Page 20 of Savage Throne
“How?”
“When I saw that color on the box, I knew what I had to do for the Four Aces.”
I exhaled smoke and handed it to him.
He took the joint back from me and inhaled deeply.
Thin clouds of smoke drifted toward the helicopter ceiling.
“Charles Lewis Tiffany took something that was just a shade of paint and turned it into astatussymbol. It means something now. People see that color, and they think of luxury, of exclusivity. It’s not just about the jewelry; it’s about theexperience. That box isn’t just a box. It’s a promise of something greater.” Leo winked. “You get a Tiffany Blue box and you know you’ve made it. And most of all, you know your husband or boyfriend isn’t cheap.”
“I see. So you wanted to bring that same sort of marketing to the Four Aces?”
“Exactly,” he passed the joint back to me. “I created a legacy.”
I took a slow drag.
“Blue is the color of loyalty, of calm control. It’s the color of the sky, the ocean. You look at blue and you feel steady. Safe.” Leo held up one finger. “But it’s also cold, unyielding. It has an edge to it, like the ocean in a storm. It can be serene but it can alsodrownyou and drag you to your death.”
I widened my eyes.
“That’s what I wanted for the Four Aces. I wanted us to be the calm in the chaos. The ones who could move through the storm, untouched. Unshaken.”
I glanced out the window again, down at the city bathed in that same glowing hue. From this high up, it felt like we were floating in the middle of a sea of blue light.
“And now. . .” Leo continued. “Every part of the East, every corner of this territory is tied to us. The color blue runs through the streets, the walls, the clothes. It’s in the blood of the people who live here. It’s our identity. And that identity is power.”
Those words settled in my mind.
The helicopter banked slightly and we flew further away.
I checked behind us and could barely see the Palace.
My stomach twisted.
We’re so far away from Lei and them now. . .
I looked back down.
Tons of houses appeared with blue-lit windows that glowed like jewels scattered across a velvet night.
“Leo?” I inhaled more of the joint and then lifted my view up to him. “What are the lessons going to be about?”
“Going to be?” Leo laughed. “The lessons have already begun. Every word out of my mouth, you must take mental notes of.”
“Okay.” I handed him the joint.
He grabbed it. “Understand this.”
I watched him.
“The truth is how you look at it.”
“The truth?”
“Yes.” Leo flicked the joint, ash fell onto the floor. “Idiots have black and white minds with no gray. No color. Just wrong and right. Yes and no. Good and bad. They look at something and instantly come up with what they think it is, judging it immediately.”
“Instead, they should take their time?”
