“What about the guys?”
“My brothers will understand. This will move us all closer to our goals.” He glanced away, double-checking the time on hiswatch before straightening the collar of his shirt. “There’s no reason anything else has to change.”
The implications were clear. There was no reason she couldn’t still be with them and still be married to me. I knew that. But I also couldn’t fight the rancid feeling inside me that wanted to be the first in her heart—the only one etched onto her soul.
Ryuji’s face flashed before me again.
“Okay,” I responded, heart racing.
She’d wear my ring on her finger.
“We’re on the same page?” he asked.
“I’ll ask her before the meeting.”
Obi smiled tightly. “I am glad. Don’t worry. This will be short-term discomfort for long-term gain. If we stick to our plan, we will gain enough power to establish our empire. It is what is best for all of us.”
My jaw clenched as he slipped out of our room.
A few days left, then she’d be engaged to me. It would secure her future. It would gain us an army.
We just had to get the timing right.
36
CIEL
Leona had left to help Wynn and Obi make dinner. I kept working, but my head snapped up when the alert flashed over my screen.
Recognition found.
My heart pounded as I pushed from my desk and rushed to the kitchen. Wynn had his arms around her while they cooked. Cas sat at the island stools. Obi typed on his phone with a cutting board full of vegetables in front of him.
She looked up the moment I walked in.
“Ciel?” she asked, as if she could sense my agitation. “What’s wrong?”
“I foun—” I started, but the sound died in my throat. I gritted my teeth. “I found them. I’m locked on them. They’re headed to the Russian territory right now.”
They had come into the city with the cruise terminal traffic, exactly like Leona thought. Once I got facial recognition, I started following them through the city. He washere. Rafael Arboleda. Closer than he’d ever been before.
In less than two seconds, all four of them sprang into action. We had to alert Makarov, go after them, and finish this.
Ryu chose that moment to stroll into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” he asked. My eyes went wide as I took him in.Shit.
We didn’t have time for this.
“I have a lock on the Alacrán Cartel heading into Russian territory,” I said. Obi pushed past me, alongside Cas. Ryu sank into his training, face going serious, and body going tight, like all of us were used to doing. We knew how to move quickly and efficiently, gathering our guns and weapons from the closet.
“What the fuck is wrong with your face?” Leona gasped as she stomped over to reach up to his swollen jaw. He looked like he ran face-first into a pole.
He jerked back from her touch. “Just got a little overexcited in the gym, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, I don’t believe that for a second,” Leona snapped at Ryuji before glancing at Caspian and the way he limped down the hallway. Her mouth set into a hard line.
Those idiots. It didn’t take a goddamn genius to see they’d gotten into some sort of fight.
