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“Who the fuck is Christian?” Dominic muttered. He’d plastered himself to my back the second Christian spoke, and I could feel the press of his gun against my ass. At least, I was pretty sure it was his gun.
“Querida. Listen to him. He’s trying to help.” From the living room, a man came toward us, hands up in surrender. I moved closer to Shara, but she shook her head. I’ve got this.
Okay, then.
“Helping doesn’t mean commanding, Adrien.”
“You’re right, amore, but Christian isn’t used to someone fighting him. He’ll get better, won’t you, hermano?” Adrien glared into the shadows of the room, and a low chuckle answered.
“Claro que sí.” Of course.
Smiling, Adrien turned back to Shara, stepping closer so he could coax her out of the doorway. “Now that’s settled, can you move away from the door, please, querida? Let us keep you safe.”
I’ll admit, I was distracted by the pet names. Hearing my brother’s fiancée called darling and love was beyond unexpected, but what came next was almost worse. Most people looked at Shara and saw a sweet, meek woman, but I knew she had a backbone of steel beneath her skin. She wouldn’t have lasted so long with Antoni otherwise. Needless to say, it was odd to watch her melt for this man I’d never met.
She let him take her hand and tow her to the other side of the room, waving us in once she was out of the way. Warily, I entered, though I never took my eye off the men I didn’t know.
My own men stayed close, no doubt with hands on their weapons. Well, all except Greyson, who stepped forward. “We need to clear the apartment.”
“It’s clear,” Adrien said.
“We’ll check for ourselves, thanks.”
The warmth with which he looked at Shara blinked out, and he frowned. Only when she tugged his hand—and attention—back to her did it return. “Let them do whatever they need.”
Adrien looked at her for another second before checking with the man still hiding in the shadows. When he got whatever confirmation he wanted, he nodded to us. “We’ll stay right here.”
He sat next to Shara and kept their hands together, fingers interlocked, while the other lay flat on his thigh. The position screamed I’m not a threat, and I didn’t believe it for one second.
Only when Dominic came back with a curt All clear did I finally ask, “Who are you?”
Rafael stepped up to make introductions. “Mari, this is my son Christian. Your cousin. Adrien is his second. Boys, this is Marianna Marcosa and her men, Dominic, Greyson, and Nate Marcosa.”
Nate, who had taken Dominic’s position at my back, preened at the name, and I made a note to ask if he wanted to take it permanently. It was something I’d already planned to do but hadn’t had the time to check with him about. With the final battle coming closer every day, we needed to take the wins we could, and if Nate wanted my name, I’d give it to him.
Christian stepped out of the shadows, and I twisted to keep him and Adrien in sight. He saw my adjustment and smirked just a little. “¿Qué tal, prima?”
How are things, cousin? I honestly didn’t know how to answer that anymore and only partially because I wasn’t sure if I liked him.
This day’s gone to hell in a handbasket, thanks for asking. That would be a greeting to remember.
“I wasn’t aware your son was in town,” I said carefully, making sure I didn’t reveal Two-Bit to Christian. We didn’t need the family drama.
Christian answered. “We’ve been keeping an eye on your girls. Good thing too, considering that cabrón nearly snatched them.”
I twisted just enough to look between him and Rafael, but I couldn’t see many similarities between them. Christian was a few inches taller than me, dark hair and deeply tanned skin, yet he had the strangest eyes. Almost colorless. The longer I looked, the more I realized they were similar to Two-Bit’s. I nearly said as much, but remembering what Rafael had said about his son’s opinion of his younger brother, I kept my mouth shut.
Then what he said registered.
“Did you say them?”
Footsteps padded from the hallway where I knew Shara’s spare room sat unused. Except it obviously had a new tenant. Aislynn’s face was drawn, arms wrapped around herself as a shadow deepened along her jaw. Someone had hit her. Rage flared through me as the light winked against her wedding ring.
If Cameron had hit her, he was going to die slowly and painfully. He’d be begging for me to end him before it was over.
A soft hand settled on my clenched ones, and Dominic’s whisper trailed over my neck. “It wasn’t him. We have eyes on him.”
Relief hit me straight in the solar plexus, only for dread to follow just behind. I’d come to talk to Shara because I wasn’t ready to see Ash yet. How was I going to explain that her husband was a liar and a traitor? How could I destroy her happiness when I was the one who pushed them together in the first place?
