chapter Thirty-Four
A Seat for a King
Toby
A month later…
Thank you for coming out to see me,” I say, shaking the hand of Sam Mairettie, or should I say, LaSalle Locatelli. That would be the right name in this setting. I don’t need Sam’s help, I need LaSalle’s.
“You guys should already know, a call from you, I’m making the time,” LaSalle says, taking a seat in the boardroom of the Black and Lock office.
I look to my cousin, Brooklyn. He’s giving me a hard glare. I asked him along because I know he’s standing in for Logan. I wanted to be respectful about this.
“You know I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have to,” is all I say.
Brooklyn grunts, then pulls me into a hug. He breaks the hug to look me in the eyes, patting my cheek. I hold his gaze. This won’t work if I punk out, before I even put in the request.
“Explain what ye got yerself into,” Brooklyn says, in rough accent giving away his annoyance. He takes the seat next to LaSalle.
Both men look around the room at my support system. Every single one of my brothers are in the room. My brother-in-law included, Kwäzē is sitting to my left and King Elijah is to my right.
“You both know my dad and my brothers. I want to introduce you to my father and brother-in-law,” I say with a confidence I’m not sure I feel yet.
Brooklyn lifts a brow. “Ye got married?”
“Yes,” I nod.
Brooklyn looks at Wyatt, lifting his brow higher and pointing a finger at me, as if to ask for confirmation. Wyatt nods his head with a blank expression, causing Brooklyn to whistle. I ignore them both and keep talking.
“This is King Elijah and King Kwäzē,” I say.
Brooklyn’s face reflects more shock, but he doesn’t speak this time. I turn my attention to LaSalle. His face is expressionless, but I see in his eyes that he’s calculating.
“Wait,” Brooklyn decides to speak up. “If these are ye in-laws, what does that make ye little cousin?”
“Ah, so, we can get straight to the point,” I nod. “I’m King as well. My wife has her own right to the throne. A right that’s being threatened.”
“You want a seat with the Alliance,” LaSalle says. “Right’s to your title, resources, and connections, in return for eliminating this threat.”
I nod. “Exactly.”
“My family and I have many valuable resources. Our kingdom is vast enough to split it in two,” King Elijah adds. “I have heard whispers of this Alliance. We can be of value to you.”
LaSalle sits back and folds his arms over his chest. His grey eyes are sharp, as he looks between me and my in-laws. His eyes then pan the room to look over the rest of my family.
“You’re all willing to commit to this? Unless Toby is moving to Nigeria, this becomes all of your problem,” LaSalle says.
My eyes narrow and I lean forward. “I never said anything about Nigeria,” I rumble.
“It’s called an Alliance for a reason. What we are about to do is not some small operation,” LaSalle nods to Kwäzē. “Your succession made enough noise to get my attention. That asshole Afafa has tried to get a meeting with me. I’m not interested in him, but this. This has my attention.”
“Unbelievable,” Kwäzē growls. “He will stop at nothing. It is time to put him in the dirt.”
“Patience, my son,” King Elijah cautions.
“Your warriors are the equivalent to assassins. From what I understand Afafa thought he would be able to sway them into his corner. He didn’t take in account that they would remain loyal to you,” LaSalle says.
“Afafa is a fool. He did not do his due diligence. He did not know my wife was a member of their tribe and that her mother is a war chief, among the elders,” King Elijah smiles slyly.
LaSalle smiles back. “Will access to the assassins be on the table?”
“For my daughter’s life, I will lead them into battle for you, myself. Anytime you need, I will send you my finest assassins with no question,” King Elijah booms into the room.
“Do you think you can regain control of your government?” LaSalle inquires.
“Yes, I’ve been working on the people. The council sees this. Afafa loses more favor with each passing day. We expect a little rebellion with the announcement of Kamara’s marriage to Toby, but we are ready for it. I will handle it,” Kwäzē responds.
“To answer your initial question. This is our brother. If he needs us, we’re there. We know what this will mean,” Wyatt says.
I have to hold onto my own emotions. Hearing my brother have my back this way, after him being so angry at me, gives me strength I didn’t know I needed. It means more to me than he will ever know.
“It’s yer seat, Toby. Ye can have your father-in-law and brother-in-law there, but it’s yer request, yer seat. Are ye ready for that responsibility?” Brooklyn asks.
I can tell he is just as unhappy about this, as Logan will be. Brooklyn has yet to slip back into his mottled New York accent. I don’t let that deter me. I’m committed to this plan.
“Born ready,” I reply to my cousin in Gaelic.
LaSalle nods to my response. “In that case, tell me your thoughts. How do you want to handle Afafa?” LaSalle replies.