“Luke Hawthorne.” Angel announced and grabbed his fork and knife to cut through the hot steak on his plate. There was no way they would poison him so soon, but Angel didn’t want to take any chances. Nor did he want any questions to arise.
Luke’s presence was like a soft breeze, with his calm smile and his slicked-back bronze hair. He stood behind Angel with a hand braced on the back of his chair. Angel sighed and put the piece of steak in his mouth, almost moaning at the flavor.
“I’m his second in command.” Luke said evenly and grabbed the seat beside Angel before plopping down on it with a loud sigh, “This place is awfully big. I was lost until your very helpful guide got me here.”
As if in response, the loud footsteps of a very angry person filled the air before he heard an unfamiliar voice snarl.
“Youdick–”
“Oh dear.” Maya murmured from beside him and Angel smiled, grabbing the napkin to dab his lips as the female voice swore behind them. Luke chuckled beside him, and leaned forward, lacing his fingers as he looked at Alessandro.
“As I said,” he said, “Greatguide.”
“Shut–”
“Enough.”
A sudden silence descended upon them. Angel’s brows shot up in surprise. It was Raylene Walker who’d spoken. Her cold eyes glared at the girl behind them,
“Sit down.” She said, but her tone bode no argument. Angel heard the footsteps nearby and saw a girl their age come around the other side of the dining table. She was beautiful, he realized and blinked when her name came rushing into his mind. Verana Smith. She had short hair compared to Raylene and was well-built. Her dark eyes cast glares upon both him and Luke as she pulled her chair back with a loud screech and sat down on it. From the corner of his eyes, Angel saw Luke’s grin widen and shook his head, looking back at Raylene.
She had her eyes on Luke, visibly taking in his outfit, his features. As if noticing her stare, Angel saw Luke’s eyes move to hers and settle. But then he heard a faint chuckle rise in the air and turned to look at Kyle, who was pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose,
“Luke,” he said smoothly, and Angel leaned back in his seat. Kyle turned to Angel as well, his eyes calmer now. Almost friendly, “And Angel. It’s such a pleasure having you both here.”
Luke’s answering grin was equally friendly, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he said, directing his question towards Angel, who shook his head and smiled a small smile.
“It has.” He responded and saw Kyle’s eyes brighten.
In their world, Angel and Kyle were enemies. Both of them, however, had gone past simple hatred and had come to respect one another.
Their relationship, if not filled with competitiveness, was borderline friendly. It was all they could afford.
“Well, it’s great having you here.” Kyle answered and Angel nodded, “I’m glad we’re finally putting those rumors to rest.”
Luke laughed from beside him and Kyle turned his grin towards Raylene, who was listening in with a faint grimace on her face, “It’s all thanks to our newest addition.” He said and Raylene blinked. Angel raised his brows,so that’s how they worked? By putting all the focus and pressure on their people?
Raylene, to her credit, didn’t flinch as Kyle continued, “I’m afraid you’ll be spending each waking moment with her for the next six days.” He said and Angel crossed his arms. Their eyes clashed just as she leaned back in her seat. Angel took that as a chance to shoot Luke a side glance, “That simply won’t do now, would it?” he started, masking a sheet of worry and concern on his face, “I thought we were meant to have someone more…”
“Qualified?” Luke offered and Angel snapped his fingers, looking at Kyle.
“Qualified.” He said and Kyle threw his head back to laugh out loud.
“Ray?” Kyle asked, turning to look at her through amused eyes, “Anything to say?”
He saw her inhale a deep breath. Her gaze snapped away from him at that very second, turning to look at Martin, who was sitting quietly beside Luke. A blatant ignorance.
“All your conversations, your plans, your business deals, everything, will be carried out through me. Every meeting you have that involves us, involves me.” She said, and Kyle snorted from beside her. Angel almost balked at the way she disregarded him. Disregarded their entire conversation. She had the audacity to lean forward in her seat and keep her eyes trained on his father, ignoring his presence altogether.
“I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding,” Angel’s voice was serene, all previous pretence of amusement dying. As calm as he could let himself be. It wasn’t every day he got disrespected like this.
“I handle those meetings. I handle our alliance’s details and our people. You want to talk to anyone, you talk to me.”
“And yet, it was your father who came to us in need.”
Angel clenched his teeth, a small tick in his jaw as his gaze hardened. His eyes turned away from hers and settled on Alessandro’s, “And it was you who agreed.”
Alessandro finally showed a reaction. His lips curved into a dangerous smile as he looked at him. Angel could feel his skin crawl with anticipation as he heard Raylene’s annoyed exhale, and she replied,
