Page 102 of Savage Empire

“The night before the orphanage event,” I surmise, annoyed that I didn’t realize Rayna spent several hours alone with Leon. Leaving with Elio and Yordan felt natural, I didn’t consider that my brother would stick around for so long after we went for a ride.

Respecting her boundaries is a fucking nuisance sometimes.I could know much more about her day to day if I checked in on her building’s security cameras daily. But no, I’ve decided to remain honest and allow her privacy.

Fuckingprivacy.

And yet, she still considers me an unlikeable asshole.

“Yeah.” Leon blinks. “It was…We…”

He can’t find the words. And there’s guilt, so much fucking guilt in his eyes. My stomach drops, discomfort hitting me like a ton of bricks.

“If you’re about to confess a fucking affair to me, I need more than water to drink,” I grind out, opening the drawer to my left. I pull out a bottle and two glasses, pouring two fingers of amber liquid for us each.

Leon welcomes the glass quickly, tossing back the thirty-year-old bourbon like it’s an acceptable beverage to guzzle down. At least it’s not myGin David. My hand clenches my drink tight, and I take a hefty swallow, savoring the burn in the back of my throat.

“We didn’t have an affair,” he says slowly. “Not really.”

“Notreally?” I press.

The snippy sort of jealousy Rayna demonstrated earlier is about to pale in comparison to the red hot anger boiling inside of me.

“There was a moment,” Leon continues. “We almost kissed. I mean like, millimeters away from almost kissing.”

I nearly stop breathing.

“But you didn’t?”

“Yordan walked in.” He looks down in shame. “I honestly don’t know if I would have snapped out of it if he didn’t.”

God, I love that kid.

“Okay.” I sigh, rolling my neck. “Is that what this is all about? An almost kiss?” I mean, I don’t fucking like it. But it didn’t technically happen. “There’s a church a few miles away if you feel the need to confess your almost-sins.”

“That’s the thing,” Leon hesitates. “I already confessed.”

My brows lift in surprise. “You told Cleo?”

He nods, clipped and short. “I couldn’t take it anymore, Apollo.”

“Take what? The guilt? It didn’t even happen?—”

“You don’t get it.” He sighs heavily. “I’m not explaining this well.”

“So, explain it.”

Leon runs a hand through his blonde locks, quietly groaning. “I didn’t almost kiss Rayna because I wantherspecifically.I like her, yes. Our friendship, it actually means a lot to me. And yeah, I’m not blind. She’s beautiful, but I’m not pining after her. It wasn’t about her, it was about me.”

“I’m sure she’d love to hear that,” I say dryly.

“It wasn’t aboutmefor her either,” he defends, huffing. “Rayna and I already talked. We’re fine. We didn’t almost kiss because we want each other. We almost kissed because we have one very crucial thing in common. We’re fucking lonely.”

I pause, taking in his serious tone. “Lonely?”

Leon laughs incredulously. “Yeah, Apollo. Lonely. I’ve got two kids and a wife, and yet, I’m so fucking alone, I’m drowning in it.”

I don’t know what to say.

For the first time in years, I think I’m stunned speechless. The idea of Leon being lonely isn’t entirely unbelievable. We all know that he’s in a loveless marriage. But the conviction in theway he speaks about it, fuck, it almost hurtsme. I can feel the pain he’s radiating and it’s hard to swallow.