Antonio merely turns to give us his back and marches forward. I stifle a laugh at Lio’s dumbfounded expression. He side-eyes me before throwing his hands up and stomping after Antonio. Bracing myself, I follow them into whatever chaos has landed on our doorstep.
Fuck. I hope it’s nothing serious. Not when we still have to get everyone ready for the meeting tomorrow. I have enough on my plate trying to keep my best friend safe from himself—I don’t need outsiders making it worse.
The chaos in the foyer isn’t what I expected when I was told there were guests, but maybe I should have. To say the trips are unhappy would be an understatement. The mixture of spoken Russian, RSL, and ASL is hard to keep up with, especially without Soren to interpret for his friends.
“Enough,” Jayden says—and he’s another surprise, appearing as if out of thin air to take control. “If you want to be understood, then speak one at a time, and in a language we all can understand.” He clicks his fingers, and whatever protest the three of them had stops.
The physical therapist was already terrifying, but seeing him with so much control over the trips is… There aren’t enough words to describe that level of fear. I didn’t think the trips listened to anyone, except maybe Soren.
“How about we…go to the sitting room, then we can talk?” I exchange a look with Lio, who looks as uncertain of what to do in this situation as I am.
Lio nods. “Yes, I’ll have the staff prepare refreshments, and someone needs to get Roman. Then we’ll talk.”
Lio and I lead everyone into the main sitting room, since there’s more room for everyone. It’s chaos for a bit, with people coming and going, but when it settles down, Lio, Roman, and I are surrounded by most of our inner circles.
“Where’s Soren?” Roman asks the trips.
The three of them share looks, before three sets of identical storm gray eyes turn to Roman. “He stayed with Doc, Boss.”
Tennant curses while Roman sucks in a sharp breath. I glance at him, to make sure he’s not in pain, before focusing on the three men in front of us.
“Elaborate, please.”
The speaking trip swallows and says, “We were warned about a conversation Cristian and Il Padrone had. Cristian…discussed using Soren and us to leverage Doc. He also mentioned reminding Ivan that he had his nephew, but we were able to speak to David—well, Nico spoke to David. The Bratva is aware of the situation, and though they can’t publicly show their support for this faction, David is on your side. The political situation within the Bratva is…fraught. Especially with many of the older generation still upset that no retribution was taken for the execution of our father, and the death of Soren’s.
“So while Ivan doesn’t agree with what Cristian is doing, he cannot denounce him as Head of the Amatos. Father and son are in agreement, though, that what is happening does not live up to their views, or the ways David wants to take the Bratva in the future.”
Not an ideal position for the Russians to be in, but knowing we have their quiet backing takes some stress off my shoulders; I’m sure it does the same for Roman and Lio.
“Doc sent us away.” One of the others speaks up once his brother is finished speaking. “He didn’t want us to get caught in the crossfire should Cristian lose his mind completely.”
“We’ve been expecting you,” Hollis tells them. “I spoke to Doc a few days ago. What took so long?”
The trips exchange looks once more. It’s Jayden who speaks up, though. “They didn’t want to leave Soren behind. He finally called me because he couldn’t leave Doc, and I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t have been able to leave my Boy if I was in that position. But, he didn’t want them to stay, so…he asked me to help persuade him.”
“More like bully me into submission,” Donovan mutters darkly.
“Are you complaining, Pet?” Jayden asks.
Donovan flushes. “No, Sir.”
Jayden clicks his fingers and Donovan slides off the sofa, crawling over to Jayden and sitting at his feet. That…is not what I was expecting. I knew from Doc that they were together—he went on a very long rant about the physical therapist poaching from him, but I very carefully didn’t ask, or go looking for details.
I’m still a bit concerned about how he managed to snag Donovan right out from under Doc’s nose, though. To say Doc is protective of his people is an understatement.
“What about your brother?” Tennant asks.
“James had a choice, and he made it. Neither Joel nor myself had high hopes that he’d leave Doc behind. We trust Doc to protect him, as much as he’ll be protecting Doc.” Jayden’s voice doesn’t change as he speaks. It's still the level, unaffected tone he always uses, but the way he rolls his shoulders back, and theminute narrowing of his eyes, says he’s not happy about James’s decision to stay with Doc.
“I think this situation shows we’re right in changing which guards accompany you and Carter,” Benjamin says. “If Cristian is planning such…terrible things against those he’s supposed to care about, there’s no way Ten can attend the meeting as Lio’s guard.”
“Like hell!” Tennant bursts out. “I am not being left behind, to allow that asshole to manipulate LioorCarter.”
I grimace. “He’s right, Ten. I never thought Cristian could stoop so low to even suggest such a thing against Doc, but…if you show up as Lio’s guard tomorrow, there’s no telling what he will do.”
Before Tennant can argue, Roman cuts in. “They’re right. Please, I don’t want you to have to make a choice. This meeting is supposed to set us up as Bosses, to show them we’re serious about what we’re doing. We can’t do that if there’s already hostility before the meeting starts.”
“Guard me,” Jude interjects. All eyes turn to him. “Roman isn’t going, and none of us blame him for not wanting to face Cristian, not after the way he’s treated both him and Carter; but he needs a voice in the meeting as well. Lio and Carter will be there representing their sides and Families. If you’re serious about being a player in this game, Roman, then you need a voice. I am your Second, allow me to be that for you.”
