The Laws of Kings Read online

  I nod. “My brother needs me.”

  “Brother. Well, that’s better than the wife and kids Leandra has claimed.” I roll my eyes. “You’re the one that has been fucking her. You should have known she would become an issue for you.”

  “She came at me, and it never seemed to be anything but fucking.”

  “She’s still a woman, and despite her hardened outer shell, she cares about you more than she says. Do me a favor and talk to her before you go. I don’t need that crazy bitch making the rest of our lives unbearable because you left.” I nod. “I wish you luck, and I hope it goes well. You know how to reach me if you ever decide to come back to us. You are certainly always welcome, my friend.” I take his hand and silently say our goodbye before I head off to talk to Leandra.

  I knock on her door and peek in, instantly seeing her scowl. “Can we talk?”

  “You’re going to leave us, aren’t you?” she asks, turning her back to me.

  “I need to take care of some personal things.”

  “Are you coming back?”

  “I hope to, but I don’t know when.”

  “So who is she?”

  “She is a he, and he is my brother,” I force back in her face.

  “Oh, well maybe you should bring him here.”

  “This is not the place for him.”

  “Maybe I can go with you and help you?” she offers shockingly.

  “No, I need to do this on my own. What is this Leandra? What do you want from me?”

  She gulps. “I love you.” I step back, stunned. “I think. I don’t know! I count on you to be here, and I depend on you to help me. What happens if I get into trouble? Who else is going to care if someone has a gun to my head?”

  “Everyone here, and you know it. These guys will die for each other, and that includes you. You just have to trust them.” I lean into her dropped chin and pick it up, looking into her eyes with a smile, “There are other women here too, and you should try and confide in them. Branch out of your hole and find comfort in being a human.” She tries to push me away, but instead dives back into my chest, hiding tears I know are there but know better than to acknowledge. I wrap my arms around her, not completely understanding where the emotions are coming from.

  “So when do you leave?” she asks.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Will you sleep in here tonight then?”

  “As long as you don’t tie me up and chain me to your bed in the middle of the night.” She reluctantly agrees, so I allow her to strip my clothes off roughly. I lie back on her bed and she takes hold of my throbbing member that stands up proudly in front of her. She sits down on me, enveloping my dick fully within her pussy. She rides me hard and long until we both come, and then she takes in a deep breath and surprisingly makes her place for the night on my chest. Lee is not like most women. She challenges me and keeps me on my toes, and I care about her, but as much as I love her hard exterior and challenges, I miss the comfort of a woman who actually loves me, and Leandra doesn’t. Leandra likes to control a man and have him chase her, and I have never been one to chase anyone. It drives her crazy. Maybe it is a good idea I get out of this crew for a while and give her a chance to realize her mistake.

  Chapter 5

  Dace

  I fly into the city, and the first thing I do is buy myself some wheels so I can get around. Nothing too permanent, but something fast, something that makes it easy to get in and out of anywhere and something fun—a black Hayabusa. The salesman eyeballs me hard as if I am going to rob the place. I guess my look isn’t exactly that of someone who could afford such wheels; however, he suddenly becomes my best friend when the bank transfers the money in full for my purchase. He even offers to take me out for a drink, but I decline his need for a new rich friend and move out through the streets like a bolt of lightning in the night.

  Now to find my brother. The asshole hasn’t settled in any one place. He has been living in hotels since he has been here. With Antony’s security issues, he never stays in the same place for very long, which makes it impossible for me to track him down on my own. I try calling him a few times while looking through bar after bar, places I remember him mentioning to me. I have to fight off the advancement of other men in the process, but it doesn’t bother me, especially if I can sweet talk them into helping me find Antony. Hell, if women can do it, then why can’t I? A few claim to know my brother and his new man, Preston, so they point me to one person, and that person points me to the next until I finally get a strong lead on where he might be. The apartment number I was given is in an upscale building, and a highly secure one that, which makes me feel a little better about his judgment. The name on the call box says Miss Reed. Unless my brother has done some major life changing, I can’t imagine that this is where he would be. Hopefully, this woman knows something more than the last few people. I am not sure who he is with or what trouble he might be in, so instead of asking to come in, I figure out a way around the security and slip inside the building undetected. I find the right apartment and knock on the door cautiously. Someone stares through the peephole at me before slowly opening the door a crack.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” a woman says as I try to peek around the small door opening to see if I can see anything.

