back into the sofa, never taking myeyes off Zotov, who took a seat on the opposite side, next to Donnelly.

Whatever information he had, I would never take it at face value.

And whatever game he was playing, it was time for me to finally catch up and then get a couple of steps ahead.

“Spill,” I said while glaring at Zotov, not that it had any effect on him. He shouldn’t be this calm. Not with at least ten of my guys in the room, all ready to kill him at my command without even blinking an eye.

Zotov stared back at me, but there was something in his eyes before he opened his mouth. Something almost like…sympathy, which I did not expect.

The room fell silent, everyone focused on us.

He locked his gaze onto mine, and I leaned forward, my eyes never leaving his face as he began to speak. “Your father, Alfredo Salvini, has put out a contract on you,” he said, his voice unnervingly calm.

My jaw clenched, but I kept my face impassive. “A contract?” I’d always known my father was a bastard, but this? This was a new low.

Zotov continued, “He’s hired two separate teams. The first one to kidnap you and the next one to take you out directly. The attack on the rooftop? That was the first team.”

I felt a chill run down my spine. My own father had tried to have me kidnapped? What for? “Quite a flashy way to pull that off; they could’ve chosen a much less costly, much less obvious way.”

“Well, it’s Father, after all,” Dante chimed in and settled next to me on the couch.

“Maybe he thought you’d cave and back off if he made it a big enough spectacle,” Matt said.

Donnelly’s mouth hung open as his focus ping-ponged from Dante to Matt. He looked like he was in utter disbelief.

If my family would be like any other, that disbelief would’ve been warranted. But this wasn’t even surprising.

I’d worked my butt off to gain more and more power in the family while my father focused on whoring around and drinking with his cronies, who became fewer and fewer. Apparently, he was finally feeling the heat of me breathing down his neck.

I thought his alliance with Zotov was my father finally waking up and focusing back on the business, but apparently, that wasn’t what he was focused on. Part of me always knew my father got off on cruelty. He simply had no feelings or empathy for anyone.

Playing dirty tricks and humiliating someone to make himself better was always his way to go. And he didn’t differentiate even when it came to his own children. Though hearing it confirmed was something else entirely.

If it was the truth. I focused back on Zotov, who was still staring at me. How did he know, and how much did he know? “Why?” I managed to ask, my voice rougher than I’d intended.

Zotov’s eyes flickered with something that looked almost like pity. “Power, of course. Your father fears you’re becoming too influential, too respected within the organization. He believes you’re planning to take over and push him out.”

I scoffed. “I’ve been trying to push him out of the family business for years. Why now?”

“Alfredo doesn’t see it that way,” Zotov replied. “He’s convinced you all are plotting against him.” He let his gaze sweep over Matt to my left, then me, and Hero who was standing behind me to Dante next to me. “The second team he’s hired…they’re not just after you. They’re targeting everyone close to you—your brothers, your sisters…Jemma.”

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