“She would be practical enough to admit that,” he agreed.
“But I don’t know how things would work out afterward. She still cares about what remains of the Cartel. She can’t go running things after he’s gone.”
He furrowed his brow. “Absolutely not.”
“And that’s part of what I’m deliberating over. If there is a vacuum of power in the Cartel and she’d want to assist. Or something.” I shook my head. “It’s not as easy as taking out one banker. This is another family that Gregori could have Yusef assume under their network, and that’s ultimately making it easier for them to compound and accumulate their power in the region.”
“Perhaps she could be an ambassador of some sort. She could assist in finding another leader for the Cartel—oneshewould trust to run it.”
That was the best conclusion I could agree with. Shortly after we finished lunch, I headed home. After the emotionally charged night I’d had with Carina where she was tender and taking care of me after my injuries, where my protectiveness and gratitude for her were heightened following the danger, and where we’dboth celebrated that we were alive and together, I was eager to see her again.
When I did, though, I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
She was aloof, citing that she was busy looking at maps of a route that she and Dean were thinking of testing out. Later, after she napped, she was irritable and cranky with me. I let her be, assuming she wanted some space as she considered how far this territory might extend under Yusef Antonov’s reach—something that I realized Elena must have filled her in on.
With how “off” she was acting, it didn’t cross my mind to tell her precisely what the man in Lev’s dungeon cells had told us.
Maybe that’s it.
Maybe she can tell that I’m withholding information from her.
Maybe she is angry and annoyed with how I’m shutting her out from the news about Arturo’s involvement.
Or could she be more stressed about how the other shoeisdropping now, like Adrik had termed it?
It was one thing to notice her mood shifting during the day, but as we neared the time to go to the main house for dinner with the others, I couldn’t shrug off this hunch that she was hiding something.
“I’m telling you, she’s acting weird,” I told Lev when we arrived at the mansion. Carina had immediately made an excuse to leave my side and go see Elena. While seeing the two women befriending each other was a good thing, evidence of them both warming up to having a sister here, I felt like Carina was just trying to avoid being by me.
“Did you tell her about what that runner said this morning?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet. Adrik and I are still deciding exactly what to do about Arturo.”
He nodded.
“What if she’s ill?” I asked, trying not to let my imagination get the best of me. “What if she hit her head when the car rolled? Or what if she’s infected with something somehow?”
He raised his brows, giving me an incredulous expression.
“I should call the doctor. I will. She can check her out and give her a clear bill of health. And if she needs medication, then we’ll expedite it.” I nodded once, satisfied with my preliminary speculations about how to solve the problem.
Lev chuckled lightly, shaking his head.
“What?” I scowled at him, not finding a single thing funny about this.
“Not to sound like a broken record or repeat myself…” He smiled. “But maybe you’re overthinking this. Again.”
“What the fuck do you mean?”
He smirked. “Perhaps there is a chance you’ve knocked her up.”
Instead of schooling him about how stereotypical his comment was, I stopped and considered it.
Wait a second.
She hadn’t ever turned me down. Since she’d come here and we’d entered this spell of unstoppable desire for each other,she’d never shown any indication that she wasn’t in the mood to have sex with me.
She was insatiable, much to my delight.
