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16
Dressed to the nines in a pin-striped suit with a sharp blue-and-gray tie, I waltzed into the French restaurant in Tribeca where we frequently met with Nelu. It was owned by a Romanian Frenchman who was not partial to either clan. It wasn’t open yet, but employees flittered about getting the place ready.
Nodding to the owner, my brothers, Stegan, and I made our way to his office near the kitchen. Opening the door, we were confronted by Nelu, sitting at a large ornate white antique desk with Simu at his shoulder and Cristo pacing the length of the room. My gaze narrowed in on Simu, remembering that he’d once dared touch what was mine. A third man leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. There was no bottle of ?uica and shot glasses, which was traditionally served at meetings. A little dig at us, a reminder that we were in the doghouse in the latest episode of the decades-long struggle between our clans.
The men’s eyes snapped to us, narrowing in on Stegan.
Nelu’s upper lip curled in a sneer.
“What the fuck is he doing here?” Cristo snarled, lifting his chin toward Stegan. Cristo despised him, which wasn’t surprising since Stegan beat him to a pulp and discovered the ruse they’d played on Alex to force him into an engagement with Cat.
The man leaning against the wall came to standing, glaring at Stegan with murderous intent. I recognized him now. He was the brother of the bodyguard Stegan had killed when he’d rescued Una, Cristo’s girlfriend, from being beaten half to death. Never understood what a fine-looking woman like Una saw in Cristo. Sure, he had that easygoing, frat boy look, with his floppy brown hair and brown eyes, but the man was a menace with a nasty temper.
“A little reminder that you aren’t as pure as the driven snow,” Alex drawled, strolling in with utter confidence.
Just as relaxed, I walked in beside him. Nicu flanked his other side. Cristo stumbled back a step, flustered. He’d been ready to gloat, expecting Nicu to be angry, humiliated. Instead, we showed a unified front. The three of us made quite an impression. We stood tall and dressed to kill, from our styled hair to the gleam of our wingtip shoes. Regardless of anything that went down behind the scenes, nothing would shatter our unity, and we represented that.
Alex leisurely took a seat, as if he weren’t surrounded by four men who were at this moment plotting our deaths in excruciating detail.
“Nelu,” he greeted with a nod of his head.
“What the fuck, Alex?” started Nelu. “First, this putoi rejects my beautiful daughter. Then he adds insult to injury by taking her virginity behind our backs. His brother’s fiancée no less. What is the meaning of this?” His voice was a bellow by the time he finished, the veins on his neck popping out.
Alex raised his hand. “I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you again, there’s no need for profanity. When you played that little trick on me, cornered me like a hog in a pen, I didn’t revert to gutter language.”
We cursed as much as the next man amongst ourselves, but this was Alex reminding them of their humble origins. Going toe to toe against a Popescu required using any means to get on top because they were the first to play dirty.
Nelu made a disgusted noise and leaned forward, teeth gritted. Simu pressed closer to Nelu’s shoulder at Alex’s subtle insult of the Popescu coarseness. I curled my upper lip at him in a snarl. His very presence irritated me, and he was going to do what he could to make my life difficult. Only, it wasn’t my life anymore. Cat was involved, and that narrowed down my options.
Alex placed his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. “You’re upset because you’ve been caught unawares, but if you looked at the signs, you would’ve seen what was in front of your eyes. Instead, you were blind, Nelu.” He tsked. “Did you not think it strange that Nicu never once asked to visit or spend time with Cat? Or that he chose Luca to personally escort Cat around? Nicu was aware of what was going on at every stage,” he finished with a shrug. “They’ve had his blessing from the beginning.”
This was why Alex was sef. He was always one step ahead. He had the brilliant ability to twist and manipulate any situation to serve his interest. And he was a consummate liar when he needed to be. This moment was a prime example. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve believed him because of his blasé tone alone.
Alex shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? My brother caught sight of Cat at the engagement party. She is a beauty; you were right about that. Wanting to see if she was worthy of his attention, he asked Nicu’s permission to pursue her. He’s a cautious one, that Luca. He wanted to get to know her, so he asked if he could drive her. During those rides, he discovered that the feeling was mutual. He then approached me with the idea of the blood bond. Figuring it was the easiest solution to the matter, I gave him permission, and now, here we are. I understand what a shock this is to you, but we’ve been in on it from the beginning. He saw, he came, he conquered.” Not looking at me, he snapped his fingers as he asked, “Luca, help me out here. Who said that again?”
“Veni, vidi, vici. It was Caesar, sef,” I replied smugly.
Cristo threw his hands up and roared, “Are you out of your goddamn minds? That’s not how this works. You don’t go behind the family you contracted with. She’s not an object you can toss around from man to man.”
I jerked, about to grab for him and pummel him into the ground, when Nicu’s hand landed on my chest. Clenching my fists tight, I forced myself to remain in place.
“An object like Una, you mean? You certainly batted her around like she was an object instead of the woman you supposedly loved. The woman who’d once carried your baby.”
“That’s different,” he snapped.
Stegan growled behind us.
“Is it?” Alex tossed back. “Pray tell, illuminate us exactly as to how? They’re both women.”
“Cat is a princess,” snarled Cristo. “And my baby sister. An innocent.”
“Oh, so the fact that Una isn’t a princess and chose to have sex with you meant you had the right to beat her up. I struggle to understand the thread of logic in your argument, Cristo.”
Turning to Nelu, he continued, “I’d think you’d be impressed. This is, after all, a play out of your playbook. You see, we’re learning from the Popescus.”
“Fuck!” thundered Cristo. Nelu raised a hand to silence his son. Eyeing Alex, he said, “Well played. So, this was revenge?”
Alex spread his hands, palms out. “God forbid. This is about love, Nelu. This is a love story, and who doesn’t adore a love story?”
