Page 96 of Mafie Queen

“I’m sure the two of you will come up with something.” I wink and he smiles.

“How are things with Havoc?”

At this question, my face drops. “They are okay, I guess. I’m trying to find a way to trust him again, but every time I see Arrow in this bed, all I can think is that it’s his fault.”

Akio sits up, leaning in closer. “Laney, you know that’s not true.”

I sigh, falling back into the chair. “Rationally, yes. But I still feel that way.”

“Have you tried to talk it out with him?”

I make an attempt at a smile. “I’ve tried, but then we always just end up doing… you know.” I wring my hands uncomfortably. “Other things.”

Akio rolls his lips trying not to laugh, and I slap his arm.

“You’d do the same thing if you saw that man without a shirt. There’s just something about him.”

“Hmm,” he hums mockingly. I hit him again.

“How are things with Arrow?”

“They are good, but…” I look over at his sleeping form. Sometimes, I still have to remind myself he woke up. It makes me anxious to see him sleeping because part of me thinks his coming back to us was just a dream.

“But?”

“We haven’t talked about everything. In a way, I’m still mad at him too. But I can’t voice that right now. He needs to focus on getting better.”

Akio listens before leaning in and takes my hand again. I get a strong feeling I’m not going to like what he has to say.

“You can’t not say something because he’s going through something. If we all stopped sharing our feelings when things got tough, things would only continue to get tougher.”

His gentleness is unlike any man I’ve ever met.

“How did you grow up in this world with such a gentle heart, Akio? You’re the total opposite of your father.”

He smiles, releasing my hand and pats it soothingly.

“Growing up, I realized something. My mother raised me to be gentle and my father raised me to be tactical. My father never had a soft influence, and that characteristic shows in how he rules the Triad. I was raised better, and I plan to be better.”

“You’re sure you’re gay?” I ask jokingly, and he cracks up along with me.

“I’m sure,Ai. But if I weren’t, I would give these men a run for their money.”

My heart feels so much lighter with him here when he calls me sweet names, and I have no doubts he’s right. But I already have two grumpy mafia men to deal with, I am not equipped to add a third no matter how charming Akio is.

“Want to go grab a coffee since he’s sleeping?”

“Sure.” Akio helps me to my feet and wraps my hand around his arm as we make our way down to the kitchens. Maybe he can help me figure out what to say to these men.

Chapter 34

I hide behind the nearest door as Akio and Laney exit Arrow's room. My Japanese isn’t the best, but I caught the vast majority of their conversation. I also most definitely caught Akio touching my girl multiple times and heard him call her ‘love’.

And what was with the way she locked her arm in his?I’m fuming when I enter Arrow's room, nearly slamming the door into the wall. I catch it just in time though, only to find him wide awake and sitting up.

“Were you awake that whole time?”

“Maybe,” he shrugs.Sneaky bastard.

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