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As I went to put my phone down, it vibrated with a call. Waving the device at Dominic so he knew where I was going, I stepped through the French doors at the rear of the kitchen and onto the back porch.
Rain poured across the yard with a sudden storm, and I slipped into the corner where everything was quieter. I could’ve taken the call inside, but I didn’t want Mari to be concerned when we’d finally gotten her to breathe. “Paez.”
“I just got your list.”
He sounded…abrasive. I didn’t know Victor well enough to know what kind of mood he was in, so I kept my tone neutral. “Mari suggested I send you some things to make sure Aislynn is comfortable during her stay.”
“So, this came from her?”
“The list itself or the specifics?”
“The specifics.”
“No, those came from me.”
“How do you know so much about Aislynn?” he asked tightly. I probably would have assumed it was a casual question if Mari hadn’t told me all about how he’d looked at Ash during their little chat. Suddenly, the abrasiveness made sense. The whole conversation screamed jealousy. My phone beeped with a notification, and I debated checking it, but I figured a text from one of our men could wait. Mari needed this reassurance. Another followed right after, but I left that too.
“Greyson.” Victor’s voice pulled me back to the conversation.
“We grew up with Aislynn,” I finally said, curbing the shit-eating grin that tried to cross my lips.
“Is that so?” Again, he tried to sound relaxed when he was anything but, and I couldn’t help myself.
“It is. There was talk of an arranged marriage at one point, but Aislynn married Cameron instead.”
By now, I was taunting him, but it was too fun not to. It gave me an immense sort of pride to hear the way he ground his teeth as he asked, “Did that bother you?”
I could kind of understand why Dominic liked fucking with people so much.
“No,” I said sincerely. I could practically feel his frustration through the phone, so I decided to let him off the hook. We didn’t need him taking his frustrations out on Ash. “I’m married to Mari, and even if I weren’t, my soul’s always been hers. Aislynn was never even an option in my mind.”
“I see.” Victor blew out a breath. “Thank you for the list. I promise to make her as comfortable and safe as possible while she’s in my care.”
“Please do. Mari is protective of her friends, and I would hate to see what happens if anything goes wrong.”
His grunt made it clear he understood the implied threat.
The thought of letting it go was swiftly beaten out by my need to meddle. Fuck, Dominic really was rubbing off on me. Gross. “Whatever happens between you and Ash stays between the two of you, but when I tell you that woman deserves to be treated like a queen, I mean it. Listen to her always, and fight for her every chance you get.”
“I already said I’d treat her with the utmost care. Why are you telling me this?”
For so many reasons, none of which were my place to tell him. As a man loving a powerful, independent woman in a world that didn’t like them, I needed him to know that Aislynn wouldn’t be easy.
She was a mafia princess—and a damaged one at that. If he wasn’t ready for that, he’d better not start anything with her. She deserved better.
“I have no doubt, but what will you do when your desire to care for her contradicts what she says she wants for herself? Will you be there for her even when she says she doesn’t want you? Because she will. A man’s pride can only take so many hits before it falters. How long will yours hold out?”
Paez said nothing, though I wasn’t expecting him to. As long as he heard me, really heard me, that was what mattered. “Let us know when you need us.”
The beep of a dropped call came before I could respond. Slipping the phone into my pocket, I decided to take some time on the porch. The smell of rain and fresh beginnings seeped deep into my body, reinvigorating me. It’d been a long few days and an even longer few months. War was on the horizon, and I needed every bit of strength and fortitude I had to ride it out with Mari.
One day soon, Cash was going to die, and our family would finally be safe. I knew it.
We just had to hang in a little longer.
With one final breath of storm air, I slipped back into the kitchen, expecting Mari and finding…no one. Two shirts were on the floor, and I assumed Dominic had taken her upstairs to get her mind off things. My cock stirred as I contemplated joining them, only to die a painful death the second I heard Mari scream.
I snatched my gun from the holster on my waistband and ran for the stairs, grateful that I was still in bare feet so I didn’t slip on the slick floor.
