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Greyson grinned. “All the better to claim your property with, my dear.”
My eye roll was automatic. “You’re not my property.”
“We are,” they argued. No question, no hesitation.
“Maybe not property, but we are yours, and it’s best to walk into a situation like this showing that to everyone.” Nate grinned, and I realized his shirt was unbuttoned, so my bite mark was visible. Another form of claiming for him that sent a bolt of heat through my body.
“We should go.” Grey opened the door, leaning down for a kiss as I passed, and I couldn’t help but grin.
Despite everything, these incredible men were not only mine—they wanted to make it obvious that they were. How had I gotten so lucky?
I wiped the smile off my face as we made our way through the house. The chatter of voices echoed down the hall, growing louder until we came upon the cluster of people standing at the bottom of the stairs. I spotted the usual suspects, including O’Bannon meandering through the throng, but no couple of the hour. Aislynn and Cameron would arrive after my entrance. O’Bannon glared, and I knew he was pissed that I’d snubbed his entrance. Well, too bad.
Everything he did in my city, he did because I allowed it. It was time he was reminded of that.
I walked down the stairs alone, allowing everyone to see me, though the soft footsteps of my men behind me said I had backup if anything went wrong. I refused to let it, though. Ash deserved two peaceful days to get married, and I was going to give them to her.
Before I could formulate a plan for mingling, one of the servers from Gilded stood before me, tray wobbling as she bowed slightly. I scrutinized her face as I took the offered glass. She looked so familiar. My suspicions mounted the longer she stayed in place, until finally Nate confirmed them.
“Ivy, what are you doing here?”
Right, Ivy. The girl who’d panicked when Nate killed the Ace.
“It’s my last job working for Gilded,” she said. “I’m leaving the city.”
“That’s a good idea,” I told her, not unkindly. Things were going to get messy, and the last thing that we needed was someone unprepared for the chaos that was coming.
“Good luck. I hope things work out for you wherever you end up,” Nate told her.
Ivy’s eyes flicked to me, then the men behind me, with a look of barely banked terror. “I could say the same.”
I almost laughed at what she probably viewed as a final act of bravery, but I didn’t. Not everyone could handle what I was and how I lived, and that was okay. Besides, I refused to make her last moments with Nate be anything but pleasant.
“Where to first?” Grey murmured, taking his own glass before Ivy disappeared.
I opened my mouth to suggest charming Mama O’Bannon when Joaquin stomped his way through the crowd.
“Apparently our first stop is a showdown.”
All three men tensed, and I could feel their combined protective energy coiled at my back, waiting to strike. For the first time, it felt like I had an army at my back. Like I wasn’t alone. That’s so damn nice.
Nate stepped up next to me, eyeing my uncle’s movements as they got jerkier with every step in our direction. “I’m assuming there are rules for tonight. How far are we going to let him go?”
It was a good question. “Just far enough.”
Nate’s face screwed up. “I’m going to need more than that. Something more concrete, if possible. What should I be looking for?”
Trying to explain something that I’d learned as a child was harder than I expected, so I turned to the others for help.
“If he crosses the line to disrespect, we’ll need to make an example of him,” Dominic offered.
“Anything else?”
“If he tries to harm Mari or undermine this alliance, he dies here and now. There are too many eyes here to let it slide,” Greyson added. Dominic quickly agreed.
Nate looked at me for confirmation, and I nodded, albeit reluctantly. “I prefer punishing my people in private, but we can’t afford to look weak. If he makes a play, he dies.”
Killing my uncle would have consequences I wasn’t ready for, but if it came down to me or him, I’d deal with those later.
