Page 11 of Trapping His Assassin

Me: So soon?

I had understood the meeting to be scheduled for a week from now, not tomorrow. That wasn’t what my orders had indicated.

Alexie: I want you finished and back as soon as possible. My brother has been quiet for too long, and I need your ear to the ground with your little network of spies to see what’s happening back home.

I frowned at my phone.

Me: We don’t want to rush this meeting. It could be the start or end of another war.

Alexie: I know that. Relax for tonight. We will speak more in the morning, don’t let them push you around.

Me: When have I ever?

Alexie: I’m saying be safe, rebenok.

Me: I’ll try, but maybe I need to head home as soon as possible. You’ve lost your mind.

Alexie: Sloane and I are trying again…

I approached my driver with my bag in hand. I didn’t have any other suitcases. Everything I needed was on my person. I mulled over Lex’s last message. I truly wished he would abandon this desire for a male heir. His daughter was beautiful, but I could see the madness within her gaze. Even at ten.

He shouldn’t have more kids. They would probably be a danger to society. When I didn’t respond, he messaged again.

Alexie: ...What?

Me: I have nothing to say. Should I congratulate you?

Alexie: Roman, don’t believe for a second that being in another country means I can’t have someone shoot you for me.

Me: Because you don’t want to get your hands dirty again, old man?

Alexie: I would send a foot soldier on my orders to shoot you. You know I don’t tolerate disrespect even from my family.

Me: What did the foot soldier do that made you want him dead? Is he a spy?

I was intimately familiar with every aspect of Alexie. He wouldn’t send someone on a suicide mission, unless they had made a grave mistake. I hopped into the town car and waited for his next response.

Alexie: He glanced at Sloane’s ass when she was walking up the stairs.

Fuck. This was what I meant by Alexie being too gone for Sloane. Ever since she came into his life, it’s like she’s been his motivation. He no longer made any moves unless she wasinvolved, or in danger. I wasn’t sure why he even focused on expanding the business. His heart wasn’t in it.

Me: And that’s a good enough reason to send him to his death?

Alexie: Sending him to his death is a kindness. If I did what I wanted to do, his corpse would be hanging on the chandelier in my dining hall, so everyone could see what happens when you covet something that isn’t yours.

Me: You’ve got to chill. Couldn’t be me. At the end of the day, no woman is going to turn me against my men.

Alexie: One day, you will understand.

I scoffed, a rumbling sound that sent fire down my throat from its use. Even though my eyes wanted to close from the toll of traveling, I couldn’t. I wasn’t safe. I still needed to check the villa owned by the Bratva, and make sure there weren’t any assassins, or a trap waiting for me.

Yes, I was prepared for the inevitability that Don Ricci would try to kill me. An eye for an eye. He can’t get his hands on Alexie, so taking out his pseudo-son would be a suitable solution.

Alexie had spent countless hours drilling me to be on guard, always ready for danger. It all made sense now as I sat in the back of the car, watching the city blur by through the window. The buildings, and people passing by, were nothing but a hazy backdrop to my racing thoughts and heightened senses, always alert for any potential threats. This is what he had trained me for; to never let my guard down, even for a second. And I knew that after the terrifying raid, while searching for Tiffany, Alexie would do whatever it took to keep me safe from harm’s way.

Tuscany was a beautiful place.When the rolling green trees that surrounded the region caught my attention, I tried to absorb the scenery, but I was distracted. Alexie wanted me to marry before leaving, or at least sign the marital contracts.

But I was only twenty-two, and had no use for a wife. A brief memory of the mysterious young woman from the funeral almost a decade ago, flashed in my mind. I never did catch her full name. Maybe she would make a wife that Alexie could be happy with.

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