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“Just go and talk to her if you wish. Talk to anybody. It’ll be your chance to use your carefully constructed story,” I state. “I need to continue my conversation with Ernesto.”
I need to speak with a lot more people than Ernesto. I need to figure out who my allies are. They all showed up to the gathering Sebastian organized, but did they come here willing to support him or just to test the waters?
“Fine,” Aurora says.
Before I can blink, she leans up, placing her manicured hand on my shoulder. My body turns rigid when she kisses my cheek, her lips searing. It completely catches me off guard.
“Don’t be so tense,” she says, her mouth moving close to my ear. “We’re putting on a show, remember?”
The sound of her voice has blood rushing downward, straight to my dick, which twitches in my pants. Fuck.
I pull away from her before she can notice the effect she has on me.
“Go,” I say gruffly. “And one more thing, tell Camila to meet me in the second-floor office in thirty minutes. We’ll have our meeting then. She’ll understand.”
She arches an eyebrow but doesn’t let her emotions show otherwise. She nods once and offers me a smile before walking away. I watch as she steps toward Camila. Once she’s gone, I beckon for Vlad to move forward. He and the other guards have been leaning against the walls in the room, silent, observing.
“Where did Sebastian go?” I question.
“We’re not sure, boss. He took off in his car. Danny tried to follow him, but that cazzo, Morris, stopped him.”
Morris is Sebastian’s senior guard. He’s the same one that tried to prevent Aurora and me from walking into the mansion earlier.
“Leave him. He’s probably off throwing a tantrum. He’ll return eventually,” I tell Vlad. “Let me know if there’s any problems. And make sure to keep an eye on Aurora.”
“I will, boss,” he says earnestly.
He returns to his position while I head back to Ernesto. Over the course of the next half hour, I speak to the majority of the men and women in the room. They all ply me with platitudes and fake apologies. They’re well aware that the balance of power is shifting and they’ll do anything to be on the right side.
The only thing that stops them from falling at my feet is the fact that I haven’t been crowned yet. Before I can take up my position as Don, the entire table has to agree. It’s annoyingly democratic. I already have Adrian’s support, and Marco will follow suit. As for Sebastian…he’s a cornered rat. I’ll have to strong arm him into agreeing to my propositions. Luckily for me, I know just the thing to force him into acquiescence.
Getting The Shadow to agree is a much bigger problem, considering I have no way of reaching him. He’ll have to make his decision on his own. If he thinks I’m worthy of the position, he’ll find a way to let us know. Like his name connotes, he’s always watching. We can’t see him, but he can see us.
It’s always irritated me, that anonymity that’s made him incredibly powerful in the outfit. If he agrees to me taking over as Don, then he’ll have no choice but to reveal himself to me. Only a few select people know what he even looks like. A part of me is worried Sebastian is one of those people. If he is, then he’s likely to sway him somehow and make him vote against me, which could pose a problem.
The Shadow’s the last piece of the puzzle. He’s also a chess piece I have no way of moving.
Camila’s a woman with more balls than most men in the outfit. Marco’s niece has lived with him all of her life, ever since her parents died in a tragic fire when she was little. Unlike her uncle who works best in the background, she’s always commanded attention. She’s thirty years old and carries an air of confidence with her everywhere, along with a sharp wit and a cunning mind. I respect that. I admire her intelligence and strength. Which is why I’m seated across from her, ready to hear her out.
“What do you want?” I question as soon as we’re seated.
She smiles. “You’re not a fan of beating around the bush, are you, Nicolas? Always straight to the point.”
“I find it helps to keep conversations shorter. Why waste time on meaningless things when we can cut straight to the heart of the matter? You asked for a meeting, and here I am, ready to listen.”
Instead of replying to me, she digresses. “How long have you known where Aurora and her sister were? The Don declared that anyone that went in search of them would end up dead.”
Yes, that particular threat is the reason Aurora was able to stay in Chicago, working as a big-shot interior designer instead of leaving entirely like her sister. I think she knew her father would keep everyone away, which is why she didn’t try very hard to hide. Then again, the woman has always been daring. She probably didn’t even care.
“Why do you care?” I ask Camila. “Just tell me what you want.”
Her eyes are focused solely on my face, although she doesn’t quite look me in the eye. Not a lot of people are brave enough to look me in the eye.
“Aurora fed me a story about how you found her again, and then you both fell in love,” she says instead. My jaw tightens. “You don’t really expect people to believe that, do you?”
“I don’t particularly give a fuck if they believe it or not. We’re getting married, end of story.”
She smirks. “You know, I always thought the two of you were meant to be together. I just didn’t think you’d end up together this way.”
