Chapter 18
Leda
Lucas was pissed. I could see it in his expression and feel his anger rolling off in waves. It was something I was prepared for. I had kind of hoped that he would stay asleep until I got back, but the meeting had taken longer than intended, and when Emil had finally called back, we both knew we were in deep shit.
The good news: Emil was on my side.
The bad news: Lucas was going to kill us both for making him worry.
“I’m sorry,” I rushed on, hoping to smooth out his anger just a hair. “I know you were worried.”
“You have no fucking idea what I was thinking,” he interrupted, a hint of desperation in his tone. I wanted to throw my arms around him and tell him that I was perfectly fine, but the way he was holding himself, I knew that he wasn’t looking for any sort of comfort right now.
Lord, I didn’t think I had ever seen him so pissed off before.
“You’re right,” I acknowledged. “I don’t know what you were thinking, but I was with Emil the entire time.”
Lucas swung his gaze to his second-in-command, and the way that Emil backed up just a step made me step in front of him. “Honestly, Lucas, it wasn’t his fault. He did exactly what I told him to do.”
“One of you better clear this up in a hurry,” he growled, his eyes still on his second.
“All right,” I forced out, placing my hand on his chest. His heart was beating rapidly and made me wish that I had at least left him a note so he wouldn’t have panicked like this. “We had a meeting with some of the capos. The same ones you asked Emil to reach out to. They’re willing to stand by you. They’re willing to fight.”
His eyes met mine, and I saw the confusion. “What?”
It had really been my shining moment. All those years of watching my father take the reins and give speeches that rallied his men into doing whatever he wanted them to do had finally paid off.
“Emil gathered a group together. I talked them into joining forces. You have your army, Don Valentino.” Every word I had spoken to those men had been because of Lucas. I didn’t want to stand idly by and watch him go down in flames, to lose him because he wasn’t garnering the respect he needed.
It was a move, a scary one, but now there was hope. Hope that we might defeat Adrian and my father. Every man in the room, from the capos that had been thrust into power to the sons and grandsons of the murdered Don, had pledged their allegiance in helping us defeat Adrian and my father.
It had been a shining moment, truly, one that I had wished Lucas had seen. “Fifty families,” I told Lucas proudly. “Fifty families are behind you. And that’s just the start”
He didn’t smile or even move, his gaze hardening. “You put yourself in a room with fifty men, men that hate your father?”
My smile dimmed. “I was safe. Emil was there.”
“Emil couldn’t have stopped a hail of bullets!” Lucas yelled. “He couldn’t have kept them from tearing you apart, Leda! Don’t you know who you are? You are their fucking enemy!”
“Not anymore!” I countered, my voice raising. “Can’t you see what I just did?”
He was acting exactly like I expected him to. Because he thought that I wasn’t safe, he was totally overlooking the fact that I just gave him leverage in this war. I thought that he would actually be grateful for what I had done.
Lucas moved away, pointing his finger at Emil. “And you. You should have brought her back here the moment she contacted you.”
“Don’t blame him,” I interrupted, grabbing his arm. “We both care about you, Lucas. This is what people do when they care about others.”
He turned on me, and I felt a small frisson of fear snake down my spine at his dark demeanor. “Care? Let me tell you about caring, Leda. I’ve spent the last three fucking hours going over every possible scenario that could be happening to you!”
It was then that I realized Lucas had been scared. Likely beyond scared when he woke, and I wasn’t there.
“Enough!”
Everyone turned to Mrs. Wong, who was carrying a wooden spoon in her hand and clearly not at all concerned that Lucas looked murderous at this moment. “Xiao Lu, apologize!”
When she smacked him on the shoulder with the spoon, I nearly burst into laughter. Only Mrs. Wong could get away with that. The older woman pointed at me. “She is protect your child. That what mothers do.”
Oh God. I felt the blood drain from my face and whipped my eyes to Lucas, who had an equally surprised look on his. “What?” he demanded. “What is she talking about?”