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Before Alex could reply, Mama stood up as if everything was resolved. “Very good, then I’ll leave it to you boys to make it work.”
“If you offer Luca, Nelu can’t refuse without insulting us,” Nicu suggested.
“You’re positive you want to bother with this?” Alex confirmed, one eyebrow raised. I still bristled at his question.
“I’m stepping up,” I gritted out.
He threw up his hand in surrender. “Alright, good. It’s settled.”
* * *
It was anything but settled.
Instead, it had turned into a pissing match between Simu and me.
The Popescu and Lupu men had been in the library for hours. After going through the points of contention regarding the contract between the Popescu and Lupu clans regarding trafficking Afghani ephedrine from Nelu’s suppliers through our transport routes into Europe, Alex brought up waiting on Nicu and Cat’s wedding. Things were going at a steady clip until my brother offered me as the person to drive Cat to her classes.
Nelu seemed to be fine with the idea until Simu whispered into his ear.
Giving a short nod of his head, Nelu cleared his throat and carefully stated, “I’m not sure your brother is the right candidate for this job.”
Stiffening, my eyebrows shot up to my forehead.
“Excuse me?” I replied in a dangerously low tone. If he thought I’d tolerate an underhanded insult from him or anyone from his family, he was in for the surprise of his life. “What in the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means what it sounds like,” answered Simu, his eyes burning into me with unfiltered hatred. I blatantly stared him down.
Ditto, motherfucker, ditto.The hatred was fully mutual.
I pushed forward until I was at the edge of my chair, about to launch an attack, when Alex put a staying hand on my forearm. Showing disrespect in front of our rivals was the only thing stopping me from shrugging him off.
“Please explain, Simu, and I suggest you choose your words carefully,” prompted Alex.
Yeah, motherfucker, be really careful.Swear to God, I couldn’t remember the last time I had such an overwhelming urge to clock the guy in his ugly-ass face.
Taking his time, he leaned back in his armchair, crossed one leg over the other, and folded his arms over his chest. I sent him a narrow-eyed glare. If he thought holding our attention captive would change the end result, the fucker had another thing coming.
“Luca has a reputation of being…unbiddable. He’s not one to follow rules. Therefore, I’m not sure he’s the best person for this delicate job.”
I snorted. “What the hell is delicate about driving a woman to her class, guarding her, and then driving her back? She’s not a porcelain doll or made of spun glass. She’s not going to break in my presence. Why don’t you tell us what you really want?”
Simu’s face hardened. “See? That just shows how little respect you have for our women—”
“What? Because I don’t treat them like fragile objects? Because I treat them like human beings with minds of their own, somehow this connotes a lack of respect to you, you fucking barbarian?”
Realizing that I’d outed him as a misogynist, he tried another argument. “She’ll be better off being protected by one of her own. Until the marriage, her last name is Popescu. It’s our responsibility to protect her.”
The heat from the sun coming through the windows doubled the fire burning in my belly.
“Actually, it’s not that cut and dried. She’s engaged to my little brother and we have already started working together under the contract running parallel to the marriage contract. We have already begun merging our family businesses together. We didn’t wait until Cat’s name was legally changed to begin working together,” observed Alex.
Remaining silent, Nelu sat back in his chair and watched our interactions as if surveying a ball being volleyed back and forth in a tennis match.
Simu waved a dismissive hand. “That’s work. This is about family.”
“They’re intricately connected,” Alex replied bluntly. “You cannot separate one from the other. Therefore, it is completely within our rights to become involved in Cat’s protection.”
“She’s safer with us,” Simu snapped.