  “I’m looking for Antony,” I say.

  “Why?” she says with a hardened tone.

  “Listen, lady, I was told he was here. If he’s not, just say so and tell me where he might be. I’m not looking to harm him.”

  “Dace?” I hear Antony say from the background before stepping out. “Son of a bitch! It is you!” Antony slams into me with open arms. “Oh my God I can’t believe you are really here.”

  “Well, I was worried about you,” I say, hugging my brother and feeling better than I thought I would seeing him again. I didn’t realize how much I missed him.

  “Come in and meet my friends.” Antony drags me into the condo, and despite its modest furnishings, it’s comforting and inviting, so maybe it’s not that of lowlife criminals. “Dace this is my boyfriend, Preston.” I look over the brightly smiling man and shake his hand, guarded. He’s handsome, seemingly more together than my brother usually goes for. Hopefully Antony has matured enough to see through the bullshit and stop going for the assholes who only want to use him for his money. My brother is tall and has a contagious smile. He’s innocent with a bad boy edge, of course. He is a Colletto. To look at him, you would never think of him as gay, but he doesn’t try and deny it anymore. He is proud of who he is in that respect and will knock a fuck out if he has a problem with it.

  Preston leans forward with a gushing display as he hugs my brother from behind and looks me over closely. “It is so nice to meet you. Antony doesn’t talk much about his family, but I must say, handsome good looks do run in the family. A little rugged in your case, but I’m not complaining.”

  “Calm down, Baby. I don’t share, especially not with my straight brother.” Antony winks at me as I laugh at him. “Speaking of straight, Dace, this is Austin.” I turn towards a woman as she stares hard at me through the blond tresses hanging down in front of her eyes. I look over her oddly masculine shoes, up her long muscular legs, and by the time I get past her curvaceous tits, I have a large smile to meet her perfectly, full-lipped scowl.

  I hold out my hand to her. “Hello, Austin. Nice to meet you.”

  She gazes down at my hand before shaking it like she’s trying to rip it off. “Hi, how did you get in here?”

  “You opened the door for me. It just happened, right over there, remember?” I smile at her frustrated glare. “Are you not getting enough B vitamins in your diet? Memory starting to go?”

  “I get plenty, thank you very much. No, how did you get in the building, and don’t say security let you in because they wouldn’t do that unless you know someone, and I doubt you know anyone in this building,” she says, looking me over with judgment in her eyes.

  “I might. You don’t know
.”

  “No, you snuck in somehow, and I want to know how?” Who the hell is this woman? I am here five minutes, and she is already sizing me up to be some kind of a criminal?

  “Why would you think that?” I ask, paying a little more attention to her guarded stance.

  “Because you are carrying a gun and what I suspect to be a small tool kit in your pocket, not exactly typical items everyday people would carry, and certainly not people that live in this building or friends of people in this building.” I slide my hand in my pocket, feeling of my access and means kit with a bold smile. I look her over, careful to keep my hand safely still near the gun at my side. Her hand is just a little too close to a table drawer that I can only assume holds a weapon of some kind.

  I pull out my kit from my pocket. “It’s just a kit I use for my bike; it has problems once and a while, and I like to be able to take care of it quickly on my own.” Lying without hesitation has become a little too easy for me since joining KRT, but it was necessary many times in order to survive.

  The woman shakes her head in disbelief. “I am sure you do.” Her focus on me is unbreakable and yet, arousing. “And the other item at your side?”

