Page 45 of Love & Power

“That makes no sense,” Jace muttered. “How do new clients know what Von’s looking for in her business dealings if she doesn’t tell them?”

“If I knew the answer to that, there would be fewer dead bodies in the streets.” Armond sighed.

“The jet just took off,” Hound announced, then looked at Ryker. “Do you want me to tell the pilot to bring them back here or trust she’ll be back in time?”

“Are they going somewhere else?” Ryker asked. Hound just nodded and clicked on something for Ryker to read.

I understood Ryker’s need to protect someone he loved. Yet the more I think about it, there is a big difference between him and the rest of us. We saw Astin as queen of the Caprioni Family first and foremost, but Ryker saw his childhood best friend and first love. Unfortunately, there was nothing any of us could do to help him get past that other than encourage him to trust she’d come back to us.

“Leave her be,” Ryker decided, closing the laptop. “We know she’s safe, and that’s what matters. If she brings it up later, then we’ll discuss our feelings on the situation. But Armond’s right, forcing Astin to come back now will only piss her off, and she doesn’t need that from us.”

“Well said,” Frediano agreed. “How about we go shoot something to take the edge off?”

His suggestion was a welcome one after that rollercoaster ride of a lunch. Nothing helps ease tensions than shooting some shit.

eighteen

Our lunch reservations were for a restaurant inside a swanky hotel in Dolsa. When we arrived, they didn’t even bat a lash seeing three high-class women with a man like Bear. He had dressed up for the occasion and was now wearing a shirt under his leather jacket, but I don’t think it offset his rugged exterior. We were led into a private room with a stunning view of the city from the thirty-second floor of the hotel.

“Will you need us to add more place settings to your table?” the host asked.

Ivy smiled as he pulled out her seat for her. “That won’t be necessary, but we will be adding on whatever they’d like to eat to go at the end of the meal.”

“Very good. I will ensure your server is made aware,” he said with a slight bow, moving to assist with Von’s chair.

Bear snarled at the man and used a single hand to shove him away and slammed into the wall. I gasped at the suddenness and clear overreaction. Gemma hurried over and helped the host back to his feet, checking him over.

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” the host mumbled, brushing Gemma off and straightening his suit. “Deepest apologies if I overstepped.”

“I’m sorry about that,” Von offered as Bear scooched her chair in and placed the cloth napkin in her lap. “My bodyguard can take his job a little too seriously at times. He doesn’t like anyone, especially men, getting too close to me.”

The host numbly nodded his head and left the room, leaving Thad to assist me in getting seated.

“Bear, we’ve talked about this,” Von hissed. “When we come to fancy places, it’s normal for them to pull out or push in a chair. He’s just doing his job.”

I watched as Bear responded using sign language, his hands moving so fast I wasn’t sure how anyone could catch what he was saying.

“Bullshit. He was looking at me funny. You’re just upset with me and taking it out on the little guy,” Von shot back. “I’m sorry, but it had to just be me in that place. For fuck’s sake, you have a warrant out for your arrest in Trian, and they never would have let you go. This only worked because they couldn’t hold me.”

He started to say more, but Von signed something back to him, and he stopped. Looking none too pleased, he stepped back to lean against the wall behind Von’s chair, arms crossed and muscles straining the seams of his leather jacket.

“So what’s good here? I’m dying for a decent meal after eating biscuits for a fucking week,” Von commented.

“I put us down for the set menu, so they’ll just be bringing out courses once we decide on drinks,” Ivy explained. “Don’t worry, sweets. I made sure the food would be real food and not something only rich people eat.”

Von smiled and blew Ivy a kiss. “Thanks, Poison. You are the best.”

Now that Von had showered, changed, and done her hair and makeup, you’d never know she’d just chopped a man’s hands off in prison. Even the way she conducted herself, seamlessly fitting into the elite crowd, would have you second-guessing yourself about this mysterious woman.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I went to all this effort to make sure the two of you got to meet and spend time together,” Ivy started, looking between us. “One reason is selfish, and the other is practical. Both of you are important to me, and I’d love for us all to be close friends. Women like us struggle to find like-minded equals in either gender, but girlfriends who won’t resent you or try to stab you in the back are nearly impossible to find. However, I don’t see that being an issue for us, and I know for me, personally, I could really use a friend who gets it.”

It wasn’t until I heard Ivy spell it out like she did that I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment. “What was it you told me the first time we hung out?” I asked, tapping my chin. “Ah, yes… who doesn’t need a female friend to bitch about things with? Let me tell you, dating seven men and now finding myself in charge of two criminal empires, I’m going to have things to bitch about.”

“Seven men?” Von asked, leaning forward, eyes wide. “You have your own harem? That is so badass. Tell me, do they all know about each other? Are they okay with it?”

This was something I realized I was going to need to get used to. People were always going to have questions and be curious about how it all works. What I found interesting about Von’s reaction was the excitement in her expression. It was almost as if I’d just opened the door to a whole new world of possibilities she didn’t know existed.

“They are all my lieutenants. Well, not all of them started out that way, but that’s another topic,” I explained. “My guys were the ones who talked me into being with them at the same time. Some handle it better than others, but all of them love me, and I love them, so when issues pop up, we work through them. Two of my guys are also seeing each other, which adds another layer of complexity into the mix. Overall, I’ve never been happier, and they claim to be equally as happy.”