17. Emilia
CHAPTER 17
We hadn’t stayed.
After Marco and Derek confirmed the house was clear, they’d taken me home. Ama hadn’t argued. Pedro’d said he would stay with her.
Alessio, on the other hand, had been pissed I wasn’t there when he’d finally arrived after midnight. I’d blamed my security team. They’d wanted me away from him and his family in case they were the target. My father had given them orders to keep me safe, and that meant eliminating risks.
He’d insisted his house and security systems were enough.
I’d reminded him of the laser that had not only been on his sister but me. We didn’t know who the mark was, and I didn’t feel like jeopardizing my life to be near him. Not right now. Not after he’d promised security would be tight. That it would be low-key. After reminding him of how his men had failed me again, and we were alive thanks to Derek, I’d told him I’d talk to him later.
That had been two days ago.
Ama updated me, letting me know Alessio’s men found the shooter. The threat was over.
It was a lie. I wasn’t sure if she knew that or not.
Alessio’s men were scrambling for any clues of who the gunman was and who sent them. We watched it all happen live from the security room.
“He’s only telling her that so she won’t worry,” Javi insisted. “He doesn’t want her freaking out or doubting his abilities.”
“She’s not one of his men. She’s his sister. She deserves the truth.” Cruz rocked back in his chair.
“None of us are arguing that.” Marco leaned against the wall next to me, offering me another chunk of his granola bar.
I chewed and nodded. “Alessio should tell her, but that means admitting he has no control over the situation.”
“You should encourage her to leave.” Cruz held my gaze.
“No,” Derek said before I could respond. “She knows more than she lets on.”
We all waited for him to continue.
“She called security on the way out of the theater. She knew exactly what to do and what to say. She might appear innocent, but I don’t think she is as far removed as we thought.”
I slouched in my chair. I had this suspicion too but had ignored it, or tried to.
“Do you think she was the intended target?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, I’m not even sure there was one. I think the shooter was trying to scare everyone. He had plenty of time to aim, but the dot was all over the place. It went from you to the wall to Pedro and Ama and another wall. It was either a rookie, which I doubt, or they were using the laser to get our attention and scare us.”
“They did that,” I admitted.
They’d emptied the theater in minutes, without harming anyone. The only injuries of the night were sprained ankles from tripping or missing a stair.
“I’m more inclined to believe it was a threat to Dias. Shooting anyone in his box would have hurt and angered him,” Marco explained. “Not being able to find the shooter is also embarrassing for him. It proves he has holes in his security, vulnerabilities that leave him and his family open.”
“Another chink in his armor,” Javi agreed. “Especially since it took us less than an hour to figure it out.”
“With only two people.” Cruz chuckled.
“So humble,” I teased. “If only we figured it out before I was shot at.”
“Again,” Derek muttered.
“One of the beta teams did a sweep. There wasn’t anything in place,” Javi repeated the explanation I already knew.
We hadn’t been anticipating another attack, but it happened. Frankly, I was sick of it. Things were escalating, and being stuck in the middle unarmed and in human form wasn’t working anymore.
Our teams needed to step up. Sure, we’d figured it out first, but we were still too late. Not that it had been difficult. He’d recently pissed off two men. Michael, head of the gang, was sending a reminder that he hadn’t forgotten. He was trying to let Alessio know that he could always get to him. Unfortunately, that message was lost in translation, because Alessio was still scrambling for answers.
His men were too preoccupied with the shitstorm he’d turned his business into to investigate a failed attack.
Between the confusing change in territory, face-offs, delays, and the daily delivery mistakes, they were more focused on holding things together than responding to their boss’s demand for answers.
Playing into the vendettas was less profitable than doing their jobs. His top men decided to keep working while feeding Alessio lies about teams working to find out who wanted him dead this week.
“I think we need to take the night off,” Javi said as he closed his laptop and pushed away from the desk.
“Can we?” I eyed him.
“I’m the boss, and I say yes.” He grinned.
Cruz narrowed his eyes. “Rod is the boss.”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure Em is,” Marco argued, and I pointed at him.
“Yes, he’s right.”
Javi chuckled. “You do pretty much tell us when to jump.”
“And how high.” Derek yawned. “How about a night in?”
“That’s every night,” I reminded him.
“No, we are here every night, but in here.” He waved his hands in front of him. “Still working.”
Fair enough. If I wasn’t out with Alessio, I was usually with them going through reports from the other teams. We hadn’t had a night off, all at the same time, ever.
“Order in?” I wasn’t going on the stupid boat just to pick up food.
“Yes,” Marco answered before anyone else. “We’ll get something sent here and relax.”
“Can we build a fort?” Cruz’s smile was so wide I couldn’t tell if he was joking.
“Are you going to clean it up?” Javi asked.
Was he serious?
Cruz turned to Derek, who sighed and nodded.
“Yes!” Cruz jumped up and hurried out of the room. “Collect the blankets!”
“He’s really doing this?” I asked Javi and Marco after Derek followed him out.
Marco chuckled. “Yes, it’s one of his favorite things in the world. We try to keep it to once or twice a year so it stays special.”
“It was one of the simple joys we had growing up,” Javi explained.“After we got adopted, we all shared one room, and he convinced us to put our beds on the ground and build a fort the first night. The next morning, we got into trouble and had to take it down, but it was worth it.”
That was actually sweet. He held on to something that bonded them. How could I tease him now?
