Strange Love

Jos's worried eyes quickly turned away from the aged statue she'd been studying the second the door opened. "Is everything alright?" She asked meeting him halfway as he walked through the maze of boxes filling the room.

Arei studied her, brushing strands of her hair away from her face. "I was about to ask you the same thing." He searched her eyes. "I know it must be hard for you to talk about all this... to think about her so much all at once..."

Jos frowned as her gaze dropped to the boxes. "You noticed?"

He pulled her against his c.h.e.s.t for a tight hug. He placed a tender kiss on the top of her head as he whispered. "Only the smallest of signs. I'm sure no one else did if that's what you're worried about." He pulled away from her slightly, looking down into her troubled aqua eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jos let out a long sigh as she nodded. She let him lead her through the interior door and to the edge of the beautiful pool leading to the underwater portion of the antiques room. She followed his lead as he kicked off his shoes and sat down on the edge of the pool. She met his patient, waiting gaze, and let out another long sigh. "It's just... I don't know... this is probably going to sound stupid, but... I guess all this time I just keep thinking I'm going to return to the island and she's still going to be there." A warm, wistful smile spread over Jos's lips as she gazed into the water. "That I'm going to be carrying on my usual mundane tasks and she's going to come bounding through my door with her latest stories with wide-eyed excitement or the most amusing seriousness. She was always so full of life and animated, like a princess from one of those fairytale storybooks that live on forever and always living out her happily ever after... I just can't think of my home and the island without her being there..."

Arei frowned as he scooted closer to her and ran his hand soothingly over her back. "I knew this would be hard for you. If it becomes too much, just say the words and we'll send it all back to dad to deal with... or leave it for the rest to work through."

Jos shook her head as she moved pleading eyes to meet his. "I need to do this. To bring closure to all her suspicions, for justice for hers, Ales, and his parents' death..." Tears began to burn at the backs of her eyes. "To make sure Shelly and Russ don't meet the same fate at the hands of that bastard! It's everything in me not to storm over to that bloody palace and rip his heart out through his throat myself!"

Arei pulled her against his side and gave her another tight hug. "I know you're upset right now, kitten, but we have to go about this the legal way." He shook his head as his gaze moved out over the shimmering waters. "If we can break this case the proper way and prove to the council you can be a valuable member, it could make your sentence go by much quicker and with fewer restrictions."

Jos shrugged, "What would another hundred or so years be in the grand scheme of things?" When he opened his mouth to reply, she stopped him. "Before you even think of asking if it is what Cam would want, let me assure you she would... especially if she found out he tried to poison either of her children. She'd even joked about sticking him on a boat and sending it toward Ogygia a few times."

He chuckled, "I wish I'd gotten to see the two of you together back then. It sounds like the two of you had a lot of fun together."

Jos nodded as her focus returned to the waters. "We did... It's not going to be the same without her... or Raven. We bickered a lot back then, but I wouldn't trade those years for the world."

He gently brought her face around to meet his as he stroked his thumb over her jaw. "I'll not push you to talk but know I'm always here by your side if you want to. You don't have to hold it in... any of it..." He smiled down into her sparkling eyes. The glistening waters reflecting off all the surfaces around them made her misty eyes absolutely radiant. His body ached with the d.e.s.i.r.e to take her in his arms and never let her go, but his own words came back to haunt him. He'd said he needed time and emotionally he did, but the primal man within was aching to fully taste all the things he'd only gotten to sample those years ago. The way she went quiet, and her eyes burned into his as a blush crept up her cheeks, his d.e.s.i.r.es must have been written on his face. Arei slowly let his hand slide away from her face as he turned his focus back to the waters. He gave a faint chuckle. "You know, often the things we think we've lost find their way back to us in unexpected ways." He turned his head slightly to meet her confused eyes. "I mean look at you and I, I was sure any chance we had to be together had died off years ago... then all over again when I saw you and Russ together."

Jos frowned, "That's not the same..."

