Page 105 of Between Us

“Arrange a meeting for tonight. I'll break the news then.”

Stepan nodded, looking relieved to hear it. Roman couldn’t exactly blame him. It had been days since they’d found out about Rossetti’s involvement, and Roman was still hesitant to point the blame. That had to end tonight.

Once Stepan left the office to handle some business, Roman powered off the computer and headed to the clubhouse to talk to Laney about an event for that upcoming weekend. Halfway there, his phone started to ring in his pocket. He frowned at seeing Matteo’s nameon the screen.

“What do you want?” he demanded, pressing the phone to his ear. Someone from the wait staff walked past him, her steps picking up when she noticed the storm clouds gathering in his eyes.

“Heard about your father.”

“Shouldn'tyourfather be calling me?”

Matteo paused for a beat. “He doesn't know yet.”

Roman couldn’t fight the sneer overtaking his face. “I'm sure he doesn't.”

“Heard a rumor, too.”

“Oh, yeah? And what rumor would that be, Rossetti?”

“It wasn't us, Roman. My mother's car was stolen almost a week ago.”

Something close to relief expanded in his chest, but Roman snuffed it out immediately. He didn’t trust Matteo one bit. “How fucking convenient.”

“I'm telling the truth.”Matteo started to sound a little agitated.”Don't fall for this shit. It's a fucking ploy to get us at each other's throats.”

Roman turned around and walked back to the office. “I seem to remember you accused us of betrayal not long ago.”

“I was wrong.”

He wasn't, but he didn't need to know that.

“This is Kasparov; it has to be him. He's playing you because he has the most to gain from our broken alliance; can't you see?”

Roman closed the door behind him, already irritated by the conversation. He fought to keep his calm despite the tension creeping up the base of his skull and threatening to give him a head-splitting headache.

“Why should I believe you? You've been nothing buta thorn in my side ever since our fathers shook hands over my marriage with Alessa. For all I know, you could be working with the Armenians to get me out of the way and get your sister back.”

“I may not like you, but I'm not a fucking traitor.” His voice dropped an octave. “Can we meet up? I think we should discuss this in person, and I have more information that will interest you.”

Roman stilled. Was he serious?

“You're either desperate or really fucking stupid.”

“Probably both,” Matteo muttered darkly. He let out a deep sigh. “Look; I never told my father about what I saw that day. I wasn't sure about it, so I decided to keep quiet until I had actual evidence. So unless you're really working with Davit to get rid of us and this is a set-up, I think it was all that fucker's plan from the beginning.”

Although Matteo didn't have the whole picture, Roman couldn't help but think that he actually made sense. If he was telling the truth and Nero Rossetti didn't suspect anything about Vitaly's betrayal, the Don had no reason to want him dead. Their arrangement served the Outfit just as much as it did the Bratva, and a weakened Bratva meant a weakened Outfit by simple association.

An alarming thought emerged. Could it be that Davit had somehow learned about Vitaly's duplicity, and this was him acting first?

Even if that wasn’t the case, Davit was known to hold a grudge. Slippery as a fucking viper and equally poisonous, the man was a dangerous friend to have and an even more lethal enemy.

Roman had warned his father. For the first time in his life, he wasn't happy to have been proven right as henow found himself in an impossible situation. He didn't know who and what to believe anymore.

This was Vitaly’s great legacy: a divided Bratva and two powerful enemies pushing Roman into a fucking corner.

Again, Roman had a decision to make, and this time, he went with what his gut feeling told him.

“Come to my house tonight. Eleven o’clock. Come alone and find another car that isn't recognizable.”

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