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Piper moved to stand beside me. Her reflection appeared on the glass beside mine, though she gazed at me and not the city below. “I wanted to get to know the real you. And, as many mistakes as Shay made, she made a good case for you. Someone like Miguel and Rocco shouldn’t be allowed to walk these streets. Sometimes men like that are untouchable—hence why they need a good woman to put them down.”
Turning away from the window, I faced Piper as I asked, “Are you sure about this? Are you sure you want to walk away from this?”
The corners of her lips tugged into a sad smile, and my heart hurt for her. I knew what that loss was like, how it seemed to haunt you no matter where you were or how happy you tried to be. “Of course I’m sure. If this mess has shown me anything, it’s that I need to leave this city for good.”
“I’m sorry, Piper.”
She was quick to say, “Don’t be. My story in Cypress is over, but yours is just beginning. Now, go in there and officially accept.” Piper turned away, and it looked like she headed for the elevator.
“Wait. You’re not coming in?” I called after her.
Her finger hit the down button. The elevator must’ve still been there, because it opened within seconds. Piper spun around and said, “I’m not on the Hand anymore. You are. Those meetings are top-secret.” She stepped backwards onto the elevator, and she gave me a wink before the elevator doors closed.
I did not know where Piper was going, but I hoped, prayed she’d find whatever she needed to. I found solace and peace in the arms of my men, a new beginning with them. Piper deserved to find that same happiness, no matter where she went.
I didn’t wait a moment longer. I turned and went to the same hall Shay had. Not too far down it sat a conference room with an impressively large table. I stepped inside to see Atticus speaking with Shay, Randy Palmer sitting and looking bored, and Luca standing near the windows on the opposite side of the room—though when I walked in, he turned away from the windows, all smiles for me.
“There you are,” Atticus spoke, gesturing for me to take a seat.
I took the chair closest to me, which let Atticus take the one beside Randy and Shay the one on his right. Luca sat to my right, between me and Randy. That’s when I noticed the small box sitting near Atticus on the table.
“Shay told me Piper wanted to tell you herself,” Atticus began, running a hand down along his tie. “I trust she told you everything?”
“She wants me to take her place on the Hand,” I replied.
He nodded once. “Piper was always watching the heirs. She wanted to give her spot to someone she not only liked, but would trust with her life. Piper is a good judge of character. I hope you won’t let her down. I hope you won’t let any of us down, Giselle.”
This just didn’t feel real. Was this really happening?
“I won’t,” I said. “I don’t really know what’s required of me, but I will do my best.”
“The Black Hand is not an official organization. We are businessmen—” Atticus glanced at Shay. “—and women. We know all of the important people in this city. We might not be the official rulers of Cypress, but anyone who’s anyone knows we run the streets. We have each other’s backs should anyone attack one of us. Separate, we are powerful individuals, but together, we are near invincible.”
With their tumultuous recent past, they were anything but invincible… but I supposed that was the point. They strove to be invincible. They’d been knocked down a peg or two, and now they wanted to climb higher.
Atticus opened the box. “I took the liberty of having these made. Five of them, one for each of us. They signal who we are, what we are, and how unique we are as a whole.” He picked up the box and circled the table. We each received one. He started with Randy, then Luca, then me and Shay. He pulled the final one out of the box for himself.
What was it? A ring. A ring made of black metal, not too thick, but not overly thin so as to be considered feminine. Elegant and simple, yet kind of badass at the same time.
“Wear this ring with pride,” Atticus spoke as he slid it onto his right ring finger. “And remember who you are.”
Randy put his on without hesitation. Shay took her time in sliding it on, wiggling her fingers once it was safely on her hand. I was even slower to put it on, mostly because this still felt unreal.
The old engagement ring on my left hand, and the Black Hand ring on my right. One light, one dark. As unreal as it seemed, they both felt right.
The only one who did not reach for the ring was Luca. I noticed it first, but soon enough the others did, too. All eyes turned to him. “I, um.” Luca rubbed the back of his neck. “Piper wanted Giselle. I shouldn’t even be here.”
“You’re a good man, Luca,” Shay said. “We would be happy to have you join us as a permanent member of the Hand.”
Luca was a good man. I was glad I wasn’t the only one who saw it, but at the same time, as I stared at Luca, I could tell he’d already made up his mind. He didn’t want this. He’d stay in Cypress with me, but he didn’t want the position on the Hand.
“I can’t,” Luca sighed out. “This isn’t me. I can’t accept. I’d… like to give my position to someone else. Is that… is that allowed?”
Randy buried his face in a hand, muttering, “This is painful. You should be grateful to be offered the position, Luca—”
Atticus was more understanding. “We cannot force you to accept. Is there someone you had in mind?”
With a loud sigh, Luca’s dark eyes turned to me. If he wasn’t so far away, if this damned table wasn’t so obscenely large, he probably would’ve gone for my hand. “I was hoping to have some help with that, actually.”
