Page 54 of Fragile Union

My heart sinks at his words. He’s going to kill me.

I pray when it’s all over, Romero will be okay, and he’ll learn to love.

The darkness takes me once again as the man lands a punch to my temple.

Twenty

ROMERO

“Get the fuck into the car Alessio,” Dante’s tone is menacing, it’s one he’s never used on us before, it’s his boss’ voice.

Our brother glares at him but does as he’s told, knowing Dante’s not messing around right now. Ales is close to death; the smell lingers in the air. He had better have a fucking good explanation as to why he’s in the office of the Russian bastard.

Dante slides into the driver’s side and I into the passenger’s side. As soon as the doors are closed, Dante lets loose.

“You have until we get to Makenna and Melissa to explain what the fuck you are doing with the Russian’s. I cannot save you from this. Every man has seen the betrayal you have brought to this family by being in that fucking gym.”

Alessio fucking sighs, as though what Dante’s saying is tiring. “Look, when Dad was alive, I had a job to do, one I’m still doing.”

I shake my head, my fists clenched. The rage that’s burning through me is butting against me to be let loose. “That’s not how this works, Ales, you start fucking talking and do not leave a single fucking detail out.”

“What the fuck?” He grunts.

I glance at Dante, trying to convey with him that he’d better sort him out otherwise I’m going to lose my shit.

“Ales, something you seem not to have grasped right now is, Rome and I are fucking close to putting a bullet in you, we’d do it without remorse. Today is not the motherfucking day to run your mouth and dish out the attitude. Holly’s gone. Seamus is dead, and everyone who was with them is currently in hospital, dead, or in surgery. So, start fucking talking.”

His sharp intake of breath doesn’t help the situation. “Fuck. What happened?”

Now I’m done.

“Not in the mood to enlighten you on what went down. What I want to know is why the fuck you were with the Russians and Alessio, don’t piss me off anymore with the lack of details.”

“Fuck,” he groans. “Dad was deep in bed with the Russians: Drugs, guns, women, you name it, Dad was deeply involved in as were the Russians. Dad believed someone was stealing drugs from him, he wasn’t sure if it was the Russian’s or the Latinos. I was tasked with getting close to the Russians, to watch over them and report back.”

Dante’s grip tightens on the steering wheel. “Did you find out if it was them?”

“From what I can tell, they don’t fuck around with the drugs. While it’s a huge revenue for them, it’s not their biggest. They fuck over their partners in the trafficking gig they have going on. They sell women on the side, pretending that they didn’t get their quota of women. They also, mark down the price of what they sold for. We’re talking five hundred thousand dollars they’re pocketing, per woman. But as for the drugs, they don’t fuck around with that shit,” he tells us, his voice tight and filled with anxiousness.

“Dad’s dead, has been for a fucking while now, so why are you still in bed with the fuckers?” I ask, needing to fucking understand why he’s betraying us.

“To get close to them, I found a way in. Yelena. She’s Maksim’s granddaughter.” The softness of his voice when he talks about the woman has me tensing. Fuck. “Yelena, she’s mine.”

“You fell for her? Fucking hell, Ales,” Dante gripes, “what the fuck were you thinking?”

“The reason I was at the gym is because I’ve not been able to get a hold of her in a few days.” He’s unable to keep the hurt out of his tone, but I can’t bring myself to care right now.

I scoff. “You mean, she’s not talking to you since you fucked Georgina.”

He groans, “Yeah, I fucked up and she ran.”

“You shouldn’t have fucking gotten so deep with her,” Dante snaps. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I made mistakes, I’m only fucking human,” he fires back, the anger pouring out of him is palpable.

“What the ever loving fuck?” I snarl, pissed that he’s getting fucking mad. He’s the one who messed up, not us. I turn so I’m facing him, he’s glaring at the back of Dante’s head. “What’s your problem, Ales? Spit it out, and do it quickly. I have to deal with this before I go and find my wife. I’d like to know that you’re on my side, I don’t want to have to watch my back as I go.”

His eyes widen as he rears back. “You’d think I’d betray you?”

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