Page 65 of Legacy

Their loyalty only extended as far as the money that flowed in.

Including Ozias, they were all friends, confidants, and co-conspirators. Still, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw the other in front of a bullet if it meant they survived.

However, I did not doubt they had all cleared this gathering with Ozias.

My wife was their mutual enemy. And in this case, they would watch out for each other.

They’d behaved so far as it pertained to Avra. However, I expected it to last for only a little longer as they were three bottles into an award-winning bottling of Cabernet.

“Is your business seen to for the evening?” Pello asked.

I nodded as I strolled over to them. “For now. Keeping the Xenos world running isn’t something one puts away for an evening. I keep my eyes and ears on everything, day and night.”

I took my time reaching them and noticed Morisi and Pello exchange a look before gulping down the contents of their glasses. An attendant, without being asked, refilled the wine while another brought a platter of appetizers.

Morisi took a bite of some bread and then said, “You must have your hands full settling into married life.”

“It’s better than expected.” I took my seat and continued to watch the men.

“I’m sure you’re enjoying yourself,” Cristo joked,reaching for some olives. “Teaching that brat a lesson or two…”

Pello cut him off. “She’s got quite the mouth on her.”

“A mouth better stuffed with?—”

“Hey, now.” Cristo shoved Morisi’s shoulder playfully, mocking a stern reprimand. “That’s not right. The boy brought us here for dinner, not to hear you go on about his wife.”

I kept my face emotionless, but the fury bubbling up forced me to put the glass in my hand down before I cracked it.

They were playing a game, and I saw through it. They wouldn’t get a rise out of me, though. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

The enemy of my enemy was my friend. That person just happened to be my wife.

She hated Ozias and these bastards more than I ever could.

Tonight wasn’t about me.

I was here for Avra, I reminded myself, to set the scene to help her achieve her goals. And I would.

I tamped down the urge to beat the living shit out of Morisi, wring his neck, and piss on his corpse for even thinking about Avra like that.

It was my job to protect her, defend her.

And I fucking couldn’t do any of it at the moment.

This was about her plan, and I wouldn’t ruin it.

So, instead, I allowed my voice to go as cold as possibleand take on the tone of the killer everyone knew I was as I asked with a raised brow,“Boy?”

Cristo and Morisi guffawed, cracking up with the alcohol they’d indulged in.

“No, you’re no boy anymore. I gotta say that much.” Pello huffed a lighter laugh, more cautious, not as loose-lipped as those two. “More like you’ll have a boy of your own soon.”

The thought of Avra rounded out with a child brought forth a fierce possessiveness ten times greater than I could have imagined. She would bear our children and create a future with me. She wouldn’t hesitate to protect them as she’d done with that little girl.

None of it could happen until her scheme for revenge ended. A lump formed in my gut. It might be too late.

I stared at the fuckers before me. Getting rid of them was the priority. They posed an immediate danger.

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