“Not as well as you do,” Marcello mumbled.
Really? “Oh, fuck you some more. You know her skills as an agent, you know she did an exemplary job tonight under extenuating circumstances,andshe kept your brother safe and alive. Does that even matter to you? She sacrificed herself to save me, even though she didn’t need to. I was an ass to her and she still saved me, because doing good, being a good person and helping others, is engrained in her. After what I’ve done, what you’ve done, I wouldn’t blame her if she never wants to see me or any of us ever again. She deserves better than how we’ve treated her.”
Marcello shifted in his seat. “I’ve spoken to members of the Elites.”
Ethan had been bluffing when he’d suggested Marcello do that, but he shouldn’t be surprised that Marcello had done it anyway. He wasn’t worried about what they’d say—he knew he was good at his jobs, both of them—but he was surprised Marcello had taken the time to follow up and learn more about what he’d actually done as an agent. “Well?”
“You’ve done good work with them. It’s clear they weren’t sure of you at first, but you held your own. Actually, you’ve done more than that. They respect you and want to keep you on the team.”
All Ethan had wanted was more respect from his family, even from Anda. It was a little jarring to hear that respect in Marcello’s voice now. Yet… “But you still don’t want me working with them anymore, is that right?”
Marcello dragged a hand through his hair. “You’re still a prince. Put aside the facts that you’re my little brother and how I feel about my little brother going on dangerous missions, you’re still a royal. You shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Bullshit. You go on missions and you’re much closer to the throne than me. Hell, even Alex goes on missions and he’s the next goddamn king. He went on a mission to save Rebecca, he went with Lorenzo to the docks and almost got shot in the process. I mean, Lorenzo took a fucking bullet for him! Did you berate either of them after the fact, or even before the fact?”
“I did, actually.”
“Not the same as you berate me. You treat me differently because you see me differently. You don’t seeme.” Anda had though, and he’d let her down. He hadn’t given her the same respect that she’d given him. But he would do what he could to fix things with her, and he had a feeling part of helping her would be to get her job back, to show her that he would support her in her work, to prove that he did trust her and whatever methods she decided she needed to use to get that job done.
He didn’t even care if he lost his job as an agent in the process. He only cared about helping Anda.
Ethan downed the last of his water and set the glass down. “Look, I know where you’re coming from. I know you care about me, and that’s where this concern stems from, but you can’t coddle me forever.”
Marcello huffed a laugh and sat back against the couch, some of the tension leaving him. “You don’t have to remind me. I think we all learned that tonight.”
“What you should be doing is helping Anda. Forget about me for a second, think about her. She deserves to be an agent. She deserves the chance to take down Envision, and you know she’s good at her job. You know she could do it. Do I want to be an agent? Yes, if for no other reason than to back her up while she does what she needs to do. But if taking me out of the running assures her a job, then do it. I’ll step back. You’d be an asshole if you let her walk out that door. Trust me, I basically did the same thing.” He’d pushed her away until she’d had no choice but to leave. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Marcello nodded. “You’re right. I would be a massive dick if I let her go, which is why I’m not going to.”
Relief flooded through Ethan; Anda would be happy to hear that.
“If you let me know when she wakes up, I’ll tell her myself and apologize for jumping to conclusions. I don’t always see straight when it comes to the family.”
Wasn’t that the fucking truth?
“Don’t worry about the family, either. Mama and the sisters are on board, even the ones who didn’t meet Anda, so you know Papa and rest of us are on board. It won’t be easy trying to manage your public lives—yes, rumors about the two of you are all over the fucking media, so your relationship is officially ‘out’—with your private lives, but we’ll find a way. With family, you always find a way.”
Ethan sat down on the table facing his brother, so close their knees were practically touching, and he looked him dead in the eye. “What about me? Am I still an agent?”
Marcello looked bemused. “If I say no, are you gonna hit me again?”
Ethan would have liked to punch that smirk off his brother’s face, but said, “No.”
Marcello laughed then sat up. “Your teammates really value you. Even Admiral Fraser—yes, I know who was involved in keeping your secret from me and, no, they won’t be punished—clearly respects you and your abilities in the field. You’ll remain an agent, working with Anda and on the missionsIapprove.”
Ethan let out a short breath. He just hoped that Anda agreed with that, too. If she didn’t want to partner with him anymore, he would step back. For her, he’d do anything.
“It was noble of you to try to sacrifice your job for hers.”
Ethan just shook his head. She sacrificed her life for him, and he’d only sacrificed his job; it wasn’t the same at all.
Marcello’s hand came to the back of Ethan’s neck and gave him a squeeze. “You doing that tells me two things. One, you love her, really love her. Two, you’re not a kid anymore. You’ll always be my little brother, but you’re not little anymore. We know we baby you, but we can’t help it sometimes. That’s just something you’re gonna have to learn to live with, but we’ll be better about it, we promise. We all talked about it after you left.”
Ethan finally had it, that respect from his brothers and family that he’d so wanted for so long. Yet it didn’t matter as much if he didn’t have Anda, too.
Marcello gave his neck another squeeze. “We good?”
“We’re good.”
