Page 50 of Brutal Heir

His mouth tilts into a half-grin.

“The king is back, ladies and gentlemen. And it’s time we remind Manhattan what the Velvet Vault is really made of.”

A chill races up my spine as the staff breaks into applause. Then slowly, one by one, the servers and bartenders approach him, each with a word of encouragement or a light touch.

The half-grin turns into a full smile, and feckin’ hell it’s radiant on him.

This is Alessandro’s home. This club is where his heart is. And it’s the key to his recovery.

Once he’s finished greeting all the staff, he saunters back to my side. I can see the tight set of his jaw, the barely perceptible crinkling at the corners of his eyes and that stiff gait. He’s trying his damnedest to put on a good show, but it’s costing him.

“What now, my king?” I toss him a grin, and he rewards me with one in return.

“Now we wait and see if we can catch ourselves a rat.”

“You don’t think someone would be stupid enough to try something with you here, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” He shakes his head. “So, tonight we just observe, look for any erratic behavior. If my presence alone is enough to stop it, great, but I have a feeling there’s more to this.”

“What do you want me to do?”

He lifts a casual shoulder. “Talk to the staff. I already saw Lance eyeing you from across the club the moment we entered.”

A tendon feathers in his jaw as he casts a dark glare in the bartender’s direction. Sure enough, the fool is looking over here. He waves before returning his attention to wiping down the bar top.

“Aye, I can do that.” I turn toward the back bar, more than happy to kill some time gossiping with the chatty bartender. Anything to keep my thoughts from turning back to the darkness. What I’ll get out of the discussion, I’m not quite sure. If I wasn’t convinced about the Gemini’s mob dealings before,Alessandro’s rousing speech should be enough. But still, I’m stubbornly holding onto the hope I haven’t just bound myself to another ruthless man.

Before I take another step, Alessandro’s hand wraps around my upper arm, pulling me into his side. His eyes meet mine, and he falters for an instant before he whispers, “Just tell them you work for me without going into details.”

“No problem, Rossi.” I give him a reassuring smile because what I do for him is our business and no one else’s.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, his fingers tightening around my arm for an instant before he finally releases me.

Casually meandering over to the bar, I drop into a bar stool right in front of Lance. A few of the female servers hover around him, chattering and flirting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s sleeping with oneor moreof them.

“Hey, Rory, right?” He offers a warm smile, revealing a cute dimple.

“Aye.”

“So, the boss let you out of your gilded cage uptown and let you into his den of sin?”

“He did.”

“Oh, you work for Mr. Rossi, too?” A girl around my age in a tight black server’s dress inches closer.

“That’s right. I’m his personal assistant.” Sounds better than what I came up with last time.

“Rory, this is Sienna. She’s been working here for almost a year now. We started around the same time.”

“Nice to meet ya.”

The brunette offers me a smile just as another girl pops up from behind the bar, blonde hair in a messy ponytail. She’s young, probably just a little over eighteen. “Uh, you are so lucky. Mr. Rossi is beyond hot.”

“Or at least he used to be.” Another girl with blue dreads snickers.

I’m a second from ripping her a new one and yanking off her fake arse extensions for that remark when the first girl, Sienna, does it for me.

“Don’t be such a bitch, Amber,” she snarls. “Alessandro has been an amazing boss. Don’t you remember what happened when the place got shot up in the beginning of summer? He paid all of our salaries for two weeks while it was closed.”