“Not interested.” Does he think I’m scared of him? Hell, Lola in a bad mood is scarier than this fucking guy.
But Molly steps between us.
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I’m not about to let my unwarranted rage undo the good work I’ve done tonight.
“And also, not a very nice thing to say.” I smirk at him. “You can’t blame me for being jealous. Marlowe’s a catch.”
“We’re. Friends.” Leon glowers. “I protect my friends.”
“By disappearing off the face of the earth?”
Letting myself get out of hand is a dangerous thing to do. I can’t. Not here, not tonight. But I don’t like this guy. There’s something off about him.
“I’ve been trying to find her father.”
It’s the perfect opening aboutthis elusive Mario, about the stalker. The fucking note burning a hole in my pocket. About why he was at that shoot-out in Queens.
But I can’t bring any of that up here. That’s a type of suicide. So instead, I trust my instincts.
They don’t trust him, so neither do I. But it does seem like he cares about her, unfortunately.
Molly pushes farther in between us, her hand on my chest, trying to hold me back.
Already we’re garnering unwanted attention, and Cal’s eyes burn holes in my spine.
So I turn up the charm. And although it almost kills me, I back off, just a little. “Marlowe worries about you, too,” I say. “I come off strong because I’m protective and someone threatened her.”
His eyes widen as he whips around to look at her. “What? Are you okay, Marlowe? I knew you weren’t safe here?—”
“She’s fine,” I interrupt. “Just a silly note from an overeager fan, I’m sure. I just needed to make sure you had her back. I see you do.” Fuuuck, this fake shit really is destroying me. “We should talk, you and me. And you’re welcome here in our home whenever you like.”
I wrap an arm around her, wishing I’d filled each of her holes with toys before the party. There are some fabulous double dildo panties I got her that would keep her plugged up and me in control of her pleasure by using an app on my phone. They’re vibrating dildos, the kind of invention I can get behind. Pun intended.
Leon does his best to ignore me. And I help him out by kissing my fake bride with the kind of thoroughness that should win me awards. Then I leave them alone, but not before I see him slip her a small package that makes my stomach twist and turn.
“Good man.” Cal slaps me on the back.
They’re still close and my leg muscles tighten, as if to saywhere the fuck are we going?
“I should—” I start.
“You should not,” Seamus says, coming up to us. Ava doesn’t though because she’s hawkishly watching the party—from the inoffensive string quartet Molly talked me into hiring to all the guests, well known to us and not.
They really are the powerhouse couple of crime. And child-free tonight, since they have their nanny watching Natasha. The fact that Ava wanted to name her Natasha isn’t lost on any of us, either. Of course, my assassin sister-in-law would name her offspring after Marvel’s badass Black Widow.
Torin watches Harry just as intently as she scouts the room for wounded mafia doves in trouble. Harriet’s not reckless, but it doesn’t stop him from worrying about her.
I slide my glance back to Leon and Molly and grit my teeth. “I should.”
Ah, it’s allshite, that’s what it is. I force myself to move around the room, letting my brothers do the work.
I shut down any questions from curious people. I do it carefully, and with seeming ease, ready to take note of anything that snags my suspicions. The party’s a mix of regular people, mafia, a few cartel, courtesy of Ava, and the assortment of ballet donors.
While there’s not a single person pushing to find out our entire story, which would scream of intent to take Molly down legitimately, our guests seem curious about us as a couple. Totally natural and understandable. Of course they want to know.
And everything on my end is on brand.
No one’s going to even sniff a crack in our so-called marriage’s legitimacy.
