Page 186 of Alessio

Cree shrugged. “Why not?”

Alessio made a harsh noise under his breath, taking Cree’s attention away from Corrado for a second. “If you think some privileged fuck from—”

The man waved a hand at Alessio like he was dismissing him as he said, “Yes, I can see you have some issues you need to handle, too, Les. I’ll come back to you.”

That shut Alessio up fast.

It almost made Corrado want to ask what it was about Cree that clearly put Alessio on edge, but really, he figured he already knew. The man just seemed to know what everyone’s bullshit was before they could even open their mouth and try to lie about it.

Cree came back to Corrado. “Well, what do you think?”

“Corrado,” Chris said from behind him.

He stayed silent.

Considering …

“And what’s happening in here?”

Corrado didn’t need to turn around to know his father had stepped into the gym. He continued staring at Cree, all the while, thinking about the man’s offer. Cree answered for him.

“Actually,” Cree said, looking to the side of Corrado’s legs from his position on the floor below the ring to speak to Gian from across the room, “I was making an offer to your son.”

Gian didn’t miss a beat. “What kind of offer?”

“To join The League.”

“Cree,” came another voice.

Dare.

The guy his father had been talking to earlier.

Dare’s simple statement of Cree’s name sounded like a warning, but clearly not one Cree intended to heed as he only stared between Gian and Corrado.

“Corrado?”

At his father’s call of his name, he glanced over his shoulder. For some reason, he was worried then that he might find disappointment in his father’s eyes. Even though Gian never outright told Corrado what he had to do—be a made man like him, or anything else he wanted to be—a part of him still wondered what his father really felt about it all.

“Yeah, Papa?”

Gian smiled, though it was faint and barely there at all. “It’s your choice. It’s always been, fils.”

Cree clapped his hands loudly. “Great. And what do you say, Corrado?”

It was only his twin speaking up from behind Corrado that broke his stretch of silence after the question

“If he does this, I do it,” Chris said.

“Chris,” Corrado muttered, not bothering to turn around to face his twin, “you don’t have—”

“I said what I said.”

He sighed.

Stubborn.

That’s what Chris was.