  We eye each other pointedly for a time as if we both are waiting for the other one to make a move. I am just not sure what kind of move we are waiting on. Maybe I am too used to Leandra and her challenge-me-and-I-will-fuck-you-until-I-can’t-move-any-longer attitude. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Sweetheart? Do you mean this bulge? It’s nothing but my cell phone.” I show her but hold up my hands above my head. “You’re welcome to search me, make sure you do it thoroughly though. I would hate for you to miss something big. I should warn you however, that other bulge has a mind of its own. Don’t get mad at me if it comes out swinging.”

  “Put your arms down,” she says, stepping toe to toe with me and looking me in the eyes without fear. “You’re his brother? I’m sorry, but we haven’t heard anything about you before? Where have you been? You look like you just stepped out of the jungle. Don’t they have razors where you came from?” I have to fight my desires as her blond hair sits down in between her breasts and her sweet feminine scent permeates up into my face. I feel my cock twitch in her direction, and I can do nothing more than smile at the impenetrable woman, wondering if she is going to cause me to bust a zipper. That might shut her up though.

  Antony steps forward, putting his arm around my shoulders and laughs, breaking up the tension. “Don’t mind him, Austin. He’s been away in a cave for so long that he isn’t used to being around actual people. They’re a little scary to him.”

  She nods, drops her guard a little, and walks away from the table with the weapon. “A cave? Yeah I can believe that. You look like you just climbed out from under a rock. You better be careful. The rich people in this building may call the cops based on the sight of you alone.” She laughs as my brother smacks my arm with a laugh, and his boyfriend laughs along with him.

  “That’s funny. Tell me something. How do you get your voice to do that? It’s the best female voice I have ever heard a man impersonate. Did you have surgery or take some kind of supplements?” I ask her.

  My brother falls back in silence, hiding his face as he laughs. She mumbles something harsh at me until I smile. “I am a woman.”

  “You are? Huh. So what’s with the manly stance?” I smile innocently while pointing it out to her.

  Antony quickly steps in between us. “Okay Dace, leave her alone.” He walks over and puts his arm around her shoulders and kisses her cheek. “She has been really sweet to me, and I think of her as a great friend, so you be nice to her. Not to mention, this is Austin’s place. She and Preston have been best friends for a long time, and he moved in here … what was it, a year ago Pres?” he asks the man, receiving a nod. “She has been kind enough to let me sleep over quite a bit lately.”

  “Austin works a lot at night, and I get lonely here all by myself,” Preston says.

  “Oh, late nights working at the steel mill, Mister … I mean Miss Reed?” I nod sympathetically towards her.

  “I didn’t tell you my last name. How did you know that? And you never answered my question. How did you get into the building? It’s heavily secure to keep people … well, people like you, out,” she responds with all kinds of feisty tension.

  “People like me? You don’t know me, lady. In fact, how do you live here? You obviously don’t make the kind of money that most do in this building? Trying to be something you’re not?”

  “I have a roommate that helps with the bills, and I live here for the security of it, not the prestige. Now, you answer my questions, please. This is my home, and I have a right to know who is in it.”

  “I’m only here to check on my brother. If my presence makes you uncomfortable, I am happy to go. We can meet up tomorrow, Antony. I need to go find a place to sleep tonight anyway, unless I can crash …?”

  “No,” she says sternly.

  “Alright, calm down, Mr. Lady. I’m going.” I say goodbye to my brother who is shaking his head at me with a smile. “Call me tomorrow.”

  “Sure, try and stay out of trouble until I do. And maybe try and keep the gun better hidden from now on?” he whispers to me.

  “Of course.” I walk towards the door, and she follows seemingly to see to it that I leave. I walk out the door, and she continues to follow me. I look back and look her over with a smile. “Taking a late night stroll?”

  “Just making sure you find your way out of my building.”

