Page 8 of Blood in the Water
“Then why’d you give her that necklace?” I turned to face him. “What do you meanyou have other plans?”
Once again, Max pulled out his phone and swiped through the notifications. The little piece of skin between his eyes squished together as he concentrated on a response.
A nugget of anger settled in my chest. Was he really distracted right now? When we were talking about proposing to the mafia princess at the center of both our lives? I was doing everything I could to bury my feelings, not hold onto any hope that there might be a chance for me, and here he was, avoiding the inevitable.
“I mean what I said, Cas. I have other plans.” A waiter walked by and he placed the rest of his drink on the tray before shoving his hands into his pockets. He refused to look at me, which only stoked my anger and frustration.
“You’re telling me you don’t want her. The fuck? Is there another woman?” I knew I should stop talking. The harder I pushed him, the more it would reveal howIfelt about Leona, and that was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn’t help myself. She was our world and about to lay her heart at his feet. Together, they were supposed to lead the next generation of the Family into the future while I protected them from the sidelines. These have been our assigned roles since we were children.
And he was going to turn his back on her? The absolute dickhead.
Max’s jaw clenched as anger flashed across his face. “I have bigger things to worry about, Caspian,” he clipped. He used the tone he reserved for complicated business dealings, for any idiot who was stupid enough to question or threaten him. And he wasusing it onme, his best friend. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be elsewhere right now.”
“Where the fuck do you have to be right now?” I snapped. Leona was obsessed with him, and he was going to stomp all over her heart. How could I turn away from that? I was her bodyguard. My job was to protect her, even if that meant smacking some sense into our friend.
“Elsewhere,” he said as he began to step away.
My arm snapped out to grab hold of his. “Wait.”
I shook my head and took a deep breath. What had gotten into me? My job was to protect. Not to insert myself even further into their lives. They were meant to be together, and I was meant to be… beside them. He was one of my oldest friends. Whatever his reasons were, they had to be good ones. And he didn’t say he wouldneverpropose, just that he was dealing with other things right now. Leona’s impatience had rubbed off on me, but Max never acted on impulse. He knew what he was doing. “I’m sorry. Do you need me to come with you? Need my help?”
Max’s face softened back to the man I knew, who deeply cared about his friends and family. He clasped my shoulder. “Just keep Leona safe. I’ll be fine. I’ll come find you later.”
I nodded, and he disappeared into the crowd. He’d tell me what he was dealing with eventually. He always did. That was what best friends were for.
Leona laughed again, the sound carrying through the room and wrapping around my heart.
I could go after him, demand that he marry Leona, or I would.
But that would mean leaving Leona alone in crowds of people we barely knew—left defenseless against the vultures of boys still looming on the fringes of the party trying to catch her eye. Sure, she probably wouldn’t mind, but I was a better bodyguard thanthat. Doing my job, proving that I deserved to be next to her, was way more important.
Besides, even if I demanded to marry her, she wouldn’t accept me.
So I swallowed down the feelings and chased them with the rest of that champagne.
Keeping her safe was more important than my feelings. It was the best thing I could do for her, and I would never let her down.
4
LEONA
“I’m fucking exhausted!” I yelled over the music to my best girlfriend, Chiara. She had been my best, and let’s be honest,onlygirlfriend since I was a teenager. She was from the Tommaso Family, a mafia princess in her own right, so we immediately bonded over how overprotective our families can be. Besides Cas and Max, she was the only person I was close to around my age. “I’m going to go get some water!”
“Hydrate or die, girl!” Chiara laughed while pushing me off the dance floor.
It wasn’t two seconds before Don Lucchesse’s son came over to make his move and wrap his arms around her waist. I smirked. She’d be lucky to get away with one dance before one of her brothers forcibly removed the guy flirting with her.
Not one person had approached me to dance. It was obvious why. Cas was still glowering from his lookout perch in the corner of the room. Anyone who wanted to dance with me would have to go through him, and he wouldn’t let anyone dance with me unless it was Max.
I didn’t really mind. I wasn’t interested in anyone else. I just prayed that Max was interested in me.
Like a little sister… his words from earlier brought a huge frown to my face. I touched the pendant hanging around my neck for probably the thousandth time. I hadn’t spoken to Max since earlier and briefly saw him hanging around Cas. The rest of the time, I’d been trying to dance him out of my head for a few minutes so I would stop dwelling on what he’d said. I’d approach him again after the party when we could have more privacy.
“Here,” Cas said, pushing toward me and holding out a water bottle. “Stop frowning. Drink.”
With a gentle smile, I squeezed his arm in thanks before chugging the bottle. “Thanks, Cas. You always know what I need.”
His arm came around my shoulder to pull me close so he could speak into my ear over the sound of the music. My breath came faster, but I told myself it was because of how long I’d been dancing, not because of how his body crowded mine.
