Page 29 of Blood & Heartache

“Yes, you might believe that I’ve ruined you, but in all actuality, I’ve made you the strongest of the Raffas ever to survive training. If you’re to be the sole heir to my line, then you’d better be prepared for the devil himself to come after you. Once you make your presence known to the world, they’ll come for you. When that time comes, you’ll need my help, Astin. Now say the damn oath, and all of this will be over,” Frediano ordered.

The flames started to burn my fingertips as it ran out of paper to destroy. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt this pain, and it grounded me as I took stock of the man before me. He truly believed everything he said to me, and if there was a chance he might be right, then so be it. I’ll rule over two Families and destroy anyone who dares to come after me or mine.

“As burns this saint so will burn my soul if my oath is not true. Life, loyalty, and honor to the Family,” I said through gritted teeth, letting the ash of the saint fall through my singed fingers.

Chapter 13

“What the fuck happened?” Ryker snapped.

“I don’t know,” Liu managed to get out past Ryker’s grip on his throat

My attention was pulled from them as I saw Astin move as if she tried to sit up. Groaning, she lifted her arm to her head, pressing it to her forehead like it hurt. “Please stop the yelling,” she mumbled. “God, why does everything hurt so bad?”

“Easy there, killer,” Luca said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You might have had a seizure, but the doc should be here any minute.”

With a grunt of acknowledgment, she slowly opened her emerald eyes and looked around as if she wasn’t exactly sure where she was. I knew the second she caught sight of Ryker and Liu as she lurched up into a sitting position with Luca quickly wrapping an arm behind her shoulders.

“Put him the fuck down, Ryker,” Astin yelled. “What the hell are you thinking? You’re going to choke the man out, for fuck’s sake.”

As a matter of fact, that was exactly what Ryker planned to do if no one stepped in. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to kill the idiot. When we got the alert that something happened from Boykov, I didn’t think. I just flew into action. Ryker beat all of us there and was already up in Liu’s face as we entered. Luca, having the most medical knowledge, went right to Astin. I figured I should probably make sure Ryker didn’t actually kill Liu. I’d been about to step in when Astin started to wake up took priority.

The jealous bastard took her order literally and pulled his hand back, letting Liu crash to the floor. Even though the guy was a battered mess, gasping for air and coughing up a lung, his attention went immediately to Astin. While I understood Ryker’s feelings, I probably would have asked a few more questions before assuming the worst. Lately, the more Liu was around us, I understood why the boss found him so invaluable. The man knew his shit.

“Someone better explain what the fuck is going on right this second,” Astin demanded, then tried to get to her feet but couldn’t get her body to listen. “Luca, please help me get off the fucking floor.”

“No,” Luca stated, pressing on her shoulder, trying to get her to lay back down. “You have to stay right here until the doc looks at you. We don’t want to make anything worse.”

“You know what, fuck you all!” She growled, batted him away, then rolled over and slowly got to her feet.

I started forward to help, but Braxton was faster, beating me to it and wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll help you. Please don’t make your leg worse. It will only make your recovery longer,” Braxton reasoned.

The damn woman was so stubborn when it came to proving she could do everything on her own. I thought we’d been making some progress, but the moment she was stressed or in pain, it was like she took two steps back. Never had the dominant part of me that I normally reserved only for the bedroom been so hard to control as it was these past few days with her. I desperately wanted to make her submit and let me take care of her and stop this constant battle of wills. But that wasn’t the relationship we had—yet. So like the rest of the men in this room, I did my best to navigate her mood and push only when needed.

“I want to check on Liu,” she finally answered, making Braxton’s shoulders sag in relief.

The man in question was already picking himself off the floor, wiping at the blood on his lip, and trying to adjust his suit. “I’m fine, Astin, really. There was just a misunderstanding, and Ryker reacted as he did to keep you safe.”

“What the hell kind of misunderstanding would warrant Ryker trying to kill you? How would that help keep me safe?” she asked, looking between both men who remained silent. “Those weren't optional questions to answer.”

The threat was clear in her tone, and I was fucking glad I wasn’t the one in the hot seat right now. If Ryker ever wanted to mend things between the two of them, he had to get control of his jealousy. It wasn’t easy for me at first with Braxton, but I wanted him to be happy. If having an open relationship is what did that for him, then it was my job to deal with my issues since he’d never had a problem with sharing me. Then again, I don’t think he truly understands that we’re in a relationship.

Ryker glared at Liu but chose to speak first. “Boykov triggered your alert signal which notifies all of us that something’s wrong and your current location. When I got to the office, Boykov wasn’t here, and Liu was on top of your unconscious body, fucking kissing you. Not to mention his hand was bleeding like you’d attacked him as you tried to defend yourself.”

“That… that’s the reason you nearly strangled a man?” Astin said, her face a mixture of rage and disbelief at his answer. “Blood and kissing? Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

“Possibly,” Ryker muttered as he angrily started to pace.

Catching Braxton’s eye, I motioned for him to make her sit as I noticed her leg starting to tremble with the weight she was putting on it. He nodded and all but dragged her over and sat, taking her down with him. I tried not to grin at her exasperated look, but she made herself comfortable.

“Wait, Luca, why did you say I had a seizure?” she questioned. I’d been wondering when she’d connect that particular dot.

Luca cleared his throat as he flicked his gaze to Ryker. “Boykov sent us all a message right after the alert went out, telling us you’d fainted and started to convulse. He tried to call the doc, but he didn’t answer so he went to find him. Speaking of, he just sent an update that he was on his way back with the doc in hand.”

She nodded slightly and dropped her head into her hands, slowly massaging her temples. We all stood there silently, unsure of what to do to be of any help. She hadn’t really explained what the hell happened in here before she collapsed. I was beginning to worry about her. There was only so much one person could take before it was too much. The rest of us needed to step up our game. If we could figure out who in the Family was trying to fuck Astin over, it would remove much of the pressure. Then we could deal with Harvey and get revenge for her father. After that, it would be the normal problems you’d expect from taking over as the new boss.

“The doctor won’t be able to help,” she announced, shocking us all. Before we asked what she was talking about, she continued, “My memory is coming back, and it’s packing a punch, pissed that I forgot in the first place. For fuck’s sake, this is the last thing I need to deal with right now.”