“Question him. Dismember him. Preferably at the same time.”
“Vaffanculo. Fuck, Russian. You sure do cause a lot of fucking trouble.”
Something in Cosenza’s voice catches my attention. “What do you know about him?”
“Nothing that will make me regret you ending him, that’s for sure. There’s scum of the earth and then there’s scum of the earth, you know. Shkodra is the latter. Disposing of him would be a favor. God knows many have tried, but no one has managed to pull it off. He’s a slippery shit. Near impossible to pin down.”
“So everyone keeps telling me,” I mutter. “And why is that trouble for you, Italian?”
“He’s one end of a long line of dominos. Knock the Albanian down and a whole world of shit gets stirred up.” Rem’s sigh is resigned. “To answer your question—it’s not so much trouble as a huge fucking mess to clean up from here to your motherland. I love the idea of burning that trafficking ringto the ground, Alik. I was just hoping to go on my honeymoon first.”
I laugh, picturing how pissed off Rem must look. “Prioritizing your dick, Cosenza? That isn’t like you. Married life that good, huh?”
“Fuck off, Valentin. The last thing you should be thinking about is my marriage. Or my dick.” The murderous edge in his voice is back. “Just ‘cause you backed off theArkhangeljob and warned us about the danger Lena was in doesn’t mean I forgive you for shooting at her. Or flirting with her, you asshole. This little alliance of ours lives on shaky ground. One misstep and it all fucking crumbles.”
The Italian underboss sounds as pissed as I feel. “You’re the one beating around the bush. You called me to offer your help, not the other way around. So, stop threatening me and pussy footing around and tell me—can you help me get to the Albanian or not?”
“Yes, you fuck. I can. Give me until dawn. I’ll get you the access you need.”
“Spasibo.”
“Coglione,” Rem spits back, hanging up.
Call over, I check my messages. A text from Dimitri confirms that Sera is asleep in her suite. I trust Dimitri with my life, but his assurance doesn’t stop me from opening my computer and pulling up the video feed from her bedroom.
What a hypocritical fucker I am. I never installed cameras in her bedroom in the apartment, but the mansion is a different story. The size of the place is for my sanity, but also hers. I feel ill every time I remember what she said about being locked in her room. The night terrors it would trigger, how she physically hurt herself trying to escape her nightmares of Rocco.
“You’re a fucking idiot, Alik,” I mutter, zooming in on the feed of her asleep in her bed. “A sick, fucking idiot.” I can’t trust myself to check on her in her room. Our interlude in the pool isall the proof I need of that. Every time I swear I’ll keep my distance I end up getting even closer.
Sera is quickly becoming the biggest chink in my armor. An addiction I might not be able to break. But I’ve also sworn to keep her safe. If I can’t trust myself to physically check on her in her bedroom, we’re both just going to have to settle for the shockingly clear video feed that doesn’t hide a single detail of her long body curled into a ball under the covers.
She’s sleeping soundly, no current signs of distress. No nightmares chasing her. I zoom in on her face. Give myself a moment to stare at her features. To remember what her eyes looked like as she came. Remember what her lips felt like when she kissed me.
Addiction my ass. More like obsession.
I slam my laptop closed, give my cock a hard squeeze. The determined fucker is rock solid again. As if I need another reminder of how much trouble this woman really is.
Daybreak is about five hours away, enough time to shower and catch some sleep. A few hours later, I’m in the kitchen inhaling coffee and food when Rem’s message comes through:
Your invite arrives tonight. 10pm. Be ready.
Don’t call me again.
“You called me, asshole.”
From now on, you get to be a pain in someone else’s ass.
Then a name:Giovanni Marchetti.
Great. Exactly what I need. Another fucking Italian.
19
SERA
Ihaven’t seen Alik all day.
Not that Iwantto. Nope. I absolutely don’t.