Chapter Eight
Sporting a black eye, Roman waited. Liam had already been by, and now he was dealing with the hospital staff as well as the cops. Lucas sat beside him.
Still covered in blood, Roman stared at the door.
Antonio, Marlo, and Cash were all present, but they were keeping their distance. His dad was pissed at him for making the mistake of turning his back on the enemy.
“That could have been you shot,” Lucas said.
“It would have been better if I was.”
“Do not say that.”
He turned to his father and glared at him. “My wife is in the operating room.”
“There will be more wives,” Lucas said.
Roman looked at his father, a little taken aback. “What?”
Liam wasn’t in the room, and Lucas sighed. “If his daughter dies at the hands of our enemies, then we are not responsible and you don’t have to stay married to her.”
“You wanted this union,” Roman said.
“I know what is good for the family, for our side, Roman. Do not be stupid and pretend you don’t know what that is. We all know what it is.”
He wasn’t sure exactly what he was hearing. “Did you … was this … do you want to kill Alex?”
“Of course not. I’m a man who sees opportunity.”
Liam entered the room. The man looked like he’d aged twenty years since Roman had last seen him. At least his fists weren’t clenched, and he wasn’t ready to take another swipe. “Any news?” Liam asked.
“Nothing yet.”
He was starting to have doubts about his father’s involvement in the attacks on Alex.
“I will go see if we have an update,” Lucas said.
Roman watched his father go, and he didn’t like the suspicion flooding him. It suddenly seemed way too convenient that their old enemies, the Smirnovs, were rising up. It was also a convenient time for it.
“The last time I was here when Alex was shot, I lost her mother,” Liam said, filling the silence. His honesty surprised Roman. “Hitting you doesn’t solve anything, and for that, I’m sorry. Alex will be worried when she sees that you have a black eye.”
“A lot of shit was going down. I don’t even know how or what the fuck was happening. We were about to enjoy our meal, and the next thing, masked men came into the restaurant, gunning for Alex.”
“Wait a minute, masked men?” Liam asked.
“Yes.”
Liam frowned.
“What is it?”
“The Smirnov men are not … they were never known for hiding their identity.”
Roman looked toward his friends.
“I need to make a call,” Liam said. “I will not be far.”
“What’s going on?” Antonio asked.