My father grabs Aaron’s face with both hands. “You listen to me. You will do nothing of the sort. You’re being foolish, Aaron. There are the laws of the common man, and then there are the Laws of Kings, and Lord help those that go against the King.” My father grabs my arm and pulls me out of my chair. Looking Aaron and I both over, he breathes heavily, “Our family has always done whatever it has to do to stay in power, and now it is your turn to take the reins and lead this family to even greater heights. You both have the opportunities to go so much farther than I had ever anticipated for you. Trust me to direct your lives to greatness.”
To make my father happy, Aaron and I both join him for dinner, and it is no surprise that Michael shows up as well as Jamee, my father’s sudden choice for Aaron, something we only just learned of the day before. I didn’t even know my father knew who Jamee was; it’s not as if he takes much of an interest in my career. My father’s new cook made a delicious meal, thankfully so good that I can pretend it is too good to bother talking. Michael and my father do most of the talking, all about the city and their concerns for its future, while Jamee does her best to get Aaron’s attention. She must know of my father’s plans to make him the next chief; otherwise, why would she be so interested in him? He doesn’t make enough money for her standards.
“Michael, how do you feel about a woman concentrating more on a career than having a family?” my father asks with a cocked brow in my direction.
Michael smiles at me from across the table. “Well sir, I think it’s important that everyone follow their dreams, whether that be a career or a family. It’s all worth concentrating on if it’s important to that individual. A happy family can only begin with happy parents, don’t you think?” Michael says with a wink in my direction. I don’t bother to look my father’s way. I know he doesn’t agree. I simply mouth a “thank you” in Michael’s direction.
“Well, I would quit my job in a heartbeat for the good of my family,” Jamee says suddenly.
“That would be more for the good of the people working with you, wouldn’t it?” Aaron laughs.
“Aaron!” My father tenses. “That is very admirable, Jamee. Please excuse my son’s smart mouth; he hasn’t quite reached maturity.”
After dinner, and after some more boring conversation in the living room, Aaron is forced to take Jamee home while Michael volunteers to spare me from the bickering between the two and takes me home.
“Thank you for the ride,” I say as he parks in front of my building.
“Well let me walk you to your door. I am a gentleman, after all.” He jumps out of the car and rushes to open the car door for me before I can do it myself. I suddenly realize that he means all the way to my front door and not just the building door, and I begin to get nervous. I have yet to do much more than kiss Michael on the cheek. I know he wants more. What man wouldn’t at this point? We have been out more than a handful of times already, and I have always managed an excuse or a maneuver to keep from going beyond a friendship with him. I don’t know why he hasn’t given up on me. He should have, and I wish he would, it would make things so much easier. I have tried to find a flaw within him, so I don’t have to feel so guilty about not sharing his feelings, but as hard as I try, I can’t find one. Taking my hand, he walks me up the steps and into the building before grabbing the elevator for me. I walk in first, and he follows in after Dace.
“Hey, little brother, how was your evening?” Michael asks, taking my hand again.
Dace looks down at our intertwined hands and forces a smile. “It was good, had a few drinks with Antony.”
“You went to a bar and you’re coming home alone? Are you sick?” Michael jokes.
“Ha ha, no. I’m just not in the mood to … I’m too tired to… entertain,” Dace says, glancing my way.
The elevator door opens up to my floor, and Michael leads me out while I look back at Dace and meet his eyes, aching inside. The moment we reach my door I already have my keys in hand and feel that overwhelming dread take over as I turn to face Michael. He’s so handsome, Austin. Why can’t you love him? Michael smiles at me, cradling my face in one hand and wiping away a tear from my cheek with the other.
“What’s wrong, Sweetheart? Are you still upset by what your father said?” he asks and I instantly take advantage of the idea and nod. Falling into his arms, I rest my head on his chest and somehow feel comforted. “Do you want me to stay with you for a little while?” I don’t seem to have control over my own emotions anymore, and I nod yes. Why? Why would I do this to him? I am so selfish wanting to be comforted by one man because of another, because of his own brother. Yet I still don’t push Michael away. No, instead, I bring him in even closer and allow him to kiss me. It’s a sweet kiss and seems to satisfy him enough to allow me to sleep against his bare chest for the entire night without pushing me to go any further. How did I get here? I don’t even remember how all this torment started.
Chapter 17
Dace
It’s an early morning when Michael wakes me up and asks to talk to me. He shows up at my door with his shirt untucked and hair obviously fingered back into place. My brother, who is the epitome of perfection, is anything but this early morning.
“Good morning, Michael. You look …a mess. Don’t you iron your clothes anymore or change them?”
He smiles happily. “Okay, okay, yeah I spent the night with Austin last night.” He moves into my place, floating on air. “Things have been moving annoyingly slow with her, I have to admit, but there is something about her that keeps me coming back. I guess you could say she is worth waiting for. I have never met a woman like that. Have you?” he asks.
“Me? Um… no, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You must still be on a sex high,” I say, dashing towards my kitchen and opening my refrigerator door to relieve my steaming body within the cool air.
