“Hol will kill you if you push yourself too hard.”
He sighs. “I know, but moving, setting up an entire new household for not one but three Families, and…trying to figure out what to do about Cristian… The unimportant things will have to wait.”
“You are important, Ten!” I say firmly. Shifting, I ignore the twinge of pain and I try to sit up straighter, to look more authoritative. “You’re part of this Family, and I need you at your best for what’s to come. We have the situation with the LEOs, and whoever is after us to deal with still, and now Dad and Il Padrone… I need you to be ready for whatever may come.
“And personally…I can’t afford to have you hurt worse because you haven’t been taking care of yourself.” My voice is small, vulnerable. I hope he can hear just how much I need him. “I can’t do this without you, any of you.” Swallowing, I fight back the tears. My stupid wayward emotions won’t do me any good here.
“You were the first person I ever loved,” I tell him softly. “That ever loved me. You and Hollis…and I can’t do this without either of you. So please, take better care of your own health. For me, for Hollis and Jude. For Benjamin, the poor guy is hanging by a thread. He needs you just as much as I do, so you can’t do this to us.”
Tennant leans over and presses a firm kiss to my lips, making me moan as the contact is sorely needed. He pulls away and I whine, which makes him smile. He fists a hand in my hair and gives it a firm tug. “I’m not going anywhere, Little Prince. I’ll be here for whatever you need. Carter and Emilio, too.”
“I love you.”
He makes a face, not protesting my words, but the amount of emotions I’ve poured on him. It makes me smile because, as affectionate and sweet as Tennant is, he still doesn’t believe he can feel, or even wants all the feels that come with our complicated relationships.
“I need to go check on Hol and Jude. I’ll make sure dinner is sent in for the two of you.”
“Thank you.” I accept one final kiss from Ten before he leaves the room.
When it’s just me and Leandro, I study him, trying to see beneath the blank expression on his face. Because while I appreciate that he doesn’t put on a façade for me, I also know he hides a lot more than I can ever guess.
I’m lucky that he allows me to see as much as he does.
“What are you up to?”
He tilts his head and stares at me, pure innocence on his face as his eyes widen. “What do you mean?”
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head and try to get comfortable on the bed. “Don’t play dumb, I know you far too well. Am I supposed to believe Allesandro’s uncle just showed up out of the blue to reprimand his nephew? I can believe you bugged theMartelli house just because you could, that’s the type of person you are, but I’m not stupid, no matter what part I play when I need to.
“I know Lio well, too. As upset as he was with Allesandro, going against him wouldn’t have been his first move, broken up with him or not. So…? What’s your endgame?”
Leandro shrugs, going for casual. “Sometimes people need reminding of things they may otherwise overlook. Lio would have remembered eventually, I just sped it up. Did I think he’d take me up on it and go so far? No, but he’s better than I thought. I’m very curious to see what this Council of Three is going to do.”
I stare at him in disbelief and shake my head. “You…you can’t manipulate our friends! I don’t know what your plans are, but you need to stop.”
Leandro blinks. “I haven’t done a single thing that Emilio didn’t want me to. Trust me, Roman. Everything will be fine.”
Deciding to save myself the headache, I sigh and shake my head. “Whatever… Just be careful. I don’t know what the Martellis will do if they discover what a scheming asshole you are. Orwhoyou are.”
“My secret is as safe as it’s always been. And if they haven’t guessed already, at least about my connection to Carter, then they’re not as smart as they think.”
I sigh again, but…fair. He looks far too much like Carter to deny the relation, but we can only hope no one comes to the correct conclusions… Not unless Leandro wants to do some explaining about why he doesn’t want to be in charge.
“Where’s Boston?” I ask, deciding a change of subject is saner than anything.
“With Midas, or Cole. Maybe both. I don’t need to keep her close anymore, though. Not like I did in the Martelli household.”
“Lio never would have let anything happen to her, or you. Despite everything that was happening.”
“I’d rather not have to kill someone, or clean blood from her teeth. So it was easier to keep her with me. I’m sure she’ll find you soon enough, she likes you more than me.”
I snort. “You know that’s not true. I just happen to be her other person.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, whatever.”
Despite his protests, I know he actually cares for the dog, and she him. They have a scary close and in-tune relationship. She’s probably the only one, aside from me, that he actually trusts.
“What do you think of all the shifting dynamics?”
