Page 42 of Love & Power

Armond grabbed them both by the back of the neck and yanked them apart. “Enough, you knock that bullshit off right now. Just because these men are friends of the Family doesn’t mean you can act like idiots. For fuck’s sake, you’d never know you two are thirty-one goddamn years old.”

Both men hung their heads and mumbled their apologies.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need you two to act like that in front of Astin at least once,” Braxton requested. “Then she can’t say I’m the only grown adult who acts like a child from time to time.”

Laughing, I slapped him on the back and gripped his shoulder. “Sorry, Brax, I’m not sure that’s gonna help your case.”

He shrugged and offered his hand to the twins. “Braxton, lieutenant in charge of all things fun.”

Once we’d gotten introductions out of the way, we headed for the dining room, where the other five members of our crew were seated at the table with Frediano.

“Have a nice nap there, Brax?” Jace teased, tugging his lover down for a quick kiss.

Braxton flopped into the seat next to Jace, scowling. “You could have woken me up instead of letting me drool all over the files.”

“He tried,” Hound interjected. “I believe your response was ‘fuck off.’ ”

“How the hell did I miss all this happening?” I questioned, pulling back a chair next to Atticus, who turned to look at me rather confused. “What?”

“Liu, I told you we were heading to lunch. In fact, you responded saying that sounded good,” Atticus shared. “Do you really not remember saying that?”

Groaning, I rubbed my forehead, knowing exactly what happened. “Did I look you in the eye and say that or was I still reading?”

“I can’t recall if you looked up or not,” Atticus admitted, adjusting his glasses nervously.

“No, he didn’t look up from the file,” Ryker announced. “Which means he didn’t actually hear you talking to him, Atticus. He responded on autopilot. Interestingly enough, Astin does that a lot when she gets lost in her thoughts.”

“Interesting,” Atticus murmured. “So how do I ensure that I’m being heard? My assumption is having a verbal response would be the confirmation I needed. However, if what you’re saying is true, I’ll need another mode of proof.”

There was a snort from one of the twins that caught our attention.

“Sorry,” Metteo offered, trying to stifle his laughter. “But I have to ask, is he for real?”

The comfortable air in the room vanished as Hound shot to his feet, knocking the chair to the floor as Luca freed a knife, slamming it to the table. Metteo’s eyes went wide as he realized he’d majorly fucked up. Armond just sighed, rubbing his temple, but clearly wasn’t going to intervene.

“Tell me, boy, what exactly are you implying with that question?” Hound asked through gritted teeth.

All seven of us were skilled fighters, and I wouldn’t wish anyone to go up against the likes of us, pissed off or not. That being said, the deadliest of us would be Luca and Hound, with one keeping their crazy a little more controlled than the other. Luca was able to use more discretion in his choices. However, Hound lacked the ability to rein himself in when it came to Astin or things that were important to our queen. Unfortunately, Metteo was going to learn the hard way none of us would tolerate disrespect directed at any of us, especially Atticus.

“I… ah… well…” Metteo babbled.

Atticus took his knife and taped it against his glass, waiting until he had everyone’s attention. “Hound, while I appreciate you coming to my defense, I’m going to ask you to take your seat. I would like to address his question.”

Just when I was beginning to think there wasn’t anything in this world that could surprise me anymore, hearing Atticus choosing to stand up for himself in a confrontational manner was unprecedented. Hound studied Atticus for a moment, picked up his chair, and sat without saying another word.

“Please forgive them for reacting so strongly to your rude and insensitive question,” Atticus said, sitting tall.

Lazzaro choked on his water, caught off guard at the way Atticus just called his brother out. I could see his hands balled into fists on his lap, but I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or how uncomfortable it was for Atticus to assert himself to strangers.

“As you have noticed, my actions and responses are slightly off from what is widely considered as ‘normal,’ ” Atticus commented, even going so far as to use finger quotes when saying the word normal. “Due to how my brain is wired, it’s gifted me with a vast IQ, but as with all strengths, there are weaknesses. Mine are as follows… the inability to read body language or pick up subtle hints that aren’t verbalized and struggling to understand certain emotions or responses people expect when experiencing those emotions. Physical touch is something I don’t welcome from many… it feels like sandpaper on my skin. Sarcasm is a concept I don’t understand nor do I pick up on it, although I’m getting better at recognizing the tone that comes with it. Astin is fond of using this type of communication to make a point.”

The truth of that comment had me ducking my head and grinning. Our girl loved a good clap back, and she was a master at them.

“Now that you have a better understanding of who I am as a person, I will answer your question. Yes, I’m for real, and I hardly waste the energy to ask a question I don’t wish to know the answer to. So, Master Zuccaro, how would you suggest I ensure the person I’m speaking to has heard me?” Atticus inquired, giving that man a verbal burn that would sting for weeks to come.

Lazzaro covered his mouth and leaned closer to Metteo, but it wasn’t enough to keep his words from being heard by all of us. “Fucking mic drop, bro, you gonna pick it up?”

“Shut the hell up, Laz,” Metteo snapped and glared at his brother. Lazzaro raised his hands in surrender, backing off the situation.