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THIRTY-SIX
REBECCA
“They have their game. I have mine,” I said into my phone.
My sisters were on the other line, silent when they weren’t gasping or crying. We’d not spoken since that tearful night on the tarmac in Westchester when we said goodbye to our parents. I’d kept the getaway location from them too, for their protection.
And I hadn’t told them about Sunrise for my father’s protection. To keep him the giant they remembered. But my sisters grew up in the same house as me. They knew there was always the possibility he’d have to go into hiding.
I wasn’t expecting news of my bad behavior to make it over the border to Blissfully Unaware Connecticut on the lips of high society women they drank afternoon tea with.
I had to come clean.
“I can’t believe you’re dealing with this all by yourself,” Camille said. “I’m talking to Weston tonight. I’ll be there tomorrow morning.”
“No!” I jumped up from the makeup table in my dressing room. “Cami, things are very dangerous right now. Plus, you’re six months pregnant.”
“I can’t believe sweet Sebastien is involved in this horrid plot to discredit you,” Cami said.
“Sweet Sebastien is now Bastien the Bastard, that should give you an idea of the person he’s turned into.” Mostly because our father ripped me away from him, something else they didn’t know. My secret betrothal to Anthony Jr.
I shivered, thinking of how he took me so wildly. How I melted and submitted to him so completely. Talk about shame? Sebastien watching me fall apart in Anthony’s bed was too much to bear. And Anthony wanted to kill me! Only, when I thought about it more, if he really wanted me dead, I’d be dead.
“I’m calling Nate,” Christina broke into my thoughts. “I’m sorry. I know how you two worship our big brother, but this mess is his fault. How dare he leave you alone to deal with this?”
“I sent him away, Chrissy. I...” I took a breath. “I underestimated the guys. Nate has no idea what’s going on.”
“If we know you’re being slut-shamed all over Manhattan, how can he not?” Christina was always a little more edgy than her twin Camille.
“Los Angeles is another world. And he might be on tour again.”
Or he’s watching Lacey have sex with two other men.
My heart raced, realizing I had someone to call about this. How drawn I was to three men. Giancarlo and Sebastien and now Anthony. Why stop at two?
Giancarlo...
His limo was picking me up soon. Tonight’s shaming event? Opening night at the hottest ticket on Broadway. Which meant only the elite of the Saturday-night elite would be there.
Gian would, no doubt, be vying for a Tony Award himself. God knows what he planned to do to me.
Despite the unmitigated disaster of how last Saturday night ended with Anthony, he’d been sending me flowers all week. I’d gotten to him, but he’d gotten to me too. Under all that cologne and those suits, even past the breathtaking body, a beating heart who cared about people lingered. Him showing that side of himself to me turned this game upside down. And the way Sebastien raged out of control finding me with Anthony told me, finally, deep inside, he still had feelings for me. But his walls hadn’t crumbled. My God, he’d been cutting himself!
Something else I needed time to process.
“Cami, Chrissy, I have to go.”
“Who’s taking you out tonight?” Christina asked, making me worried she’d show up tomorrow with her own ideas of how to deal with this.
“Giancarlo Byrne.”
Silence.
“Becs,” Cami said, breathless. “Be careful. His father...”
“I know.” Boy, did I know.
New York City mafia bosses were dangerous, but the glamourous nature of Manhattan produced showboating suave playboys like Anthony Jr.
Boston was a whole other story. Patrick Byrne exuded a raw ruthlessness that never lost steam once he became the leader of his family.
“My wonderful sisters, I have to go.”
“I want a phone call or a text from you every day, Becs,” Christina demanded.
“Gil and Vale practically live here. I promise you, if something happened to me, you’d know. Other than that, things are going well at work. I have a great team.” I picked up the phone and went into my closet, looking for something slut-worthy for a Broadway play. “I’m fighting to preserve our legacy. Domenico Holdings has to survive. That’s our future.”
“I still don’t like any of this,” Cami said.
“I’m proud of you, Becs,” Christina added.
I blushed, missing my sisters. Missing Nate. Missing my...mother. I didn’t miss my father. I worked with him every day. Dealt with him every day. And my anger toward what he’d done still hummed under my skin.
“Okay. I’m hanging up. Love you.”
“Love you,” they each said, and the call ended.
My home screen came back. The picture of a Hudson River sunset I’d snapped nearly a year ago choked me up. God, how different my life had been.
Dragging one outfit after another along the top metal hanging rod, I laughed to myself and took out a pale blue pants suit.
After dressing, I scrolled through my contacts and my heart spiked, realizing I had Lacey’s cell phone number. I’d called her looking for Nate last year. The pain in her voice told me she hadn’t heard from him, and it broke my heart. She loved my brother.
How their six-year relationship dovetailed into a polyamorous one...
I didn’t need the backstory, I needed to know I wasn’t crazy for feeling this way. Confused. Unable to choose, assuming I had a choice. Each man was stunningly gorgeous. Great in bed, from what I remembered about Sebastien. God, the man had gotten dark and edgy. What the hell would he do to me now? Each had something I wanted, something I needed to stay the queen.
