“There.” Doc gestures to Leticia’s arm when he’s finished wrapping. “I’ll find a sling. You let it dry.”
Leticia looks at the cast with something I don’t know how to interpret.
“I’d say it’s not so bad. But casts kinda suck.” I try to spin it into a positive but fall short of something truly meaningful. “But at least all you have to worry about is your school work and letting my mom dote on you.”
“Having someone else take care of me is so weird.” Leticia runs her free hand through her hair, pulling it out of her face.
“You let me take care of you.” I helpfully point out.
“Uhm.” Leticia’s cheeks flame bright pink in an instant.
“Get your mind out of the gutter and back on the sidewalk with the rest of us civilized people,” I whisper, hoping Doc doesn’t hear. “Though, we should probably wait a couple days for me to take care of you like that.”
“Okay, you two happy kids have a nice night. I’ve got to get home for dinner.” Doc tosses a sling at me and starts cleaning up. “Welcome to the pack. Now, shoo, shoo.” He waves metoward the door.
Guess he heard that.My wolf snorts.
Leticia is fighting back a laugh, but she lets me help her into the sling before we’re hustled out of the clinic.
52
ROYAL
A DEAL IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES
After gettingSteffano’s information from Berto, Valor set up a place to meet and put together a whole three-course meal of backup plans if needed.
Option one, where we started, is out here at the airfield. The quiet early morning hour allows for some privacy and keeps would-be bystanders away. A decent-sized private jet pulls up in front of one of our hangars.
The jet taxis over to us, and Dad looks to me. “And what are younotgoing to do?”
“Insinuate that I’m smarter than he is? Even though it’s true.” I shrug, tucking my hands into my jacket pockets, trying to warm up from the late January deep freeze.
“Close enough.” Valor pinches the bridge of his nose.
Dad shakes his head as our ground crew quickly maneuvers to help chock the plane and prepare for Steffano to disembark.
It’s killing me not to look at my phone to check in on Leticia and Mom. I know they’re at home and I know they’re safe. The fifteen alarms I have that would alert me to trouble are silent. But I just want to be able to see her.
A black SUV rolls up along the driving space toward us.
“Expecting company?” I ask Dad and Valor.
Valor is already reaching for his gun. “No, I sure wasn’t.”
Rustling comes from behind us, easily mistaken for the wind tohuman ears, and I know the sniper just adjusted positions. I feel a little better knowing we brought backup firepower. But my fingers still twitch, ready to draw my weapon.
Or we shift and tear them all to pieces.My wolf wags his tail with nervous excitement.
I suppress that thought but keep him on the surface. He makes me faster, helps me focus, and if it came down to his idea, he’d be ready.
The SUV rolls to a stop, and the driver’s door opens first, revealing one of the goons Gregorio and Berto showed up with yesterday. He opens the back passenger door, and I’m surprised to see Berto step out.
“Great,” Dad sighs. “I thought they understood we weren’t dealing with them anymore.”
Berto steps toward us. With his arms at his sides, he’s not quite unthreatening, but he certainly isn’t showing any signs of wanting to go to bullets as a form of communication.
Valor growls low but silences it when Berto gets within earshot.
