All of it was the game I thought it was, and he has just confirmed it. Alexi isn’t anything like he pretends to be, this is the real face of that utter arsehole. He cannot hide his true self for long—Devil fucking incarnate.
This time Gino isn’t fast enough and I slap Alexi in the face hard. Palm stinging with the shooting, burning pain as the noise echoes like a thwack in the unusual quiet out here. He doesn’t even react, even though it had to have hurt him as much as it did me. He just glares harder.
‘Go fuck yourself. I fucking hate you.’ I bite cruelly.
‘Feeling’s mutual, baby cakes; can’t believe I ever thought it could be any different between us.’ Alexi’s sadistic tone, full on icy and nasty and it’s like a welcome friend. I know where I stand with this man, this arsehole, this cold, evil and cruel piece of shit who would as soon shoot me in the face as look at me. It’s nice to know right here is some real honesty between us.
‘Bite me! You’re never going to change.’ It’s equally cold and direct and the lack of emotion in my voice gives me a little of my pride back. I can do him nowadays it seems—learning from the master himself.
‘Enough!’ Gino is pushing us apart and this time Alexi shoves his arms away aggressively and turns away from me with that inhuman indifference I have come to expect.
‘Keep her … She’s nothing to me. I’m done with this bullshit and her.’ He pushes both of us to one side with an easy sweep, expelling some of his aggression, and storms down the hallway back to the exit. Jackson and his other cousin Marcus walk in, both turning behind him and follow him straight back out obediently silent. A flurry of men and then he is gone.
‘Jesus Fucking Christ!’ Mico, a man of few words, gets up and pulls out his phone. I almost forgot he was here for a moment and just let my eyes land on him as everything topples in on me. I start trying to get free to leave too but Gino keeps a grip on me, turning to grab me around the shoulder.
‘Go block the door; I need to get this shit cleaned up. Take her out to the car; she’s leaving and so is he.’ Mico barks at Gino bossily, and he obeys, pulling me with him despite my fighting and wriggling to get free and half drags me towards the door ungracefully.
‘Don’t fight me. We have major damage control to do and you need to shut up and behave.’ Gino snaps at me, sounding strangely like his brother in this second and I pipe down immediately. Sense coming back that something major just went down here, and we could all be in a lot of trouble. It’s as sobering as a bucket of ice being thrown over me, and I fall mute and submissive in an instant. The realisation that this is serious and now we could all be up shit creek if this man is dead. I would be an accessory to murder, not just a witness. I mean, I am here as they talk about cleaning it up!
Holy shit!
I stay silent and start allowing him to move me.
As we get outside he hands me over to Jackson, who is still standing here, into his warm welcoming grasp. It looks like he was standing watch. I get the strong vibe I should play ball as I don’t want to become someone who goes from ‘valued’ to ‘on the disposal list’. That thought alone sends my stomach into a skittish mess of lurches and flips.
‘I’ll stay here, call the car and get her in it. You need to wait for us getting Alexi out of here.’ Gino says to him gruffly. Fatigue hits me hard as reality drives home and I start to shake again, head unravelling now I am being passed about like a fragile piece of china.
‘Okay. I’ll take care of Miss Camilla, don’t you worry.’ Jackson nods and takes a proper two-handed hold of me, manhandling me with him and ushers me along a side hall that cuts through a part of the club to the cloakrooms instead of going via the main floor.