“Mateo, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m just being cautious,” he says, shaking his head and pulling my hand up so he can kiss it. “I haven’t received any direct threats against you, but since you were almost snatched at that restaurant, I’ve had a bad feeling, and until my brothers and I figure some shit out, we get your sister back, and things mellow out a bit, I’m going to be on edge. It’s not your fault, I just can’t allow anything to go wrong when it comes to you.”
“Okay,” I reply simply. “I have no issue with that. You know, Natasha once told me that she has the same detail assigned to her all the time, and I was wondering if I can keep Bobby and Lucky for as long as you keep me around.”
He frowns over at me.
“First of all, I’m keeping you forever. Even if something happens to me?—”
“Don’t say that.”
“—you’ll be taken care of. Bobby and Lucky are your permanent detail.”
“Good. I like them. We’ve kind of settled into a rhythm and I trust them.”
“You should trust them, and you can. They’re the best marksmen on my team.”
Diego clears his throat, making me smile.
“Some of the best marksmen on my team,” Mateo says with a grin. I can tell that he and Diego are good friends.
“How did you two meet?” I ask him, gesturing to Diego in the driver’s seat.
“I’m his cousin,” Diego tells me. “Our fathers were brothers.”
I lift an eyebrow. Mateo has talked about his mom, but never his father.
“Dead,” Mateo says simply. “A long, long time ago. I barely remember him.”
I nod and decide to leave the subject alone. “All of you guys are tight. Your brothers and their seconds, it’s like you’re a fraternity or something.”
Diego chuckles, and Mateo smiles but then nods. “Yeah, I guess in a fucked-up way, weare. We’re family. And in our world, nothing is more important than that. The stronger our ties, the stronger our family is. We protect each other at all costs.”
I sober, listening to him and the conviction in his voice.
“This isn’t a movie,” he continues. “There will be moments that could mean the difference between life and death, and you need to know that now. Not that I’d ever let you go at this point.”
He smirks, and I simply lift an eyebrow.
“Any one of my men would die to keep you alive,” he says and all humor flees his face once more. “You’re the most important person in my life, above all else, and every single one of my men have been instructed to keep you safe at all costs.”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” I reply, scowling.
“If you get hurt or killed on our watch,” Diego says, “we’re all dead anyway. You’re the queen. Everything revolves around you. It’s the same for the others too. Lulu and Natasha are always protected. Scarlett, as well.”
My gaze whips to Mateo, and he nods in confirmation.
“But what about Carson’s wife?” I ask softly, and I see the grief flash behind Mateo’s eyes. “She was still killed.”
“We weren’t in power then,” Mateo says and shakes his head. “That was Julian’s dad.”
I sit back, stunned.
“He was weak, and he didn’t listen to the threats that had been rumbling around the city. Damien had a personal vendetta against Carson. Had for years. And because the boss turned the other way, he paid the ultimate price for it. First with the loss of Rina, and then when Carson went to prison. Once more when Julian killed his own father as payment for everything that happened and then took over the empire.”
“Jesus,” I whisper. “But you, Rome, and Carson don’t work for Julian.”
“No. We’re all equal. He runs the Greek Mafia, but the four of us run this city. We all have our hands in different things. And because the four of us are tight, our seconds are friends, and all of our armies work well together. We’re bigger and stronger than ever before. No one would dare fuck with us, especially here in Vegas.”
