“Um, I have a question,” Jude asked, raising his hand, and I nodded. “What do you mean by Loren being in danger?”
“Oh,” Loren said, looking between Sax and me. “Well, there was the bombing, and then there’s been a man following me.”
“And why am I just now hearing about this?” Jude demanded, leaning forward and giving Loren a look. I wanted to smile at his protectiveness, but I smothered it with my hand. Sax, however, did no such thing, snorting out a laugh and reaching across and offering Jude a fist.
“You’re alright, little watchdog.”
Jude blinked before raising his own and bumping it with Sax’s. He smiled and then turned back to Loren with his brow raised, waiting for her to answer.
“Well, um, there’s just been so much going on, I didn’t want to worry you.”
He sat back, crossing his arms. “Consider me worried.”
Loren laughed, smiling at him. “Noted.”
“In regards to your stalker, he’s the son of our rival and the one who,” I gritted my teeth, blowing out a breath, my eyes shifting to Immy, the words unable to leave my mouth. Loren gasped this time, and something about her being more upset about Darren made me smug. “He’s also the brother of the girl who died, Jaz,” I sneered, the info he’d revealed last night at the forefront of my mind. “He’s responsible for your Mr. Young’s injuries a few months back and the downfall of his career, and the attack last night. Darren Delgado is not a good man. I could list more of his misdeeds, but we’d miss the benefit if that was the case.”
“So, what will you be doing to ensure he doesn’t approach Lor again?” Jude asked, giving me a pointed look.
Chuckling, I nodded, respecting his protectiveness. “I think you’ll find your guardian is very capable of protecting herself, but she does have a guard detail.”
“I have a what?”
“Oops,” I snickered, knowing full well I just outed Sax.
He glared at me before looking at Loren. She didn’t miss it, and turned to glare at him, slapping his chest. Sax grabbed her hand, clutching it, the tension shifting. Thankfully, the limo rolled up to the center in time to stop whatever was about to happen. I cleared my throat, needing to say one more thing.
“The people in this car are the only ones you should trust. My father left our family in disrepair, and I’m not convinced there isn’t another mole in our ranks. Sax is my second and Nicco, my underboss. There are a few guards I trust, but to keep it simple, just keep it to us three.”
“Okay.” She nodded, looking around at everyone. “I understand.”
“Me too,” Jude replied.
“Good. Now, I want to show you some of the good that the Mascros can do.” I motioned for the door to be opened, turning back to take Loren’s hand. When I did, I found her face ashen, and I didn’t understand what had happened in the small time frame.
“Lore? What’s wrong?”
She looked up, fear on her face. “Mascros? Your last name is Mascro?”
“Yeah, sorry, we don’t use our real name in public much unless we need to for power moves.”
Her face didn’t change, though, with the news. She swallowed a few times, and I watched as she worked to blank her face, all the emotion leaving her, and a cold dread filled me.
“Okay, sure, yeah, that makes sense. Well, I guess we better get to the party then.” Loren nudged me, but I wanted to stay and figure out what had just happened. Opening my mouth, I was about to tell the teens to leave when Mitzi intercepted, pulling us all from the space.
“Mr. Mascro, you’re here. And Loren and Jude, oh, lovely! We’re all ready for your entrance.” She smiled wide, and I nodded, donning the mask of the Suit and sliding out of the limo. I offered my hand to Loren, and she placed hers in mine, but the moment she was clear of the car, she dropped it, smoothing down her dress.
I didn’t miss it, the subtle shift in her demeanor, and as we entered the benefit, I never felt regret so heavy in each step. I’d known this was how it would end, but I’d let hope sway me, the allure of her in our lives too tempting to ignore.
It didn’t matter. Mascros were good for one thing, and one thing only—the destruction of dreams.