Page 90 of Savage Empire

“I…” I swallow hard. “I believe you, Apollo. But can we not tell Yordan about this? At least for now?”

He looks down at me, eyes searching for the truth in my expression.

“Fine,” he says eventually. He moves to grab the door handle and I stop him, capturing his wrist.

“Apollo?”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t make me regret this.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rayna

“Matteo Moretti, you better not be sneaking that sweet seventeen-year-old boy a bottle of whiskey!”

“Ahhh, come on Jade. It’s his birthday.”

“Do you want his sister to castrate you?”

“Rayna?” Matteo waves a hand. “She couldn’t hurt me or my pretty face—let alone my more delicate bits. I’m far too charming.”

“I’ll show you how little charming means to me,” I say, menacingly rounding the hall corner. “Watch yourself, little Moretti. You’ll find I have no problem hurting thedelicate bitsof those who supply my baby brother with liquor he has no business drinking.”

The youngest Moretti son doesn’t flinch. He greets me with a teasing grin instead. “Are you always so beautiful or is it just when you’re this threatening?”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” I warn.

Yordan pouts. “Come on, Rayna, it’s my birthday.”

“Yeah, Rayna,” Matteo parrots. “It’s hisbirthday.”

I take in a long breath, looking at the flicker of hope in Yordan’s eyes. He wants something normal, irresponsible and silly, but undeniably normal. Even his birthday party isn’t quite normal. It’s a small gathering of people at our apartment with food and refreshments.

Don’t get me wrong, this is what he asked for specifically. But, it’s still an apartment full of mafia members and the occasional baby. Not exactly a typical seventeen year olds birthday experience.

“Onedrink,” I tell him, voice firm. “And Apollo needs to approve anything else. Don’t let me see it, got it?”

“You’re the best,” Yordan exclaims, stepping forward to grab my face and plant a fast, dramatic kiss on my forehead.

“Don’t get used to it,” I warn.

“I would never,” he jokes.

“All right you two,” Jade says, lightly pushing Matteo. “Get out of here before she changes her mind.”

“What she said,” I agree with a chuckle.

Yordan doesn’t need to be told twice, skedaddling out of my sight within seconds.

“Smart sending him off to be Apollo’s responsibility,” Jade tells me, a small smirk playing on her lips. “I plan to do the same thing with Dmitri when Cesar gets older. I don’t know how to handle a boy who’s technically a man but will always be a baby in my eyes.”

The statement strikes me as entirely too relatable.

“It’s certainly complicated,” I admit quietly. “But maybe more so? Yordan isn’t my son and Apollo isn’t his father. I think we both have to try not to act too parental.”

“I don’t think Yordan would mind if you did,” Jade tells me sympathetically. “Older siblings are a lot like parents when you don’t have them. I’ve never had a mom. But my dad and Apollo make me feel like I don’t need one, you know? I bet Yordan feelssimilarly. He respects both of you, even when you’re telling him what to do.”