Page 176 of Savage Don

2 months later…

The diamond ring sits heavy in my pocket as I step into the king’s office.

I’ve never been so ready to abandon my work and race home in all of my life. Hell, I almost didn’t answer Aiden’s call.

What I have planned for tonight has been in the making for too long to mess up now. For months, I’ve been waiting on this stupid ring. Maybe I just made the requirement too specific, but everything needed to be perfect.

I paid a small fortune to make sure that my love for Francesca would forever be enshrined in the most precious jewels on earth, but I have a bad feeling that my patience is about to bite me in the ass.

Aiden is a family man, too. He knows that you don’t call someone into the office this late unless the matter is urgent.

Something tells me I won’t be able to propose to the girl of my dreams tonight. She deserves this ring so badly that it hurts to think I might have to wait even one more day to make her mine forever.

Not that I haven’t already claimed her a thousand times over.

“Ray,” Aiden nods, as I shut the office door behind me. “Thanks for coming tonight. I know it’s late.”

“Is something wrong?” I ask, immediately cutting to the point.

“No,” Aiden says, shaking his head. “I bear good news, even if it might be a little bittersweet for you to hear right now.”

Bittersweet.

That word makes my heart jump.

In this line of work, bittersweet hardly ever comes without death and violence.

“Is everyone alright?” I ask.

“Better than alright,” Aiden assures me. “Everyone is thriving. The empire is growing. And our political ties are strengthening. Hell, I’m thinking about finally making that run for mayor.”

Going legit like that isn’t something I’d ever do, but I know it’s been on Aiden’s mind for a long time now. If he won, we’d become even more unstoppable than we already are.

“Where does it get bittersweet?” I ask, suspicious.

The big office feels so empty without the other bosses here. Usually, Aiden and I don’t meet unless it’s also with his brothers. The Barinov boys usually tag along, too.

But right now, it’s just the two of us.

“It’s the growing part,” Aiden shrugs. Stepping around his desk, he makes his way over to the bar that’s built into the far wall. “Thirsty?”

“I have to drive home.”

“We can get someone to do that for you. I wouldn’t want you to feel underwhelmed by what I’m about to tell you. Really, it should be a celebration.”

“Then why do I feel like I won’t be in a celebratory mood?”

Pouring himself a drink, Aiden sighs.

“Because you’ve worked so hard to get where you are,” he says, taking a sip of whiskey. “And you deserve to ride off into the sunset. In a way, you’re about to. But the work won’t stop. In fact, it might only get harder. And not like you’re used to…”

“Then how?”

Shit, maybe I could use a drink after all.

“Are you sure you don’t want a drink?” Aiden asks, reading my mind.

“Fine,” I give in. “Pour me some of that whiskey, old friend.”