17. Chapter 17

Jade

I'm lounging on my brother's shared couch, daydreaming about being kissed when Armani lets himself in the room. He's got his hands full, one carrying a box, the other holding a red apple that's already been bitten into.

"Emailers are here," he says by way of greeting.

"About time," Matteo cheers loudly, jumping out of his bed to confiscate the little brown cardboard box.

"They were ready a few days ago," Armani admits. "I kept forgetting to go grab them before the admin building closed for the night."

"That's okay," I say before Matteo can chastise him for it. "We've all been busy anyway."

Armani smiles, coming over to ruffle my hair. "I should have remembered. You're probably missing Dad, it's okay to be upset with me."

"I know it's okay," I reply. "I'm really not upset, but I do miss Dad."

"Well, now you can send him a message," Matteo chimes, passing me a small device. It looks sort of like a cross between a phone and a pager.

It's a custom technology that only accesses a secure network for emailing in and out of Empire Academy. There's no way to google something, download an app, or take a picture, making it perfectly safe to use here.

"Remember how it works?" Remo asks from across the room. Matteo gave him his device, too, but he isn't showing any interest in it at the moment.

"Like texting," I say, remembering when he first tried to explain them to me. "We have a few preloaded contacts, and anything we send to them goes to their special email thingy." The receiver doesn't need the device, just the internet and access to a computer or phone.

"And don't text anything incriminating," I add quickly. "They aren't monitored, but just to be sure, keep it PG."

"Right." Remo nods in approval, his light brown curls bouncing.

"You've got Dad, Uncle Cesar, and Apollo in there," Matteo adds, leaning over to press down on the small power button. He points to each of their contact names. "Better email Dad first so he can take a breath and stop worrying about you."

My lips turn down. "You think he's worrying still?"

He snorts. "Is that a real question?"

I smile because he's probably right. I don't like the idea of Dad worrying too much, but I love knowing there's someone who cares about me as much as he does.

"I'm going for a run," Remo announces, casually dismissing himself before popping out of the room and into the hall.

"Running on your day off is certifiable," Matteo gripes, scrunching his face up at the idea. "Disgusting."

"Don't yuck his yum," I chide.

"Anyone who yums running should be yucked," he counters.

I roll my eyes and start exploring my new device. "I'm going to say hi to Dad."

"Don't forget to tell him about your boyfriend," Matteo teases, causing me to freeze.

"What?" I ask, fear crawling up my neck.

"Kidding," he bursts out, laughing hard. "Jesus, dude, take a breath, you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Guilty conscious?" Armani asks, tilting his head at me.

"No, he just took me off guard," I reply through a release of air. "I thought he might know something I don't."

It's the exact right thing to say because Armani finds it hilarious. "Rest assured, Matteo is the last person Dad or Apollo would trust with betrothal information."

"Hey!" Matteo protests on principle. "I'm great with secrets."

"Yeah, and I'm the boogeyman," Armani drawls, not missing a beat.

Sarcasm is like the Moretti family's favorite love language.

Ignoring their impending argument, I start to type a message to Dad.

Me

Hi Dad, I miss you! Just got my emailer now and wanted to check in. School is really nice so far. How's everything at home?

When he doesn't reply right away, I send one to Apollo as well.

Me

Hey big brother, miss me yet?

Unlike Dad, Apollo must be at his computer because the emailer buzzes in my hand only a handful of seconds after I hit send.

Apollo

You've had quite the first week, little sister.

Apollo

Seven marriage offers in nine days, you may have set some sort of record.

"What?!" I yelp, mouth hanging open.

"What?" Matteo and Armani echo at the same time, heads swinging toward me.

I shove the stupid little email device in front of their faces, wiggling it in disbelief. Matteo grabs my wrist to hold it steady, allowing them to actually read the screen.

"Seven?" Matteo clicks his tongue. "I was expecting double digits, at least ten."

Armani is less amused. "How many of them are here?"

"I didn't ask for names!" I exclaim, panicking a little.

"No? Then I'll do it myself."

He types so fast that I can only read what he's asked after it's already been sent.

Me

It's Armani, who sent in offers?

"You could email him with your own device," I mumble but watch to see what Apollo will say. I'm crossing my fingers that Dmitri didn't do something crazy like sending in an offer for my hand. The last thing we need is my brother's up his ass while we're trying to sneak around.

