“She’s still going to be there the next day and the day after that,” he went on. “You can’t drop your usual lines on her and then bail, never having to face the consequences. She doesn’t sound like the type who would fall for that routine anyway.”
“I have no plans to fuck her,” I bit out. “I don’t need any more complications.”
He nodded. “Good. Because you’re right, that would complicate the situation. But I wasn’t just talking about sex. Neither of you have a choice here. She’s staying, and you have to accept that. Which means you have to switch tactics.”
I swallowed, unsure if I wanted to hear this. “How?”
“You have to make room for her in your life. Fake marriage or not, it’s not just you anymore. There’s someone else you actually have to consider here, have to think about. Your duty is to take care of her, and that goes beyond putting a roof over her head.”
He held up his hand when I opened my mouth to say something. “You don’t have to tell me that you understand your duty. I know that you know that. I know you’ll protect her and fulfill your responsibility to Sergei. All I’m saying is if you want a more harmonious homelife, it’s going to start with you, not her.”
Cris talking duty and responsibility with me made me feel like the biggest shithead brother in existence. In fact, it was a constant source of my guilt and shame. Being the second-born, he’d taken on a lot of the family responsibilities over the years in my stead. Tasks that should have gone to the eldest son, but I’d done what I do best and hauled ass in the complete opposite direction. I’d gone into an industry and built a business that required me to be on the road and out of the country eighty percent of the time.
Dad had relied on me in the beginning and I’d balked.
I’d let him down.
I’d caved under pressure. Another skill set of mine.
I’d felt that impending weight heading for my shoulders. Knew there was going to come a day when everyone in my family turned to me, relied on me. And I wasn’t my father. I wasn’t Enzo Rossetti. I didn’t have all the right answers. I didn’t have a steady moral compass.
Bottom line, Cris stepped up when I didn’t.
When I should have.
And the worst goddamn part of it all—the part I couldn’t fucking stomach to this day—was the knowledge that I’d lost a good deal of my father’s respect when I’d walked away.
Christ, I couldn’t even manage being a good son and brother, so there was no way in hell I’d make a good husband to Lexi. Even a fake one. And forget about being a father someday. That wasn’t even in the ballpark for me. Hell, I’d ruin the kid beyond repair.
“I gotta ask you something,” Cris said in a somber tone, drawing me out of my inner turmoil.
“What?”
He watched me, unblinking. “Do we need to be prepared for something from the Russians? You said you can’t say for sure that attack at Sergei’s compound didn’t have something to do with Lexi or with the deal you made with Sergei. So, I need to know if bringing his daughter back with you is going to cause shrapnel damage to this family.”
My insides hardened. “I’m not putting this family in anymore danger than it’s already in. And no more than you put it in whenever you gunned down Stefano Esposito.”
Cris shot forward, his eyes going black with fury. “Who fucking kidnapped my woman! Who had her strung up off the ground by goddamn chains! Fucking right I shot the son of a bitch. And I’d do it a thousand times over if it meant saving Jasmine’s life. Just like Ace wouldn’t change anything he did when Dominic Gabbiano held a gun to Roxy’s head.”
I sighed, rubbing the elusive knot on the back of my neck. “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like—”
I cut myself off to drain the rest of my glass. Sometimes I really didn’t know when to shut my fucking mouth.
“If there’s any blowback from this, I’ll take it,” I said vehemently. “I’m still trying to get information on the situation, but there was already unrest in Sergei’s syndicate. The Voiny are trying to overthrow him and take the boss seat. I don’t think the masked gunmen were there for me or Lexi, but I’m not taking any chances. Especially