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I had no idea who that was.
"My husband."
"Oh, right. I had heard you gotten hitched."
"You're a little out of the loop, Alejandro," Joe stated as he shook my hand. "We're all old married men now."
I inhaled a slow breath and slid into the booth next to Jake. "Well, I guess I'll be joining you in a couple of weeks."
Joe's eyes rounded and he shot Jake a quick glance. "You're getting married?"
"Looks that way," I replied.
"You don't sound excited about it," Lucas pointed out. "Is it a woman?"
"No, but that might be better."
"How so?"
"Ever heard of Delancy Matisse?"
Lucas's jaw dropped. "I've done business with the Matisse family, so which one are we talking about? I'd assume the youngest because he's the only one not already married, and if it's him, you are in for a world of chaos. He even makes my Kyue look like a lamb, and if you had ever met my husband, you would know that is saying a lot."
"The youngest Delancy," I said. "We are to be married in two weeks."
"Damn, man." Lucas rubbed his hands over his face before dropping them to the tabletop. "I don't envy you."
"Wait, wait, wait," Miles said. "How did you even meet this guy? I thought you weren't allowed back in the U.S. after that fiasco at the frat house."
"I've not actually met him. It's an arranged marriage set up by my grandfather, which is why I am back."
"Alejandro's grandfather agreed to give him Brooklyn if he married Delancy," Jake pointed out. "And that is why we are all meeting here."
"I'm lost," Miles stated. "What does one thing have to do with the other?"
I chuckled ruefully. "That's the big question."
Miles frowned at me. "Huh?"
"I'm not sure if my grandfather is just trying to fulfill a promise he made to an old war buddy or if he is trying to set me up so he can kill me and not have it come back on him, but this all seems a little too suspicious to me."
"As I told Alejandro," Jake started, "I'm not usually a betting man, but if I was, I would bet that his grandfather is either waiting for him to divorce Delancy or get outted by one of the news outlets. Either way, he keeps his promise to his old friend, gets Brooklyn back, and Alejandro is out."
"Which is why I think I am being set up. Why would my grandfather promise me Brooklyn if I agreed to stay married to this guy when he is a media nightmare unless he wants me to fail?"
"So, how can we help?" Joe asked, which is why I loved these guys so much. Even after a decade, they had my back.
"Juan Martinez is the man in charge of Brooklyn at the moment. My grandfather told me that he is retiring and going back to Columbia once I take over. We don't have any concrete evidence, but we don't think that is what is happening. We think he is either going on vacation until I fuck up or he doesn't plan to really leave. He's just waiting for me to be called back to Columbia so he can take over again."
"You think it's a foregone conclusion that you will fuck up?" Joe asked.
"Look who my grandfather arranged for me to marry," I said. "It's the perfect setup. He gets to fulfill his promise to an old friend and get me out of the picture at the same time. It's a win-win for him."
"We all know your grandfather has it out for you, so why the elaborate plan? Why not just take you out?"
"He can't," Hugo finally chimed in. "Even if he is illegitimate, Alejandro is still a blood heir. Díaz might be in charge in Columbia, but he still reports to Spain and they frown on taking out blood heirs without reason. Family is important to them. Díaz would need a good reason to kill Alejandro and he hasn't given him one."
A scowl slid across Joe's face. "So, he is setting you up then."
