AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“To give it time.”
“Afterthat.”
“I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about,” she sasses.
“I’m not going to try and stop you from building a relationship with him, but I’m not just gonna sit around and watch, either. You know how I feel about it.”
“Innocent until proven guilty, Nico.”
“I won’t take that risk. Not with you.”
“And yet you insist we still continue with this wedding despite someone wantingyoudead.”
“Jimmy accepted the offer, which should buy us some time. I doubt whoever’s responsible will reach out to anyone else right away. Anyway, back to Grayson.”
She lets out a breath and ponders. “When you first took me to The Castle”—the safe house in Virginia—“I had no reason to trust you. But for some reason, my gut told me it was the right thing to do. And not just because you took me to some unknown location and I didn’t have a choice.” She blurts with a chuckle.
“And what do they tell you now?”
“Well, to be fair, Nico, when it came to you, my instincts were also blinded by lust and attraction, so I wouldn’t exactly say I’m the best judge of character.” A laugh erupts from my chest. “But, the instincts I do have are saying that I could let him in. Besides, he can’t be worse than the men that want me out.”
It’s easy to focus on the negative. People try to tear Anya down every day, but the inner circle she’s created is strong and impenetrable. And that was all her.
“You have more support than you think. Like I said, I don’t trust him,butI don’t think leaving him out in the dust will do any good, either. He could turn more resentful if he isn’t already.”
“So, you don’t think it’s an insane notion to bring him in?”
“Don’t get me wrong, amore.” I take her small hands into mine, kissing the palms of each. “He strikes me as a smart guy. And cautious. He has more to lose than to gain. If he has any sense of self-preservation, he’ll do what’s right.”
I can see the moment her mind starts calculating.
“What if . . . Grayson starts out as an enforcer under Tao . . .”
I know exactly where she’s going with this. As the consigliere, I know it’s my job to strategize and think ahead. Advise.
“You want Grayson as your red pole?” I ask, having connected the dots.
“Exactly. With Grayson’s history in the Marines, I figure the arms trade portion would be a good fit for him. He’ll start as an enforcer with Tao’s guidance, making sure our laws are being followed and running high-level security.”
If Grayson wants to be brought in, he’d have to start somewhere. But if he can prove himself, he could move up to what the Triad traditionally called thered pole. Their job is to strategize if we ever go to war but, more importantly, do everything in their power to make sure we never get to that point. The more modern term adopted islieutenant.
I make anything related to my wife my business. So, I studied the hierarchy of the Triad thoroughly. They operate slightly differently than the Italians. Their bylaws state that, unless you’re an heir, you must hold the position of the red pole before you’re considered for vanguard, the true second-in-command to the dragon head.
Before she has the chance to express her plans, I beat her to it.
“Do you want to give him that much power? Once he becomes lieutenant, you’re giving him a direct path to dragon head.”
“It’s just an idea. He won’t become lieutenant tomorrow.”
“So, what? If all goes as planned... Kai becomes New York’s captain, Tao head enforcer and Grayson, lieutenant with the hopes of being what, vanguard?”
She scrunches her little nose.
She hates when Isteal her thunder.
I kiss the tip of it to distract her. Suddenly, she pinches the top of my ear and peeks into it.
“What are you doing?” I laugh, swatting her away from me.
