With that parting shot, I march my ass to my room and slam the door.
Chapter 33
Leo
“You nervous about the gala?” Gage asks. We came back to the living room after the display between Alessa and Ryder. She’s now in her office, still pissed, and I’m not sure where Ryder has disappeared to.
“Yeah, a little bit,” I admit. “Not about going but about being presented as a freaking heir.”
Gage shrugs. “The name comes with respect, but it also comes with enemies. But you have us now too.”
“Do I?” I ask the question that’s been plaguing me without thinking. Gage’s brows furrow. “I just mean you and Ryder have a lot of memories with her, Dex too. Holden might be new, but he’s been here too. I haven’t.”
“That doesn’t make us see you any different. Les accepted you into this family, so youarefamily.”
“He’s right,” Dex rumbles, walking into the living room.
He plops down in his favorite chair. “Once you’re in, you’re in. No matter how long you’ve been here.”
“You guys don’t know me,” I argue. I’m not sure why I’m arguing, but I haven’t been here long.
Dex shrugs. “Les does.”
“So, she says so, and you agree?” I ask.
Dex chuckles. “She’s the Boss.”
It still amazes me that these guys never bat an eye about taking orders from her. Ryder may question it, but he still respects her decisions most of the time. I thought for sure she was going to kill his ass today, though.
“Her and Micah still in the office?” Gage asks.
“Yeah,” Dex nods. “They’re putting everyone on high alert.”
“Is this going to happen?” Gage asks Dex, and it’s the first time he’s looked uneasy about all of this, which doesn’t sit well with me.
“It has to. Viktor has been trying to make her look weak since she took over, and she has to prove that she isn’t.”
“This is the Russians, bro,” Gage argues. “This isn’t some small-time family like the Moretto’s.”
“That’s why she’s calling in all favors,” Ryder answers, striding into the living room and sitting on the loveseat. “See where the alliances really lie.”
“Viktor forgot Les’ army reaches worldwide,” Dex soothes.
“She’s made sure to keep old alliances and made new ones. We’ve got this.”
“You know that includes your brothers, right?” Ryder asks, cracking open a bottle of water.
I frown. “Includes my brothers? How?”
He drains the entire bottle before answering. “They’re now an ally.”
Does that mean Evander and Mateo will go to war with her? What will happen if they don’t? I don’t understand any of this shit, and it’s not like anyone took the time to explain it; they shouldn’t have to. I’m the outside man; I don’t know how a war with another family goes besides people can die. It’s never said, but it’s implied.
“Our main priority is protecting Les,” Dex shrugs. “We took an oath when we became her inner circle.”
“What the hell are we going to do about this stalker problem?” Ryder asks since it’s on the subject of protecting her.
“What are we supposed to do?” Gage asks with a snort. “The more we fight to protect her, the harder she’ll push back against us.”
