Page 20 of Revenge & Truth

“Hey,” Braxton said, reaching out to take my hand. “You never know what we might find when we raid the place. Our smoking gun might be hidden away in the club, waiting for us to find it.”

I twined our fingers together and gave him a small smile. “I guess I’m just sick and tired of always being half a step behind whatever the hell is happening. This time I want a win that will make the fucker hurt.”

“When this is all over, we’ll be the last ones standing, and that’s going to be a win that hurts like a motherfucker,” Braxton assured me, kissing the back of my hand before releasing it and settling back in his seat. “I propose we change the subject to something more interesting.”

“Oh yeah, like what?” Hound asked, his eyes closed and head tilted back, totally relaxed as if we weren’t on our way to fuck up people’s lives.

Braxton hummed loudly, tapping his chin like he didn’t already have something he wanted to talk about. “What about the fact that Jace found Ryker in Astin’s bed this morning?”

This had Hound snapping to attention. “Wait, what?”

“Oh God.” I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “What! Are we in high school that we need to discuss who’s fucking who?”

“No, but it does mean that you’re finally being honest with yourself and adding to your collection of boyfriends,” Braxton clarified. “We know Luca is already on the list. You and I know I’ve had my conversation with Jace—”

“Whoa there, buddy,” I cut in. “That isn’t how this works.”

Braxton frowned. “Are you saying Luca is not someone you’re in a relationship with?”

“No, I was talking about you and me,” I said, pointing between us. “Yes, I asked you to have a conversation with Jace about you and me being together, but I still need to have my own chat on the matter with Jace.”

“Ah… didn’t we do that this morning before breakfast?” Jace questioned.

I looked at him, utterly confused. “Are you talking about the two sentences where you said you’re cool with me being with Braxton, but you’re also interested in being with me? That’s what you consider a conversation? I didn’t even get to say anything in response to your declarations.”

“Hey… hi… sorry to cut in,” Hound interrupted. “But if we’re making declarations, then I want you all to know I’m madly in love with Astin and totally putting in my application to be a boyfriend. Wait, is that what we’re calling this because that doesn’t seem right?”

“The terminology used in the community is paramore when talking about being Astin’s partner and metamore when we talk about each other. Metamores or meta are people who share the same partner but aren’t in a relationship with each other,” Jace educated us. “Furthermore, Astin, Brax, and I would be a triad or throuple within Astin’s polycule or relationship network.”

“Wait, there’s a community of people who have relationships like this, enough so that there’s proper terminology?” I questioned.

Jace gave me a sly smile. “Yeah, babe, it’s way more common than you think when you start doing some digging. Seems the world at large isn’t ready to accept it, but that doesn’t stop it from happening.”

“Huh,” I offered in response.

It seems I would have to do my own research on the subject. Part of me wondered if it was simply a genetics thing seeing as my father had more than one partner. That could still be a possibility, but knowing there were other people out there in a relationship with more than one person outside of a cult or being religious weirdos helped.

“Astin,” Liu murmured, drawing my attention to him. “None of us want to push you into making a choice you’re not ready to make. I think what everyone is trying to tell you with all this is they want you to know their intentions. There have been a lot of subtle advances and flirting since you arrived. Other than Braxton and Ryker, none of us have outright told you we have romantic feelings for you and would like to see where those feelings take us.”

My gaze shifted from him to look at the others in the car with me. Jace might not have outright said his thoughts on how he felt about me, but his actions screamed it loud and clear. I still remember the feel of his touch on that dance floor. How our bodies pressed together as he shamelessly finger-fucked me in front of all those people without getting caught. Jace was bold in his actions, knowing exactly what he wanted out of life and going after it. I loved that side of him almost as much as I found it irritating when he wouldn’t let something drop.

Ryker was a no-brainer. That man would get on one knee and carve out his heart if I asked. The issue between us was trust, not love. There was more than enough love to last a lifetime or more. I feared he wouldn’t be able to share me or leave me again if he felt it was the best thing for me. Everything he did was in my best interest, yet that need to be everything is what destroyed us.

When it came to Hound, I felt a connection. Something about him drew me to him like a moth to a flame. It was apparent he had stronger feelings for me than I did for him at this moment. Probably because of the stalking, but that was a discussion for another time. I also could see my feelings growing into something more as we spent time together. Hound was unapologetically him, never letting the small things weigh him down. I’d always admired that about him, but it’d become so much more now that I had met him in person.

Then my gaze fell on Atticus. This man had no idea he held my heart in the palm of his hand. He was too pure and good for the world I was raised to be in, but selfishly, I’d never let him leave me. Even if he never wanted to be anything more than my best friend, I would take it because losing him wasn’t an option. Atticus was my true north, the person who would keep me from losing to the evil that surrounded me daily. We’d kissed, but I was the one who initiated that, leaving me with no sense of how he viewed me.

Knowing how deeply I felt for Atticus and Ryker, and with Braxton worming his way into my heart, whether I liked it or not, told me I was capable of loving more than one person. While this was the first time I was willing to admit that to myself, subconsciously I believed I already knew that was the truth. Every one of these seven men were like anchors in the storm of chaos that is my life since coming home. As I told Luca, I needed all of them to survive. The question was, is this the best thing for them?

“Thank you for telling me how you feel,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. Taking a second, I cleared my throat and continued, “Right now, I need a little time and would appreciate the chance to talk one-on-one. I don’t think it’s fair to put everyone on the spot if they have questions or concerns about entering an unconventional relationship like you’re proposing.”

They nodded, and the matter was dropped for now, allowing a comfortable silence to fill the car.

Shifting closer to Liu, I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, trying to figure out what I was going to do now we had laid everything out on the table.

“Luna,” Hound crooned, stroking my cheek with his fingers. “We’re about five minutes away. I think it’s best you wake up now.”

I cracked an eye looking over at him and grunted.