I scan the dining room table. The twins look five seconds away from being over it. They’re fidgeting and pulling at their suits. They really hate wearing them, and I can’t say I blame them. My focus shifts to where my grandparents sit, and the way our grandfather looks at our grandmother makes my heart squeeze.
My eyes close as images of Karl and August bombard me. We’ve been in Colorado for three weeks, and it has been radio silent. Not a word from any of the guys. So, I’m making peace with the fact that I was truly played.
Inhaling, I open my eyes in time to see Dad walk in with a man and woman. I immediately know the man is our uncle. He has the signature Bradford gray eyes, but his hair is more fiery red than strawberry blond. He’s also taller and broader than Dad. But my uncle isn’t the one who captivates me. It’s the raven-haired woman with eyes so ice blue they almost look white. When her gaze locks on mine, she smiles, and I know instantly that she’s as deadly as she is beautiful, and the deadly may edge out the beauty.
“Holy shit,” I blurt before I can stop myself. Her smile grows even bigger.
“Hello. You must be Emma.” Her sultry voice caresses my ear like fingers trailing up a spine. Goosebumps race across my skin.
I think I have a lady crush.
I nod, unable to get my brain to signal my mouth to speak.
“Kids,” Dad booms, breaking the connection and forcing my attention to where he stands. “This is your Uncle Uilliam.”
I watch as Uilliam and the mystery woman take a seat, waiting for Dad to introduce her as well, but the introduction never comes. My lips part, ready to question her lack of introduction, when my grandmother subtly shakes her head just as the mystery woman speaks.
“It’s okay, Miss Tabby. I’ll help Emma master the art of getting answers from the most unlikely sources soon enough.”
Her sultry voice is so captivating it takes me a moment to register her words. “What do you mean?”
“This is your new trainer,” Dad chimes in.
“And you don’t think I should know my trainer’s name?”
The nameless woman snickers. “So much to learn. I can’t wait to begin.”
I’m tempted to ask more questions and to challenge another instance of secrets being kept from me, but my uncle cuts in, and the conversation moves on to business meetings lined up for the summer that require my father and grandfather’s attention as dinner is served.
“Well, this is uneventful,” Jamie whispers, leaning in so no one can hear.
Amused, icy eyes meet mine, signaling she can hear even over the banter.
How the fuck did she hear that?
Noticing the attention on us, Jamie sits ramrod straight in her seat and begins to eat her food.
As soon as she’s finished, she asks if she and the boys may be excused. The ‘yes’ barely passes Dad’s lips before she shoots from the table, shouting for the twins to hurry up.
“Now that the kids are gone, we can discuss the other reason for this dinner,” my grandfather announces, garnering my full attention. Maybe this dinner won’t be a bust after all.
“And what is that?” I ask.
I wait for him to answer, but my uncle does instead.
“How we’re going to get you to become the head of the Fraternitas.”
My eyes widen in surprise as I blurt, “I’m not interested in being the head of anything.”
“Since the Fraternitas’s inception, there has been a shadow organization working to destroy what was built,” my grandfather explains. “We discovered that the Filiae Bellonae isn’t the only group who want to see us gone or replaced.”
No longer interested in the dessert on my plate, I drop my fork and listen intently, eager to learn more.
“Over the last fifty years, there has been an active movement to eliminate the Bradford line in the hopes of forcing a shift in power,” my uncle adds.
The reminder of what Elise did sickens me. My anger at her betrayal still festers beneath my skin.
Clearing his throat, my father states, “The only way to end our hiding and keep our family safe is to change the way the Fraternitas works.”
Needing a moment to process, I grab my glass of water and take a sip before placing it back on the table.
I think back over this last year. . . over the past few years. My family has been irrevocably changed by the actions of the Fraternitas and the Filiae Bellonae, and for that, both organizations must pay.
Inhaling, I pull my shoulders back, meet my family’s gazes head-on, and exclaim, “Tell me what needs to be done.”
EMMA
“Come on, Ry,” Kellan whines as he and Kylan pull my hands toward the backyard.
They’ve both been begging me for the last hour to take them outside to swim.
“Jamie’s already outside, but Dad said we can’t go unless an adult is out there, and you’re the only adult around,” Ky explains.
“Okay, I’m coming. You both don’t have to drag me,” I snort.
They drop my hands and turn to give me the ‘we weren’t born yesterday’ look in unison before running for the door.
Freaking twin shit.
By the time I stepped outside, Jamie is jumping off the diving board, Ky has his shirt stripped off, and Kell has kicked off his shoes. The twins look to see if they have the okay, and before I can give a complete nod, they’re running.
“Hey, no running,” I shout, peeling off my shorts. They immediately switch to “walking briskly.”
They yell, “Sorry,” just as they cannonball into the water.
Yeah right.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.