Bound to Cruelty

He nods and then presses his head to mine. “Of course I am. Babies are great, and they smell so good.”

I laugh at the absurdity of his statement, but can’t refute it. “Then I guess we are having a baby.”

He laughs, picking me up in his arms. I hold on to his neck, my skirt keeping me from gripping him with my legs.

I kiss him, demanding and rough. His groan is interrupted by a knock.

We pull apart to find Kai standing in the doorway, glaring at us. His eyes stray to the tests on the counter, but he only says, “Command center, now, both of you. We have a situation.”

We follow him to the command center. The table is full, so we stand at the side, holding hands, to watch the TV blaring loudly through the room.

“FBI Agent Manny Molina was arrested today under suspicion of multiple charges… They aren’t releasing the…”

Adrian flicks off the TV and stares at the table in front of him. His tone is carefully neutral. Too calm. “Who knew Emmanuelle was FBI?”

Kai, Andrea, and Alexei all step forward. He waves at them, his jaw tense. “Explain before I lose my shit.”

As usual, Kai takes the lead. “He might be FBI, but I believe he’s come to our side. They’ve been hunting Sal’s family, the Capri’s, as well. That’s why he was installed as an undercover agent. He got mixed up in an incident…” He glances pointedly at Andrea, then back to Adrian. “…which he disagreed with. He’s on our side now.”

Valentina reaches over and rubs the top of Adrian’s shoulders, saying nothing, but visibly bringing him down from whatever edge he’s dancing on. “How do you know he wasn’t playing us?”

I clamp my mouth shut. Everything I saw in the man told me he’d been sincere.

Adrian presses his fist to the table and then stands abruptly, sending us all backward out of the way. “I want a report on all of this. Immediately. It’s time for the next step.”

He sweeps Valentina in his arms, bridal style, and walks out of the room, leaving the rest of us in stunned silence.

Kai drops into the empty chair and tugs his laptop in front of him.

I can’t take the questions anymore. “What’s the next step?”

“Now, we play the FBI like a fucking fiddle to destroy the Capri family for good.”