I huff on a breath and stare out the back window, ignoring his question. He chuckles, but instead of it being his easy-going tone that he used to use with me, it grazes over me like sandpaper and now I’m worried how I’m going to cleanse myself from it. “You can play that game for a bit. I’ll allow that.”

“Okay, I’m going to ask…” Poppy leans forward, narrowing her eyes on her brother. “What is with the suit, and why the fuck are you both fighting like you’ve had—” She slams her mouth closed as her eyes widen in shock. “Oh my God! You’ve been together!”

“Poppy!” I snap at her lowly, careful not to make it a big deal. “No—”

“—yeah, so?” Wicked raises dark brows at her. “Sit back down, Pop.” We travel the rest of the way in silence, and I swear by the time the limo is pulling up to the curb of the hotel, my skin is on fire and my fingers are itching to get me the hell out of this car. At this point, I’d take Revio’s easy drama over Wicked’s realism.

I swing the door open as soon as the limo stops and rush down the rolled-out red carpet. I don’t care to take in the details of the designs, because I have one place to get to and one only, and that’s as far away from Wicked as possible. I speed up my steps when I see the opening doors to the conference room, shoving through the entry, pausing when everyone stops chatting. Heads turn toward me. It’s like I’m five years old again and busting into Papa’s office during important meetings.

I don’t know who all is here, but I’m guessing it’s the usual. The Cosa Nostra families, the ones we’re not currently beefing with, and their wives.

A hand comes to my hip, forcing me backward and everyone goes back to their conversations. It’s as though the music starts playing again and the chatter gets louder.

“You’re to stay beside me, Ruby,” he whispers from behind, and I hate the way my knees turn to jelly in response.

I bite down on the inside of my cheeks to stop from shoving his hands off me. “Or what?”

Wicked moves around my body, leaning so close into my face he almost kisses me. “Go fuck around and find out.” I shove out of his way and make my way to our table that’s near the front stage. I read over the little gold cards with our names and see The Dragon written in cursive that’s seated right beside me.

My finger glides over the little piece of paper, just as Wicked takes it from my hand and flips it downward onto the table. “You don’t need that.”

“You know, you’re really starting to annoy me.”