Page 61 of Savage Empire

Rayna

What?

Elio

Never mind. Back to the topic at hand. Did Apollo not actually explain his actions? That’s pretty unlike him.

Ugh, I grimace.

Rayna

He used looking out for Yordan as an excuse. It’s fine though, we worked it out.

Rayna

For now.

Elio

Well, that’s good at least. The better you two get along, the easier things will be.

Elio

But you don’t have to let him get away with shit for the sake of keeping the peace. Feel free to keep calling him out on his shit. I, for one, find it very entertaining.

Rayna

I’m sure you do.

Elio

Either way, you let me know if you need something.

Rayna

Taking me under your wing like you did with S?

Elio

Maybe, R.

An unexpected hit of warmth washes over me, reading that letter from him.

Rayna

Fair play, E.

Chapter Eighteen

Rayna

I’ve made apple turnovers more times than I can count. They’re quick and easy to prepare, delicious, and pretty to look at. They’re also inexpensive, so the small pie-like treats became a staple in my baking repertoire many times throughout my years of experimenting in the kitchen.

But today is the first time making them with twenty million dollars in the bank. Twenty million dollars in a secure bank that only I can access. I feel like an insane person just thinking about it, because in no way, shape, or form does this feel like reality. Money hasn’t always been easy to come by for my brother and me, and certainly not money to this caliber.

Our father was decently well off, but most of his funds were kept for himself or tied up in shady business we weren’t to discuss. Federico had money too, but I was expected to treat it as if it were his and his alone. I’ve gotten good at stretching a dollar, so the knowledge that I would never need to do that again…it was enough to make me feel safe. Truly financially safe for the first time.

It also made me feel uncharacteristically grateful toward a man I still wasn’t sure I could ever really get along with. Apollo hasn’t gained my full trust and devotion by any means, but I couldn’t keep doubting him the same way now that he committed such an expensive and symbolic gesture.