Page 76 of Between Us

She paused at her husband’s candid response. “Am I still in danger?”

“No,” he said firmly. “But I'm not risking anything.”

“Do you trust him?”

Roman looked a little taken aback by the vulnerability bleeding from her voice. He reached out to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I do,milaya. I've known him since we were kids.”

Alessandra nodded and pushed some food around on her plate. A moment later, a warm hand coiled around the back of her neck and soft lips pressed against her temple. When she turned her head, Roman kissed her on the mouth softly. “Eat your food.”

“I'm really not hungry.”

“You're not leaving the kitchen until you eat. You've lost weight, and I don't like it.”

She managed an eye-roll. “I've lost like four pounds.”

“You're skinny as it is. You don't need to lose any more weight.”

Alessandra gave him a smile that was intended to come across as playful. “That's not what my papà said to me when I was sixteen and I gained a few pounds because of the birth control.”

His gaze immediately darkened. “Your father is a fucking asshole.”

The smile slipped from her face. “He used to say that a woman should always look her best for her husband, and it really messed with my head for a while. I refused to eat anything other than salads and yogurt for months. Then it got to the point where I was almost anorexic, and my mom had to intervene. It was the only time I ever heard them fight.”

“Interesting father-daughter dynamic.” By his toneof voice, Roman found it anything but interesting.

“Growing up, Papà was hard on the both of us—me more so than Matty. But I think that in his own twisted way, he loves us.”

Roman remained quiet, and she knew he was refraining from voicing his thoughts on the matter.

She finally took a bite of lasagna. “Was it the same for you?”

“Pretty much; only he treated my sister like a spoiled princess while punishing me and Alek whenever we stepped out of line. That’s why I moved out the day after I turned eighteen. He still kept me on a leash through the Bratva, but that leash got longer, and I was fine with that. I had my own place and I could do whatever I wanted with my free time.”

“What about Alek?”

“Things changed after I moved out. My mom got sick, and my father had to focus on her. It was a difficult time for all of us. As much of jerk as Vitaly can be, he really loved her.”

Alessandra chewed her food slowly, grateful for the bit of insight Roman was offering. “He seems... attached to Yana, too.”

He puffed out a deriding breath through his nose. “He's attached to her fake tits and ass.”

“And she loves his money.”

“His money and the status she holds by being married to him.”

Alessandra stabbed another piece of lasagna and brought it to her mouth. Roman watched her chew, a small smile playing on his lips. “Good girl.”

She elbowed him in the ribs half-heartedly.

They ate in silence for the next few minutes. Whenthey were finished, Roman offered to do the dishes.

After pouring herself a glass of orange juice, Alessandra went back to the bedroom. She set the glass on the nightstand and was about to walk into the bathroom when her phone lit up with an incoming call.

Her heart jumped in her throat when she saw it was her father calling. Similar to conjuring a demon in a haunted house, her mention of him during dinner seemed to have had invoked him from the depths of his deliberate disregard of her. She hesitated for all of two seconds before deciding to answer.

“Yeah?”

“Figlia mia,” Nero said in his deep, dispassionate voice. ”How are you?”

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