Page 45 of Blood & Heartache

“Is it now?” I said with a huff of laughter. “What about you, Mathis? You seem to be letting Athos do all the talking. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Squirt, you’re a brilliant woman and could make an amazing leader to the Family if you had more time. Right now, I don’t think it’s the best call to have you take over… maybe in a few years once you’ve become acclimated to things here,” Mathis shared. “I don’t agree with Athos or some of the Old Guard who believe as Athos does. You’re not only a Caprioni but a Raffa too. Astin, you were born with the blood of two great families inside you, so how could you not lead us?”

“Were you ever going to tell me, Mathis?” I asked. “Or did you think I was strong enough to handle it when Athos and the Old Guard came for me in front of everyone at the oath ritual tonight?”

Mathis shrugged. “The fastest way to prove you’re worthy of the spot is to show the others how you’ll handle things like this when they pop up. If you failed, then it was never meant to be, and if you quashed the problem, putting them in their place, then it wouldn’t matter. No one would ever question your authority again, and you’d be able to hold your own.”

“You realize you’re all fucking assholes, don’t you?” I stated. “By keeping silent and allowing someone else to threaten my place in the Family is treason.”

“But it’s not,” Athos interjected. “You’re not the leader of the Caprioni Family, you’re just the heir. Until you stand before the Family and announce yourself as our Boss, then you’re nothing but a stand-in… a placeholder for the real head of the family to take their place.”

His words echoed in my ear as I felt they were eerily similar to what Detective White said to me. Could he be in on this too?

“Unfortunately for both of you, I’m going to hold my seat as head of the Caprioni Family, and once I’m done hearing each and every one of those members give me their oath, I’m going to use you both as an example of what kind of leader I am. Family or not, if you think you can fuck me over, then you’re dead wrong,” I announced. “Boykov, place each of them separately in a holding room. Liu, call up the Old Guard. I want to speak to them right fucking now, not when it works for them, not in two hours. Now.”

In a matter of minutes, both those things had been completed, and I was finally sitting for breakfast. A plate of food was quickly set before me as well as a cup of coffee, and I guzzled the hot liquid down before anyone could interrupt me or take it away. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for the Old Guard to get here, but I needed fuel to make it through this damn day. No one spoke as we ate, and I appreciated it. Right now, I just wanted to shovel this amazing cheese-and-bacon-filled quiche into my mouth before something else in my life could blow up.

My mind reeled as I tried to wrap my head around the fact that Athos didn’t support what my father had planned for me at all. How could he have worked with me for years, knowing I’d end up running the family if that’s not what he wanted to have happen? Then there was the bit about his thoughts of me getting married and having my husband take over for me. Detective White had said something about that as well. Could it be that’s what everyone thought my father planned for my future? Possibly they were just stupid and couldn’t fathom a world in which a woman was in power.

All too soon, my plate was empty and being taken away by the staff. At least they refilled my coffee before disappearing into the kitchen. With a sigh, I dropped my head into my hands and figured now was as good a time as any to say something to the guys.

“Anyone else have some groundbreaking revelations about me actually being in power of the Caprioni Family?” I asked as I lifted my head to look at them. “Speak now because my roster of people to kill is getting rather full, and I wouldn’t want you to miss your chance.”

“Astin, I realize you don’t seriously mean that, but I’d like to point out that this type of humor isn’t found funny in this situation. In fact, it makes me furious that you even have to ask that,” Atticus informed me.

“I completely agree with you there, Atty. I’m pretty fucking pissed off myself,” I shared. “However, I felt that even dark humor would be better at this moment than me bursting into tears and shooting everyone just to be sure.”

Atticus slammed his cup down abruptly on the table. “That was your other solution? You were simply going to shoot us all?”

“Ah, my dude, that was total sarcasm,” Hound pointed out, trying to hide what he was saying behind his hand. “She’d never just shoot you. You’re best friends, remember? First, she would tell you she’s shooting you, then do it.”

“Hound,” I said with a warning tone. “You should have just stopped with the she-isn’t-going-to-shoot-you bit.”

“No, I agree with Mr. Hound. There is no way to guarantee you won’t have to shoot me someday for some reason I’m clearly unaware of at the moment. This way, I’ve been warned that I’ll at least be given ample notification if you choose to shoot me,” Atticus reasoned. “That alone eases my mind. I was worried I wouldn’t be prepared for the situation.”

I simply blinked at the man, unsure how to deal with what he’d just said, so I decided to let the matter drop. Thankfully, there was a knock at the door, and Glenda stepped in, a disconcerted look on her face.

“Astin, the Old Guard has arrived,” she informed me. “Where would you like me to put them?”

Now I could understand her unease. This was a power play on my part, but I also wanted to throw them off their game. Putting them in Daddy’s office would be normal and place them in a setting they were comfortable with. Having them in the front sitting room would be too big of a slight since I was saying I wasn’t going to welcome them into the house with that move. That had me thinking about the rooms we had on the first floor. Then it hit me, where would be a place where I held all the power and showed them I was in charge?

“I’m going to have you bring them to the inner conference room but allow me a few minutes to get there first,” I instructed. “Luca, would you please carry me to the conference room?”

I could tell all the guys were surprised by this, but Luca didn’t need to be asked twice. Shoving back my chair, I reached for him, hooking my arms around his neck, and let him scoop me up. As if understanding why I asked to be carried, he took off down the hall at a quick pace.

“So I have to ask, was it your idea to give Atticus an energy drink?” I questioned.

He grinned at me. “I might have suggested it would help make up for his lack of sleep and tasted like orange juice. He hates the taste of coffee, but the man loves his vitamin C.”

“Do we need to worry about him having a heart attack or climbing the walls with such a massive intake of caffeine?” I asked, looking at Atticus following after us with the others.

“Nah, it’s one of those baby beginner energy drinks that’s natural and sugar-free,” Luca assured me. “I think we’ll be fine, but worst-case scenario, I’ll deal with it since I’m the one who gave it to him. It was my way of trying to help matters today since all of us are running on a few hours of sleep.”

“Thank you, Luca. I appreciate you looking out for us both. Atty needs people to watch his back and knowing each of you are keeping an eye on him helps more than you know,” I shared, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Luca had other plans for that, though, and turned his head to meet my lips as he placed his hand on the scanner. The kiss wasn’t long, and he didn’t try to deepen it but made it clear he wasn’t going to accept cheek kisses from me. For some reason, that had me grinning like a fool as we entered the conference room.

“Where do you want to sit, your majesty?” Luca teased.