Page 132 of Righteous Enforcer
A seed of doubt takes root. What if I misheard that night at the compound? What if Eva's cooperation isn't willing but coerced?
The courier nods. "You doubt Pakhan Vasiliev?”
Alessandro laughs. “I doubt everything connected to Ivan Vasiliev."
“Wait outside. I want to talk to Don Dante,” I tell the courier.
He nods and exits the office.
“Don’t tell me you’re buying this,” Alessandro says before I can speak my mind. "She's playing you again."
“Maybe. What if she’s being forced?—"
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Adriano.” He stares at me like he doesn’t recognize me. "You've always been the one who sees through lies. Yet this woman blinds you every time."
"She's the mother of my child."
"And a proven liar." He leans forward, palms flat on his desk. "Did you forget how she faked her death? How she ran from our protection? How you found her dining with Ivan, conspiring with him?"
I haven’t forgotten, and yet… "I know what I heard, but?—"
"But nothing." His eyes narrow. "I bet this is why he sent her away. He could see her effect on you. It’s not good.”
“We have men watching them. What do they say?”
He blows out a breath but picks up his phone. He dials and then puts it on speaker.
“Don Dante,” Ricci, a capo who specializes in Russian intelligence, answers.
"What do we know about the Santoro woman’s situation with Ivan?" he asks.
"My sources say she's kept under heavy guard. Not allowed to leave the house or compound."
"A guest or a prisoner?" Alessandro interjects.
"Hard to tell.”
Alessandro looks at me. “Ivan is not a generous man. No way he’s giving her free run of the house if she’s a prisoner.”
“She can’t leave, though?—”
“Probably because he doesn’t want you swooping in and taking her back.”
I shake my head because this doesn’t make sense. “If he wants her to work for him, why isn’t he sending her back?”
Alessandro crosses his arms. “Maybe she told him we won’t believe her. She knows she’s DOA if she comes here.”
“So what’s this?” I pick up the note and wave it at him.
“A hail Mary? Maybe a trap thinking you’ll come save her. Who the fuck knows, and frankly, I don’t care. I’m not handing over the business to Ivan, and you’re delusional if you think I would.”
Alessandro is right in that Eva has a dangerous hold on me. Every instinct screams to protect her, to storm the Bratva compound and bring her home, not just for Mirabella, but for me.
But logic overcomes emotions. What if this is exactly what she wants? She knows she can’t return here, so this is the new plan she’s concocted with Ivan. She's orchestrated this entire situation to manipulate me once more.
I fold the note, tucking it into my pocket. "We ignore the demands.”
"Finally, something we agree on." He nods toward the hallway where the courier waits. "Question is, what message do we send back?"
