Page 75 of Precious Legacy

“Who was he with, Lani?” I push, snatching the smoke from her hand and dousing it out in the glass of water beside the bed.

“Fuck,” she croaks, running a hand through her hair and tugging at the strands. “He was… he was with the Chief of Police.”

What. The. Fuck?

My heart feels like it’s simultaneously going into overdrive and stopping altogether. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I… uhhh… I messaged Vee, to tell him we needed to talk. I know it’s bad. I was going to tell you, but then Sav distracted me and I completely forgot. It wasn’t until you guys ambushed us tonight that I remembered.”

Either I’m being paranoid, or something isn’t adding up. My expression must betray my thoughts because Alanis shifts in bed, reaching for my hand.

“I swear, Ro. I was going to tell you and Vee.”

“But you haven’t?” I confirm.

She nods slowly, her lip tucking beneath her teeth in the way she does when she knows she fucked up—which is rare considering this is Alanis Bonanno. Her green eyes drop to her lap and I hate that she knows exactly what I’m thinking. I trust her, wholeheartedly.

So why do I feel like I can’t?

“I’m sorry, Ro.”

Shaking my head, I squeeze her hand and lean forward. “It’s fine,” I murmur, kissing her forehead.

She moves into my arms, straddling my waist as she tucks herself in against my chest. A calm settles over us, the lingering doubt pushed aside just for a moment so I can think about my next move.

First thing’s first, I reach for my phone and pull up Varo’s contact.

“What are you doing?” she mumbles against my chest.

“I need to speak to your brother.”

“Can’t it wait?” she groans, wiggling her body over mine. It’s a fucking distraction I don’t need, but I kind of want. I always manage to lose myself when it comes to her. I’m always finding a reason to be this close to her, yet a skeptical part of me isn’t searching for that proximity right now.

“No,” I say, rolling her onto her side. “I need to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Like what?” she frowns.

“Like fuck the enemy.”

TWENTY-NINE

When my brother said he would be coming by to see me, I expected it would be to tear me a new one for not telling him sooner about Milo. I wouldn’t blame him, either. After Roman’s reaction, I was just as worried that Milo was leaking information to the Chief about The Five. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Roman explained the weird tension between them, divulging his suspicions about Varo’s attraction to the Russian. He didn’t even need to convince me because Milo definitely has an edge to him that my twin would be attracted to.

Unfortunately, that’s not why Alvaro turns up at my apartment on Sunday morning with a grin as wide as the Cheshire Cat and mischief in his green-eyed gaze.

“Get dressed,” he barks at me as he fist-bumps Roman in greeting.

Looking down at my t-shirt and sleep shorts, I fold my arms. “I am dressed,” I snap.

Varo glares at me, looking me up and down, obviously not impressed with my attitude. “You think that’s appropriate for lunch with the parents?”

“What?” I gawk, almost choking on air. I glance at Roman, but he’s about two seconds from backing away from the inevitable fight me and my brother are about to get into. It’s been almost a month since I last spoke to my parents. I still get messages from Mom, begging me to come over, but the fear of reliving another painful conversation-turned-argument with my dad is overwhelming. His words still hurt and I worry there’s no way back from it.

When my brother repeats himself, I feel like I’m going to throw up. All the blood rushes to my head and the incessant pounding in my brain grows worse by the second.

“No!” I protest weakly, my voice shaking twice as much as my hands. “Dad, he…”

“Alanis,” Varo sighs, stepping towards me. “This is your olive branch. This is your opportunity to talk to dad and explain your side, and…” he slides a hand through his messy hair, “hopefully smooth things over.”

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