“I swear to God, I never wanted a younger brother. Why was I cursed with one? What do you want, Royal?” He turns to face me, and we lock eyes. His wolf rises to the surface to meet mine.
“Gimme five minutes and I’ll let you go back to playing with your guns.” I gesture back to the door I came from.
“Go.” Gavin shoos us with his hand. “We’ve got it from here. We don’t need you involved with literally every shipment.”
Valor draws a calming breath. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Gavin.”
He and I don’t speak on our way out of the warehouse, but once we’re outside, it’s like Valor is a different person.
We brush shoulders as he asks, “So what did you really need?”
“I received a call today from a person of interest.” I lead the way back to one of Valor’s many offices.
Valor waits until we’re inside the office with the door locked before pushing me for more information. “Oh?”
The heating in the offices is much better than the freezing warehouse, and I start stripping out of my winter coat so I don’t die from overheating.
“Mmhmm.” I nod, sinking down into the worn pleather chair. The green vinyl is cracking and old but really insanely comfortable.
“Are you going to tell me who it was, or are you doing this ridiculous make-me-guess game?” Valor pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Yes, I’ll tell you. Though you’d never guess who. Not in a million years.” I scoff, taunting him, but he doesn’t try to guess anyway. I give it another second of pause before letting the information out. “Leticia D’Medici called, and we had a lovely chat. She’s coming to your house for dinner. You’re to message her with a day that works for you and Antonella.”
Valor’s jaw drops. He closes it and shakes his head as he starts to shrug out of his peacoat. “How did you manage that?”
“She called Clark Enterprises and managed to find a way to talk to Margret, who patched her in with me.” I shrug, wishing it had been more exciting than it was.
“And she voluntarily wanted to come to dinner at my house?” He cocks his head to the side like I’m the one who is insane.
“Literally, that was almost the entire call.”Shit. Almost slipped.I don’t try to backpedal, hoping he misses it.
“And what was the rest of the entire call?” Valor leans forward, pressing me for more information.
Busted.
“We talked about how she used jargon to confuse Margret to getto me. I clarified that it had to be at your house and not a restaurant. And she insisted that it had to be with you and Antonella for dinner.”
“So you were flirting.” Valor rolls his eyes and leans back.
“Was not!” I scrunch up all my features. “I would never. She’s a fuckin’ rival family’s princess. She’s a significant bargaining chip at a table I’d never be invited to, and I’m the second son of the alpha. We’re not the same. And she’d never see me as worth flirting with.”
“Mmhmm.” Valor digs his phone out of his pocket. “What’s her number? I’ll set it up. But you were totally flirting. You’re probably just bad at it.”
“Are you done being mean to me, or do you have more?” I pull my phone out to give him Leticia’s number. I have it memorized, but I don’t need him to know that.
If he knows that, he’ll know I was up late doing some stalking with her cell phone number. Which is the fastest way for my brother to figure out that I have a new person to obsess over for a little while.
It happens. Valor’s wolf is built for the kill, and mine is built to stalk. It comes out in our everyday personalities. He’s scary, and people just know he’s a killer. I’m personable, and when the wolf and I latch on to someone, or something, it’s not easy to just let it go.
Valor takes the number and sends a text before answering me. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a dick. I’m... Don’t get married to a stranger. She’s so fuckin’ nice and agreeable all the time. It’s messing with my head. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”
“You realize you’re complaining because you like your wife, right?” I scratch my head for emphasis.
Valor scrubs his hands down his face. “I know. But I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some dark secret going on. Is it a trap?”
“Well, I mean, dinner with her cousin will probably open up some more information. Like if her cousin shows up with another D’Medici in tow, there’s reason for alarm...” I pause for effect. “Or maybe, you married a school teacher who is a genuinely good person.”
Valor doesn’t even acknowledge that last bit. I knew hewouldn’t. He’s so used to looking for something to go wrong that he won’t ever settle into the happiness of something going right.
