Thirty-Eight
Leo
“What the fuck, Shane?” Leo hissed on the phone. “I want to know what the fuck he meant!”
“Calm down,” Shane soothed.
But Leo wasn’t calm.
He paced the balcony, trying his best not to holler out his rage. He was admittedly spooked. “He said he saw her face, Shane—”
“Impossible.”
“No.”
“He was trying to get information about the Dungeon out of you.”
But Leo was shaking his head. “No, he believed what he was saying.”
Shane went quiet, musing.
Running a hand through his hair, Leo stopped when he saw Skye emerge from the shower. Her eyes were already on his. She was alarmed, skittish. She didn’t know what was wrong. Shutting his eyes, Leo turned his back to her, gripping the phone tightly as he whispered, “What if he did see her face, Shane?”
Shane let out a hard breath. “Then I’d say it’s your father playing tricks on you.”
“You think he’s behind this.”
“I do. He must have known you’d be bumping into acquaintances.”
“That would mean he’s sent her face to everyone.”
“Yes.”
Motherfucker.
This man and his mind games.
“Punishing me,” Leo muttered.
“Trying to get you to get rid of her,” Shane said. “He doesn’t approve of her.”
Leo leaned over the railing, staring out into the dark sky. “Which means he’s trying to set me up with someone else.”
“Yes, you’re at the age now where alliances can be made, families bound together in the eyes of the High Table. It’s a strategic step.”
Yeah, he figured.
“What should I do now?” Leo asked. “I fucking punched out Carl Galloway, Shane—”
“Lay low. He’ll expect an apology—”
“Fuck that.”
“You must.”
A violent shudder tore through Leo as he shook his head, seething.
“This is the way,” Shane continued, calmly. “Leo, you must adhere to the rules. You are an Itani, and an Itani man is composed, proper, and well in control of himself. What you did contradicts everything you are known to be.”