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Anton shoved the papers under his arm and cast one more grim look at me. “We’ll do what’s best for us, then. Maybe we’ll wait and see how your way pans out; maybe we’ll just get on with things ourselves. But we can cut you and Rafael here a little slack.”
I shrugged as if it didn’t matter to me either way. “I appreciate that. The rest is up to you.”
He spun on his heel, and his goons turned with him. They stalked off into the shadows they’d emerged from.
As Rafael and I hustled back to the rental car, I didn’t dare let my shoulders slump, even though I wanted to crumple in a mix of relief and trepidation.
We’d done it. I’d convinced the gang not to see me or Rafael as the enemy.
But I’d wanted more than anything to leave this part of my life behind forever. Now I’d made a commitment to staying with it until my mother was toppled from her throne.
And I had no idea how I was going to make that happen.
SEVENTEEN
Luciana
I might have beenshort on sleep, but we’d spent so little time in the US that stepping out of the Tokyo subway system into the crisp mid-afternoon air made me feel like I’d come home. My inner clock was back on the right schedule again, never having had a chance to switch over to across-the-ocean time.
I stretched my arms over my head with a yawn and glanced at Rafael. “The guys are probably training right now, but I think I need to sleep until tomorrow before—”
The trill of my phone cut me off—the ringtone I’d assigned to my guys. They’d have realized I should be in town by now. With a smile touching my lips at the thought of hearing their voices again, I dug out my phone. Jasper’s name showed on the caller ID.
I brought the phone to my ear as I hit the answer button. “Hey! We just—”
“Lou! I don’t know how long I’ll be able to talk. We need help.”
My partner’s hushed but frantic voice crackled through the phone line. My pulse skittered.
“What?” I demanded, my fingers tightening around the phone. “What’s going on?”
“We’re at the rink,” he rasped. “The smaller one. Your mother’s people must have figured out we were training here. A bunch of men with guns stormed in—they’ve got us trapped in the stands.”
My heart nearly lurched right up my throat. “What? She was supposed to—fuck.”
A couple of distant gunshots rattled through the line. My pulse thudded even faster. “Have they hurt any of you?”
“No. Luckily the turncoats came along with us to practice, and they’ve helped hold the other guys off. But we haven’t figured out how to reach an exit.”
“Shit. We’ll get there as fast as we can. Hang in there.”
I shoved my phone in my purse and spun around, my thoughts whirling. Panic swept through my veins with its icy chill.
We were miles from the arena. I had no idea if we could get to them in time.
If I hadn’t gone back to Austin—if I’d been there with them training, would I have seen a way out?
It might not have happened at all. Mom had probably picked this moment because she’d realized I’d left town.
No matter how hard I fought, the men I loved were being attacked from so many sides that I couldn’t watch out for all of them at once. When was this going to end?
Rafael gripped my shoulder, his solid presence steadying me. “What’s wrong, Lou?”
I blinked back the tears pricking at my eyes and strode forward, scanning the busy street next to us for a taxi. “My mom’s people have attacked the guys at the arena. They’ve got them and the Deadly Rose defectors trapped by the rink. We have to get over there and give them backup.”
Fury flashed in Rafael’s eyes. “That maldita perra,” he muttered, and sprang past me toward a cab that’d just pulled up to the curb to let out a passenger.
The second the passenger had walked away, Rafael dove into the front passenger seat. As I scrambled after him, he pointed his gun at the driver—low and careful with the safety still on, but that didn’t make any difference to the guy, who stared at him with his jaw going slack.