  I turn back towards her and line up right in front of her. “What is your problem? I didn’t make you wear those manly shoes.”

  “What?! My shoes aren’t manly. They are perfectly suited for… OH shut up! You show up here out of nowhere with questionable intentions. I don’t care if you are Antony’s burly brother; I don’t appreciate you bringing a gun into my home.”

  “I am sorry; I forgot I had it, and if I had known ...” I look her over licking my lips, “that you would be on the other side of the door, then I would have approached the situation quite differently. I promise you.”

  She shakes her head while taking a step back from me. “What do you think, your brother is going to crawl into my friend’s bed and you are going to crawl into mine?”

  “Who said anything about your bed, Honey? How do you know I am not gay?”

  “The way you look,” she says with certainty

  “Oh stereotyping. So you’re one of those. You know, gays can come in all shapes and sizes. You shouldn’t judge. It’s just not right.” I shake my finger at her until she grabs it and pushes it away. I look at her as I hold my finger with a pout.

  “Oh please! I didn’t hurt you. And I wasn’t talking about how you look, but how you look at me. Your brother looked me in the eyes when he first met me. You looked me all over, as if you were stripping me naked.”

  My smile fights its way out, knowing exactly what she’s talking about. “Or maybe you want me to picture you naked. Hey! You looked me over, were you picturing me naked?” I step back in shock. “Mr. Lady, I am not that kind of man… wait, actually I think am. What are we talking about here? Some oral trade off, or do you want to strip down completely and let me smack some ass?” She huffs, rolling her eyes away from me, giving me the opportunity to grab her waist and her arm, pinning her against the wall.

  “Let go of me,” she growls.

  Nearing her lips with mine, I breathe in her suddenly rugged breath into my mouth. Her heart’s rapid beating is so hard that I can feel it into the core of my own chest. “Admit it, you’re attracted to me.”

  “I can’t imagine any self-respecting woman attracted to… to you!”

  “Admit it. You’re thinking about me naked right now. Aren’t you? I look good naked, even better than I do dressed.” Her silence says it all. “Admit it,” I whisper against her lips, causing her mouth to open in shock. I reach out with my tongue and touch the tip of hers. She stops breathing whil
e I move in close to her body with a rough hand down her back and squeeze her ass into my hips. Just as she licks her lips, I take a quick step away from her. “Nah, I’m sorry, I am just not attracted to you. I tried, but you’re going to have to seduce a different man into your bed tonight. Maybe try online dating, Sweetheart. Just make sure you use a picture without the shoes.” I walk away feeling the daggers being dug into the back of my head. She’s mine now, and I can’t wait. On my way out, I catch sight of a realtor’s sign, “Loft Available.” I grab a card, glancing back at the focused blond. I smile and wave; she waves back, but with only one finger.

  I found a nice hotel down the street from where my brother was staying and slept fairly well once I set up the simple security alarms within my room. It’s a new day, and Antony is meeting me for lunch. Little did I know, my father and brothers would be accompanying him. I stand, meeting my father who snarls at me as he reaches out to hug me.

  “Dace, my son, I am glad to see you are good, but I am not happy that you did not immediately come home to your family when you got into town.”

  “I was trying to be discreet because I didn’t want any arguments when I left.”

  “Already thinking of leaving, Dace? You know I would really like to have my little brother around for a little while so I can enjoy picking on him some,” Michael says with his usual, large, white smile and a tight hug.

  I back off as Ettore squints his eyes at me before giving me the custom brotherly hug, not that he has ever been much for hugging, which is why we keep it short. “Dace,” he says simply with his typical, rugged tone.

  “What, no complaints about me being gone or thoughts of leaving again?” I ask him.

  “I have never been one to tell someone to do something they don’t want to do. It’s your damn business. Deal with it. Just stay the fuck out of mine,” Ettore says, sitting down, looking bored and put out already.

  I nod, biting my tongue as my father growls his impatience. “Ettore!”