Page 32 of The Butcher
“We’ve got Rossi blood making moves against you,” another added. “You see how that looks.”
“I do,” I said. “But Lucia isn’t involved. And she is a Drakovich now.”
“This is fucked. You need to handle this. Get rid of the bitch,” one motherfucker said, and that crossed the line.
I didn’t raise my voice or give a warning. I just moved. My hand fisted the front of his shirt and slammed him back into the chair hard enough it scraped across the floor. Before the fucker could recover, my other hand closed around his throat, squeezing so I cut off whatever he thought he was goingto say next.
I leaned in close, letting him feel exactly how thin the line was he’d just stepped over. “You don’t speak about my wife,” I said, my voice low and even, the kind that didn’t need to be raised to be understood. “Ever.”
My grip tightened so his breath hitched, to remind him how easily I could choke him out if I chose. I held him there for a second longer, waiting for him to acknowledge I held his life in my hands right now.
“No offense, Alexei. My apologies,” he croaked, pulling at my hands.
I held him like that and stared into his eyes for a moment longer before letting go, stepping back like nothing had happened as my message settled into every man at that table. I smoothed my hands down my suit jacket and took my seat once more.
My father leaned back slightly, watching me for a long second before speaking again. “Alexei will take care of it,” he said. “And the bastard… he needs to understand who and what he is up against.”
I stared at my father and inclined my head once. “Understood.”
My father nodded, my answer enough for him.
The conversation moved on after that, turning towhat to do next, who moved where, and which men I took with me. No one went back over what had already happened. This was about what came next.
By the time the meeting ended, a plan had been set into motion. The men filed out one by one, voices low as they stepped into the hall. I stayed where I was, the file back in front of me.
Francesco’s bastard had gone rogue, and we couldn’t let that slide. I didn’t know much about Francesco’s illegitimate children, but I’d find out everything on Alessio. I had to believe he was just a kid with a blood tie that he was trying to use as leverage to make a name for himself.
I leaned back in my chair, letting that settle, then reached for the file again. I wasn’t reading it this time. I was thinking about Lucia and if she even knew about her half brother. It didn’t matter if she did or if she knew what Alessio was involved with. She was mine, and I wasn’t letting her go, even if she would be considered a traitor by the Bratva for knowing this information.
I had one problem now, and I’d handle it the same way I handled everything else. I’d eliminate the threat before it had time to turn into a bigger problem.
But before that, I was going home to my wife and stake my claim over and over again until I could convince myself no one would take her from me.
Chapter Eighteen
Lucia
Ididn’t realize how long I stayed in the study until the quiet started to press in around me. I didn’t remember when I’d picked the folder back up, but I stared down at it now, my fingertips white because I held on to it for so long.
The paper felt heavier now than when I’d first opened it, and no matter how much I tried to block it out, I couldn’t make any of this feel normal. I didn’t understand it, all not the full picture or all the details, but I understood enough to know it wasn’t something I could brush off.
I set the folder back exactly where I’d found it, making sure it looked untouched. My fingers lingered for a moment before I stepped away fromthe desk, my gaze moving over the room as if I might find something else that explained everything.
I left the room without looking back. The hallway outside was quiet, but not empty. A guard stood near the far end, his attention shifting to me the second I stepped out. He didn’t ask what I’d been doing, but I saw it in the way he straightened slightly. He knew I’d been in Alexei’s study, but he’d never question it. He’d never overstep his duties and roles with Alexei and his wife.
That realization—that I held some power—filled me suddenly.
I moved through the house with no real destination in mind, just trying to settle the unease sitting in my chest. The staff shifted around me in a way that didn’t go unnoticed. Conversations stopped when I entered a room, and whatever task they were working on wrapped up quickly before they stepped out, leaving the space to me.
It felt like this was how things were supposed to be now. Like I had a place here, whether I was ready for it or not.
I found myself out on the terrace, needing air. The land stretched out in front of me, wide and quiet, but it didn’t ease the tension in my body. Mythoughts kept going back to what I’d seen, and all the things my mind conjured up.
I didn’t know how long I stood out there, but I felt my husband right behind me before I heard or even saw him.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
His voice came from behind me, low and close, and I turned to face him. Something in me tightened. He stood just inside the doorway, his attention fixed on me, taking in every inch of me.
