Page 130 of Between Us

Alessandra looked up. Her father had appeared on the first floor landing, looking at the altercation below with barely restrained fury. Whatever had happened in that office must have been bad.

Roman didn’t move or lessen his hold.

“I swear to God, Roman. Release him, right the fucknow.”

It took another moment, but then Roman removed his arm from Luca’s windpipe, causing him to cough as he tried to recover from the assault. Leaving him there, Roman turned and grabbed Alessandra’s wrist as he dragged her into the kitchen. Tatyana looked up when they entered then blanched at seeing the murderous look on her brother’s face.

“What happened?” she asked cautiously.

Roman turned to Alessandra with fire in his eyes. “If I see his hands on you again, I’ll put a bullet into his fucking head.”

“He barely touched me. Why are you acting like this?”

He didn’t answer, but something in the dark depth of his gaze gave him away. He was overwhelmed, and Luca was just a way to release tension. An outlet for the violence buzzing under his skin.

“Did you sleep at all?” Despite his mood, she took a step closer and touched his rough cheek. “Did you eveneat today?”

“I'm fine,” he bit out, trying to shake off her touch.

He was stubborn, but so was she. Alessandra fisted the front of his shirt, refusing to back down. She pressed herself to him despite Tatyana still being in the room.

“Have something to eat before you leave.”

“Alessa—”

“Please. For me. For my peace of mind.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but she wouldn’t have it. She let go of his shirt and grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the island. “Five minutes. There’s food left. I’ll have a plate ready for you in no time.”

As he begrudgingly sat down and she turned to head to the stove, she caught sight of the small smirk playing on Tatyana’s face. Ignoring that, she quickly set out to fill a plate with scrambled eggs before he could change his mind.

She let out a quiet sight.

She loved him, but sometimes he was as obstinate and unmovable as a giant bull.

47

The dashboard clock indicated it was three minutes to midnight. The car was filled with silence, the somber mood foretelling the danger that lay ahead.

“Fucking Oleg,” Alek muttered through clenched teeth, the first one to speak since they’d gotten on the road. “That motherfucker had it coming for a long time.”

Roman checked the chamber to his gun before engaging the safety and tucking it back into its holster. “Focus on the road, Alek.”

“Yeah, yeah,” his brother said, fingers tightening around the steering wheel. “Are we sure he's still there? He could’ve moved to another location by now.”

“Stepan’s source says so.”

“Cool by me. Can't wait to shoot the old fucker in the head.”

Roman didn't comment on that. He was just as eager to get rid of Vitaly's former lapdog, though he wastrying to keep a cool head and his focus where it needed to be. He couldn’t let his emotions dictate, no matter how much he hated the man.

Sixteen hours later, he was still pissed that Nero Rossetti had been the first one to point the blame at Oleg. It made sense, of course. Stepan had worked the entire night trying to gather information and prove just that when Roman was summoned at the Rossetti mansion first thing this morning. His father-in-law wanted an explanation for the Armenians’ unexpected attack. Roman had no explanation to give until he had proof.

Needless to say, that meeting didn’t end well. He left angrier than he’d arrived, and his run-in with Morano hadn’t helped either.

Three hours after the meeting with his father-in-law, Roman had the evidence he needed to take action. And that was how they found themselves in a three-car convoy, heading to Oleg’s place downtown.

Roman reached for the bottle of water in the center console. He took a long drink, draining nearly half the bottle. His stomach let out a low grumble which he ignored. Except for the breakfast Alessandra had forced on him, he hadn’t had anything else to eat, too busy to even think about food. He took another drink before setting the nearly empty bottle back in the center console.

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