Page 14 of Love & Power

My brows rose as I read between the lines of what Armond was saying. Did my grandfather have a secret male lover? Could that be why he never remarried or followed through with cutting ties to my mother? My, my, I knew this trip would bring about some revelations, but this wasn’t one I’d been expecting.

“Good morning, all. I hope I’m not too late for breakfast,” a man greeted as he walked in from the courtyard.

Like a true assassin, Luca appeared from the shadows of the courtyard where he’d been watching. Faster than the new arrival could process, he was on his knees with a gun pressed to the back of his head.

“Who the fuck are you?” Luca questioned.

The man looked so startled as he kneeled there, arms raised, and not moving anything but his eyes. When he didn’t answer Luca’s question, I saw the shift in Luca’s stance as he readied to strike the man.

“Luca, wait,” I called out, shooting to my feet.

Once I approached the man, I squatted down to look at his face, feeling like I recognized him from somewhere. As my brain tried to track down that memory, he held my gaze without wavering.

“I know you… ” I whispered, cocking my head as I felt like I was so close to grasping the connection. When the dots connected, a memory came flooding back to the day of the wedding.

Before I knew what my body was doing, I grasped the man’s face, my heart beating so hard I could feel it in my ears. “You, you were there.”

“Forgive me for not remembering you, but you’re going to need to give me a little more reference to work from,” he said, frowning as he studied my face.

“You’re Demaso, correct?” I asked, not wanting to say more if I’d been mistaken. The video was made over twenty-five years ago, after all.

He tried to nod, but I still held his face, preventing the motion. “Ah… yes, that’s my name. Would you do this old man a favor and tell me yours? I apologize, but I can’t seem to recall it.”

Smiling, I hugged the man tightly. “We’ve never met, but you and my father were best friends. In fact, you were the only person besides the priest at their wedding before he fled to Mansara.”

“Good heavens, you’re Colmazio’s child,” Demaso murmured as he returned my hug. He then pulled back so he could see my face, cupping my cheek. “I’m so sorry to hear you lost your parents in such horrible ways. God, poor Casimira must be beside herself having him taken from her so suddenly. How is she managing?”

Rising to my feet, I brushed out my pants as if I’d buy a fabric that would wrinkle. “Daddy made sure both Casimira and Jamison, my half-brother, would be safe and comfortable for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a relationship with either of them, being kept in hiding. Last I saw Casimira, she was starting to take the first steps to not let her grief overwhelm her. My bitch of a stepmother didn’t help matters, making a scene and viciously attacking her in front of the Family. However, I dealt with that situation so it would never happen again.”

Luca offered Demaso a hand, helping the older man to his feet. “Thank you, son. I’m glad to see my friend’s little girl has sharp people around her.”

“I apologize for that. We were in a battle of wills with these other two gentlemen when you arrived,” I explained, hooking my arm through his and guiding him to a seat next to Armond.

Demaso glanced at the two men and huffed out a laugh. “Those two stubborn goats will never make things easy. They’re too used to being the people in power with their money and connections. However, if you’re anything like your father, then they should know better than to fuck with you.”

I resumed my seat with Atticus and Luca joining while the others still kept an eye on our petty guests.

“So you know those men?” Atticus asked.

“You’ll find that anyone with money or power of any kind is connected to one of the five families. It’s only through them they could get where they are today,” Demaso explained.

Looking down, I noticed a plate full of food had been placed before me. One look at Liu told me he was the person responsible. I reached out, grabbed the lapel of his suit coat, and pulled him to me. “Thank you,” I murmured before kissing him sweetly.

Liu didn’t let me retreat, holding me there with a hand on my throat until he’d gotten a proper kiss. “You’re welcome, omae. Now you have to eat some of it,” he warned. “If you don’t, then I’ll be forced to bring this to Jace’s attention.”

His threat was real, and I knew Jace worried more than the others if I wasn’t eating. Jace had past trauma from watching his mother waste away from depression, resulting in his father killing her in a drunken rage. Even though I knew Liu was trying to make a valid point, it lost some of its bite as I knew Jace’s punishment would also come with pleasure.

“Duly noted,” I said, keeping my voice low. “You know, it sure seems like you want to be invited if I were to get in trouble.”

A glint of excitement told me I’d read him right. “That’s a conversation for later when we don’t have guests.” With a quick peck, he let go of me and made a show of looking from me to the plate in a silent reminder.

“Fuck, why is it so hot to see her with you guys?” Hound asked as he adjusted himself crudely in front of the men.

“It’s called compersion,” Jace answered. “The feeling of joy seeing your partner being loved or taken care of by another partner. Simple answer is it’s the opposite of jealousy.”

“Huh…” Hound grunted, using his gun to scratch his cheek. “That’s pretty cool. I’m beginning to think these non-monogamous people have been right all along. Maybe as humans, we weren’t meant to be with only one person.”

Armond cleared his throat, drawing our attention. “Forgive me, I don’t mean this question to be rude in any way, but how many of these men are you… intimate with?”