“Who isthey?” Kade asks him. He, too, is getting frustrated by Santiago.
It’s a good question, because I want the names of the fucking idiots who thought harboring criminals was a good idea. Myblood pressure is rising like the tide on a full moon at how my wife was sleeping in the same complex where fucking criminals were.
“A privately funded company,” Santiago answers Kade, then turns to me, his eyes locking on mine, and they’re so full of challenge, they appear neon. “Let’s not waste time on what was, Aleksei. I am just as incensed as you are, but sometimes those setups work. And you’re holding our proof of their success. Would I let Quinn walk into that building now? No chance in hell. Did it keep her safe when she was alone? Yes, it did. Am I happy with the setup, knowing Victor is hiding in their building, thinking we can’t touch him? Not fucking at all, but at least we know where he is.”
My wife’s hand presses against my chest. Her fingers sit on that very spot where I house her in the deepest part of me. And though it’s soul-soothing, it’s also confirmation to how vulnerable a position she was in. To an Alpha, that realization is like being kicked in the knot repeatedly.
She presses harder, wanting my focus. “I purchased the apartment because of the security measures in place. They do have very strict rules and regulations for all the residents to abide by. It also is a great investment. There’s a waiting list for people wanting an apartment there.”
She uncurls herself and sits up, my body feeling the loss immediately. I’m completelyodurmanennyyby her. Strangely, as disarming as it is to be utterly and constantly dazed by one living, stunningly gorgeous and divinely smelling Omega, I wouldn’t swap this stress for anything.
“Fine, then, we buy the entire building, take over the management rights. I get the premonition…”
“Premise,” she corrects softly.
“I get the premise of what they are doing, but I won’t allow people like Victor to use it how they are.”
“So, you’re going to police the criminals?” She laughs. Her humor reaches her eyes, and it’s energizing. It’s confirmation she is alive and well, and now she is with us, she won’t find herself being played like that again.
“Maybe,” I tease, leaning down to take her smart mouth.
I could lose days kissing my wife. A sudden shake of the plane as we hit a patch of turbulence is just that, but my brain reads it as confirmation that we should, in fact, buy the building and do just what I said only seconds ago.
“How good an investment is it, wife?”
“Very. According to the agent who sold me the property.”
I look at Santiago, and this time I’m the one staring at him in challenge. I add more of my designation, making it one of those situations where he can’t brush this away with his indecisiveness.
He knows where I’m going with it too. Still, I vocalize for the rest of our pack. “It’s a good idea, Santiago, and you know it. I won’t even get offended if you don’t spell it out for your besties. I will be happy to keep my anonymity."
Kade shakes his head. “Aleksei, no shit, sometimes I have no clue what you are trying to say.”
Santiago doesn’t blink as he holds my stare. And, yes, in this instance, it is a fight to the death. He can either concede, and forever he will be under me in terms of status and dominance in our pack, or he can admit it’s a fantastic idea, and I will respect him, occasionally share the mantle of Pack Alpha, and maybe even let the hyphenated-pack-name thing happen.
It takes a while for us to resolve the issue while Kade and Quinn talk around us, but eventually, he tips his head to the side, a small smile lifting his lips and deepening the color of his eyes.
“It might stop him from killing you.”
“Or you will join me on his list of people he needs to kill in his vengeance."
He nods his head, agreeing. “I’ll call them now.”
“You do that. Put it on speaker for us all to hear.”
“That’s not how it goes.” He twists around, his finger pointing in my direction. “And you will need to accept that. We don’t drag our pack into Trinity business without full agreement of all Trinity members being aware first. To be honest, it’s never going to happen. The fewer people who know the finer details, the better. No offense, bebe.”
Quinn waves off the suggestion. Later, we can go through the machinations of how this will work. But as black and white as I am, I’m also not into secrets of any kind, not after having to live behind smoke and mirrors for so long. She will know everything, because she is everything.
I clap for him finally getting his balls, though, before lifting my wife off my lap. “Fine, then. Kade, hold my wife. I’m going to listen while Santiago floats my idea of being a silent member in the Trinity Alliance.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
SANTIAGO
He stands so close, I can basically hear his heart rate. It’s slow and steady, unchanged despite what he’s asking.
“Give me some space,” I warn without moving an inch.
