Figuring that was a problem for tomorrow, when he had her safely in his penthouse, Luis replied in a low voice, “She’s my housekeeper. She has no damn idea what she’s gotten herself into here, Milo. She’s a golden anchor.”
He didn’t feel like explaining who she really was to him — and subsequently inviting the very reasonable question as towhyhe hadn’t claimed her when he had months to do so.
His brother’s attention snapped to Luis for a split second before it came right back to the papers. Shuffling them to find the medical reports, he whispered, “Grim’s tits, Luis. You couldn’t have picked a worse situation to stick your nose into if you tried.”
“Are you going to help me or not?”
“Of course I’m going to help you,” he grunted. “I’ll be your proxy.”
Luis made a face. “You’re not going to be my fucking proxy.”
“I’m a better fighter than you,” his brother argued.
“Itaughtyou how to fight!”
Milo shrugged. “I grew more muscle.”
“We have different builds. It’s not the same— You know what? Shut up.” Luis clapped his hands together and pointed them at his brother. Raising his eyebrows, he declared, “I’m the big brother. You do as I say, and I say I’m fighting.”
He wished he could claim it really was about tactical advantage, but he couldn’t. In his shriveled little heart, Luis knew that the reason he couldn’t let Milo fight as his proxy was because the idea of letting another vampire fight for her made him want to tear his hair out.
It was pride, pure and simple. Any vampire worth his salt based his pride on how well he cared for his anchor. That included taking on any rivals for her claim. To let another man fight for her made his skin itch like it suddenly didn’t fit right on his flesh.
If Milo won, he knew for a fact he’d feel compelled to beat the shit out of his brother in order to establish his dominance. Since he very much didn’t want to do that, Luis knew this was all around the best possible solution.
Gesturing to the crowded parlor, he continued, “I need you to be my backup. There are only three types of people here, Milo. The kind that are betting I’ll win, the kind that are planning to make sure I lose, and the kind that won’t think anything of murdering me before I even set foot in the ring.Thoseare the fights I need you for.”
Finally getting the picture, Milo looked around with keen, mismatched eyes. Lips tightening, he noted, “We don’t have any allies here.”
“No, but we sure do have a lot of people who’d think it was really great if they took an Amauri down a peg.” Luis stepped a little closer. In a lower voice, he added, “I need you to help me make it to the ring, and while I’m in it, you have to watch out for Frankie.”
“Frankie?” Milo gave his brother a look of sharp-eyed suspicion. “The information packet says her name’s Francesca.”
“She prefers Frankie,” he explained. “Never Fran. Only her mom calls her Francesca. And when you meet her, be nice. She’s… good. Too good for all of this.”
“You really like her.”
“I just dropped a hundred thousand dollars on her, so yeah, I’d hope so,” he scoffed. Not that he cared about the money. He’d offered her a whole lot more to run away with him, but Milo didn’t need to know that.
His brother didn’t buy it. “Youlikeher,” he breathed, his astonishment clear. “How long has this been going on?”
Distinctly uncomfortable now, Luis rolled his eyes. “What do you want from me? A page from my diary?”
Milo looked around the room in an exaggerated way that said screamedoh really?“Look where we’re standing, Luis. You’re telling me that you spent a hundred thousand dollars to enter the Games for this girl, yourhousekeeper,who is also yourfriend,and it’s not that deep?”
“So what if it is?” he snapped. “You gonna run home and tell our parents to buy us a mating gift?”
Milo didn’t even flinch. “Well, I’mdefinitelytelling our moms, yeah. And you’ll have to deal with the fallout of not telling them yourself.”
“Fuck you,” he growled, shoving his brother’s shoulder.
Milo didn’t budge. “How long, Luis?”
Gods, sometimes he hated his brother.
Gritting his teeth, he answered, “About six months. Give or take.”
Thatmoved him. Milo’s eyes widened. Scarred mouth parting with astonishment, he breathed, “You let a woman you’ve been courting forsix monthsvolunteer for the Blood Games? What the fuck is wrong with you?”