Page 48 of Revenge & Truth

Jace smirked as he finished the bite he’d just taken. “I believe it started when I tried to kick you out of your own birthday party.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” I accused, pointing at him with my fork. “I want to know how you got brought into the Family.”

“Ahh…” Jace said, drawing out the word dramatically. “Auntie made it clear that if I was going to live in their home, eat their food, and be treated like her own child, I was going to college. There was no argument I could possibly make to convince her otherwise during my senior year of high school. Growing up the way I had, college never seemed like something I could make happen, let alone afford, so I didn’t plan for it the way most would in high school.”

“You have to plan for that?” I asked, frowning and thinking back to my high school days.

Jace sat back in his chair completely at ease, sipping on his wine as he studied me. “Are you saying Colmazio Caprioni didn’t have his precious daughter attend college?”

“No, it was never even spoken of,” I shared. “Thinking back on it, I suppose it was odd I didn’t have that in common with any of the other kids who rattled on about what school they got into. For me, the expectation was I’d begin the intensive training needed for me to take over the business one day. All the education I got was tailored to cover anything I’d need to know to accomplish that. Plus, the physical and mental part of what I went through had to be conducted in private. When I was around twelve, my combat training started to draw unwanted attention from my teacher and schoolmates. So that was adjusted to maintain what I knew until school was over.”

He nodded absently, tapping a finger against his glass. “During that intense training is when your alter ego appeared,” Jace said, making it a statement rather than a question. “I can see even more clearly why you’d be so fucking pissed about Ryker lying to you on top of leaving. He got a normal college education, not to mention returning home where he was trained personally by your father.”

“Yes,” I murmured, taking a large gulp of my wine. “Truthfully, it was what felt like the knife in my heart when he cut off communication without warning. Even having that connection to him helped to make me feel less alone in the worst years of my life. Then to hear he knew what was going on and did nothing to help me was like rubbing salt on an old wound that wouldn’t heal.”

My throat tightened just thinking about those days and the emotions that still felt as fresh as when they happened. “I’m working really fucking hard to trust Ryker when he says he’ll never leave me again, but that kind of trust isn’t easy to give once lost. Without any other family around, he was all I had. The person I knew was in my corner. No matter what happened, he’d have my back, or that’s what I believed. Seems when it comes to my father, I always lose.”

Jace sat up and took my hand with both of his. “Hey, don’t you fucking do that to yourself. Boss was a hard man who ruled his empire with an iron fist. If you wanted a place in his world, then you fell in line, did as you were told, and prayed to whatever god you believed in that he’d only hear good things about you. Being a grunt in the Caprioni Family was an honor, but you lived every day knowing one wrong move could lose you everything. Best case, you’d just be dismissed from your role and worst case would be begging for your life, knowing they didn’t give second chances.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I questioned.

“I’m telling you this so you understand Ryker’s choice when your father told him to cut off communication. Yeah, that asshole got some special treatment working alongside your father, but when you’re given a direct order, that wasn’t something you could go against. If there was ever going to be a chance of him having a future with you, then he wasn’t going to fuck it up by disobeying your father,” Jace explained. “Your father loved you more than anything in the world, and he knew Ryker was important to you. I’m not saying he did any of this the right way, but the way I see it, making Ryker one of your lieutenants kept him by your side the moment you returned home.”

I had a moment to think that over as our next course arrived, old dishes were removed, and new wine poured. Tasting the new wine, I looked at things from Ryker’s perspective. He had no idea my father never explained what was going on and why he stopped communicating with me. Being a good soldier, he kept his end of the bargain and never reached out to me but used a loophole in the system to keep tabs on my life. I suppose when you break it down to the raw truth of the matter, Ryker still had my back when he chose to have a future with me instead of losing the chance.

“Gambling,” Jace said, pulling me out of the past and bringing me back to the present.

“What?”

Jace smiled and leaned forward. “You wanted to know how I got here… gambling is the answer.”

I gave him an irritated look as I took a stick of skewered meat. “Care to elaborate?”

“Only because you’re the one asking,” he teased. “As I mentioned, going to college wasn’t up for debate. So, what does everyone go to school for when they have no fucking clue what to do with their life?”

Frowning, I shook my head. “How would I know that?”

“Fair, but the answer is business,” Jace informed me. “I went to the local community college so I could pay for classes as I went along instead of a four-year school like Tamara did for nursing. During my first year, I made some friends, and they invited me to this underground poker game hosted at some shady club. While I wasn’t a big fan, I’d learned how to play at an early age… hazards of having an addict for a parent. There had been so many times he’d taken me with him to games to be his lookout for cheaters. I’d signal to him if I caught someone doing something shady, and he’d get them tossed out, keeping the pot just as big with one less player.

“So, there I was at this underground gambling ring with maybe ten tables of people playing poker. It wasn’t until I’d caught about five people cheating through the night before I was hauled into the back and questioned. At first, they thought I was a cop, but once they realized how old I was, they knew I couldn’t be. Then I was accused of being a grunt to a rival gambling ring run by the Caprioni Family. It took hours and the worst beating of my life before I convinced them I wasn’t a spy, just a fucking kid who knew what to look for. Needless to say, I was banned from ever coming back,” Jace said with a chuckle.

“Funny thing is… apparently there had been a spy for your father watching the whole scene go down. He stopped me at school a week later and asked if I wanted a side job to help pay for school. Of course, I said yes, and the next thing I knew, I was asked to sit in on games and call out the cheaters.”

“That’s fucking wild. Who would have ever thought the son of a drunken gambler would one day be put in charge of running the largest underground gambling ring in all the country,” I commented, amazed by the turn of events. “Do you ever worry about your father’s addiction becoming yours?”

“Nah. I watch men lose themselves to gambling day after day. It’s never a fate I want to experience. Plus, I have way more fun calling out the cheaters who try to fuck people over to get them to pull out a bigger loan with their boss. The only person who’s allowed to offer credit in our house is me, no one else,” he explained.

His story impressed me with his personal strength and command. “Sounds like you’ve found a way to take control of something that could make many a good man fail and show him who’s boss.”

“Well, it’s no secret I like to be in charge,” Jace pointed out, giving me a heated glance. “Although, it’s more rewarding when the other person involved agrees to let me be in control. You don’t give just anyone that power over you.”

This change in topic had me leaning forward, closing the space between us so I could talk in a lower voice. “So tell me why a person should let you have the power? To me, holding the power is the better side of the deal.”

“That’s because no one understands that the one who surrenders actually holds the power,” Jace whispered, keeping his hand up as if hiding what he was saying from those around us. “Such as, with one word, they can instantly stop whatever’s happening. When that one word is uttered, it’s my job to understand what went wrong, made them uncomfortable, or if I crossed a boundary. The only power I have is what is given to me by my submissive. Anyone who thinks that a power dynamic is about control and manipulation without it being agreed upon has no idea what they’re talking about.”

“How does it work if we both have one person who submits to us? If I understand correctly, we’ve each created our own terms and expectations. Is it possible for them to blend?” I questioned, this matter being my biggest area of concern.

“That’s the beauty of it all, Astin. We can create something between the three of us that makes sure we’re all happy, and our needs are met,” Jace explained. “Look, I know your biggest worry is making sure you’re not stealing Braxton from me. Seeing how hard you’re trying to give Braxton what he desires while ensuring I’m aware of it all shows me just how much you care and respect us. Instead of having these conversations with each of us, I think we need to sit down as a group to move forward. I love Braxton, his happiness means everything to me, but so does yours. Obviously, we have an electric physical connection, but I want to develop the emotional side of this too. Is that something you’re interested in working on?”