Page 113 of Between Us

Although she kind of knew the answer to that already, part of her feared what becoming the boss would bring for Roman. She imagined such a transition couldn't be easy in the best of circumstances, and the situation her husband found himself in was far from ideal.

“I have to lead it.”

“Is it that easy?”

The hint of a smile touched his lips. “No. It’s not.”

“So, did you officially take over?”

“In a way, yes. But I still need to prove myself andavenge Vitaly's attack.”

Alessandra looked down at the empty plate in front of her as she mulled over his words. “Do you still think my father did it?”

“I never said I did.”

“You implied it.”

When he didn’t reply, she shifted her gaze to meet his. He looked like he was considering how much he wanted to share with her. “We think it was the Armenian Clan.”

“Is that why you met up with Matty?”

Up until that point, Alessandra had managed to keep herself from asking him about his late-night meeting with her brother. She'd heard only part of their conversation and even that hadn't helped with the scenarios her mind conjured up whenever she thought about it. If anything, knowingsomedetails only served to fire up her imagination.

Roman offered a simple answer that didn't completely satisfy her curiosity. “Yes.”

She toyed with the cloth napkin beside her plate. “I'm glad my father is not a suspect anymore.”

She was fishing for more information, and they both knew it.

“I still don't trust him by any means.”

“I get that.”

“Do you?”

At the challenge in his voice, she felt her brows pull together. “Do I, what?”

“If I decided that your fatherdidpose a threat to me and the Bratva, and I had to do something about it. Would you understand then?”

Something uncomfortable settled in her chest,making her shift in her chair. “What are you asking me?”

“What I just did. It's a yes or no question,milaya. If Nero Rossetti betrayed me, would I have your support to do whatever was necessary?”

Alessandra’s frown deepened. She'd never considered it. At least not in the way Roman was putting it.

“You know I trust you,” she said more quietly, fingers tightening on the white cloth.

“That's not what I'm asking.”

Her father was one thing, but the thought of Roman hurting Matteo in any way twisted her stomach into a tight knot. She didn't think she would be able to handle it, if it ever came to that.

Lenka chose that moment to return with their appetizers.

Roman averted his gaze to the plates being set in front of them. Although he kept his expression neutral, she could sense his displeasure at her lack of a straightforward answer.

When they were alone again, Alessandra reached across the table and touched his hand, dragging his attention back to her. “I'm sorry. That wasn’t the answer you were expecting. It's not even about my father, Roman. But I don’t know how I would react if it ever got to the point of you hurting Matty.” She traced the side of his pointer finger with her thumb. “What I mean is that, yeah, I do trust you. And if you ever had to go against my family, I can only hope to be strong enough to handle it with a clear head.”

After a beat, Roman gave his head a small shake. “I'm being selfish. It's not fair to ask you this shit.” He let out a sigh. “Sorry, it's been a weird fucking day.”

---