Apollo

Most notably, Javier Cabrera, Ares Gabris, and Killian Knight. The other four I wouldn't consider even if we were looking. Anything less than an heir won't do.

I hold back a sigh of relief. There's no way he wouldn't mention the Morozov name if an offer came from them. They're too significant, and Dmitri is an heir.

And holy shit, why is Ares on the list? I could have sworn he was already engaged. Arranged to be married to someone his father picked for strategic purposes, yes. But engaged nonetheless.

"Cole's brother?" Matteo's expression twists up. "He's way too old for you."

"How old is he?" I ask, defensive for no reason.

"He's like Apollo's age," Matteo says, waving a hand that has me thinking he's exaggerating.

"You act like Apollo is Dad's age," I tell him, rolling my eyes.

Armani huffs at Matteo's dramatics. "He's twenty-eight, not thirty-one." Giving me a concerned look, he crosses his arms. "And he's still too old for you."

"The way he said it made me think he must be forty," I refute. "I haven't even met the guy, I don't care about how eligible for me you think he is. We're getting off topic."

"You're right, we are off-topic," Matteo agrees quickly. "More pressingly, isn't Javier your weapons instructor for this semester? One class with you, and he's putting in an offer for marriage? That's pretty crazy, even for someone as bold as Javi."

"Hey," I chastise, pinching his arm. "Why is that crazy? You don't think he should want to marry me? What's wrong with me, huh?"

"Ouch," he hisses, rubbing the affected area. "Jesus, Jade. If anything, you're too good for him—you're too good for anyone. That's not what I meant."

"Javier teaches your knives class?" Armani asks, and I don't like the new scary edge to his voice. It has a dangerous, haunting rasp.

"Okay, everyone needs to sit down with Remo and go over my class schedule if we're going to continue to be surprised by who I'm interacting with on a daily basis," I declare, so close to whining.

I should have kept my marriage offers between Apollo and myself, though I'm sure my father is aware. I was just honestly shocked as hell to read it and didn't think twice before showing my brothers.

Sometimes their protective nature is easy to put in the back of my mind. They're my friends even if we're related, and a girl wants to share things with her friends. I have to keep reminding myself that not everything I see, think, or hear should be repeated to them. They'd try to set the air on fire if I choked while breathing. Their extremes know no end when it comes to keeping me safe.

"He's your instructor?" Armani repeats, ignoring what I've just told him. My emailer buzzes in his hand, and I snatch it back before he can see.

Apollo

Congratulations, you're up to ten now. Thiago Oliveria and Abramo Guliani have been thrown into the ring, though I suspect that's their fathers' doing.

Me:I don't think I want updates about marriage offers anymore.

Apollo

Did Armani explode yet?

Me

He's about to.

"Fucking Abramo too?" Matteo spits, having looked over my shoulder.

"You're not serious," Armani sneers, angrily running a hand through his hair.

Abramo is a part of the Casa Nostra, the same family Melani comes from. We have an allegiance because of her marriage to Emilio. I'm not sure why he'd want to marry me if not for a stronger relationship with The Outfit. He's never met me, and since he doesn't attend Empire, it's unlikely that he saw me.

"What's wrong with Abramo?" I ask, feeling nervous, and the two of them exchange a dark look. "Is he really dangerous or something?"

"We're all really dangerous," Armani says cryptically as if I need a reminder.

"But Abramo is fucked up," Matteo tacks on, shaking his head. "He's half of the reason Dad and Uncle Cesar wanted to kill the bad blood between them and us. He's not someone whose bad side you want to get on, and he's not someone you marry your daughter to. Dad would consider marrying him to Nico before he'd give you to him. At least Nico would give right back what he gets."

Armani shakes his head in agreement. "Those two would kill each other in a week." I think he might be calming himself down when I release he's actually just collecting himself, straightening out his blazer. "I can't deal with the ones who aren't here, but I can put the ones who are in their place."

"Hell yeah," Matteo cheers. "Violence tastes so good in the afternoon."

"Um, no violence," I blurt out, voice raising high. "Absolutely not. You can't just fight people for trying to marry me."

Armani shrugs. "Watch me."

I don't understand what he means until he takes off, Matteo and I following hot on his tail. Running around campus on our day off and chasing down my brother was not on my to-do list for this week!

