He is awake. Alive. An infuriating smile on his face which is common and expected in these situations.
His legs are bent in different directions, which was likely done by Lion’s men long before we landed. I do not imagine he will be trying to run anytime soon.
Martinez chuckles and turns his gaze toward me after assessing everyone else in the room, his attention lingering on Akila longer than any of us are comfortable with.
“We’ve been dancing around this circle for a long time, haven’t we?” he asks, but no one rises to the bait.
He lets his head fall back to rest on the wall behind him, face swollen and smeared with blood from Liam’s beating, looking at us through his lashes.
“I’ve been watching you boys.”
He focuses on me again.
“Omen, Omen, Omen—such a pretty little thing you’ve been playing around with.”
Rico’s smile grows as I remain still. Not letting him feed off how uneasy that makes me feel as I keep my mask in place.
“What is it you call her? Little Bird? I could get a lot of money off that little performance in the garden. And her friend… Letty is it? Multi-millions off those two. Maybe I should sell them as a pair.”
How? How could he have eyes on my property to feed him that information? The men who work for me have been with me for years—
Tawny.
“Why is he still fucking breathing, Uncle?” Lion growls from my right, being the first to break. He grabs Akila’s arm and shoves her behind him before turning to face her. “You need to go.”
Akila’s chin lifts defiantly and her glare zeroes in on my nephew.
“I’m not leaving,” she retorts, raising a challenging brow. “You said I could come.”
“Akila,” Lion warns and I internally curse to myself.
A man with pink hair stalks into the room, full of intention. The lighting is dim, but I recognize him as he gets close. Nico Castello, Lion’s cousin. Liam draws his gun, and Nico barely spares him glance before dismissing him and turning his attention to his cousin.
It is unlikely that Nico would have been here when Malia and Liam came. He does not live in the penthouse on the top floor like most of Lion’s closest men and women. Nico has a family he keeps separated from this life until his daughter is old enough to decide what she wants to do with her life.
“I took care of the rest of Martinez’s men we tracked back to a hideout,” Nico says to his cousin.
Liam lowers his weapon with a grumbled curse, realizing Nico is an ally and not an enemy.
Nico turns to Akila, assessing her current mood, then crosses his arms. “What’s wrong?” he asks.
“La perra de primo que tienes,“ Akila spits in the Castello’s mother tongue.
Nico barks out a laugh at the small woman’s insult.
“She needs to go,” Lion growls, his control on his temper slipping . “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not having her watch us interrogate someone.”
Akila glares at Lion, her spine straight in preparation for a fight.
For fucks sake.
Nico shrugs, knowing his cousin and the temper he possesses. Thankfully, he quickly assesses the situation and moves to avert the rising, unnecessary issue. Much like my baby girl, Lion is flawed in his temper and impulsiveness.
“Come on, Akila,” Nico says, confidently striding away from the fighting couple. “I have some new pictures of Ellie to show you.”
Akila smirks at Lion and turns her back to him, following Nico toward the door on the other side of the warehouse. She throws her middle finger over her shoulder without looking back.
“Are you really about to leave with him that easy?” Lion growls.