“Well, I wish I could say that was true, but we didn’t have sex, we only slept. She was upset and crying about her father, so I stayed to help her feel better.”
I slam the refrigerator door shut and turn back to him. “She was crying?”
“Yeah, her father is a real bastard. He treats her like shit,” he says as if he knows her.
Austin could care less about what her father thinks of her. I’ve heard her talking to him before; she ignores most of what he says and is unfazed by his criticisms soon after she hangs up. She’s too strong and independent for anyone’s comments to bother her. I look my brother over and realize he will never see this about her. He will only see the perfect representation of a politician’s wife at his side, representing all that he believes is right. Austin is more than what he sees; she’s a lot more. It pisses me off that he doesn’t realize that.
Michael begins talking about business and asking me to help with one thing or another, but all I can think about is him lying in bed with her and feeling her warm body against his chest while he slept. The more I think about it, the more I want to punch him in the face, and then he turns towards me.
“You okay, Rocky?” Michael asks, reminding me of the nickname he gave me as a kid. He was always the one that would play with me and let me pretend to beat him up. It used to make me laugh so hard when he would pretend that I knocked him out. He looks me over as he always does when he is worried, and I surrender my anger within seconds. “Maybe you should stay home and rest, you have been working non-stop since you have been back. I’m sorry, I didn’t even consider that. I’ll have Antony handle this. He’s been learning a lot from you lately and begging for an opportunity to prove it.”
“No, I’m fine. I promise. I would rather be working than sitting around here bored out of my mind. What do you need, Michael?”
Michael steps back with an odd look. “I just told you a few minutes ago.” He sighs. “Stay home and watch some old movies, maybe call a girl to come over and take your mind off of things. Hey, whatever happened to that girl you were telling me about, the one you were so excited for me to meet? Y
ou seemed to really like her.”
“Oh, it turned out she wasn’t really meant for me.”
“Sorry to hear that. I was really happy for you, but if you came close once, there is no reason to believe you won’t find someone even better. Right?” He grabs the back of my head and rubs it.
“Right,” I say, forcing a smile.
“Alright, I will call you later to check on you…” He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a tiny box. “Oh damn! I meant to give this to Austin. Do you mind giving this to her for me?”
“Me?! Why can’t you do it?”
“Because I am afraid she won’t like it, and I hate to see disappointment in her face.”
“You really like her, don’t you?” I ask him as he lowers his eyes away from me.
“You know I have always been attracted to her, and I thought she would be a good fit for my political career, but she is so much more than I could have ever imagined.” He smiles and shakes his head before walking out with a wave. I walk over and pick up the little box he left on the table. Opening it, I see a tiny elephant charm. It’s not quite the same as the one I gave her. Instead of being completely carved with dramatic detail, it is adorned with a cute diamond trunk. Sigh. I need a ride.
I grab my helmet and head out, being sure to stop by her door on my way out. Don’t bother knocking, just put it in front of her door. I squat down as her door opens. Of course. I stand up and quickly hand Austin the box.
“What’s this?” she asks with a smile.
“Michael forgot to give it to you. He was afraid you wouldn’t like it, so he asked me to give it to you instead, but I thought considering…well I was going to leave it at your door.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“Aren’t you going to open it? I’m sure he is going to ask me later.” She lifts the top and looks in with a sigh.
“It’s very pretty.” I nod. “He saw the one you gave me, and he asked if I liked elephants. I told him I that I love them.”
“And how did he see it exactly?” I say sharply.
“I wore it! Do you have a problem with that? Or maybe you want it back? Maybe you want to take it all back, every word said, every kiss given. Is that it, Dace? Am I one big regret now?”
“I told you, my brother would have us both killed. He is very paranoid, and he has never really liked me or Antony. He doesn’t need much of an excuse to have me killed.”
“Then why have anything to do with him? Talk to Michael. I am sure he…”
“Austin, it doesn’t work that way. If my family looks the least bit weak then we take a chance of being attacked from all sides, and then we are all dead. As much as I love Michael, Ettore keeps our enemies in check; we need him. They are terrified of him. As much as Michael likes to think everyone likes him and will follow him, our enemies are only staying away from him because of Ettore. My father knows that, and I know that. That’s why I help him, because I love Michael that much to help make his dreams come true. Otherwise, Antony and I would have never come back here. We would have disappeared forever.”
“That’s really sad. You know that? Are you never going to allow yourself to be happy? What about Antony? Is it all about Michael?”
“You don’t understand. If it wasn’t for Michael, Antony and I would be dead. He was the one that talked our father into sending us away and keeping quiet about us being alive. Our father was too distraught to make decisions at the time; he didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. Michael took over the family the day after my mother died and saved Antony and I from being sought out for revenge. It’s an eye for an eye in our world, and I killed theirs, Austin, to protect my brother and myself. I killed part of their family. I grabbed my father’s gun and shot the man. No matter how young I was, they would have surely hunted me down and killed me if not for Michael’s quick thinking and overprotective love. My family isn’t like others, Austin. We have to live by a different set of rules. I don’t like it, but that’s the life I was born into, so that’s the life I have to live.” I look down and start to leave her but turn back around to reassure her. “And I am happy.” I smile wide. “See?”
