Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 172(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
“Rico is going to slit your throat for this,” Niran warned me.
I waved him off. “Wouldn’t be the first time he’s wanted to kill me,” I assured him. I had a tendency to piss him off. I looked at Bento. “Think you can protect Maksim while I’m gone?”
Bento nodded once. “Of course.”
I looked at Niran. “I’m going to fill Rico in, and then, when Rurik calls me back with a time and place, I want you with me.” This meeting was the only reason I was willing to leave my boy behind and let him out of my sight.
Niran rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Go talk to Rico. Let’s see if you survive that first.”
“The little faith you have in me,” I sighed before tucking the burner into my pocket and leaving the room, heading for Rico’s. He wouldn’t be happy having his time with Anurak interrupted, but he’d have to deal. There were more important matters to deal with than marriage cuddles.
Chapter Seventeen
Alfonzo
Rico glowered at me as he stepped out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He was shirtless and only wearing a pair of sweatpants. I had no doubt he’d been naked before I’d come knocking on his door while simultaneously texting him to get his ass out of bed and come talk to me.
If his look was anything to go by, he was highly annoyed and seriously contemplating if I was worth keeping around. Rico was extremely adamant about making sure the time Anurak got with him were uninterrupted, but some things were just more important than cuddles and being all lovey-dovey.
“You’re becoming a right pain in my fucking ass lately, Aguado,” he warned me. He rarely used my last name, so I knew I was treading on thin ice. But a man like me? Thin ice was the best to play on. I liked seeing how far I could push someone before the ice broke beneath me, and Rico was no exception. It was just rare he stooped to my level because he knew I was usually itching for some kind of altercation.
He blamed it on my mental health. I knew it was just a part of me. But that was Rico in a nutshell—cold as fuck to the world but where it really mattered, he liked to take care of his family. I was just one person he couldn’t get to take medication.
I liked raw-dogging my issues. It was more fun that way.
“Good thing you’re already in a bad mood. I won’t feel bad for delivering news you’re definitely not gonna like,” I said. He narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms over his broad, tattooed chest. “I got in touch with Rurik Tarasov.” Rico clenched his jaw so fast, his teeth audibly clacked together. “And he’s supposed to call me back with a time and place to meet after he talks to Shaw.”
“I’m trying really fucking hard to be understanding about your obsession with Maksim,” Rico growled, “but you’re really pushing your fucking luck, niño.”
“Rurik tried to help him, according to Maksim,” I told Rico, “and I trust what he tells me. Maksim isn’t the type to lie, even if it may mean his death. I need to find out what Rurik knows so I can hunt down whoever did this to my boy and fucking kill them. I’m letting you know what I’m doing out of respect, Rico, but make no mistake, niño, I will do whatever the fuck I please whether you approve of it or not. I’ve never questioned a single move you’ve made. I need that same trust now.”
He stared at me for a moment, his expression blank and his eyes empty. I waited as patiently as possible for whatever he was going to say. This could go one of two ways—either he agreed and let me do what I needed, or he fought me on it and we came to blows… or worse. Rico was my family. The only family I’d ever known, but I knew without a shred of doubt that I’d toss it all away to keep Maksim. And maybe that was fucking insane, but I never claimed to not be absolutely batshit crazy anyway.
“You’re right,” he finally conceded. “You’ve always followed me blindly and trusted me. I’m doing the same.” He stepped closer—so close, our feet touched. “But make no mistake, Alfonzo, if whatever you’re doing blows back on my boy, I will force you to watch as I slaughter your boy, and then, I will shoot you where you stand, clear? Nothing touches my husband, do I make myself clear?”
I nodded once. “I’d never let someone come after Anurak,” I swore. And I meant that. Anurak was sweet and kind, and I adored the boy with every fiber of my being. It was absolutely impossible not to. Even Niran, who was a cold-hearted psychopath that barely felt a single human emotion had a soft spot for Rico’s husband. And after everything Anurak had been through, he deserved to live the rest of his life in peace and happiness.