Page 9 of His Forever

Leo

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d hear the words:Brynn was married to Guy Maranga. It was surreal, like something out of a bad dream. She wasn’t wrong when she saidshe went from the mafia boss of the Midwest to the kingpin of the entire world. The weight of it hit me like a freight train. Guy Maranga was leagues above me—not just in power, but also in ruthlessness. His name alone was enough to send chills through the underworld. People feared him in ways they didn’t fear me, and that wasn’t an easy thing to admit.

If Guy hadn’t already been dead, I would’ve killed him the second Brynn told me he hurt her. I couldn’t shake the image from my head—Brynn, stuck in some twisted marriage to that monster, suffering silently. It ate away at me. I had thought walking away from her all those years ago was the right call, that I was protecting her by keeping her out of my world. But now, knowing what she’d been through? The truth was a knife in my gut.

I’d failed her.

I really believed she was better off without me. Not only had she been getting deeper into my world, but she’d suffered because of me—suffered a loss so terrible it still haunted me to this day. If only I had taken her to the doctor the second she said something didn’t feel right, maybe our baby would’ve made it. Maybe things would’ve been different.

“So, Guy dying changed things? Is that why I’m here?” I asked, my voice rougher than I intended, trying to push past the emotions threatening to bubble up.

Brynn shook her head, her smile soft but unreadable. “You’re here because Candace is two steps away from finally taking you out.”

I blinked, thrown off by the shift in conversation. Brynn leaned back in her chair, her eyes studying me carefully as if weighing how much to reveal.

“For years, Guy and I watched her and Brandt,” she continued. “Candace was the brains behind everything, but Brandt always fucked things up. For a while, they laid off you,but it was like they were taunting you and your men. Pushing you just enough to keep you on edge, but never enough to be a real threat.” She shrugged casually as if we were talking about a minor inconvenience. “We never thought they were anything more than an annoyance for you.”

I cut her off, my confusion mounting. “Wait, wait. How long have you known about Brandt being Candace’s brother?” That revelation had only come to light a couple of months ago on our end.

Brynn paused, her brow furrowing as she seemed to think it over. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing in recollection. “I think it’s been at least ten years,” she said slowly, like she was sorting through old memories. “I can’t even remember how Guy discovered it, but he did. He always had a way of knowing things before anyone else.”

Ten years. Tenfuckingyears she’d known. Jesus Christ.

I didn’t even know what else to ask. It felt like the ground had been yanked out from under me. All this time, we’d been playing catch-up, always a step behind Candace and Brandt, and Brynn—Brynn—had been watching the whole thing unfold from the sidelines. She knew. She’d always known.

I clenched my fists, trying to reel in the frustration. I wasn’t sure if I was more pissed that she hadn’t told me sooner or that I hadn’t figured it out myself. Brandt had been a thorn in my side for years, always just out of reach, always one step ahead.

“Things changed, though,” Brynn said, her voice softer now, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. “When you killed Brandt.”

“The fucker should’ve died a long time ago,” I growled, my hands gripping the armrests of my chair.

Brynn didn’t flinch at my outburst. She just nodded and her expression was unreadable. “Yeah, he should have, but killing Brandt set off a chain reaction, Leo. You rattled Candace’s cage.Now she’s after you, and she’s not going to stop until she has her revenge.”

I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing on her. “And you’ve just been sitting on this information? Watching from the sidelines while Candace has been plotting my downfall?”

Brynn held my gaze, her expression calm, almost too calm. “You weren’t ready to hear it. And frankly, Leo, you wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you. You were too focused on Brandt, too blind to see the real threat.”

She wasn’t wrong, and that only made the truth sting more. Brandt had always been the more visible problem, the loud, reckless brother. Candace was my longtime secretary. But now, knowing what I did, it all made sense—the quiet manipulations, the way she moved behind the scenes, never quite coming into the light, and Brandt always knowing where I was.

“So what now?” I asked, the frustration simmering just beneath the surface. “What’s Candace’s next move?”

Brynn leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest. “That’s the thing about Candace. She’s unpredictable. She won’t come at you directly. She’ll chip away at your foundation and make you doubt everything. When the time is right, she’ll strike.”

I sat back with my mind racing.

“I can help you,” Brynn said as her voice cut through my thoughts.

I looked at her, my eyes narrowing. “And why would you do that?”

Her smile was faint but genuine. “Because, Leo, despite everything, I don’t want to see you taken down by her. And because this world? It’s a lot bigger and more dangerous than it used to be. You’ll need all the help you can get.”

I didn’t want to trust her. But as I sat there, staring at the woman I’d once loved, I knew I didn’t have much of a choice.

“You better not be lying to me, Brynn,” I said, my voice low, laced with warning. I couldn’t afford to be played, not now.

She didn’t flinch, didn’t so much as blink. “I’m not,” she said, her voice steady, sure. She stood up, eyes still locked on mine, and added, “We’ll leave in the morning.”

I cocked my head, curiosity creeping in. “Am I allowed to ask where we’re going?”

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