“Remind me,” I drawl, leaning back, crossing my arms. I’m still covered in the blood of his deceased aunt, and I itch to change. “Weren’t there guards on his door?”
“Yes.” His amber eyes flicker with anger.
“Then where were they?” I ask coldly. “I walked into a bloodbath. The alarm was off. And your guards were nowhere to be seen.”
Growling, Lex slams his fist into my chair. It knocks over, crashing to the floor with a loud thump. I just stare. “I don’t know.”
“Then maybe instead ofyellingat me,” I say, temperature dropping, “you should be thanking me for saving your uncle.” Picking at my nails, I add, “And hopefully the men you chose this time are up to the task.”
I have Briar watching the cameras outside his room. Just in case. No is touching Nico—not now.
Lex paces away, tugging at his scalp with aggravation. His shoulders bunch and he exhales loudly, looking at the ceiling.
It’s not easy for the man to thank someone else—especially me. We’ve spent years trying to outdo each other. If he killed one man, I killed three. If he made the paper with a new donation,I made a bigger one—and had a wing dedicated to my family’s name. Did we have to be in an unspoken competition? No. But it absolutely drove me mad when my father would praise his skill, while I sat there, fucking bleeding for a clan that didn’t see me.
Glancing back, he asks, “How did you know where he lived?”
Sighing, I clasp my hands over my stomach. “Really? I know everything, Lex.”
Not wrong. My spies are better than his.
“How is he?” The anger saps from his shoulders, and he fixes the chair, sitting in it. Defeat hangs over him like a heavy shroud. “I can’t get through to the doctors. What did they say?”
“Touch and go.” I shrug. “But Nico is a damn fighter. A few bullets won’t take him out.”
He tries to smile. “He is. But when he wakes up and realizes Maria…” He swallows thickly, and a sliver of sympathy strikes me. My grief threatens to drown me, but I can’t imagine the pain he feels. Maria was his deceased mother’s only sister—he might not have had her, but he had Maria. “They’ve been together for a long time. I don’t know how he’ll survive without her.”
“He’ll survive for you.” My jaw moves, and I struggle to say the rest. “And for your sons. You’re the child he always wanted. He’ll keep going because he has you to live for.”
It stings to say it out loud. I’d like to be included in the reasons why Nico lives, but that’s some childhood fantasy of mattering. Of being more than a body in a house—used for what I can give, never good enough for what I am. It’s stupid, really.
Lex nods. “I’ll figure out where the guards went. You saw no evidence of them?”
“None. Which means…” I trail off, staring at the capo.
“They were either taken or part of the plan.” I knew there was a brain in that pretty face. He pinches his brow. “Why are they targeting us?”
Shrugging, I keep my voice neutral. “They want me. So, they’re going after my allies.”
“Going after me makes sense,” he offers. “But going after Nico? He doesn’t have ties anymore. Killing him wouldn’t end the alliance. It’d piss the De Luca family off, but wouldn’t dissolve our arrangement.”
The capo glares at me, and I hold my breath. “What don’t I know, Ace?”
“Plenty,” I admit.
“Is there a reason Nico was attacked?”
“Probably.” I shrug.
Lex growls under his breath. “I swear to God, I lost my aunt to this bullshit. My best friend. If you don’t tell me?—”
“They’re going after anyone whomatters, Lex.” My throat tightens, and I push through it. “We have a leak, and I have a strong suspicion the Board knows about me working with your uncle.”
Silently, he waits. “And?”
“And.” I sigh loudly. “They may know that he helped me get my seat as captain of the clan.”
“Fuck,” he curses, rubbing his head. “I didn’t know that.”
