Page 44 of Blood & Heartache

Who had time for sex when people were trying to kill you every goddamn minute of your day?

Obviously, that need had been put on the back burner, but I had a feeling it was going to need some attending to soon. The more these men upped their game, the happier and needier my vagina was getting. Each time the gal was teased and denied, the harder it became to keep from just throwing myself at the nearest willing dick. Shaking myself out of going deeper into that issue, I settled on a dress, wanting to make it easy on myself.

It was a vibrant emerald, long-sleeve, knee-length bodycon dress that matched my eyes. I added a chocolate suede suit jacket with a single button since it was still on the chilly side of spring. It would take another month or so before the warmer weather rolled in, so for now, we were stuck with the rain. Slipping on matching suede flats and twisting my hair up into a bun, I was ready to figure out what the fuck I was going to do about all my problems. I’d change again before the meeting tonight, but for now, I wanted to be comfortable. There were too many issues to tackle all at once for clothes that I didn’t feel could handle the task.

When I made it down to the dining room with Boykov as my shadow, I found all my guys were there, including my uncles and Hound. My personal stalker and hacker extraordinaire was sitting next to Braxton, and the two looked far too at ease with each other. Jace didn’t seem at all bothered as he sipped his coffee, listening to whatever they were talking about. However, I did notice Jace’s hand resting casually on Braxton’s leg, making me smile as I realized they’d talked. Jace caught me smiling at him, and he returned it, adding a wink for good measure.

Atticus looked remarkably awake for a man who had his sleep interrupted so much this week. Maybe it was the energy drink sitting beside his plate and a smirking Luca who had a matching can in his hand. I felt like I should be worried about that, but then again, the man was going to have to survive the day somehow. Ryker was fully dressed and still looking glum as he glared daggers at Hound, who sat across from him while he drank his coffee. My uncles were the only two in the room who weren’t seated at the table but instead were arguing with Liu off to the side. Frowning, I headed over to join them.

“I don’t care what you say, Liu, you should’ve woken us up last night. We have every right to be included in these meetings to help Astin,” Mathis grumbled. “She doesn’t know what’s at stake here. How could she? Boss didn’t have the chance to train her.”

“Master Mathis, I understand why you’re upset, but it’s not my place or call to determine who should or shouldn’t be involved in what. Lady Astin is absolutely capable of handling anything that’s thrown at her. You’re the ones who need to accept that you’re not part of her team of advisors,” Liu pointed out.

“Don’t give us the brush-off, Liu… it’s beneath you,” Athos snapped. “Right now, the Family, as a whole, is in jeopardy with the mayor’s passing. The work that goes into vetting all the candidates who run and choosing who would be the best fit takes months. Astin has days to put the right person in place, but we could be there to help her. We know what information to gather, how to get it, and things to look out for. She has so many other things to worry about. We can handle this if she lets us.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Liu questioned. “This whole conversation needs to be had with her.”

“Right now, she’s pissed at us, and I get why, even if we didn’t have a choice. When she gets like this, she doesn’t make the best choices,” Mathis reasoned. “If you talk to her about it, she might take the time to look at it logically and not get emotional about it.”

“Wooow,” I said, drawing out the word. “I’m sorry, did I just hear you say that you think I’m going to be too emotional to think logically?” I could see the panicked expressions on my uncles’ faces as they turned to look at me. “Tell me, when have you ever seen me not think about things in a logical fashion due to me being so overly emotional? Wait, hold on one sec…” turning to the table, I looked at Hound, “… am I on my period?”

Hound actually had the decency to blush at my question as he cleared his throat before answering. “Ah… no. You haven’t had one in at least a year since you got the implant put in. Pretty sure I read that keeps you in the clear for five years.”

“Thank you. I just wanted to make sure nothing might be affecting my ability to think rationally without any added female hormones to make me volatile.” Retuning my attention to my uncles, I gave them a wide smile and clasped my hands to my chest. “I so appreciate you looking out for me and ensuring that I’m protected from the big bad world out there. You know, you’d think after training me for years and knowing I was kept apprised of the process of picking Mayor Wilson for his position three years ago, I’d be just as well-informed as you. Funny how you were both so supportive and there for me when I was just the underboss and not in control of everything. It’s almost like you’re hiding something and don’t want me to find out what it is.”

