Page 99 of Savage Empire

“Is he here?” my brother asks, almost shyly.

“Of course he is.” I take his hand. “He beat me and Elio here.”

Which now that I think about it, sounds impossible. The Moretti mansion is at least ten minutes farther away from here than the apartment. This was the closest facility to the orphanage, not to the family’s base.

How fast did he drive here?My heart warms, thinking about it.

“Can I see him?” Yordan peers up at me hopefully. “Leon, too.”

“I’ll get them for you,” I say, even though the words hurt. I don’t want to leave his side, but I’ll give him whatever he needs. “Do you want a minute alone with them?”

He bites his lip. “If that’s okay?”

“Anything you need,” I whisper, pressing another kiss to his head before leaving the room.

When I find my way back to the small waiting room, things have changed. Leon has washed up and changed his shirt, no longer sitting in dried blood. He’s also holding Leo, his toddler tucked tightly into his father’s side. Cassio is nowhere to be found, and Apollo…Apollo is talking in a low tone with Ana, their faces inches apart.

I freeze, watching as Apollo holds her biceps in a gentle grip. Ana is returning his gaze with soft eyes, and I feel like I’m witnessing something that I shouldn’t. Something private and almost intimate. Something that makes no sense.Ana and Apollo?

I feel myself bristle, something akin to anger bubbling up.

“Rayna?” Leon asks, having noticed me.

At the sound of my name, Apollo breaks his contact with Ana, standing up stiffly. She doesn’t seem to mind, but a feeling that something waswrongbetween them still nags at me.

“Yordan wants to see you,” I tell Leon before flicking my eyes back to Apollo. “Both of you.”

Apollo doesn’t try to engage in further conversation, he gives me a clipped nod and strides right past me. Leon rises slowly, keeping Leo held close.

“Coming?” he asks.

“In a few minutes,” I reply roughly. “He wanted a word in private.”

Sympathy dances in his eyes. “Don’t wait too long, he’ll want to see you before the drugs make him too tired.”

I fully take Leon’s advice to heart, only sitting down in one of the waiting room chairs for seven minutes, according to my watch. I don’t try to talk to Ana, or to Cassio when he returns with a cup of tea for her. I don’t know what I witnessed between her and Apollo, but it has unsettled me to an unusual level.

I considered Ana a new friend, though I don’t know her well. But if she has something going on with Apollo, I don’t think that friendship will survive. Shaking off the thought, I head back to Yordan’s room.

I stick my head in the door hesitantly, unsure if he needed more time alone. Thankfully, I find him waving me in with a welcome grin. Leo is sitting on his bedside while the Moretti brothers stand on either side of them. They look strikingly like a family, and it makes my heart thump hard.

“Your-dan, boo boo,” Leo babbles, noticing me. He kisses his tiny little hand and places it softly on Yordan’s bandages. “All better.”

My chest warms, hands reaching up to clutch it.

Leo is absolutely adorable, and a welcome light on this dark day.

“My new doctor clocked in,” Yordan jokes, nodding down to the toddler. “I feel miraculously healed already.”

“I’ll bet,” I reply, smiling for the first time since arriving. “He must be an expert in his field with premium care like that.”

“Like father, like son,” Apollo says, nodding to his brother.

“Doc says I have to stay overnight for at least two days,” Yordan tells me with a disappointed huff. “I’m not sure why, like Leo said, I’m all better now.”

“All better,” Leo echoes, head bobbling with a nod.

My brother grins. “See.”