Page 61 of Corrupted Empire

“What is it?” Antonio asks.

“Hopefully, nothing,” I reply. “But with Ruby Flint, it’s never anything good.”

* * *

Ruby is waiting for me on the step of the portico when I arrive, with Silvano leaning on the front door as if to block her from entering. She sits pin-straight, eyes scanning the area with interest. I don’t like it. I don’t like her being anywhere near my home or my family. I’m just glad I’m not covered in blood.

I dismiss Antonio and Dom and get out of the car, walking toward her with my hands shoved casually in my pockets.

“You have a lot of security, even for a billionaire,” Ruby observes, hauling herself to her feet. “And for some reason, none of them will offer me the scantest bit of hospitality. They made me wait outside.” She gestures to Silvano. “And apparently left me under the guard of a hobbit.”

“On my orders,” I tell her. “Forgive me for not wanting to give you the chance to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Ruby is a fierce-looking woman. Her large brown eyes glimmer like chunks of copper, thin lips pulled into a smile that’s more like a grimace. Not a hair is out of place from her auburn ponytail, and she wears a black, perfectly pressed pantsuit.

“You wound me, Gabriel,” she remarks. “But I suppose I didn’t come here for a cup of coffee, so I can forgive the rude treatment.”

“What did you come here for?” I ask. “I’m a busy man, and I don’t remember being asked to come in for questioning.”

“I usually like a man who’s direct, but I think I’ll make an exception in your case.” She pulls out her phone and starts tapping the screen. “First of all, I just want you to know that while your intimidation may have worked on some of my colleagues, it won’t work on me. I’m not particularly cowed by any threat delivered by a pregnant woman.”

“None of my men delivered any threats,” I say. “And I don’t know what you mean about a pregnant woman. Unless you’re implying that you think Alexis threatened you, in which case that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Don’t play dumb,” she chides. “It doesn’t look good on you.”

She starts to play a recording, and I hear Alexis’ voice, thick with anger.

“Listen, bitch. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you might want to think for a second about who I am. What I can do. You ought to be careful what you say around me if you want to avoid any trouble.”

The recording finishes, and Ruby looks up at me with a small smile. “That certainly sounds like a threat to me.”

The powerful timber of Alexis’ voice combined with the conviction of her words sends a tingle down my spine. I always think of her as so soft and warm. A mother. A lover. I sometimes forget that there is a side of her that cuts like a jagged blade. I love that side of her. It’s sexy and impressive.

I hate it too. It makes her unpredictable.

“That doesn’t prove anything,” I say casually, as though bored. “Not to mention, there’s no way that would be admissible in court.”

“I know.” Ruby shoves the phone back in her pocket. “I just thought it was interesting. Don’t you? To think that such anger could pour out of your little girlfriend, a journalist-turned-charity organizer. I guess you never know what kinds of things are going on under the surface.” She smiles. “It makes me wonder what else there is to uncover.”

She walks past me, toward her car, and I clench my fists to avoid saying something I will regret. Silvano walks down the steps and comes to stand beside me as we watch her car trundle down the drive, and he shakes his head.

“She’ll keep coming after you unless we do something about her,” he says grimly.

“I know.” I sigh. “But what am I supposed to do? The only pressure point we could find for her was her daughter since she clearly doesn’t give a shit about her husband. I’ve got to admit, I just don’t have that in me.”

I think about my own child and how much it would crush me if anything happened to him. I could threaten Ruby’s child, with no intention of following through, but something tells me that she would call my bluff. And as a Mafia don, I cannot ever be caught bluffing.

“We will figure something out,” Silvano says.

“We have a whole catalog of things we need to figure out, Silvano.” I scrub my hand through my hair and watch as Ruby’s taillights sink over the top of the hill in the distance. “And I don’t know where to fucking start.”

* * *

The guardhouse calls ahead to let me know when Alexis arrives back from work that evening. I finish up the task I’m working on in my office and go look for her.

I am so goddamn tired.

Something about Ruby’s visit today has amplified the nagging thought in the back of my head, telling me that the walls are about to come tumbling down.

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