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TATUM
Itook a seat on one of the couches in Alex’s living room, leaning forward to take the Turkish coffee he offered. Nerves thrummed through me. Alex and I shared the penthouse floor, so it was only a matter of time before he realized Clara and I were living together. Not three days after taking Clara’s virginity, I already found myself in his apartment for what would likely be an inquisition.
What I intended to be a blissful bubble of nonstop sex with Clara was rudely interrupted by the Bratva hit. It was quite a new sensation to come back from work and have someone to discuss it with, to bounce ideas off each other on how to best handle the situation. Clara might be young, but her father had done an impeccable job teaching her the ropes of the business. Her acumen was sharp, and she’d come up with suggestions that helped me track down the missing shipment of drugs in Jersey.
“No cookies or cake?” I asked innocently.
Normally, he’d have something to nibble on, but since Bunica was spending her time in the kitchen of my family house, and not his, she hadn’t been baking as much for the boys. Star was back home. Between her high metabolism and being a fussy eater, Star had become startingly thin, so it was no surprise when Bunica took on the mission of fattening up my sister. It must be working because she was starting to show slight curves.
“You know damn well Bunica’s obsession with feeding Star like her life depended on it,” Alex replied in an indulgent tone, falling into the seat beside me.
“It’s going to be a while longer. The construction on the house doesn’t sound like it’s going to be completed anytime soon,” I commented.
He groaned. “Christ, don’t remind me. The house sustained structural damage. At this point, we might as well tear the thing down and throw up a new one.”
I chuckled, “I don’t think your mother would approve. She’s attached to the house Mihail bought and renovated for her.”
“Tell me about it,” he grumbled. “There’s no way she’s going to change anything in the ‘house my husband bought me.’ As if that house is worth as much as the land it stands on. But nothing I say seems to be working to change her mind.” He eyed me. “How’s your mother holding up with the both of them in the house? Bunica can be a challenge.”
“Oh, please, she loves it. And it’s not like my mother doesn’t know your grandmother inside and out. They’ve been neighbors and friends going on thirty years now. You know how she is, she’s glad to have the house full of people. I know it was tough on her when I pulled Star and Clara out to live with me.”
I’d purposely brought up Clara, knowing this was the reason I’d been summoned.
“Speaking of Clara…,” he started. “I’m guessing you’re fucking her. Think that’s a good idea overall, Tatum?”
I huffed out a self-deprecating laugh. “Have you seen her? Think I could stop myself?”
He clapped a hand over my shoulder. “Hey, I’m not criticizing.”
I was defensive, but I couldn’t help myself when it came to her.
He shook his head. “I’m not, believe me. Who am I to judge when I ended up falling for an outsider?”
His voice was tight on that last word. He didn’t like to think of Nina as having once been an outsider. Considering she was his little sister’s best friend and our neighbor since forever, she’d always been part of our world. But she wasn’t born Romanian, and quite a few clan members were put out by the fact that the most eligible and powerful Lupu man didn’t pick a woman from a prestigious family. Marriages were generally arranged, even when they weren’t used to forge or fortify alliances.
“Then what are you saying?” I asked him, somewhat tersely, considering I was conversing with my sef, not my friend. I was consilier, and I never fucked mafie women, so being with Clara, and Clara being the power broker she was for her clan, was no laughing matter.
This was business.
Only it didn’t feel like business to me.
“Don’t get your hackles up,” he warned. “You grew up in this world, you know it like the back of your hand. Don’t act like your conduct doesn’t impact the clan because you can’t fuck a princess like her, even if she comes from a lackadaisical clan from out west, and not expect consequences.”
Staring straight ahead, I clenched my hands, unclenched them, and then balled them into fists.
He watched and let out a long sigh. “You know we’re brothers. You know I’ve got your back, but what you did complicates things.”
“I don’t care,” I said, low and hard.
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t have the luxury to not care. Just as I don’t.”
He paused, and then asked carefully, “Was she a virgin?”
It was a double-edged sword of a question, a damned if you did, damned if you didn’t sort of question. If I said she wasn’t, then I’d be lying and disrespecting her. If I said she was, then the significance of what I’d done was graver.
Although I hated revealing anything personal, I decided to go with the truth.
“She was,” I replied simply.
