Page 38 of Asher Black (The Five Syndicates)
His love for this man is palpable, as tangible as the ground I walk on and the chair I’m sitting on. It’s the biggest weakness I’ve seen of his yet, the most vulnerable side of him he has shown me. I didn’t even think he had any vulnerabilities. I almost gave up searching.
I’m ashamed that I immediately wonder how I can use this to my benefit.
As perceptive as ever, Asher narrows his eyes at me and leans in, whispering softly into my ear, “Don’t mistake my love for a weakness, Lucy. That love was strong enough to turn an eighteen-year-old boy into a ruthless killer. Heed my warning. There is nothing I won’t do for the ones I love.”
I back up sharply at his words, quickly scooting my chair over a little in the process.
… strong enough to turn an eighteen year old boy into a ruthless killer.
There’s a rumor that, when Asher was eighteen, he was living with a Romano caporegime when they were attacked by members of the Andretti family. This was during the territory wars, and the Andretti family sent two dozen people to kill the capo, which must have been Vince.
After a fight broke out between Vince’s guards and the Andretti soldiers, there were still over a dozen Andretti soldiers left alive. They thought they won, that Vince was theirs. They didn’t know that Asher was living there. They weren’t ready for him. Maybe they never could be. He killed them all, and then he infiltrated the home of one of the Andretti capos and did what they had tried to do to Vince.
Only he succeeded, killing an Andretti capo and dozens of his men.
A shiver runs down my spine.
There is nothing I won’t do for the ones I love.
I’ll remember his warning for as long as I live. I was wrong. His love isn’t a weakness. It’s his greatest strength.
Vince turns his knowing eyes to me and says, “Asher is like my son. He moved into my home soon after I met him, and he lived there, even when he went to Wilton.”
When Bastian’s face turns into a snarl and he says, “Yeah, and his piece of shit ‘parents’ didn’t even realize he was gone until he started making money, and they wanted a piece of the cut,” I realize that he loves Asher, too.
I didn’t know love until that moment. Maybe I thought of love as a weakness because I’ve never felt it. The only relationships I’ve seen have been nasty, parasitic and volatile parodies, bastardized by the endless stream of foster parents I’ve had. Until now, I didn’t know what it’s like to love and be loved. This… the way these three look at each other, interact, and treat one another…
It’s magical.
It’s the strongest thing I’ve ever witnessed.
And I want it for myself.
Badly.
Chapter Twelve
Courage is knowing
what not to fear.
Plato
I wake up to the sound of a woman’s voice. It’s angry and confrontational. I definitely don’t want to get involved with that drama, so I keep my eyes closed and breathing even, pretending to still be asleep.
“Why is she here?” The voice is shrill and fuming.
Asher sighs. “I’m not explaining this again, Monica. You work for me, not the other way around. I shouldn’t have to have this conversation with you.”
“But—”
“You’re pissing me off. Stop.”
She’s silent for a moment. “Fine, but I don’t like it.”
“Noted,” Asher says dryly. “Do you have what I asked for?”
I hear a ruffling of a bag, probably a purse, before the woman, Monica, says, “Here.”
