''I lost her to the Don,'' Adrian announced, his voice echoing in the quiet room.
His cold eyes moved from the face of one person in the room to the other, not stopping until he had seen all of their faces and examined their expressions.
Seeing that they all looked either surprised or confused, his lips curved into an evil smirk.
"Who among you told my father about her?"
None of the men responded; the only indication that they had heard him was the way their brows lifted in unison.
''Need my question translated?'' Adrian stated, a hint of annoyance underlying his words. He swerved his chair sideways, pinning his gaze on the man sitting on his right.
Leonardo Russo. His father's consigliere who never seemed to know the way to his own floor of the building, and would always find his way to Adrian's office instead.
"Leo?" Adrian called.
The man in question looked up, the confusion swirling in his gaze giving Adrian the answer he needed before he even heard it.
''I had no idea you were even looking for a girl. How would I have informed your father?'' he asked.
Knowing that was the truth, Adrian ignored him and turned to face the identical twins on his other side. One of them—the taller one— was his personal guard, while the other would always be found where his twin brother was.
"Both of you have no idea, too?"
Alejandro, the taller of the twins and Adrian's guard, nodded slightly.
"Alessandro didn't," he replied.
"Alejandro didn't do it too," Alessandro corroborated.
Adrian wasn't the least bit surprised by their action of one twin answering for the other, as it was no news that even though they were both trained assasins who were known to be cruel and heartless, it didn't do anything to hinder the affection they generously showed each other, whether in the presence of outsiders or not. His eyes lowered briefly to the 'I ♡ Redheads' written on the front of their identical tshirts, as thoughts of a particular redhead filled his mind.
If none of these three had informed his father, then how did the man know about her? The precise timing of his arrival, bypassing the auction entirely to head straight backstage and pay for her, was undeniable proof that he hadn't come by chance. He had come with a purpose.
To get her, and her alone.
Tucking his hand into his pocket, he retrieved a picture and smoothed the creases on the surface with his hand, his fingers tightening around it subconsciously. Staring back at him was a picture of his father's woman in an alley, cornered by two men whom she was defiantly staring up at.
Cursing beneath his breath, he threw the photo on the table and said, "She looks like a princess that has been sheltered all her life in a hidden castle. There's no way the old man has good intentions, buying her like that."
Silence ensued for the next few seconds, the men trying to place the strange emotion they were sensing in their underboss' words.
Allesandro leaned across the table, sliding the photo to himself and examining it with a serious expression before
''She looks young. How many years have you been searching for her to be this annoyed because your father found her before you.''
''Two days,'' Adrian deadpanned.
''Two days?'' Alessandro echoed. ''The first time you saw that picture was two days ago, and losing her to your father affects you this much?''
''Losing anything to my father affects me,'' Adrian retorted emotionlessly. ''Besides, you think I would waste my time searching for her if she doesn't affect me. I needed to get her, because I wanted to know why she affects me.''
Leonardo slid forward on his chair, placing his elbows on the table and framing his face in his palms.
''You don't need to have her before you know why she affects you.'' He snatched the picture from Alessandro and passed it to Adrian, ''You said you saw it... or her for the first time two days ago, right? What did you feel when you looked at this that made you keep it?''
''I didn't feel anything,'' Adrian deadpanned, but none of the others were surprised by his reaction. What would have surprised them was if he'd said he actually felt something?
"Fair enough." Leonardo rephrased his question, ''Okay. What were you thinking when you picked—Wait, where did you even get it from?''
''From the club manager I killed two days ago.''
''Oh…'' Leonardo hummed, unfazed at the nonchalance with which Adrian had spoken. ''So, as I was saying, what were you thinking when you took it from him?''
''That I didn't like the way her face looked with blood on it.''
''So you cleaned it?''
''Yes.''
''And after that?''
''I didn't feel like letting it go so I kept it.''
''And that's why you decided to search for the real one, the girl in the picture?''
''Yeah. But my father got to her, no, he claimed her before I could.''
''Oh shit!'' Leonardo leaned back in his seat, his voice laced with disappointment. ''To think I was considering the fact that you probably fell in love with her.''