I pull out my phone and send off a text, canceling my meeting.
“Let’s go,” I tell him as I get out of the car.
Together, we approach the building, and when we step inside, the sounds of skin on skin greets us, along with the smell of copper in the air.
As we walk toward the ring, men stop and stare, giving us their full attention until we are standing in the middle of the room.
“I heard that some of you need to be reminded of where you fall in the ranks,” I say as I take off my suit jacket.
I hand it over to Kenji and start to roll up my sleeves.
“So I thought I would remind you of who I am.” I smile wickedly as several men take a step back. “Who wants to be my first victim?”
Someone pushes some poor kid forward, and he almost falls to the ground.
“Wonderful. Let’s get started.”
ChapterTwo
“Hey, sorry I’m late!” I say as I rush up to the table.
Cleo looks up and smiles. “Right on time! How’s my girl today?”
Emily tries to lunge out of my arms toward her aunt, making me grunt as I barely catch her.
“Careful,” I gently scold.
“Hand her over,” Cleo says as she holds out her arms.
I pass her Emily, and she starts loving on her as I sit down. As Cleo baby talks to her, I look around the café. I’ve never been here before, but I’ve heard good things. Instantly, I see Cleo’s bodyguards scattered around the room and Connor, my personal guard, watching over us. I know there are at least two or three other guards around for me as well, but they often hide in plain sight. I prefer it that way. It makes me feel more normal.
I can’t help but shake my head. I never thought I would be one who couldn’t go anywhere alone, but now that I have Emily, I get it. It’s one thing to put myself at risk, but I could never do that to my daughter. There’s safety in numbers.
“So how are you?” Cleo asks, pulling me out of my head.
“I’m good. How have you been?”
“I’m great.” She smiles brightly. “In fact, I have some news.”
I gasp, my hand covering my chest. “You’re pregnant!”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’ve told you we’re just enjoying our time with each other right now. I actually got Kai to agree to let me host a Christmas party at our place.”
I raise my eyebrows, impressed with my sister-in-law. Her husband hates letting others into their home, and I get it. It’s their sanctuary.
“Do I want to know what you had to do to get him to agree to that?”
I watch as a blush covers her cheeks and she fights back a smile.
“You don’t want to know,” she mumbles. “But I got my way, which is all that matters.”
I laugh. “Do you want help planning? I don’t know how you guys do things, but I’ll try to help you.”
I watch as her shoulders drop, and she smiles softly down at Emily before looking back at me. “I would love that, and I would like to invite you guys too.”
“I’m sure Callum will say yes. Who else are you thinking?”
“Well, that’s the thing. It took some convincing, but I got Kai to agree to it being us, you guys, Kenji and Miya, Declan, and Kado.”
