Page 49 of Love & Power

“Sooo… you were mad?” I concluded.

Ryker rubbed his forehead clearly frustrated. “No, I was fucking pissed, and everyone had to talk me off the ledge from dragging your ass home.”

That sounded more like a reaction I’d expect from the Ryker I knew and loved. “So why not just be honest with me when I asked you?”

“Because I’m trying really fucking hard not to be the guy you expect to blow up at you when you make a choice I disagree with. You’re the head of two prominent mafia families, a trained killer, and the smartest fucking person I know. Who am I to question the choices you make?” Ryker asked, tossing up his hands in defeat. “I wasn’t there on the plane to know why you were going there or who you were picking up. All I knew is you were somewhere I couldn’t get to, and it terrified me.”

The passion behind Ryker’s words had me loving him more than I already did. Cupping his face, I kissed him, wanting him to know I understood where he was coming from. “I love you too,” I whispered.

He hugged me tightly, burying his face in my neck as he held me. I combed my fingers through his hair, offering as much comfort as I could, proving to him I was here and safe. “I’m sorry. I should have reached out to you and filled you in on what was going on. If it’s any consolation to you, Ivy kept me in the dark until the last minute.”

“I thought it would be more fun to leave it a surprise,” Ivy offered in her defense. “It seems I need to keep in mind that when it comes to Astin, you lot are a package deal.”

“Yes, I believe that would be a prudent move on your part,” Atticus agreed. “Consider how you handled things in your attempt to surprise Astin about coming to Nepreea. Just having Liu in the loop on your plan made things much smoother. Although, in hindsight, that secret was ruined when she called you about Domenico. Perhaps secrets and surprises aren’t the best method when dealing with situations that include Astin.”

“Hmm, you make a valid observation,” Ivy agreed, tapping her chin. “While surprises are fun in most cases, I’m not sure that applies to people in the mafia.”

“Hey, I fucking love surprises,” Von interjected.

“Vonnie, you’re not in the mafia,” one of the twins remarked.

Von shrugged. “So? That furthers my reasoning of why I love surprises.”

Twisting to see Von better, I cut in, “Hold on, what do you mean you’re not part of the mafia? Von, you’re a Zuccaro.”

“You want to answer that one, Babbo?” Von asked, directing her question to Armond.

Armond nodded, shifting his gaze to me. “I mentioned this to your men while we had lunch together, so I’ll give you the condensed answer. My sons, Lazzaro and Matteo…” he shared, gesturing to the twins, “ … are my heirs to the Zuccaro Family business and anything related to the mafia or criminal side of things. Von chose to go a different direction as you all know, becoming one of the most skilled weapons smugglers in the business. It is a conflict of interest to have her tied to anything regarding the criminal dealings of the Zuccaro Family. She, of course, is still in my will and will be provided for with whatever assets I have not connected to criminal activities. I realize it’s rather convoluted, but it helps us both in our dealings with others.”

I had to take a moment to break that down in my head to see why it would benefit them. Once I looked at it from an outside perspective, I understood. “I see, so by being her own person, no longer tied to the mafia side of things, people don’t view her as your puppet and private weapons cash. Likewise, Von isn’t tied to respect the agreements and contracts made by the Zuccaro Family, allowing her the freedom to trade and deal with whoever she wants.”

“Exactly,” Armond said with a clap of his hand. “You truly are as sharp as your grandfather makes you out to be.”

“Thanks, Armond.” I grinned. “So what have you guys been doing while us ladies were staging a jailbreak?”

“Nothing too exciting… looking over properties, had lunch, went skeet shooting, and just started to sort through what Armond brought over,” Braxton shared. “He had some leads on properties our nemeses might use.”

“It’s not much, but I figured I would share what I know along with anything else connected to those two bastards,” Armond added.

Bear joined us, sitting in a clear spot on the floor only to have Von promptly flop herself onto his lap like he was a human bean bag chair. Ivy sedately took an open spot on the couch next to Atticus while the twins resumed their places. Leaning back, I peered at Hound wearing headphones and bobbing to whatever music he was listening to. It made me curious if he even realized I was back.

Slipping off Ryker’s lap, I wandered over, keeping out of sight as I stalked my prey. When I finally got close enough, I reached around and covered his eyes, waiting for whatever dramatic reaction came next.

Only nothing happened.

Hound simply leaned his head back as he brushed his hands up my arms, pulling them away from his face. “Moonflower, I love that you think you can sneak up on me. I knew the second you landed back at the airport and the moment the car pulled up to the house.”

“Stalker,” I sassed as I started to pull away from him.

He gripped my wrist and twirled me as he stood, locking me against him with my arm. “Not so fast there, Luna. You wanted my attention, didn’t you?” he pointed out, nuzzling my neck until he nipped at my sensitive skin behind my ear. “Well, now you have it.”

“I just wanted to have you join in on the conversation and meet some new friends of mine,” I explained. “But if you need to keep working on the program, I understand.”

“If my lady needs me, then everything else can wait,” Hound assured me with an open-mouth kiss on my neck before whispering in my ear, “I really wanted to meet Von’s bodyguard… seems like he’d be a cool dude.”

Shaking my head as my fears had come true, I led Hound over to Von and Bear. “I figure the easiest way is to introduce everyone at once. Von, these are my lieutenants and lovers, Ryker, Braxton, Liu, Atticus, and Hound. You already met Luca and Jace outside. Guys, this is Von, Armond’s daughter, weapons smuggler, and my blood-oath sister. Last but not least, Bear, protector and right-hand man to Von.”

Von grinned, showing off her bejeweled smile and gave a two-finger salute as her greeting. Bear gave a half wave with a cordial grunt. For not knowing the man all that long, I took that as a positive sign he gave any acknowledgment to the group.