Chapter 49 Royal
ROYAL
BUSTED
“Royal.” Dad’s voice drops off with a frustrated edge.
But I already know what it’s about. I’d been double-checking my work.
I hadn’t been watching the screens full-time, nonstop, but I had them up in the background.
I heard muffled shouting through my speakers and pulled up the feed in time to see Leticia being forced into the penthouse elevator.
The ride to the garage was silent, but before that, in the foyer, when Gregorio shouted, ‘We’re going to see your husband right fucking now,’ I knew it was me and not Steffano he was talking about.
Tears were in her eyes, one arm clasped to her chest, and her hair was much messier than her normal gently tousled look.
I tried to text Leticia, but her phone was completely offline. That was an hour and two minutes ago. With traffic, it’s not surprising it took a little longer to get here.
I climb the stairs two at a time and confront my parents. Dad is pinching the bridge of his nose, pacing, and Mom is looking out the window. She’s dressed up like they were planning on going somewhere this afternoon.
“Why is Don D’Medici coming up the driveway? Why did he yell at me that you’re in a secret marriage with his daughter? Why is he making demands for fifteen million dollars?”
“Well, that number is an insult to Leticia.” I scoff and think about how it barely makes a dent in one of the many offshore accounts I hold.
“Royal.” Mom sighs and looks at me with that mom look, the ‘You disappointed me, but I love you anyway’ one.
“They were marrying her off to someone terrible. I figured the roadblock would be in our best interest. You’ve been talking to Valor about what wars we’re choosing to back now that we have damn near close to a monopoly on weapons building and shipping.
” I start with my pre-prepared and well-practiced defense.
“Does she even know you did this? Are you actually in a relationship?” Dad lets go of his nose and purses his lips, likely holding back a litany of other questions.
“She probably knows by now. We’re friends.
And on paper, we’ve had an ironclad secret marriage.
” I shove my hands in my pockets. “It’s enough that even if they wanted to claim that she and Steffano are in a relationship to get a naturalized marriage, they’d be hard pressed to make that case for at least three years. ”
“Jesus Christ, son.” Dad goes back to trying to wear a hole in the floor. “And I thought Valor was reckless.”
“It’s fifteen million. I’ve got that sitting —”
“Not the point, Royal.” Mom draws a steady, calming breath.
“Even though the D’Medicis are being a little cold with us, we’re still working to build a relationship with them for business purposes outlined in the truce.
The D’Medicis may not know the arbiters are vampires, but we should take the threat of extermination quite seriously. ”
“If anything, he’s more bound to us now.” I shrug nonchalantly, but inside, hot lava is stewing around in my gut. It heats my body from the inside out. They don’t even care that she wouldn’t be safe with Steffano.
It’s because you haven’t told her she’s our mate. My wolf throws that out there, and it cools my anger.
The SUV pulls up into the driveway, and I spit it out. “It’s because she’s my mate.”
“You’re sure?” Mom looks at me, eyes wide. “I’ll be pissed as hell if she isn’t.”
“We don’t believe in divorce.” I use logic as an attempt to drive home my point. “I wouldn’t have married her if I wasn’t sure.”
“God damn it.” Dad scrubs his hand down his face before pushing back his gray hair off his forehead. “Alright, then we’ll do what it takes.”
What it takes resonates loudly with my soul.
My wolf finds ease in Dad’s agreement with what we want, what we need. Our mate is coming home.
Dad opens the front door, and Gregorio D’Medici, the man himself, storms into our home. Leticia, cowed, follows. She looks all wrong, subservient like this. Where is the brave woman who has been coming out of her shell?
She shouldn’t be cowering and afraid. Not here, not when I’m so close to her. Not where I can protect her.
Two D’Medici henchmen push their way through the door before Dad can close it.
“What, you’re not coming to collect your wife? The secret is out.” Gregorio practically sounds wolf with the rumble in his voice and sharp click of his teeth as he snaps the words out. He reaches behind Leticia and shoves her toward me.
I catch her, pulling her to my chest, and she whimpers.
I want to whisper to her, comfort her, and tell her we’re keeping her safe, but I don’t dare speak. Clutching her to my chest has to be enough reassurance.
Step one, acquire mate. My wolf starts formulating a plan and checking off the quickly growing to-do list. Step two, secure mate.
“Because you’ve been married since August and no one knew. You think we wouldn’t find out?” Gregorio screams.
