"Brother.” Andrei laughed, but not in a funny way, more like in a I-will-murder-you way. “We have so many issues on our hands right now. Please don't tell me you've been pouring literal gasoline on our blazing fire."
I bit the inside of my cheek lest I burst out laughing at Alex’s non-reaction. They were two opposite sides of the spectrum—Andrei was losing his shit, and Alex was the epitome of confident and collected. But Andrei’s next words wiped the smile right off my face.
"Three more were set on fire last night. Is that a total of four?"
I gasped, twisting around on the couch. Alex was calm, leaning against the kitchen island now. So nonchalant! Butdamn…he wasn’t losing any time.
"Has Jade sucked all the logic out of your brain through your dick?!"
I heard the question, noticing Alex’s face contort in anger, but…I was going to get this one. "I haven't even had a chance to suck his dick yet because you keep interrupting us!"
Andrei snapped his red face to me, visibly burning in embarrassment. Good. Maybe he should stop being such a cock-block. Alex smiled wider, a silent laugh overtaking him, but I had a question for him, too. “Have you, though? Been setting fire to his dealerships?"
He sighed loudly, glancing my way before hesitantly confirming. "Not personally. But yes."
Wow.
Of course Alex didn’t like Xavier, but I hadn’t realized it wasthatmuch. And it felt fucking phenomenal. Alex was retaliating on my behalf, not in the least bit feeling guilty for it.
"Stop. Stop doing that. Let’s fix our shit first.” Andrei’s voice sounded again and I’d forgotten he was even there. “Do whatever you want after. Blow all his shit up, I don't care, but not right now." Andrei read out his mini-lecture and then pointed to a box on the coffee table, which I hadn't noticed until now. "Olga asked me to drop off dessert from last night, she said you guys forgot it, so…enjoy. I'll go now,” he spoke sheepishly, “and stopinterruptingyou,” he added right before running out the door.
"I swear, since you showed up, he went from just anxious to overly paranoid." Alex chuckled, hastily averting his eyes. "Shh...shh, we're not going to talk about that now. I'm going to shower!" he declared, quickly escaping into the bathroom to avoid my inevitable interrogation of why the hell he didn't tell me he was slowly destroying Xavier's business.
I sat for a minute longer, absorbing the news. With an unexplainable pep in my step, I started on breakfast, guessing that Alex would be taking the longest shower in the world to avoid the conversation.
But just as I opened the fridge, another loud knock sounded on the front door. Andrei was too much.
I swung the door open, expecting to see his flustered face again, but instead, there stood a beautiful and tall woman, smiling in a most sinister and sarcastic way.
"Hello." She tilted her head, looking me up and down. "May I come in?" But she stepped in before she even finished the sentence, grazing my shoulder with hers. A little stunned, I watched the way shestruttedfurtherin—like she owned the place.
Her long black hair fell past her shoulders and her heels clicked on the tile floor as she glanced around, her confidenceastonishing. Who the hell was this? Clearly, she got the wrong house!
"Is Alex here?"
Oh, maybe not. Maybe she got the right house.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" I found some semblance of control after this unexpected entrance.
"I'm Gianna. Hisgirlfriend.Who the hell areyou?”
Oh,shit. This wasn’t good.
So this was Gianna. I stared at her, knowing that I shouldn’t get involved, but then again, the word she used didn’t sit well with me. Really didn’t.
“Mmm. Judging by the fact that he’s in my shower right now, you’re not his girlfriend.”
I heard it—the venom in my voice, but I didn’t fucking care. Alex wasmine, and clearly, that hit her hard because her pale face turned tomato red in a second.
“You. Fucking. Whore,” she whispered, which made it worse than if she screamed. “You’re the one he’s been fucking?” She breathed fast, but then she shouted, "I knew he was a fucking cheating scumbag!"
Gianna marched into the living room, suddenly lunging for the closest thing to attack—an armchair. The piece of furniture tumbled to the ground, and she twisted around, looking for her next target.
Her eyes landed on me, and Alex’s words rushed back to me—unhinged ex.
She stepped closer, but I stepped back, slowly shuffling toward the kitchen. Surely, she wasn’t going to physically attack me, was she?
“You think you’ve won?” Gianna smiled, still taking short steps toward me.