“Azzy,” Athos cut in, reaching out for me, but I slapped his hand away. “This whole hissy fit is proving our point.”

I froze and just stared at him. I never thought my uncles would have a problem with me being the boss. What had they thought would happen when Daddy stepped down when his illness got too bad or if he passed earlier than expected, like what had happened? Could it be they believed one of them would be put in charge, that this whole idea of me being the heir wasn’t going to last? Mathis is the only one who could possibly take the position from me, but I’d never perceived him as wanting the job.

“Are you two making a play to take the position away from me?” I demanded, rising out of the wheelchair. “Look me in the eye and tell me that you’re not going behind my back as we speak, trying to rally the Family behind you?”

Athos dropped his gaze, but Mathis held mine as he answered, “I’ve always done what’s best for the Family and supported my brother in everything he wanted to do. Nothing about that has changed.”

“That wasn’t an answer, Mathis,” I bit out. “I’ll ask again. Are you trying to undermine me and turn the Family against me so you can take the role of Boss?”

“No, I’m not,” Mathis answered.

Lunging forward, I grabbed the gun out of Mathis’s holster and aimed it at him. “You’re going to tell me right this second what you know, and don’t even bother trying to reason with me. You’ve made it clear that you don’t believe I can be trusted with my mind, so why bother? As you see, I’m not being all that reasonable, so I think it’s safer to give the crazy female what she wants before she blows your fucking head off.”

“Easy now, squirt,” Mathis said, raising his hands in surrender. “I know a lot’s happened in the past few days, but you and I are still family. Put the gun down, and I’ll explain everything that’s going on.”

“That’s impressive,” I commented, jabbing the gun into his chest. “You literally just ignored everything that just came out of my mouth and did what I told you not to. Maybe we need to try this again.” Stepping forward, I pressed the muzzle of the gun to his temple. “Tell me who’s trying to make a run for Boss?”

Mathis gulped as his eyes grew wide, realizing I wasn’t fucking around. “Astin, you had to know this was going to happen. You’re a woman, and none of the Family would support that no matter what they told your father. I did some digging after our last talk about the Old Guard, and I might have been wrong about them.”

While I wasn’t shocked to hear this, I was surprised that he hadn’t come to tell me about it sooner. The sound of a scuffle had me pulling my gaze from Mathis to find both Liu and Boykov with their guns trained on Athos. It was clear he’d been going for his gun, and one of the others kicked out his leg, dropping him to his knees.

“So this is what it’s come to? The last of my blood family is turning on me?” I questioned, taking a step back from Mathis so I could keep them both in my sights. “Did you really ever support my father, or were you both part of the plan to ruin him?”

The others from the table rose and blocked any chance of exiting the room, each with their guns in hand. It bolstered me to know that if nothing else, these men had my back, and I was beginning to trust they always would. Blood relations and family ties seemed to be pointless, and from everything I’d been taught, the biggest lie of them all.

“Astin, your father wasn’t a well man,” Athos began as he tried to get to his feet, but Liu shoved him back down.

Glaring, the man continued, “Colmazio tried to hide how sick he was, but Mathis and I knew better. We’d been working beside him since the day he took his oath, and there was no way we could miss a change that big. He became weak, allowing things to slip through the cracks, people taking advantage of us with no punishment, and then bringing in these men to become your lieutenants. Yes, each of them had skill, but it was clear to me he wanted to create a life for you just like his own. If his daughter had more than one committed partner, he could prove to all of us that he wasn’t selfish for wanting to keep his wife and mistress as equals. He wanted to change the rules and allow you to take over when he stepped down. While there may not be a written rule about the role of Boss being handed down to a male of the family, it’s just how things are done.”

Stunned by the words that came out of his mouth, I felt like someone had to have gotten to Athos. “How could you come and train me for all those years if you believed having a woman take over wasn’t what should happen?”

“For me, I thought we’d have time to change Colmazio’s mind or get you married, and your husband would take over,” Athos explained. “It’s not that I don’t love you like a daughter, Astin, because I do. What I have a problem with is you running the show, making choices based on feelings instead of facts. It’s a proven fact women don’t have the ability to remain objective.”