33. Hyacinth
THIRTY-THREE
HYACINTH
“Dante Cuore is here to see you,” one of the capos says from just outside the office door.
Johnny, I think it was. He’s all right. At the very least, he’d shown me proper respect and hadn’t assumed I was weak because of my appearance and injured arm.
Of course, he isn’t talking to me right now.
He’s talking to Zane, who is reading something on his tablet while I kneel at his side, my head against his thigh. He’d finished most of his “official” work, but we’re waiting on news from one of his underlings before we head home.
I open my eyes to look at Johnny. He keeps his gaze on Zane, like he’s trying very hard not to look at me.
I have to bite down a grin.
The reactions of Zane’s men have been keeping me entertained while I’m still technically out of commission.
I’d still react if Zane was in danger—not that he needs to know that.
Zane looks up from his tablet, then locks it and sets it on the coffee table, face down. “Is he here to see me, or is he here to make sure Hyacinth is still alive?” he drawls.
Johnny shrugs. “He didn’t say. But, uh, he didn’t sound happy.”
I snort at that. “Dante doesn’t ever sound happy. It’s not personal.”
Zane runs his fingers through my hair. “Should you get up and sit in a chair? I’d rather not have to shoot your cousin. I only just got the flooring replaced, and it might look odd if I do it again right away right after he disappears.”
I shake my head and wrap my good arm around his leg. “No. I’m not moving for Dante.”
I don’t care what Dante thinks about me.
I don’t care what Johnny thinks of me.
The only one whose opinion matters is Zane.
I tilt my head up, and I smile when his fingers tighten in my hair.
“Let him in,” Zane tells Johnny. “I assume you made sure he wasn’t armed.”
“Of course,” Johnny says.
“Make him take his shoes off,” I suggest. “Just in case.”
Johnny seems taken aback by the suggestion. “His… shoes?”
“I would hide a weapon there.” I grin. “And even if he doesn’t have something there, it’ll piss him off even more. Give him a nice pair of slippers so he doesn’t get his socks dirty.”
Johnny gives Zane a bewildered look. “Should I…?”
“I don’t have a spare pair of slippers lying around my office. He’ll have to hope the cleaners are doing her job properly and the floor is clean. You walk around barefoot,” he points out to me, then waves Johnny off. “Go on.”
I smile at Zane and playfully bite his thigh. “Dante is going to act all pissy, but I know you can handle him.”
“I can,” Zane confirms, twisting his fingers in my hair and tugging hard. “None of that while your cousin is here.” He releases me as the office door opens again, revealing a red-faced Dante Cuore.
Without shoes.
I’m more surprised to see Avery with him. Forest I would have expected—although maybe not so much now that his scheming fell apart.
Avery is in his socks, too.
Dante’s eyes land on me. “Ah. There you are. Your sister said you were safe, but she wouldn’t specify where.”
Avery’s gaze goes to me, and a smirk plays on his lips. “Oh, look,” he comments. “Someone’s getting the Dante treatment.”
I have no idea what he means, until I remember the young man who’d been at Dante’s feet.
Is he still around? It’s been a few weeks since I’d witnessed that.
Dante ignores Avery—and me—to focus on Zane. “Are you the one to thank for this mess with the Bouchards?”
“What mess?” Zane asks, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “I’m responsible for a lot of messes, but I don’t believe I’ve pissed the Bouchards off recently.”
Dante narrows his eyes at Zane. “Don’t try to play me, Vilani. I already know about Keith.” He glances down at me. “I’ve also heard a few things from Forest. Regardless, the Bouchards are now breathing down my neck.”
“Have you also heard the part where Richard and Forest were working together to murder me?” Zane asks, going back to stroking my hair. “I’m not at all sorry that Richard left town.”
“I did tell him that part,” I say, huffing. “Did Forest try to deny it?”
“Forest is none of your concern right now,” Dante answers curtly. “And it seems you managed to avoid being murdered, anyway.”
I nod sagely. “Yes. And he’ll continue to avoid that fate.” I finally stand up, although I was fairly comfortable, and place my hand on Zane’s shoulder. “If either of you attempts to harm Zane, you’ll be the ones trying to escape death. And you won't be able to seduce me away.”
“Because gross,” Avery says. “No seducing here, and no harming Zane. We didn’t bring guns into the casino, and I took off my fucking shoes. Can we stop playing around? I have business to take care of.”
Zane tilts his head. “I would be interested in an alliance with you, Dante. The fact is that if you try to fuck me over with the Bouchards, it’ll affect Hyacinth.
And you’re all about family, so you wouldn’t want that to happen.