Anthony gave me the backing of the Messinas, the next most powerful family in New York. With Anthony, Domenico Holdings would be even stronger.
The Byrnes had old Bianco contacts lying in wait, ready to emerge and regain control. The Biancos had been efficient ruthless kings. Add Patrick Byrne’s Boston connections... My God, we’d be unstoppable. But the streets would be soaked in blood.
Sebastien... He would give me what I wanted more than anything.
Love.
Sigh...
He’d be my consigliere. Shrugging, knowing it was all wishful thinking, I tapped the call icon. After three rings, I figured Lacey must not have saved my phone number. Despite being my brother’s fiancé, she was also a famous rockstar even if she now worked for her father at his music label.
We had more in common than just craving three men. Or maybe all-powerful women were reexamining their sex and love possibilities in different ways.
“Hello?” a man’s voice answered.
Great, she changed her number.
“Sorry, I must have the wrong number. I thought this was Lacey...”
“Yeah, this is Lacey’s phone. I saw it was a Manhattan number. Who’s calling?”
My heart stopped. This was one of Lacey’s lovers! “Rebecca. I mean, Becca. I’m Nate’s sister.”
“Holy shit, hi!”
“Hi. Who’s this?”
“Jax. Jaxson Steele. I’m uh... A friend of—”
“It’s okay. Nate told me about you and Lacey and her, um, ex-husband.”
“Really, he even mentioned Aidan?”
“Yep.”
“Look, we all love Lacey.”
My breath left me. “You know, that’s why I’m calling.”
“To make sure we all love Lacey?” he asked with a devilish chuckle.
I swiped my phone to Google and looked up Jaxson Steele.
Jesus! I nearly dropped the phone. My brother was handsome, but he was my brother. This guy. Wow. I needed to pay more attention to music.
“I find myself in a...similar situation as Lacey.”
“Oh.” His voice dropped an octave. “Does Nate know? He’s out of town at the moment.”
“No.” I wiped my brow. “And yeah, I guess this is something Nate probably wouldn’t be too happy about.”
“Hypocritical, really. But I get it. You’re his baby sister. He loves you.”
“And Lacey doesn’t have a brother?”
“No. Just a sister. Sort of.” He exhaled. “That’s a long story.”
“Okay. I’m just in need of a reality check. I’m so conflicted having these feelings for um, three different men.” I found Jaxson so easy to talk to. That voice of his just soothed me.
“You would have to ask Lacey for specifics, but beyond anything else I know, Becs, we all know Lacey loves us. Each of us. The same. Okay, maybe not the same. We’re different men.” His voice turned low and seductive. “It makes Lacey an extraordinary person.”
“Here in New York, that makes me a slut.”
“Maybe you should move to L.A.”
I laughed. “Is Lacey there?”
“She’s in the shower. With Aidan.”
“And you’re totally cool with that?” The way Anthony screamed at Sebastien the other night, I couldn’t ever see him agreeing to share me.
“Has Nate mentioned me at all?”
I rolled my eyes wondering if I should tell him that Nate used him as an excuse why he couldn’t come home and work for my father. “He mentioned you, yes. When he was here a few weeks ago. He told my father and me what was going on with... With all of you.”
“Just us and Lacey?”
“Yes. God, is there more?”
“Talk to Nate.” He cleared his throat. “It’s all good, I promise. Oh, and yes, I’m totally cool with Lacey sleeping with all of us. It’s more than sex. We each give her something, and I guess each other too when it comes to her. Like knowing there’s always someone there for her when I’m on tour. We’re not the typical definition of a family, but it works for us, and that’s all that matters. I love Lacey. Enough to share her.”
“Thank you, Jaxson.” I felt uplifted and not so ashamed. And he validated my reasoning that each of my guys offered something different, something I needed. And wanted. And as the queen of this city, I was going to take it.
“You’re welcome. Do you want Lacey to call you back?”
“That’s not necessary. You helped me with what I needed. And I know she’s busy.” She runs a music company and has three lovers. No shit she was busy.
Would I have time to love and make love to three men regularly? A vision heated my body, fast and furious. All three of them screwing me at the same time. I challenged Anthony and Sebastien to consider what the three of us could have. I was high on lust, but I was thinking just in terms of love.
Now the physical part caught up to my brain.
Wow.
“Becca, Mr. Byrne is downstairs,” Gil said from outside my bedroom door.
“I have to go. Good luck, Jaxson. I look forward to meeting you.”
“Same here, Becs. Bye.”
He called me Becs because Nate called me that. That made me smile.
“I’ll be down in a few minutes, Gil.”
I checked my makeup and let my hair stay loose, just tucking it behind my ears. Under the pale blue suit jacket, I wore a sheer top with appliques hiding my boobs. I skipped the bra in case I needed to flash someone.
I snagged my clutch purse, sans my Ruger, since a-theaters searched bags now, and b-I was with Giancarlo. A Byrne.
Thinking of my phone call with Jaxson, I opened my bedroom door and a body slammed into me, knocking me to the ground.
