Page 76 of Breaking Rosalind

“I’m about to find out,” I answer.

His lips tighten. “What’s taking so long? Leroi’s little stalker can’t be that difficult to crack.”

“You forget something, big brother. Everything we saw in that club was an act. Rosalind is a trained assassin pretending to be a simpering submissive.”

His features pinch, as though I’m making excuses. “Let me speak with her.”

“And say what?” I snap. “Talk, or I’ll wrap you in so much red tape you’ll be struggling to breathe. Diplomacy won’t work with a woman of her caliber, neither will clever threats. She doesn’t give a shit.”

“And torture?”

“Pain gets her hot. It’s like foreplay.” The corner of my lips lift into a smirk.

Eyes narrowing, he closes the distance between us and squares his shoulders. “Don’t get too attached. Do whatever is necessary to uncover the threat and eliminate her.”

“Don’t you have a contract to scrutinize or an official to schmooze?” I ask in a low growl. “Stop micromanaging and leave me to do what I do best.”

His phone pings with an alert, diverting his attention. “You have until tonight.”

He turns on his heel and heads toward the door without another word. My brow pinches. This isn’t like Benito. He usually nags until he’s made his point.

“You late for an appointment to remove that slide rule from your ass?” I ask.

He doesn’t even flinch.

Resisting the urge to taunt him further, I watch my brother leave. I would have gotten some answers already if he hadn’t come to interrupt my progress.

The door clicks shut, and I return to the playroom. Rosalind lies on the leather table with her eyes squeezed shut, her features forced into an expression of calm.

But I’m not fooled.

My line of communication with her little sister gives me more leverage over her than the threat of Lucrezia. I stand over her, my fingers tracing the soft skin of her arm.

“You’ve had five minutes with Miranda. Now, it’s time to speak.”

“What do you want to know?” she asks.

“When will the assassins strike? Where? How many? Which methods? Tell me everything.”

She swallows. “When I returned to HQ, they’d just finished discussing the intel I sent.”

My anger surges at the reminder of how she tricked me into knocking back a drug that rendered me unconscious for hours. This wretched little bitch had the whole night and half the morning to detail every weakness in our security.

“Continue,” I say.

“I just told you. I wasn’t at the meeting.”

“Then speculate,” I say through clenched teeth.

“It’ll be a triple hit, which will require a trio of assassins striking in quick succession. It’s too risky a job to allow one person to shoot all three.”

I nod. “Any back up?”

“One per assassin.”

“Their role? Will they be armed?”

“To help them move in and out of the locations without being detected. They’ll come with vehicles, explosives, any kind of tech to aid their escape.”