Page 35 of Precious Legacy

“Look,” Milo pushes off his seat to round the couch. “Don’t shoot the messenger. The Federovs want to see you tonight, and I’d suggest you take the meeting.”

His eyes never leave Alvaro’s, which concerns me a little, because I can’t figure out that look in his own. I’ve alwaysmanaged to be observant, like my father. I’m good at picking up cues, like Alanis for example. I noticed how uncomfortable she was to be here, and I’ve made a note to address that with her at some point. I know it wasn’t just the idea of meeting me here,it was something else.

Milo’s gaze is laced with something mysterious. He’s not looking at my best friend with disgust or irritation. If anything, he gets off on winding Varo up, which only cements my suspicions.These guys wanna fuck.

“Where?” Alvaro asks aggressively. Even though his hands are in his pockets, I can see how hard he clenches his fists. Kyrovsky irritates him to no end, but what I don’t think he realizes is how obvious his distaste for the Russian compares to his attraction to him. You can practically cut the tension with a chainsaw. It’sthatthick.

“The docks,” Milo answers.

“Time?” Haldon chimes in.

“Midnight.”

“Alone?” I raise a brow.

“Three and three,” he says, referring to us and the Federov brothers that will be accompanying Milo. While we’re more than capable and equipped to handle these kinds of situations, we all know how trustworthy the Russians are.

“Done,” Haldon answers for us all.

“Good,” Milo nods in affirmation before turning on his heel and heading to the door. “Oh, and Bonanno?” He spins around, hand on the knob with his lips spread wide. “Stop frowning before you wrinkle that gorgeous face.”

His cocky words leave us all gaping. Milo isn’t at all embarrassed about embracing his sexuality by the sound of things. Or, he’s just doing it to piss Varo off more. Either way, silence envelops us as he leaves. It doesn’t last long, though.

Haldon is the first crack up, pushing away from his desk to clap Alvaro on the shoulder while he laughs. “Why don’t you just get on your knees already and suck his cock?”

“Fuck off!” Varo barks back, shrugging out of Haldon’s grasp. A small blush forms on his cheeks, so similar to his twin’s that it’s uncanny.

I stifle my own laugh, covering my mouth with my fist. Haldon is right, though. After our first encounter with him last week, Milo is definitely pushing Alvaro’s buttons. It’d be a lot funnier if he wasn’t the enemy. But beggars can’t be choosers, and this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of emotion from Varo. Sure, he’s got a temper like his dad—don’t we all—but Varo doesn’t date. He doesn’t entertain any kind of attention from anyone, too focused on keeping his father’s legacy in perfect condition. It’s pretty refreshing to see the guy who’s usually so uptight have his feathers ruffled for once.

“Alright,” I groan, stretching out my legs and eager to change the subject. “What’s the plan here? The Russians aren’t going to play nice.”

Alvaro slumps down on the seat opposite me, kicking his feet up on the coffee table between us. “If we give them the docks, we can’t monitor shit. All sorts could be coming in and we’d have no control.”

“So we negotiate, introduce sanctions or taxes or something,” Haldon suggests.

Scrubbing my hand across my chin, I consider the options. “Taxes could work. We need to know what they’re bringing in though. In Cali, there were rumors of the Russians bringing in women to sell them off.”

As I look between my best friends, I know the same thought flashes through all our minds. We might conduct illegal businesses, but there’s a line to what we’ll entangle ourselves with, and none of us are comfortable with human trafficking.

“You think that could be why they want extended rights?” Haldon inquires.

I shrug. “It’s a possibility.”

Varo looks uneasy. Since the docks are his domain, the decision is really up to him. We run New York City like our fathers did. We each have our own areas of expertise, responsibilities and territories, but ultimately, we help one another. We can advise each other, but the decision on what happens in our individual territories is up to us.

“Let’s see what they have to say,” Varo suggests.

“Sure,” I agree.

“As long as you can think straight,” Haldon laughs.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Varo scowls.

“It means, bro…” I lean forward and look him dead in the eye. “Stop eye fucking Milo Kyrovsky.”

“Fuck you both!”

Haldon and I burst into laughter. I’d forgotten how much I’ve missed these moments. Five years has changed so much, but some things haven’t changed at all.

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