So what do you expect me to do? Claim credit for a disappearance I wasn’t actually responsible for? ”
Dante scoffs. “Then don’t fucking insult my intelligence. This has Hyacinth written all over it, and it would have even if the Bouchards hadn’t sent me footage of Keith with Hyacinth, from right before he was last seen!”
So Keith hadn’t been lying when he said he had backups of those files.
I try to feel guilty about it, but… nope.
I’m glad he’s in pieces and safely devoured by crocodiles.
“Do you really want me to implicate Hyacinth in Harrington’s disappearance?” Zane asks with a raised brow.
“What, do you think we’re wearing wires or something?” Avery demands. “Stop talking in circles.” He taps his watch. “I have places to be.”
Avery isn’t usually this impatient. I observe him more carefully. He’d been dancing with somebody on that riverboat cruise, hadn’t he?
Maybe there’s more.
“What could possibly be more important than the Family, Avery?” I ask. “Everything for the family, isn’t it? We are stronger together; we each have our part to play?”
“That doesn’t mean standing here and listening to bullshit,” Avery mutters. He looks directly at Zane. “Just answer Dante’s questions so we can get out of here.”
“Ask more reasonable questions, then,” Zane replies.
Dante looks like he wants to shoot every single one of us.
Which he wouldn’t do, unless it was extreme circumstances, because that’s not his job in the family.
I’m the weapon, the tool to use.
He needs me to do his dirty work.
“You aren’t coming back,” Dante says to me.
I nod. “That’s right. You don’t own me anymore. You can’t blackmail Chrys or Lionel, either.”
“What does Lois think about this?” Dante asks.
I tense and tighten my hand on Zane’s shoulder. “I don’t care what she thinks. But I won’t let her get in the way of… of my happiness, either.”
Zane sighs, then turns the conversation back to what Dante ostensibly came for. “There you have it. We’re at an impasse.” He reaches up to clasp my hand, then he stands up. He gets closer to Dante, and I immediately follow.
Injury or not, I’m not letting him put himself into a position to be stabbed.
Dante is taller than Zane by a few inches, but they both exude dominance that draws all the attention in the room.
“Hyacinth is mine,” Zane states. “But I’m aware he still has family ties. We don’t need to be at odds. In fact… this could be a beautiful partnership.” He gives Dante a shark-toothed grin. “But if you’d rather watch me tear your organization apart, I’m happy to do that too.”
My chest swells with pride… and my cock twitches at how powerful Zane is.
Dante glances between me and Zane. “An alliance. By marriage, almost.” He snorts in derision. “Fine.” He holds his hand out for a handshake. “I’ll accept you as a brother, Zane Vilani. If you can take care of your own.”
“I can,” Zane says, taking Dante’s hand and shaking it. “I look forward to working with you, Dante.”
I wrap my arms around Zane’s shoulders. “Great. Now, get out of here, Dante. You’re ruining the mood.”
Dante rolls his eyes. “I’ll have my assistant schedule a meeting. We’ll discuss things in more detail when you don’t have your pet tiger climbing all over you.”
If he thinks that’s an insult, he’s wrong. I smile at the description. “You could have gone with ‘dog,’” I suggest. “I like ‘tiger.’”
“No. A dog wouldn’t have turned on its master.” Dante heads to the door. “Don’t think you’re through with the family, Hyacinth. We still have hooks in you.”
I flip him off as he walks out, but his back is to me.
Avery huffs. “Pleasure doing business with you, I guess.” Then he walks after Dante. “Can you believe we had to take off our fucking shoes?”
Zane exhales slowly, then sits back down in the armchair. “Well, that’s one problem solved.”
I shut—and lock—the door, then go back to kneel at Zane’s feet. I place my hands on his thighs and stroke upward, ignoring the small twinge of pain in my arm.
“He’s got his own problems to deal with,” I say. “I’m pretty sure the boy he keeps locked up in his house is a Bouchard.”
Zane stares down at me. “You could’ve told me that before I agreed to an alliance with him,” he gripes. “Please tell me the Bouchard boy is at least there of his own volition.”
I shrug and scoot closer, so that Zane’s legs box me in. “How should I know? I haven’t talked to him.”
“Great.” Zane exhales slowly. He gazes down at me, then tugs at my hair, urging me closer to his groin. “While you’re down there…” He smirks. “You can give a blowjob with your arm like that, can’t you?”
I nuzzle his crotch and inhale deeply. I love his scent, that mix of musk and his personal cologne. “I can do a lot of things with my arm like this.”
“Hmm… Let’s see if you can handle one simple blowjob before we try anything too strenuous.” Zane unfastens his pants, freeing his cock from its constraints.
I open my mouth for him, extending my tongue so he can rub the tip against it. I can already feel my mind wanting to go languid, even though we haven’t done anything yet.
But that might be the best part.
I can trust Zane to direct me. I can trust him with my body.