AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I walk past the table and fall into the velvet sofa under a painting of an eighteenth-century huntsmen goring a bull.
How appropriate.
The second the door closes on us, Dominik paces the perimeter. He scours the walls like he’s waiting for a trap door to openand spikes to impale us. “You just found out about this a couple hours ago, but you have a private room?”
“I requested it. A condition of accepting the invitation in the first place.”
Dominik cocks an eyebrow. “You had time for that, but telling me slipped your mind?”
“You’re in a mood today.”
“You’re the one who’s been in a fucking mood!” He whirls on me. “You shipped Laila off to punish her, but you’re punishing the rest of us, too.”
“It’s not punishment; it was for her safety, and you fucking know it.”
“Yeah,” he mumbles. “Try explaining that to her.”
Maybe I would if she’d answer my calls. Then again, I probably wouldn’t.
I’m on the cusp of asking him if that’s really what she thinks—he’d know, since she actually accepts his calls—but I stop myself just in time. No good can come of opening that can of worms.
The silence stretches, broken only by the muffled transition from one song to another bumping through the concrete walls, until Dom tosses his hands up. “Who the hell are we waiting for? They’re late.”
He’s nervous. I get it—the last time we were in a room like this, Dom ended up with a bullet in his chest.
I remember that all too well, too.
I won’t let it happen again.
Before I can answer, voices filter in from the hallway. One rises above the others—raspy, deep,... and familiar.
Dom turns to me with a snarl. “You set up a meeting with Alessandro himself and didn’t breathe a word? You ass?—”
“I told you I have a plan, Dom. I meant it.”
My hand goes to the barely-detectable bump on my hip. If anyone pulls out a weapon, it will be me.
He doesn’t look comforted as the door opens and Alessandro struts in, his son beside him, and two hulking guards overshadowing them both.
“Arsen,” Alessandro greets coolly. “How nice to see you.”
I don’t want to lie, so I say nothing as Dom moves to stand by my side.
The elder Calcagno makes a show of looking around me like he expects to see someone else. “Tell me, where is that pretty little wife of yours? I haven’t seen her in quite a while.”
“No, you haven’t.”
Neither have I, but that’s beside the point.
His eyes shimmer with amusement he has no clue is unearned. “I hope no harm has come to her. Then again, you do have a bad habit of losing wives.”
“Careful,” Dominik warns.
Alessandro tuts at Dominik. “Call off your lap dog, Arsen. I’m not here for a fight.”
I lean into the sofa, arms splayed across the back. “Of course not. You prefer to fight dirty.”
Enzo reclines against the door frame, a few steps removed from his father’s entourage. The distance feels intentional.
