“Inheritance and timing and a lot of scrimping.” His lips twisted. “I’ve long since come to believe that he was on the take with the Five Points and the Ra.”
“The Ra?”
“The IRA.”
“Holy fuck. Seriously?” My eyes widened when he nodded. “Why the hell are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re about to be family, aren’t you? Plus, he’s long gone. So’s Aidan Sr. Jr.’s not the type to blame me for what my father did, and if that changed, I could afford to cover what my da stole.” He tapped his nose. “That’s strictly between me and you. I haven’t told Cade my suspicions.”
“Why are you sharing them with menow?”
“Snakes in the grass are everywhere. Even your own family.” His jaw worked. “You’ll do right by her.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Of course.”
“She’s wading into shit she has no business being involved in.”
“That’s… unfortunate. But, and I mean this, I had nothing to do with it. Kitty came to theLobos Rojos’ attention when she befriended Beatriz Martinez. That’s not on me. The rest, sure. But they trust her because of Beatriz. Which makes no sense to me because I doubt she’s Beatriz’s favorite person anymore.”
“She always could sniff out trouble.” He heaved a sigh. “Somehow, despite your inauspicious beginnings, you have most of the family on your side.”
“Not Raisin. Or Cade.”
“Cade and I are duty bound to dislike you. Raisin has trust issues.”
I considered what I knew of her past that Lucasdidn’t.Couldn’t exactly blame her, could I? Not when she and Kitty had killed Neev’s teacher to protect their baby sister from her groomer.
“So, we’re okay?” I inquired before amending, “Well, as okay as two men can be when one of them is dating a younger sister?”
“Precisely.” Lucas tilted his beer at me.
I leaned over and clinked my bottle with his. “Look, I won’t beat around… I want to ask you for her hand in marriage.”
He squinted. “Figured that rock she wears told its own tale.”
“It started as protection and morphed into something else. I just never asked for it back.”
“So you haven’t popped the question?”
“No. I wanted to do it right.” I glanced down at the bottle in my hand. Then, much as I’d told her father, I continued, “We come from different waters but we’re both traditional as fuck. Only right that I ask you before I speak to her.”
“She wouldn’t appreciate it.”
“I know.”
He smirked. “So, I have dirt on you from the start. I like it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do I have your approval?”
“No.” When I gaped at him, his smirk became a bark of laughter. “I won’t ever approve of any dipshit Kitty or my sisters bring home,butI won’t stop you from asking her to marry you.”
“That’s a relief,” I mocked.
Soon found out that his beer was nonalcoholic, a fact I learned when he drove us both to the arena where I’d managed to score the family New York Stars tickets thanks to my in with Star. Everyone was going, including plus ones.
When Kitty saw us together as we walked toward the line, her brows lifted but she didn’t comment on it until we were taking our seats in the stands.