“Sure you are. That’s why you can’t look me in the eyes,” she says, waiting for me to do so. With a huff and lot of swearing, I look into her eyes and … “Dace please, at least tell me I mean, something, to you?”
“Something? Food means something to me. Water means something to me. You … well you mean more than simply something.” I walk away, run down the stairs, and jump onto my bike, riding away, letting the open air ease my misery.
Chapter 18
Austin
Wearing Michael’s elephant on my wrist, and Dace’s around my neck, I sit with my brother at lunch, trying to avoid the question I know he wants to ask.
“Do you really like that guy?”
“Who?”
“You know who. Colletto—Michael— or whatever his name is?” I look over at him with a shrug of my shoulders. “Oh, well that’s good. I was afraid you were falling in love with him, that maybe Dad was getting to you.”
“Honestly, Michael is a great guy. He really is. He’s comforting, respectful, and everything a girl could ever want…”
“But?”
“You know me too well,” I say, sipping my coffee.
“Well enough to know that there is someone else. Who is he?” My eyes widen as Aaron smiles, shaking his head. “I am a better detective than you think. Don’t worry, I will let you keep your secret since it seems to be over for some reason. I don’t need to dig up any more trouble than you already have. That guy is trouble, the Collettos are trouble. I don’t know what they are up to or how they got our father on their side, but I assure you, I am going to find out.”
“Do you think they are paying our father to help protect them?” I ask him.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think that, but something is not right. I can feel it.” Aaron looks up at the door and leans back, groaning. “Oh no, I thought you told her you were going home for lunch?”
I turn to see Jamee walking in with all smiles. “Hello you two sneaky devils,” she says, swaying her hips into Aaron’s side.
Aaron looks up at me, repulsed. I have to take a drink to keep from laughing. “I need to go. Billy is supposed to be meeting me somewhere, I am sure of it.” Aaron gets up and kisses me on the head, leaving before Jamee can say another word.
“Huh. I think he is finally coming around, don’t you think?” Jamee says with optimism.
“I don’t even want to know how you found us. Let’s just go. I got a lead about Paltrow, Ettore Colletto’s money launderer, and where he is getting his funding from.”
“You got a lead? When? From who?” she asks, and I am sure expecting for me to give her a reasonable answer, but for some reason, I don’t feel I should. I still have Nelson’s notebook, or rather Mr. Martin’s extensive notes he somehow managed to get on what I assume are Ettore Colletto’s complex business dealings. It is still too early to tell, but I am getting closer, and I don’t want anyone to stop me, especially my father, who Jamee is making a special effort to suck up to lately.
“Merlin introduced me. He wouldn’t give up his name, and he would only talk to me over the phone.”
“Merlin? You got this info from Merlin? Yeah, I am not going to get too excited then.”
“Don’t. We’ll just have to see,” I say, urging her to go anyway.
If there is anything that can take my mind off of my trouble with men, it’s work. Right now, I am sure Myers Paltrow is supporting his criminal actions through a company called Elision. I found a company account under the Elision name, and though it is small most of the time, there are minutes where it contains large funds, and then it all quickly disappears again. Since I haven’t been able to sleep much lately, I have been watching it constantly, and I have tracked down an access point from a particular address.
“I don’t know what we are doing her. It looks like a mom and pop hardware st
ore.” We walk in, and we are immediately greeted by an older man with a cane while a similar-in-age woman behind the counter waves at us. “Oh yeah… hardened criminals, I am sure.”
“Shut up,” I tell the sarcastic bitch. I smile at the old man, flashing my badge. “Hi, Sir, do you have an internet connection for your store?”
“Oh yes, it’s in the back, we use it for orders and talking to the grandkids, not much else. Is there a problem?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing, but do you mind if I take a look at it?” He nods and shows me the way. Jamee follows with a huff, but I don’t let it bother me. I move into the little office and sit down in front of the surprisingly high tech computer. “Wow this is something,” I say to the man.
“The wife and I could barely figure out how to turn it on when it came, but it was free, so who are we to turn down a brand new computer?”
“Free?” I ask.
“Yes, we apparently won it in some contest. Our old one is over there on the file cabinet.”
I look behind me and see the large monstrosity that is clearly decades past its time. I give Jamee a look as her eyebrows raise. “Are you interested now?”
“Maybe. It is a little suspicious, I will admit,” Jamee says, leaning down over my shoulder to look over the brightly lit computer. “What are you looking for though? I don’t know how you can tell that there is anything odd about it other than the old people nose prints on the screen. Gees, they are blind.” Disregarding her smartass comments, I type away, looking deep into their system. “Wait how did you get there?”
“It’s something I learned along the way. And here, right here, is where the bug is hidden.”
“How can you tell? It looks like everything else.”
“Because it is trying too hard to blend in,” I say, recognizing the trick I learned in the military.