Before I know it, I'm huffing and puffing, trailing behind as he barges into the knives classroom. He lets himself in, uncaring who might be inside.

Luckily, there isn't a class or any students around.

"Cabrera!" Armani calls out like a warning, continuing to swagger into the classroom like he owns it. "You want to marry my little sister, do you?"

Javi looks up from the knife he's sharpening and blinks. "Are you offering?"

Oh god, not a good time for sass! Why are men constantly talking at the exact time when they should shut up and listen?

"The only thing I'm offering is a chance to pick out your burial plot before I put you in the fucking ground," Armani bites out, taking a threatening step forward that I can't stop.

"I'm so sorry," I mouth to Javi, grabbing my brother's arm and using all of my weight to hold him back from moving further. The last thing I need him to do is get himself stabbed or, worse, on the chopping block for murder.

"Matteo help me," I snap, glaring at him hard.

"But I want them to hit each other," he whines but reluctantly complies, stepping in the space between the two men. "Alright, boys, let's take it down a notch, we're in the presence of a lady."

"You're her fucking instructor, you don't get to look at her like an opportunity. You're supposed to teach her something, not sink your teeth into her with your stupid pretty boy face and?—"

"So you think I'm pretty," Javi interrupts, not helping the situation one bit.

"You won't be if you lay a single finger on Jade," Armani vows, eyes flickering with the threat.

"Can we please lower the volume?" I ask, gritting the words from between my teeth. The last thing we need is more attention on this situation.

"Okay, I'll bite," Javier starts. "What exactly did I do to piss you off? Because I'm starting to get even more confused." His eyes flick to me. "Did I do something in class that made you feel uncomfortable?"

"Nonono," I rush out. "You were fine, I swear."

Reassured, he looks back at my brothers. "So, what did I do?"

"You fucking?—"

"Wait," Matteo interrupts, holding a hand up to halt Armani. "He doesn't know."

Armani looks like he wants to smack Matteo upside the head but refrains. "What do you mean he doesn't fucking know? He did it!"

"I don't think he did," Matteo drawls, dubious.

"Now I'm confused," I admit, starting to get a headache.

"Right there with you," Javi adds, throwing his hands up. "What did or didn't I do?"

"Apollo emailed me about people putting in marriage offers for me," I explain, stumbling over the words. "Yours was on the list."

Javier's eyes widen, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "What the fuck?"

"See," Matteo points out. "He didn't know."

"He could be lying," Armani points out obviously.

"I've never submitted a contract proposal in my life," Javi denies, his words laced with conviction. "And not for nothing, I'm sure your sister's great and all, but marrying her is the last thing on my mind right now. The most I thought about her in class was how she'll probably need custom knives when she leaves here because her hands are tiny as hell. I'm a little too fucking busy to be thinking about marriage."

Custom knives would actually be great?—

"If you didn't put in a marriage offer, then your father did," Armani surmises, ignoring his explanation. "And if your father put in an offer, you told him about Jade."

"We just got here. I haven't even spoken to my father yet," Javi defends. "You teach as many classes as I do, have you spoken to yours?"

"You expect me to believe you didn't report to him? He wouldn't put in an offer without confirming she exists and that she's up to standard." Armani puts air quotes around up to standard, causing my lips to tip down.

I scrunch my nose up. "What does that even mean?"

"He wouldn't put in an offer without knowing that you're pretty enough for his pretty son," Matteo explains, putting it plainly.

"That's so—" I don't even know what I was going to say, but it's weird.

"Also, that you're untouched."

"Don't call me untouched, it's creepy," I demand, turning my nose up at Matteo.

"You asked," he defends, huffing.

I withhold a frustrated scream. How can you even tell someone is a virgin just from looking at them? Unless people were listening too closely at the party, and everyone just knows now.

Ugh, I'd say nothing good comes from sneaking out, but I can't. Seeing Dmitri was so worth this if my loud mouth is the reason behind it.

"He has to have seen her," Javier states, something like a realization behind his expression. "He'd never risk the embarrassment of sending an offer for someone he hasn't seen—just in case she didn't truly exist. Did you guys post her at all before coming here?"

"If we did, you would have seen it," Armani snarks, still angry but much less loud about it. Thank god.

"Which means he's seen her since she got here," Matteo concludes, rubbing the back of the neck. "Which means we have a problem."

Armani looks at our brother. "You think…"

"Someone has a phone on campus."