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“Oh shit.”
Yeah, we were definitely getting home late.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Mari
Three weeks after the wedding, my phone rang as I was getting ready for the day. The desire to let it go to voice mail swelled until I glanced at the screen.
O’Bannon.
“Christ, I was hoping to get more time without him.” Three weeks definitely wasn’t enough.
Things had been stable since the alliance was solidified, and though Aces were still out there taking swipes at us, they were small nuisances. A broken window in a protected shop, an attempted robbery at a bank we used, three separate bar fights in my territory, but no real change with Cash. Just irritating, petty shit.
I wasn’t sure if that was intentional to lull us into a false sense of peace, or if Rafael had been extra busy.
With the wedding over, O’Bannon was back to the polite distance we’d previously employed, and I definitely preferred it to interacting with him daily.
“Do you want me to take that, mariposa?” Dominic asked as he curled himself around me. He’d been sitting on the bed watching me get ready for twenty minutes, and I liked the weight of his eyes on me. Since the wedding, none of us had slept apart. I liked that too.
I almost said no, but then realized it was his job as much as it was mine. “Please.”
With a few taps, he had us on speakerphone. “What do you need, O’Bannon?”
“Where’s Mari?”
“Occupied,” Dominic said with a grin, slipping his finger underneath the strap of my bra like he’d pull it down. I flicked it off, glaring at him in the mirror. While I didn’t have a problem with voyeurism, I didn’t want to do it with O’Bannon on the phone.
Gross.
Dominic rolled his eyes but kept his hands to himself.
“If I wanted to talk to you, I would have called your phone.”
“Yet I’m all you’ve got. What can I do for you?”
The Irishman growled. “You can come pick up this body.”
Everything in me froze and I reached for the phone without thinking, but Dominic pushed my hand away. All the teasing bled from his face, and I was left with the sight of an underboss. My underboss.
When the hell had that happened?
“What body?”
“An Ace,” O’Bannon spat. “Left on my doorstep like a present from our deranged friend.”
“He’s not a friend,” Dominic corrected.
“I don’t give a shit either way. The whole reason for this alliance was to make sure we had help if we needed it. A dead body on my doorstep says we need help, so I want her over here now.”
I stood, gathering my things, as Dominic glared down at the phone. “Before we go anywhere, I’d urge you to correct your tone. Mari isn’t yours to command.”
I could practically hear O’Bannon grit his teeth, but only because Dominic was right and he knew it. “I would appreciate some assistance in the matter, if the Marcosa queen has time.”
Dominic looked at me for permission, and I nodded. “We’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
He hung up before O’Bannon could respond.