I don’t take his bait. He wants me to backpedal, and I won’t. He doesn’t scare me. He’s a man and I’m a wolf.
We could just kill him. My wolf licks his chops.
But that’s not right. That’s not how we get rid of Gregorio. Too easy to plant evidence. We can make him go to prison. It’s the first time I’ve had to think about what to do about Gregorio in all this, aside from copious amounts of money to pay him off. Not a bad plan.
“That’s enough,” Mom snaps with a very demure huff. She’s the worst at keeping her wolf in check when angry, but that sounded more suburban housewife than I’ve ever heard her.
I slowly release Leticia. She stands up a little more firmly and steps beside me. But she doesn’t look at me, her eyes trained on the floor. She doesn’t give me any sign that she’s happy to be saved.
Oh, our mate is mad. My wolf crouches inside me, wanting me to appease her but not knowing how. We know a lot about her, but nothing that can solve this.
“You have no idea how much this lover’s tryst has cost me. The fact that he defiled my daughter, marrying her before the truce. It should be grounds for a call to the arbiters.” Gregorio gestures between her and me.
Leticia finally looks at me out of the corner of her eye. I haven’t learned every single one of her looks and the silent messages she tries to give, but I’m confident that look is trying to tell me there’s no way in hell her dad knows about what we did in my bedroom before Christmas.
“I didn’t defile your daughter,” I say firmly. Defiling would mean I believe having sex makes her less than. And thus not a lie.
Her dad huffs. “Steffano suspects she’s not a virgin. He’ll never want her now. He’ll go back on my deal.”
“So, she’s technically not your property?” Dad homes in on that fact, already calculating.
Not property, my wolf snaps, but I suppress him. Now’s not the time to split hairs over words like that.
“We’re in charge of her care until Steffano arrives.” Her father is beet red in the face and tries to square up to Dad.
Dad looks to Leticia. I try to see what he sees, but my eyes get caught on the bruises forming on her arm.
Then the red mark on her face. Rage seers through me, and I want to pull her to me and look her over more thoroughly.
I want to catalog her injuries and then cut the body parts off Gregorio that he hurt on Leticia so he might have an inkling of the pain I’m in.
“It seems she’s already banged and bruised up quite a bit. I can’t in good faith say you’re caring for her well.” Dad leverages. “I think it’s in our best interest that she remains here and we deal with Steffano directly.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Gregorio postures.
The front door opens, and Gregorio’s goons raise their weapons.
Valor joins our standoff, eyebrow cocked in surprise, but he doesn’t move for his weapon.
“Do you plan on letting Berto come in, or is he supposed to stand out in the cold and keep guard?” Valor huffs with a laugh, clearly unaware of what he’s walking into. “It’s below zero. Even I’m cold out there.”
No one says anything, and Valor looks back over his shoulder. “Berto, quit being a dumbass and get in here.”
A few seconds later, Berto trips coming in the door behind Valor.
“As I was saying.” Dad takes control of the conversation. “Leticia is married to my son. She’s part of a deal you struck with Steffano, and he left her in your care. That care is arguably not sufficient. She’ll remain here with us until Steffano can be reached for a better negotiation.”
“So your son can defile her more? I think not.” Gregorio turns to Berto. “Get your sister in the car.”
Berto stands frozen in place.
Surely he didn’t actually freeze to death. My wolf scents the air.
It takes a good thirty seconds before Berto shakes his head. “This is between the Cavanaghs and Steffano. You shouldn’t have brought her here to start with, but they have more claim on her than we do. If we called the arbiters, what would they tell us?”
“To quit squabbling since we’re in a truce and deal with it like adults,” Valor deadpans, walking over to the coatrack to hang his coat. “I for one don’t want to give them any opportunity to say either side is not withstanding the truce.”
“They were married before the truce.” Gregorio brings up that detail again.
Such a smart idea. My wolf praises me for it.
“So you really had no right to marry Leticia off to begin with, then.” Berto glares at his father. “I told you it was a bad idea to marry her to Steffano.”
Whose side is he on? I raise my eyebrows at Valor, who shrugs.
Gregorio makes a big deal out of reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. It’s afternoon, making it nearly nine o’clock in Italy, but it doesn’t seem to bother Gregorio as he announces, “I’ll just call Steffano now.”
“Great idea.” Mom sighs. She gently touches Leticia’s shoulder as she turns. “I’m going to make coffee. Join me?”