“But now Cordoza’s here at Tim and Aubree’s wedding, buddying up with Michelle’s would-be rapist’s father? While Michelle twines herself around her husband in the same room.” Proving he knows more than I’ve let on, he allows his eyes to stop on Ellie Solomon. Formerly known as Michelle Mancino. “Seems… odd, don’t you think?”
“Not entirely. Anthony wasn’t the one who touched her. He didn’t retaliate after his son’s death, and from what Micah says, his bank account is looking a little empty. He knows he’s gotta behave, and Cordoza likes the idea of leading the fucker around by the nose. Probably brought him here just to show him how happy she is. She’s so protected, Agosti won’t even get close enough to shake her hand.”
“Fuckin’ drama.” He brings his beer up and swallows two heaped mouthfuls. “I’d rather stand here and watch my girl dance, if you don’t mind. The fact Sera hardly even acknowledges my existence is less drama than…” He gestures toward the milling crowds. “This.”
“You asked. And now you know why I’m tense.” I narrow my eyes and stare like a hawk as Cordoza’s men—just two in the dozen—study my wife.
Appreciation? Interrogation? Threat?
“I convinced her to marry me when I knew she wasn’t entirely sold on the idea. Convinced her to let me move into her apartment, when we both know she’d prefer to be alone. Now I’ve convinced her to move to the Waterfalls, where we have wrought-iron gates, security systems, an armory within arm’s reach, cameras, a panic room, and a bombproof bunker under the kitchen.” I clap my best friend’s shoulder and grin. “One step at a time. Soon enough, she’ll accept the security guards I’ve appointed for her.”
He chuckles. “Uh-huh. Sure she will.”
“Beneath her independent streak is a woman who loves deeply. If she knows I need this, she’ll come around.”
“Emotional manipulation?” he quips. “Cool. Love that for you, bro.”
“Coercion, too. And I’m not sorry.” Chuckling, I leave him behind and start through the crowd, past Soph’s Checkmate soldiers—just as dangerous as Felix’s and Cordoza’s men, but less obvious about their mission. I pass Detective Drake Banks—the smarmy bastard—and his sweet girlfriend, who walks with a permanent limp.
Poor kid.
“Detective!” Eli Emeri steps in my way, his beefy hand grabbing on to mine before I can evade. “I guess we’re family now, huh?”
“Looks that way.” I peek past him to make sure Minka is where she’s meant to be. “My brother married your sister. Eventually, there’ll be babies, and we’ll both be uncles to those babies.”
“I’d consider you an uncle to any baby she carries for Curtis and me, too.” He drags his husband around and into a conversation he’s not entirely sure he wants to be a part of. “Obviously, our baby wouldn’ttechnically share DNA with your brother, but Aubree would still create that bridge, don’t you think?”
“So, it’s settled then?” I set my hand on my hip and track Minka over his shoulder, her eyes coming up as Cato approaches. “She’s agreed to be your surrogate?”
“Not yet.” Curtis side-eyes Eli. “His enthusiasm sometimes overtakes what’s right and what’s socially appropriate. I’ve nominated myself as the buffer that stands between his excitement and her right to choose without pressure. She didn’t say no?—”
“Which is amazing, right?!”
A soft laugh rolls through my chest. “It’s amazing.”
“Carrying someone else’s child is not a small deal,” Curtis continues. “It’s life-changing. It’s life-giving. Aubree has asked for the time and space to decide what she and her husband are comfortable with, which meansIintend to chaperone every conversation between Eli and his sister from now until she’s made her choice. And I swear not to speak of the nursery he’s already painted a warm, gentle brown. Or the clouds he stenciled onto the walls. Or the cute giraffe with growth markers he can measure this hypothetical future child of ours against as he or she grows.”
“I’m being totally chill about it,” Eli squeaks. “Ridiculously, serenely chill.”
“Says the giraffe on the wall,” I chuckle. “Sounds like you’ve got your enthusiasm on lock.”
“You won’t tell her, will you?” Surging forward in a flurry of inebriated panic, Eli takes my hand between his. “Please don’t tell her, Detective. If she finds out, she’ll feel obligated to say yes, which will break my heart. And if shereallydoesn’t want to do it and says no, her heart will break for me. It’s important that my emotions don’t sway her.”
“I promise not to tell. But, uh…” Frowning, I glance between the couple. “Doesn’t she have a… gift? The kind of gift that makes secret keeping useless?”
“He has a gift, too, Detective. One quite like hers.” Curtis inches just a little closer. “Which means he knows how to communicate—ornotcommunicate—certain things to his sister.”
“Really?” Surprised, I pull back and consider Eli. “You can block her out?”
“We all have the ability to do so, Detective.” Eli releases my hand and draws a deep, chest-filling breath. “Even you. You just don’t know how to control it yet. The longer you know her, the more you’ll understand. In fact, when she has her own child someday, a child who shares her giftsand mixes them with Malone blood, you’re likely to understand even more.”
“Dunno that the Malone blood will elevate that baby’s future prospects in any positive way,” I tease. “Can she regulate how much is mixed in to make the baby? Because if she can, I suggest she make it, like, ninety-five percent Emeri.”
“You underestimate your family’s noble lineage.” Curtis’s eyes flash with some kind of old-time wisdom. “Don’t be so fast to write yourselves off.”
“Noble?” I find Felix in the crowd, then Tim and Aubree. Finally, I lock eyes with a quietly watchful Estefan Cordoza. “Murdering innocents, stealing things we never earned, abusing kids who deserved better…” I bring my focus back to the duo. “There’s a lot of history for me to look back upon, gentlemen. But nobility isn’t a part of it.”
“You mark your entire family line with the actions of just two generations.” Tutting, Eli takes my hand again. Itlookslike a handshake, but itfeelslike when Aubree touches. “Don’t allow two men to destroy what was once so much more. You need only go back one hundred years to find honor, bravery… generosity.”
