After I Fall

Ch 6: Lex

She called me Alexandro.

Who the fuck does she think she is?

I stay in the shower longer than I intend because I'm not in the right state of mind to talk to her. When Freya passed away, so did Alexandro. It's one thing for my family to call me by my given name, but to have her, Caterina Marchetti, say it makes my skin crawl. It felt like someone stabbed me in the heart. I hear the sound of the phone ringing again for what could be the tenth time since I got in the shower and let it ring out.

It's the phone that belongs to one of the three men I killed.

The three men I let Salvatore hire for the week. I don't know what he has going on, but he needs to get his head on straight. He hired enemies, they were in my compound for a total of five days, and who knows what intel they could have given out.

Fuck me. Did Salvatore not run a background check on them?

Thank God I came home earlier than expected. I don't know who the hell those men were or who they worked for, and right now I don't care to know either. They were talking about taking what is mine. I may despise Caterina because of her last name, but once she has mine things will be different. She is everything I see in a partner, lover and wife, and I can see myself falling for her.

But two things will need to change in order for me to have a change of heart.

The sound of my phone starts to ring and I shut off the water. Swiping the phone off the counter, I see my other brother calling Rafael.

"Ciao," I answer, putting it on speakerphone.

"Brother, I see you had a clean-up done on the terrace. Everything okay?"

"When will you stop peeping on everyone? Don't answer that. I had a little situation and it's all good now." I wrap the towel around my waist, pick up the phone, and take it off speaker. I don't know if Cat is still up or not.

"How's the Marchetti?"

"Fine."

"Aww come on Lex, spill. Cesar went over there earlier and he said she looks like an angel but has eyes and the personality of a demon. A fitting match for you."

I'm going to kill Cesar.

"We don't fit." I get defensive, running my fingers through my wet hair.

"I beg to differ. She told Cesar she would shoot him if he laid a finger on Dante. I would say she is the perfect fit. Don't you always tell Cesar that? Dante is your right-hand man and you would kill anyone who lays a finger on him."

"Rafe, what do you want? I'm getting ready for bed."

I hear some shuffling and I know what he is doing before he even says it. "Seems like someone has that bed taken. Or are you crashing in one of your guest rooms?"

I'm the unlucky brother whose villa is adjacent to Rafael's. The compound is spacious and the villas are miles apart, but that damn telescope of his puts him right in my backyard.

Exiting the bathroom, I walk to the balcony, pulling the curtains closed.

"Oh, Alexandro," he chuckles.

"Goodnight, Rafe." I end the call and see my little coniglietta fast asleep. She does look like an angel. I move closer to check if she really is sleeping, and the sound of her light snoring grace my ears. Perfect. I need to have a chat with Dante and Salvatore to figure out how the fuck did they let something like this happen in my home. I hesitate to put my phone on the nightstand and take it with me inside the closet. The last thing I want is another security breach, this time by the hands of my soon-to-be wife.