I smirk though it doesn’t reach my eyes. “No one said he was the smartest Bruno.”
Her lips quirk but that is the only reaction I get.
“Merging?” Alessio tilts his head.
“Oh, you didn’t know?” I sit back, pulling on my jacket. “He wants to marry Collins for an alliance. Took it badly when Maeve told him to fuck off.”
Alessio taps his chin. “Ah, Sloane did mention that. She also said you were going to do it.”
Maeve stares at him, and he chuckles. “You’re not, are you?”
“And if I do?” She challenges, and the Capo pinches his brow.
“No. You can’t get involved with him.” His dark eyes pin Maeve in her seat. “When he came to my office months ago, he tried to gain an alliance with my family—not because he wantsme—but because he wantsyou, Ace. If you sign that proposal, say goodbye to everything. Your clan, your house, your life.”
I don’t blame the man. His family hangs in the balance of Maeve’s decision.
The contract Maeve signed for Sloane to marry Alessio had a lot of clauses. They’re aligned in all business ventures, protecting the clan while tying the De Luca family to it and he can rarely work against her. If he does, Sloane reverts back to O'Brien.
Alessio is too attached to his wife to let that happen.
“I’m not aligning with him, Lex.” She sighs, tiredly, gesturing to the box. “But this puts a wrench in my plans.”
“What plans?”
Tsking, I flick my fingers toward my friend. “Ace is hosting the Games. She needs a second.”
Alessio’s face pales. He knows what the Games mean for the city.
“Is that really the best choice?”
“Don’t question me.” She glares at him, green eyes bleeding black. Lex might have her trust for his devotion to Sloane, but she will not be challenged on her territory. I’m kind of interested to see who’d win that fight. “I have to appease the clan. They’re restless. A second brings order.” Rubbing her forehead, she nods to herself. “I’ll move up the timetable.”
Something that was going to take months is now going to take weeks.Fan-fucking-tastic.
Alessio cuts me a look. “I assume you’re in the running.”
“Like I could rob the clan of my prowess.” I ignore my friend’s death glare.Still mad.“My name is one of many contenders. Voting starts atThe Wharftonight and we’ll have the top three.”
“Think you have a chance?”
Knowing I had Collins on my arm and the confidence of the clan members certainly added to my arrogance. “Worried about me, Capo?”
He rolls his eyes, lips twitching. “You and Ace have been partners since I’ve been in this country. It would stand to reason to have you at her side.”
“I appreciate the confidence, but I’m currently taken.” I wink and Alessio scoffs. I don’t miss Maeve’s glower.
So we’re not ready to joke about it. Got it.
“And what do we do about this?” His glove hand waves elegantly over the white box. A spot of red is starting to leak from the corner.
“Send a message back, obviously,” Killian answers, closing the door behind me.
Throwing the Capo an exasperated glare, he returns it. For a brief moment we’re bonded in our annoyance with the reaper.
I haven’t forgiven him for this mess—if anything, I’m plotting his death.
But I can’t deny that it didn’t work in my favor. Rubbing my mouth, I can still feel Collin’s wild kiss, her untamed power rippling through our shared moment. She was a force of nature, a storm on the horizon and I gladly withstood her fury, asking her to drown me whole.
