Page 111 of Lucian

The family being the Cosa Nostra side of things. Jordyn understood what he meant quickly enough.

“Oh. Why would someone give something to him for me?” she asked.

“To make a point, I think,” Antony said, shrugging. “Besides, I believe this is something you’ll be happy to receive.”

Antony opened his tuxedo jacket to pull out a small package from the inside pocket before handling it over to Jordyn.

“I apologize for opening it, but it was designated for me first and I felt it was important to make sure it wasn’t anything threatening. I can go, if you’d like to see what’s inside alone. The significance is clear enough you shouldn’t need me to translate for you.”

Jordyn thanked Antony, waiting until she was alone in the bedroom again before sitting to the edge of the bed. Opening the top of the package, Jordyn upended the contents to the silver bedspread.

The three items that fell out were not what she expected.

A check. Her final one, actually, from Legs and Leather. Oddly enough, it was handwritten, not the usual printed ones Ron used to have done up at the bank. The signature of a man’s name she didn’t recognize rested at the bottom.

That slip of paper probably would have been enough for Jordyn to figure out what Antony meant by the significance … if the small wedding band she hadn’t seen in years wasn’t tapped to the side of the check, also.

It was her mother’s wedding ring. Sandra hadn’t worn it on her finger, but instead, on the necklace Jordyn had gone back to retrieve along with her memory box. When she found her mother dead from the overdose, the necklace had been broken off, and the ring was missing.

Jordyn once thought she overlooked it in their messy apartment when she searched for it. She’d also wondered for so long if her mother’s death wasn’t exactly as it seemed. The ring suddenly appearing again said a lot.

Had Will stole it from her mother’s body and kept it all this time? Where did he keep it?

Jordyn didn’t dwell on that thought for long. She simply plucked up the plain gold band and slipped it down her index finger for safekeeping.

The final item cemented all of Jordyn’s tumultuously confused thoughts.

It was a note, scrawled in the same handwriting as the check.

Our apologies, it read.

Freedom is never free.

Jordyn didn’t quite realize how true that was until she stared at two words that meant nothing at all to her, and absolutely everything at the same time.

• • •

Jordyn barely managed to subdue her agitation as she waited for the elevator to take her up to the highest floor of the hotel. She wasn’t sure why she was sent here with a black velvet box in her possession, but it was Antony’s request she do a quick run for him before the party.

All dressed up, heels on, hair pinned back in waves of curls, and her makeup flawless.

Why it couldn’t just wait until Monday, she didn’t know.

Sighing impatiently, the moment the elevator dinged and opened to the top floor, Jordyn was slipping out between the spreading doors and hurrying down the hall to find the room number. She was much more interested in seeing Lucian, whenever in the hell that was supposed to happen tonight, than delivering this stupid package.

Jordyn almost wanted to open the small box just to know what was inside and if it was really that important. She didn’t, though. Somehow, Antony would know she did and he wouldn’t be pleased. Jordyn wasn’t into invading other people and their privacy, anyway.

Finally, she found the correct room at the very end of the hallway, a Do Not Disturb sign hanging off the doorknob.

Too bad, Jordyn thought.

She didn’t have time to wait for whoever was inside to wake up from their nap, fuck session … or whatever. Knocking just hard enough on the door to be annoying, Jordyn smirked as she heard footsteps behind it.

When the door swung open, Jordyn nearly stumbled back on her three inch heels in surprise at the smiling face staring back at her. She almost dropped the box she was holding, too.

“Good evening, sweetheart. Have you missed me?”

Lucian looked amazing in his form-fitted, black tuxedo with the navy blue vest and tie to match her evening gown. She choked on words trying to tumble out of her chest as she took an inventory of him one more time. Nothing was different about him, but for the slight stubble he usually kept shaved clean. Glinting hazel eyes still regarded her like she was the most important thing to grace his presence.