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“Kane insists we have an announcement to make at the—” I stop myself. At the engagement party, but I don’t know if she realizes he’s ready to complete the last two steps of our plan at the same time.
She’s quiet, and then she nods against the bottom of my chin. “Yeah. I figured. So, um…I guess we’d better make sure we take every precaution not to let him down.”
I growl lightly as I bite her again, and she laughs before squeezing around my hand, and I know that it’s going to be a long, gorgeous night.
Chapter12
KANE
Sitting at my desk,I stare down at the little box and the ring nestled inside of it. It’s plain—at least, compared to the rocks that so many of the women I know wear on their hands. Their husbands drape them in jewels like they’re some sort of showpiece. Like some sort of dick-measuring contest.
The ring on my desk was handcrafted not by someone who knew what they were doing but by my father, who was so madly, insanely in love with my mother, he couldn’t stand the idea of a ring touching her skin that had been touched by another person. It took him years of learning, burned layers of skin off his hands, and he even lost some vision when he got gemstone dust in his eyes.
But the result was this. A blue sapphire surrounded by a constellation of pink tourmaline set in white gold.
The band itself isn’t fully rounded anymore from how rarely my mother ever took it off. The last time I saw it was at her funeral. Her body lay in the cathedral, and my father stood over her, stone-still like his heart was about to be buried with her.
And, I suppose, it was.
I thought she’d gone into our tomb with the ring on, but he presented it to me years later. He told me he understood the love I had for Phoenix, but he also told me if I was anything like him, there would be others.
I realized it was entirely possible my father kept a collection of lovers the way I had. In fact, several of his personal guards looked at him in a way I only understood after taking Ari and James under my protection. What a fool I was to think that I could only love people as shattered as I was.
Closing my eyes, I can see the ring on Alice’s finger. It’ll sit, a beautiful beacon against her tawny skin—smaller than the diamonds weighing down the fingers of most women, and yet…
And yet, it is the only piece that I own that means anything to me at all.
Alice has been holed up in James’ room for the last three days, only coming out for meals where she barely makes eye contact with me. Part of it is the shit way I’ve treated her during my recovery, and part of it must be that she knows what’s coming next.
I didn’t listen in as James finally took her, but Phoenix was quick to assure me that she gave enthusiastic consent for whatever…consequences would come from him spilling inside of her.
Exactly as we planned.
My life has been my recovery and work and doing everything in my power to ensure that my empire doesn’t look weak after Romano’s palpable hit. I hate that I even have to admit that, but only a fool ignores the small battles he loses, and I am no fool.
Clicking my pen a few times, I let out a small sigh and glance to my left, where my new cane waits. It’s ornate—a black stick, a silver handle curled with the head of a raven. It was a gift from Aldis, who’s currently handling most of my affairs in the city.
He’s one of six people besides my misfits who even knows of the injury, and Aldis isn’t eager to spread the word. He’s just as invested in our family as I am. He will never hold the same power I do, but I have also given him control and trust, and that has gone both ways.
Just before I’m about to stand, my phone buzzes, and I look down to see one of my head guards. “Jordan,” I say into the receiver.
“The cleanup is finished, and Ari’s on his way back to base,” he tells me, quick and perfunctory. “I’ve received the plans for the event, and I’m currently amassing the security team and setting up the perimeter.”
The engagement party hasn’t been announced yet, but we’re holding it on a yacht off the coast at the Stardust Resort—one of several properties that we use to funnel our cash. It’s a small island surrounded by driftwood and sand dunes, and it’s the perfect venue for me to finally introduce my future queen.
It’s going to go down like a lead balloon, of course—I’m aware of this already. I will have to pull on the strings of trust I’ve been building with my family since I took over in order for them to pledge their loyalty to Alice. But I’m counting on my history in leading them.
I’m counting on them to take one look at her and understand exactly why I’ve chosen her as my bride.
After all, they know perfectly well she’s been on Romano’s auction block for years. Several lower-ranking members of the family were even invited to put in a bid, but that was so Guido could get a single claw in my empire.
But I still can’t shake the fear that this will put cracks in the foundation of what I’ve built.
All the same, I think as I stroke the ring box, nothing else actually matters so long as I take Romano down. If the family wants me to pay for what I’ve done, I will gladly hand over control and disappear—once Romano is handled. And I want to believe they’ll give me that.
“I’ll be in touch,” I tell him, then carefully rise from my chair. Slipping my phone into my pocket, I take several careful steps toward the wall, and my knee only twinges a little.
I hate that both Alice and my therapists were right. I was in my head about it—demanding more of my body than it could give me. My expectations were unreasonable, and the moment I finally let go was the moment I realized how much progress I’ve actually made.
