Page 111 of Precious Legacy

“If you’re still good with it,” I reply.

Varo shrugs, turning his attention back to Haldon and nudging his head. “What's security like?”

“Private,” Haldon answers automatically. Clearly, it’s not his first rodeo. His own apartment is like Fort Knox, complete with guards holding AK-47s that circle like vultures. It’s a little overboard for my taste, but you can’t fault his scrupulous caution.

When Varo gave me his blessing, he made me promise to pull out all the stops when it comes to his sister. There was no hesitation when I agreed because Lani means just as much to me as she does to her twin. It goes without saying that keeping her safe is all in our best interests.

“It has a separate garage and elevator for you. Key card entry and thumb print recognition for you both,andyou already have men stationed there. They’ll be on rotation, but you’ll both besafe,” Haldon says, rattling off the features to us. “Nobody is getting in or out without your say so.”

I glance at Varo, who seems more than satisfied with the security measures in place. I can’t blame him for being protective over his sister. After what happened last week, we’re all feeling like we could have done more to prevent it. Though Lani is as strong and stubborn as ever, I can tell she’s still shaken up about her attack, and who can blame her? Having someone who you should have been able to trust break into your apartment and try to kill you is bound to leave some scars. Add that to what happened five years ago and trauma is her new best friend.

“You’re sure you’re good with this?” I ask Varo. It’s not like we’re getting married, but his blessing means a lot to me. Varo is still my best friend, and even though my relationship with his sister has never been an issue before, I don’t want this change to affect our friendship.

“It’s your death wish,” he laughs. “You can still crash at mine if you’ve changed your mind.”

“Is this your way of saying you’re going to miss me?” I tease, relieved by how easy he’s making this for me.

He curls his fist and punches me in the shoulder, shaking his head. “I’m just saying, you’ll have your work cut out with Lani. She’s not the easiest to live with.”

“You forget, I’ve practically been living with her for the last month.”

“And how’s that going?” he chuckles.

Pulling out a cigarette, I light it up and take a long drag. “I’ve got no complaints,” I smirk. It kills him when I even insinuate divulging details—not that I’m going to—and it’s just entertaining to get under his skin when I know how much his sister means to him.

He slips into his Mercedes before flipping me off and speeding away, leaving Haldon and I laughing at his expense. It’s almost too easy to wind Varo up, but that’s the great thing about our dynamic.

“So, when are you going to ask her?”

Spinning the keys around my finger, I chuckle at Haldon. He has no clue about the kind of relationship Alanis and I have. We might have all grown up together, but there are things about her that not even her brother knows. “You don’t ask Lani for shit, bro.”

He shakes his head in silence, turning and heading towards the Audi. “Let me know how that goes.”

“Where are we?” Alanis groans impatiently as we pull up to the private gate. It’s a large metal frame, deliberately placed on the other side of the building we’re heading into.

I swipe the key card through the reader and watch the gates peel back with a soft rattle. Like Haldon said, this entrance is for us, the additional security meaning it’s completely vacant when I drive through the underground garage. The main entrance is for the rest of the residents in the building, keeping us separate.

“Ro?”

The car rumbles to a halt as I park close to the elevator doors. “It’s a surprise,” I smirk.

Lani grumbles with irritation, folding her arms across her chest in her typical brand of defiance. “You know I hate surprises!”

“Yeah, but you’ll like this one. I promise.” Leaning over the center console, I thread my fingers in her hair, pulling her to my lips. As soon as we connect, she hums against my mouth, a sound I could listen to all night. Her tongue slides against mine as her hand cruises up the back of my neck.

She tilts her head, deepening the kiss, and I can’t get enough of the way she tastes and how she melts against me. It’s a kiss that’s enough to get me hard, but I have to stop myself before things get out of hand… because that’s inevitable when it comes to her. Breaking apart, I tap her nose with mine and smile. “Come on, let’s go.”

I push out of the car and wait for Lani to join me before heading towards the elevator. Pressing my thumb onto the scanner, we wait for the doors to slide open with a gentle ding. Exactly like Haldon promised, everything is set up for us.Everything.

“Fancy,” Lani mocks, shoving me by my back into the elevator in an act of challenge. “Now tell me where we’re going.”

I keep silent as I swipe the card again. There’s only two buttons inside; up and down—proof that Haldon really did have Lani’s safety at the forefront of his mind. Nobody can get to our level without the card or thumbprint, and you need both. It also has cameras, which I assume the men stationed here will have complete access to.

Since the attack, Lani has dove straight back into her training. I know she’s still worried about the backlash, but I pride myself on not making the same mistakes twice. Prescott is gone, and there’s no evidence he was ever at her apartment in the first place. Thanks to Gracie, all the surveillance footage in the area has been wiped clean. She even hacked into Prescott’s emails to send out an emergency vacation request. Nobody will ask questions until they realize he hasn’t returned, and by thenit’ll be too late. His body is nothing but pig food now and only The Five know about it.

The elevator slides upwards seamlessly, and in no time, the doors are pinging open again, exposing a large hallway. The lights automatically brighten as we step out. I have to say I’m impressed with what Haldon found. It’s undoubtedly expensive, but money is no object when it comes to my girl. My requests weren’t overreaching, but he’s definitely exceeded my expectations.

The decor is simple and clean, adorning freshly painted white walls. The floors are so pristine you could probably eat a three course meal on them, and modern light fixtures are set inside the ceiling. The hallway splits off in three directions—ahead of us is the kitchen, to the right is the living room, and behind us are the bedrooms.

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