(ARLO)
Marcus winces. "No. What I mean is I'm nervous about this. I mean, Sasha Adonis is a beast. He shows no mercy to anyone who threatens him. We need to make sure we kill him first, or we are toast.
"We will," I say even though I'm quacking inside. Marcus might be nervous, but I'm no fool. It's not like I don't know that going after Sasha Adonis could get me killed. But I've made peace with that since. I never thought that us getting out alive was guaranteed. I don't care if I die, as long as that fucker Sasha dies with me too. I must avenge the shame he put my father through and his death. He leaves me no choice. There's nothing as important as loyalty in our world.
"If...uhm," Marcus begins nervously. "If something were to happen to you, your cousin Dalton could take over, right?"
