Page 77 of Southpaw Slots
Asa shakes his head. “You’re such a fucking smartass. You know that?” I worry there’s going to be another fight, but both stare each other down until they grin so hard, both transform into riotous laughs.
His wife smiles at me and the shift on her face makes her seem less like a scary assassin and more like someone I’d be friends with. “I’m Vera, by the way.”
“Oh, yeah,” Asa says, looking at me snuggled next to him and hikes his thumb toward Vera. “In addition to being a smartass, he stole my spy.”
Cal places a hand on her knee and says, “She wasneveryours.” He raises an eyebrow, the look on his face eerie. “Did you send her to kill me?”
My husband’s hand reaches up to his hair as he scratches his head. “No. I think that was Kline’s way of dealing with the supply issue. But Cal, seriously. I-I never knew about those types of dealings.”
The foxes settle back on the sofa as Cal gives my husband a single nod as they hold each other’s gaze. He believes him.
Asa clears his throat and says, “I want to know what you do. So spill. What’s going on? What do you know?”
Instead of Cal answering, Vera is the one to speak up first. “Wyatt William Barrington was a lone survivor of the oldest family in Gnarled Pine Hollow. The first consorts were of the family Barrington,and they survived many years. That is, until the Strausses arrived and slaughtered them all in 1917. Everyone assumed there was none left. But I suppose Wyatt’s grandparents fled and were hidden away.”
Rubbing a hand on her back, Cal takes over the story. “There are three organizations at war playing our families like pawns in their little game to gain money and power. For centuries, there was only Herodius and Clavius at war with each other over the profits of various industries. Herodius is a group of women that wear owl costumes. They could be anyone. They could be politicians of the state or country, celebrities, religious leaders. Clavius, on the other hand, is a group of men signified by wearing tuxedoes and all going by the name of ‘John,’ as if the owls are their prostitutes. When the two groups met to combine resources and declare peace, the Barrington family had issues with…well, sexual servitude. And they said they wouldn’t condone it intheircity.”
“So,” his wife interrupts him with a toss of her red hair over her shoulder. “They weren’t happy about that and brought in the Strausses to eradicate their lineage and replace them with a family who would obey their orders and continue to make them money.”
This is all news to me and both of them seem very invested in what they are saying, but it seems almost like cult followers trying to upsell us on the next book set for enlightenment.
Asa looks like he feels the same as me, and his handgrips my waist as he pulls me closer to him. “I’m lost. Where does Wyatt Barrington come into play? You’re kinda talking nonsense.”
Cal smiles and brushes a hand through his hair. “You want a drink?”
Quickly, my husband shakes his head. “No. Continue.”
“Somehow, the Johns discovered that Wyatt was a Barrington heir and still alive, even though he and his family had been living under a new surname for years.Steele. Once they found where they were, they threatened to kill them all, but Wyatt’s father promised him into the trade if the Johns would let him live. And then he would rule once he came of age. As long as he agreed to become a dutiful consort and look the other way when it came to human trafficking.”
“What?” I hadn’t heard that before… “Wyatt wastrafficked?”
Asa swallows and nods slowly as the pain of this realization creeps inside me. His thumb trails over my hand in a soothing motion. Had I been Wyatt’s target all along? Was anything he felt for me real? An odd mixture of emotions surges through me. Part of me feels so sorry for this man I loved. And another still feels incredibly betrayed. Sliding my hand into my husband’s, I also try to ignore the guilt seeping in for introducing him into our marriage.
Shaking my head, I ask, “But why would they wantto take Wyatt? A Barrington? Strauss seems to be doing their bidding just fine.”
Cal and his wife exchange a glance. “He’s not. I believe he’s silently resisting or has the backing of a newer faction…Slyvious. Strauss doesn’t communicate what’s going on. And that’s theonlyknowledge I have, but I do know the Johns have been planning to instill Wyatt Barrington as consort for several years to replace Vladimir Strauss the Third for insubordination. And I think the Day of the Raging Bull has a lot to do with it, but I don’t know the details.”
Asa’s eyes narrow. “Why would Wyatt agree to be consort and condone trafficking if he himself was raped by those people?” My heart aches again for the man I knew, and I think about all the times I could have helped him, if only he’d been honest with me.
Cal blinks rapidly. “You’d have to ask Wyatt that. But I don’t recommend it. Not without protection of some kind.”
Asa looks at me. “He could be secretly trying to overthrow the system, maybe, right?”
In my gut, I hope it to be true. But when my eyes lift to meet Cal’s green ones across the divide, we both seem to silently agree. It doesn’t seem likely.
“What if he’s just trying to live? He could be in a lot of danger and trying to survive?” I ask my husband.
“Yeah, he could be.” He nods as if I’ve given him the answer he was desperate to hear. “We can protect him.”
“You can’t,” Cal says, and we turn to look at him. “Ace, you’re one of my oldest friends. I don’t think he has good intentions.”
Asa’s back muscles twitch as he rears up. “You don’t know that.”
Vera’s eyes dart to my husband’s face, looking like she’s about to shank him, which, in turn, makes me ready to snap at her.
Cal calmly and quietly responds, “You’re right. I don’t. But now I’ve given you everything Idoknow.”
“Thanks,” Asa mutters, then grabs my hand and stands.