to the table. I am sure they thought they would be able to live off you forever without anyone knowing. In the end those things are hard to do especially when we have people who love to trace the money and have centuries of doing it just for the fun of it. Then the order came for you to be revived.”
“Who ordered me to be revived? I asked Jazlyn, my friend, and she didn’t know.”
Dante shrugged, paced a little and continued his story.
“Once you were revived your money became an issue. Every cent reverted to you and whoever was siphoning off of it got cut off. Now we believe this person no longer needs your money. He is extremely rich in his own right, but that doesn’t matter because he now believes both you and your money belong to him. We need to disabuse him of this notion.”
“Who do you think it is?” Ash’s eyes sparked bright. The pain still easy to see.
“He is known as the Patron.”
Brook felt a chill go through her. Jaz talked about him in hushed tones and only in places she didn’t believe she was being watched. He is hailed as the savior of New Pittsburgh, putting it back on the map. It is whispered he is the devil incarnate, taking what he wants when he wants and leaving a trail of bodies behind him.
People who spoke ill of him seemed to disappear. Now everyone praised him whether they wanted to or not.
“How will I ever be able to escape a man like that?”
“You can’t, but escape isn’t what you want. He respects one thing only and that’s power. He will have to see you and Ash as a unified front. Once he understands that Ash will tear him apart if a hair on your head is touched, he will turn his gaze toward other things. I am sure there is something he wants more than your wealth.”
Dante sat down and she watched his eyes swirled. The tilt of his head and the strength in his shoulders kicked loose the detail she was looking for. She sat straight up in her chair and opened her mouth to ask when Dante put a finger in front of his lips. He shook his head just enough for her to see and his eyes blazed. She sat back in her chair; his secrets were his own and she wouldn’t be bringing them out in the open.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We let him know that touching you means death,” Ash replied.
Each brother agreed.
She looked around the room. She didn’t know them, she hardly knew Ash although she guessed that spending a few centuries thinking about him made her feel much closer to him.
Standing, she began to pace—it was all too much. In a matter of minutes, history rewrote itself and now she wasn’t the child of parents who didn’t really care. She was the lone survivor from a group of people who died to keep their princess safe. She wouldn’t give into tyranny, she was raised on the principles of truth and justice and she would live and die for them.
“I need a will.”
They looked at her with unblinking eyes.
“My last will and testament. It states if anything happens to me all my worldly possessions go to a certain person or persons. We will have to be careful because the people I choose will then have a target on their backs.”
“Who would you choose?” Ash asked her.
“You. All of you. Equal distribution between the seven of you.”
“Are you sure?” Dante asked her quietly.
“Yes, I would leave it to Jaz but she can’t protect herself.”
“No worries,” Ash spoke up, “we will all take care of her.”
She nodded her head. “Let’s get it done. Do you think he will stop coming after me then?”
“No,” Dante shook his head, “but we bought ourselves some time. Brook, I need you to understand that for three hundred years we stood by Ash’s side while he mourned you. Neither I nor my brothers need your money. By you making us your beneficiaries, you have made us your guardians along with your mate. We would die to keep you alive. None of us will watch Ash suffer again.”
It must be the day for tears because she couldn’t
“Who ordered me to be revived? I asked Jazlyn, my friend, and she didn’t know.”
Dante shrugged, paced a little and continued his story.
“Once you were revived your money became an issue. Every cent reverted to you and whoever was siphoning off of it got cut off. Now we believe this person no longer needs your money. He is extremely rich in his own right, but that doesn’t matter because he now believes both you and your money belong to him. We need to disabuse him of this notion.”
“Who do you think it is?” Ash’s eyes sparked bright. The pain still easy to see.
“He is known as the Patron.”
Brook felt a chill go through her. Jaz talked about him in hushed tones and only in places she didn’t believe she was being watched. He is hailed as the savior of New Pittsburgh, putting it back on the map. It is whispered he is the devil incarnate, taking what he wants when he wants and leaving a trail of bodies behind him.
People who spoke ill of him seemed to disappear. Now everyone praised him whether they wanted to or not.
“How will I ever be able to escape a man like that?”
“You can’t, but escape isn’t what you want. He respects one thing only and that’s power. He will have to see you and Ash as a unified front. Once he understands that Ash will tear him apart if a hair on your head is touched, he will turn his gaze toward other things. I am sure there is something he wants more than your wealth.”
Dante sat down and she watched his eyes swirled. The tilt of his head and the strength in his shoulders kicked loose the detail she was looking for. She sat straight up in her chair and opened her mouth to ask when Dante put a finger in front of his lips. He shook his head just enough for her to see and his eyes blazed. She sat back in her chair; his secrets were his own and she wouldn’t be bringing them out in the open.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“We let him know that touching you means death,” Ash replied.
Each brother agreed.
She looked around the room. She didn’t know them, she hardly knew Ash although she guessed that spending a few centuries thinking about him made her feel much closer to him.
Standing, she began to pace—it was all too much. In a matter of minutes, history rewrote itself and now she wasn’t the child of parents who didn’t really care. She was the lone survivor from a group of people who died to keep their princess safe. She wouldn’t give into tyranny, she was raised on the principles of truth and justice and she would live and die for them.
“I need a will.”
They looked at her with unblinking eyes.
“My last will and testament. It states if anything happens to me all my worldly possessions go to a certain person or persons. We will have to be careful because the people I choose will then have a target on their backs.”
“Who would you choose?” Ash asked her.
“You. All of you. Equal distribution between the seven of you.”
“Are you sure?” Dante asked her quietly.
“Yes, I would leave it to Jaz but she can’t protect herself.”
“No worries,” Ash spoke up, “we will all take care of her.”
She nodded her head. “Let’s get it done. Do you think he will stop coming after me then?”
“No,” Dante shook his head, “but we bought ourselves some time. Brook, I need you to understand that for three hundred years we stood by Ash’s side while he mourned you. Neither I nor my brothers need your money. By you making us your beneficiaries, you have made us your guardians along with your mate. We would die to keep you alive. None of us will watch Ash suffer again.”
It must be the day for tears because she couldn’t
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