“Little did I know I was living with the biggest Elite criminal in this city.”
I raise an eyebrow before I chuckle, shaking my head.
“This world tried to tear us apart as well, Swan.”
We now both gaze at one another with seriousness.
“But do you know what? We fought them all.”
I give a small nod, understanding her perfectly, admiring her words before I respond.
“I don’t think I could be what is expected of me Wren. I am not that kind of girl.”
She shakes her head once, a small smile on her lips before she raises an eyebrow in defiance.
“You’re not a girl though, are you?”
My brows pinch and she readjusts herself in her seat.
“You’re the lost Swan and Queen of the Bratva here in NYC.”
I lower my eyes with a sigh and face away.
“When I had to take the reins for Arlo, I didn’t know what I was doing either; I had to earn all that respect, but you—”
My gaze meets hers and she smiles softly.
“You were born a fucking Queen. You have all that power running naturally through your veins. Do you know how specialthat is? You could make all those Mafia families kneel at your feet in an instant.”
I search her eyes, taking in her steady words and she continues.
“We would love to work alongside you. Wouldn’t we Arlo?”
We both look at Arlo and he raises an eyebrow at his wife before giving a small nod. He smirks at her before glancing away, shaking his head with his whiskey glass at his lips because of her eagerness. I take her words into consideration, and as I sit in silence, I feel I need to address Arlo before leaving again and when I lean forward, his eyes flash to mine as if he senses me about to talk to him.
“Arlo, I never got to thank you for—”
He calmly raises his tattooed hand, shaking his head once, as if what he did for me was the most natural thing in the world to him, and maybe it is, so I nod in response, offering a small smile.
After eating some food and having conversations at my table, it is becoming nightfall outside, and I shift my attention to Cody beside me. My leg taps impatiently beneath the table and irritation builds within me.
When his eyes finally meet mine, sensing my intense gaze, he smirks and places his hand on my shoulder, nodding subtly.
“Go for it, big man. Good luck.”
We shake hands in mutual understanding before I push my chair back and rise to my feet, heading in her direction. As Iapproach, my focus is entirely on her, observing her engaged in conversation with Arlo's wife. Arlo's gaze meets mine as I come to a stop behind Charley, and I sense her body tense, as if she detects my presence looming over her.
She casts a sidelong glance to confirm it, the atmosphere around the table growing quiet as she takes a sizable gulp of her red wine. I extend my hand, offering it to her, but she chooses to ignore it, turning her face away. My jaw tightens, and my eyes flicker to Arlo's, where he raises an eyebrow in silent observation of her disobedience. I calmly place one of my palms on the table beside her, leaning down to look at her side-profile, her strong perfume engulfs me.
“Get the fuck up before I get you the fuck up and we don’t want to ruin how pretty you look now, do we?”
I notice her irritation in the subtle grinding of her teeth, caused by my hostile tone and I find myself losing patience, unwilling to tolerate her continued bullshit after all these months. I stand straight, snatching her upper arm and force her to stand.
As I drag her away from everyone, all eyes are on us, and she struggles to keep up with my long strides. I continue to pull her until we are outside of the venue, the warm summer evening rippling over my already hot skin, and I can hear her stumbling over the rocking gravel in her heels.
“Reign!”
Her voice is raised with urgency and a tinge of agitation, but when we are behind some luxurious cars at the back of the parking lot, she forcefully tears her arm from my grasp. As soon as I turn to face her, I notice she has a scowl on her face.