“Just no pizza, okay?” I swear they could eat it for every meal. While I understood the convenience, I was maxed out.
“Chinese?” Marco offered, and I nodded.
“That sounds great.”
In the living room, Derek was already positioning the barstools while Cruz held up a fitted sheet.
“We need to set up the perimeter. Then we can layer.” He slipped one corner over a stool and moved to the side of the couch.
The stool began to topple, so I hurried over and held it in place.
Cruz grinned. “Thanks. I’ll have to find something to hold it down.”
“We have plenty of weights in the training room.”
He clapped once. “Perfect! Stay there.”
He jogged past me and disappeared down the hall.
Derek popped up behind the back of the couch. “One day, when we have our own home, we’re going to have to buy sheets that fit his ideal fort. Then we can set it up in seconds.”
“You already have a house,” Em said.
He shook his head. “It’s not ours. It’s the Pack’s.”
“One day, I won’t live with my parents, either.”
He grinned. “I said our home. That included you.”
I ducked my head as if that would stop him from seeing my smile. I loved and hated when they said things like that. Did they really believe in a future where we could all be together? It sounded more like a fantasy to me.
Maybe it was the fact we were already acting like kids, but I let myself buy in. “A second living room, one meant for moving things around and building a fort big enough for us all to sleep in comfortably.”
“Why not just one room?” he asked.
“So we don’t have to take it down. A room for watching movies or talking and another for the fort.”
“We’ll call it the fort room then. Reduce confusion,” he said very seriously.
“I don’t want a TV in it though.”
“No?” He cocked his head.
“No. A proper fort should have a projector.”
He nodded slowly. “You’re an expert?”
“Absolutely not, but that feels right. Like it should go onto a sheet or the wall instead of a screen.”
“Huh.” He pursed his lips. “I think you’re right.”
“I usually am.”
He rolled his eyes, and Cruz came back with his arm full of various weights. He sat a twenty-pound plate onto the stool I was holding and waved me back. It stayed in place.
“Perfect.” He moved to the couch and laid a dumbbell over the next corner.
“Em has some ideas for a fort room.”
Cruz perked up. “Yeah?”
“In our next home, she wants a projector.” Derek moved to help him with the next sheet.
“What else?”
I shrugged. “A popcorn machine?”
“Yes!” Cruz cheered. “Keep going.”
“A mini freezer just for ice cream.”
Derek laughed. “A fridge for drinks.”
“Obviously,” I agreed. “Probably some sort of gaming system.”
Cruz paused. “Am I speaking to a fellow fort expert?”
“The opposite, actually.”
“A novice?” he guessed.
Derek gasped with his hand over his mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re a virgin!”
Of course. he basically screamed that, getting Marco and Javi to come out of the office.
“Did you just call her a virgin?” Marco smirked. “I’m pretty sure no virgin can take both me and my––”
“Marco!” I screamed.
“I mean, you were there.” He waggled his brows at Derek.
“She’s never built a fort,” Cruz clarified with a wide smile.
“Ah, that makes much more sense.” Marco eyed our creation. “And do you need an experience builder to show you?”
The corner of his lips tugged, but he had more restraint than the others.
“Are you saying these two aren’t?”
Derek threw up his hands and nearly flipped onto the couch when the sheet he was supposed to be holding dropped forward.
“Hey!” Cruz yelled and hurried over with another plate to hold the corner down.
“Obviously.” Marco kept his eyes on me.
I broke, laughing and waving my hand. “Well, show us the way, oh, wise one.”
“It’s cause he’s old.” Derek smirked. “Many, many more years of experience.”
“Three,” Marco shot back as he moved to the farthest corner we hadn’t built yet.
“All right, grandpa.” Cruz passed him a dumbbell to anchor the spot.
Marco moved in front of the TV. “Interesting choice. Insult the one who can have both of you on surveillance duty for the next thirty-six hours.”
Derek and Cruz shared a panicked look.
“You look great, though,” Derek quickly shot back.
“Your balls aren’t even that wrinkly.” Cruz nodded.
I groaned.
“What the fuck, man?” Derek grimaced.
Cruz shrugged. “What?”
“You check out my junk?” Marco’s brows furrowed.
“No, but I mean, I’ve seen you naked plenty,” Cruz replied, completely unbothered.
“You’re not supposed to look, man.” Derek shook his head.
Cruz narrowed his eyes. “It’s not like I’m staring, but if it’s all out, what am I going to do?”
“Not look,” Derek shouted.
“You’re telling me when you’re fucking Em and she’s got her mouth on him,” Cruz started and pointed at Marco, “you don’t watch?”
“Fuck no!” Derek cringed.
Javier walked out and eyed all of us. “You don’t?”
Derek spun. “I’m looking at her.”
Marco crossed his arms. “That’s a lie. You fucking watch. I’ve seen you.”
“But I’m watching her, not your balls.” He looked to each of them. “You guys are?”
Javi nudged Marco. “He’s making this weird.”
“Very weird.”
“How did this turn on me?” Derek lifted his arms. “Cruz was the one––”
“The more you deny it, the worse it seems,” Cruz interrupted.
Marco and Javi nodded.
“Fuck all of you.” Derek stormed into the kitchen as if the conversation couldn’t follow him.
“I mean, they really aren’t wrinkly,” I told Marco.
He burst out laughing. “Thanks, princess.”