“It will,” he replies confidently. “The more you do it, the more natural it’ll feel.”
“We’ll see.”
“We shall. I’ll be right, and so smug about it.”
I smirk. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, brat.”
When the plates are clear and shoved to the middle, the light mood evaporates. We know what needs to be discussed.
Jules goes to leave, but Harley grabs his wrist. “Where are you going?”
He flushes and responds in a quiet voice. “I’m not part of the family, chérie. Just the help.”
Harley’s nostrils flare as he yanks Jules onto his lap and bands his arms around him, nuzzling his face into his neck. “Stop saying that. You’re not just thehelp.”
“Harley’s right,” I add. “You should stay, Jules. Several others here are not officially Buckinghams, but they’re staying all the same.”
He squirms on Harley’s lap, but my brother is holding him too firmly. He gives up and sighs. “I am not like the others. I’m not a…boyfriend or a husband.”
No. He’s not. But with how deeply Harley obviously cares for him? He may as well be. The reality is that all these men are here because someone loves them. Love in this world is dangerous.
A tool that can be used against you.
With how frequently Jules is featured in the photos both Neo and Ansel have found, they already know he can be used against Harley.
Which means he stays.
I go to say something further, but Neo speaks before I can. “Sit, Cheffy. We all want you here. Right, gang?”
A memory hits me of a meeting just like this, where the others argued that Neo should be allowed to stay.
“Neo’s a distraction. We don’t know if we can trust him.”
I cringe thinking of my words now. I wasn’t wrong—Neo is a distraction, but in the best possible way.
But I was wrong about being able to trust him. Turns out, there’s no one I trust more in this world. He’s able to see past the mask I put on, to the real me inside. He knows exactly what I need, and he makes sure I get it.
Affirmations ring out from all around the table. Jules ducks his head, hiding his smile. “Merci. Thank you.”
Harley releases him, only for Jules to immediately slide back into his own chair. He folds his hands on the table, keeping his gaze steadily fixed on them.
Just as Harley keeps his gaze fixed on Jules.
Before I can contemplate too long why the two of them don’t justfuck, Samson fills us in on the information they gathered from the perps last night. It ties in with the evidence Ansel handed us several months ago, leading us to believe it’s the truth.
“This is him.” Neo has been tapping at his laptop while Samson talks. He spins it so we can all see the screen. “Gordon Marino. Up and coming crypto millionaire with rumored connections to the Sicilian Mafia.”
My eyes flick to Dalton. “Who do we know there?”
He rubs a hand over his beard, barely covering his smirk. “I’m in touch with Dante.”
“By which he means, he regularly touches Dante,” Samson says, waggling his brows.
Jackson’s jaw goes tight, and his eyes lower.
If Dalton notices, he doesn’t comment on it, just fixes Samson with a flat look. “Don’t be so crude. If you must know, the Cavallaro family is opening up operations on the East Coast. He reached out as a matter of courtesy.”
Oblivious to the tension surrounding Jackson, Samson continues. “And then he fucked you.”
