"Jade," he said after an incredibly long pause. "Jade…Moretti." He brought his gaze to mine, emphasizing the last name.
Moretti...Moretti sounded so familiar for some reason. Why did he add her last name like that? Moretti, Moret—
"No!" The word burst out of me once I realized. “The Attorney! The U.S. Attorney! His daughter?!”
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. What the fuck was wrong with the both of us?
Alex nodded somberly and I cut off my laugh, remembering that he had no idea why I found it funny. "Maybe we're like…brothers or something,” I said, deciding that if I shared my gruesome story, maybe he’d share his too. "I mean, we do look alike."
I divulged to Alex all the details of my connection to Isla. Even after all this time, my stomach still churned at the memory of what happened between us.
"What?” he asked, astounded. “That's fucked up. And she married you afterall that?"
"Yes," I chuckled, “I found her in an inferno and then it just…it all detonated.” But it wasn’t about me today. "Tell me the truth now. What happened?"
Alex's second espresso arrived and he grabbed the cup between his tattooed fingers, bringing it to his scarred lips. It was like he couldn’t utter the words. After a short sigh, he sat back and began, "We kidnapped Jade."
Okay. Unexpected start.
“And then..." He was lost for words, but I had a guess as to what he’d say next. "Then I fell in love with her."
Ah yes.Classic. But also…very unlike Alex. Alex was pragmatic. Detail-oriented, careful, smart, and had incredible foresight. But it seemed he was none of those things when it came to matters of love.
"It all…it all just fucking snowballed. I had a crazy fucking ex…she found us and then she toldJade’spsycho ex-boyfriend where she was. He took Olga—who was eight months pregnant—and wanted to trade her for Jade.”
Alex unloaded so many unpredictable details, I was barely catching up. "That was a huge fucking mistake. Jade wanted to go back. To keep me out of prison. To fuck up the investigation. To get rid of the evidence." Alex was slowing down, regret permeating every word. "I shouldn't have let her go. We should've just fucking killed Knox and taken Olga and been done with it. Fuck."
I had no idea who Knox was, but maybe that was the psycho ex-boyfriend. The silence before this was easier.
"Fuck,” he repeated, gearing up to continue his story. "She went back. I was set up by one of my men. I was on the run. I hid out with her. I couldn't keep away from her! But…” Alex broke off, rubbing his temple and gulping slowly. “It gets hazy here, Roma, but I think I’ve remembered everything. Knox found us and…andtookher.”
Remembered?Fucking Christ, he lost his memory?
“He took her and beat me to shit. I survived by pure luck. Or maybe by accident. And I've been recovering ever since. I couldn’t walk at first, but look at me now. Eyes open, standing on my own two feet again."
Holy fucking shit. That was a ton of problems for a man who always lay low and quietly worked away without raising any issues.
"Damn, Sasha. That's..." I had no words.
"Yeah." He played with his car keys, nostrils flaring and jaw clenching, pure rage spilling out of him. "She's with him now, and she's impossible to get to. He has her under twenty-four-hour security. She's not allowed to go anywhere. She's not at work, and there's no one who can pass a message to her.”
Alex finally looked into my eyes, the gravity of his situation now out in the open.
“But Knox booked a reservation for a whole group of people. Next Saturday. She'll be there—she has to. If she's not there, then I'll be storming his house that night. There's no other way."
And that's why he needed Claudio.
"Where's Andrei? How come he can't help?" Where the hell was he, actually? That little neurotic bastard. But Alex's answer made me understand that things were much worse than his already abysmal situation.
"In jail."
Shit, Miami didn't fuck around.
“And your crew? You had so many guys. Where’s everyone?”
Alex sighed deeply, shaking his head. “Gone. Some went back home. Others ran away. There’s no more crew. It’s all been broken up.”
I mulled it all over as I watched perfect angel Isla put sunscreen on her soft skin. Damn, that girl was made for hot weather. She bloomed underneath the hot sun. She thrived in the sand and in the sea air. Her smile radiated—wait! I had to focus on the issue at hand.
