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She smiled softly at me, then turned back to her mother. “Perfect.”

“Come early, would you?” Lorenzo said to her, his face returned to a hard expression. “You and I have some things to discuss.”

My hand tightened on Reyna’s before my brain could catch up and remind me that this was what she wanted. Whatwewanted.

“Alright,” Reyna said. “Mom, maybe you can give Adrian a tour of the house and gardens while Dad and I talk?”

Fucking hell, every word out of her mouth—especially those in defense of our relationship—made me want to kiss her. Made me want to do a whole lot more.

I was barely holding on to my control, stopping myself from dragging Reyna out of here and finally making her confess that there was a real attraction between us.

If one thing pushed me over the edge, I wouldn't be liable for my actions.

Her mother nodded, clearly excited by the prospect of a few uninterrupted moments with me, likely spent peppering me with questions that Reyna would gasp at if asked in front of her.

“Well,” Lorenzo said tersely, cutting off his wife’s glee. “We have rounds to make. Your brother and cousin are here, of course. Why don’t you introduce them to your boyfriend, huh?”

Good idea. Rationally, I had a gut feeling that her cousin, Renato, was a weak target when it came tobribery, likely willing to trade information for the promise of money and power.

Meeting my future brother-in-law was just a pleasant side effect.

“Sure thing, Dad,” Reyna said sweetly, giving her parents leave to head off into another conversation. Her mother leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek and smooth her hair, then followed her husband’s lead to exit.

They walked past me, close enough that Lorenzo stopped to speak just between us. His voice was a threatening murmur as he said, “If you so much as think about hurting her, I will end you. Don’t think for a second I don’t have the ability to.”

I appreciated the threat. Would even respect it under any other circumstance. I’d welcome the punishment, only deserving of the worst if I’d compromised Reyna’s kindness and grace.

Now, I was wondering if he issued the threat purely out of paternal protectiveness and a healthy dose of faith in his own power over the people of the Mediterranean, or if he knew he could end me with the weight of this conspiracy behind him.

But I wouldn’t get my answers tonight. Not with appearances to maintain and desire to squash.

Chapter 16

Reyna

“Do you need another drink after that?” Adrian said as my parents walked away from us.

I waspissed. My father’s anger and contempt was everything I’d signed up to elicit, but seeing it materialize,especiallydirected towards Adrian with such callousness, made me want to steal a bit of Adrian’s power and electrocute something with a sizable bolt of lightning.

“No,” I grumbled, but my hand reached out to grab a wine glass off a passing tray regardless. Adrian’s low laugh, more of a rumble of noise than anything, cut through my rage. “What did he say to you?”

Adrian’s hand fell from mine and moved to snake around my hip and settled on my lower back. “Do you really want to know?”

No. “Yes,” I said.

“He threatened to end me if I hurt you.”

I scoffed, my lips breaking on a disbelieving smile. “Of course, he did.”

“Heisyour father,” Adrian said. “I hoped he would threaten me.”

He had a point. “But now you’re worried that threat means he’s a part of this.” I left it unsaid whatthiswas. We both knew.

Adrian winced, like he was regretting bringing me into this in the first place. “Yes,” he said hesitantly.

I sighed deeply, the breath doing nothing to dispel the twisting anxiety in my chest. “It’s okay, you know. To suspect him.”

Adrian nodded, like he needed to remind himself of that fact. “It’s not if it hurts you.” And then, because we were both aware that people were staring and we needed to bring some levity into the conversation to dispel the hard lines of our mouths, he said, “Besides, can’t have me and my father-in-law at odds like that, can we?”