He arched a questioning brow. "No, not exactly but the feeling of losing a piece of yourself and the pain a location can cause because of the memories held there, are." He reached out and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze as he said, "With time the painful memories will be dulled and suppressed by newer happy ones. Shelly may not be Cam, but she will be by your side this time; and if I've learned one thing about that crazy fairy you call a friend, she'll not be staying away any extended period of time... and..." He turned to fully meet her steady gaze. "All the pain and heartache of our time together there, will soon be replaced by better memories. I know no matter what happens the bad can never fully be erased just as the lost can never be fully replaced, but the pain you are in now... the dread and anxiety you are feeling now will dissipate with time."

Jos nodded as she pulled her hand away from his and pushed herself up. She didn't stand all the way, instead, she closed the distance between them by lowering herself down on his l.a.p. She trailed her fingers through his shoulder-length auburn hair before moving them through his short beard, following her hands with her eyes as she went. Her eyes moved from her hands to meet his turbulent hazel eyes. They were bluer and greener than usual as a result of the luminous waters around them, but still just as magnificent as ever. "I am anxious about returning to the island and everything that has been going on lately hasn't done much to help those emotions but knowing that I will be going there with you even if we had only been returning as acquaintances rather than... whatever you would consider us now, I would still be greatly comforted by that. You are the absolute sweetest, caring person I've ever met... and I've met plenty of people over the years." She lowered her lips to his for a light kiss, not drawing fully away, instead, letting her lips hover teasingly over his. She could feel his arms tighten around her waist and his fingers tangle in her hair as he leaned forward to meet her teasing lips. She slid her hands over his broad shoulders feeling the large bulge of muscle there before she glided her hands down the soft cotton fabric covering his thick pecks. Her fingers fumbled against each other as she worked the buttons of his dress shirt loose as she continued meeting his torturously slow, sensual kisses. Once she'd gotten it unbuttoned to his navel, she slid her hands inside across his b.a.r.e c.h.e.s.t teasing the piercings of each n.i.p.p.l.e. Just as she pulled away from his lips with the hope of teasing the bars with her tongue instead of just her fingers, a light knock sounded on the outer door. Her movements seized as she curled her body against his, her large eyes trained on the door.

Arei gave a light chuckle as he relaxed his chin against the top of her head. "Come in it's open." He called out. He heard the outer door open, and footsteps approach the interior door which was only barely cracked.

"Hey, I hate to bother you guys..." Peg cleared his throat. "But I may have found something to at least get the council to open a private investigation." He paused for a few short breaths before adding. "I figured I'd share it with you guys before calling dad or trying to contact the Embassy... but as soon as you review it, I'd say we get started in that direction."

Arei quietly helped Jos off his l.a.p and to a standing position before he stood as well. He slid his shoes back on and waited for her to do the same before taking her hand and walking toward the door. He pushed it open meeting Peg's back before the man turned to face them. "That good, huh?" He asked giving his brother a sideways smile as the shorter man's curious eyes roamed over his and Jos's current level of dishevelment.

"Well, I'd thought it was pretty good... but I don't know if I would say THAT good." He teased nodding to Arei's unbuttoned shirt as he sent Jos a knowing smile.

Arei chuckled and tightened his grip on Jos's hand as she tried her best to back behind him. "Alright, show us what you've got." He followed behind his brother back to the table where everyone still sat. He pulled out a seat for Jos before bending and placing a light kiss to her head and releasing her hand. He stepped behind the chair his brother had taken and leaned over to read the computer screen, following Peg's finger as he explained.

"You see, when you mentioned that there were several wealthy people at the palace to meet with Fern recently, I decided to start there. I figured if I could pull the flight records for the last week or so, we could cross-reference those names with businesses and accounts involving Fern. Look what name was among those. Drake DeMarco. Surely it's not a coincidence that a DeMarco would be there."

Arei furrowed his brows, "Drake... Francis DeMarco, Xavier and Dante's father, often went by Draco. It's likely this could be one of Dante or Xavier's sons, named after granddad... Were you able to get any information pulled on him?"

"I hadn't searched it yet, I wanted to see what you knew first. I figured if anyone knew anything on the DeMarco's it would be you after working for the USVA for so long." Peg said as he began a search for the man.

Arei shook his head, "No, even though it was DeMarco own property, they very rarely stopped in. I'd only met Xavier a hand full of times and his brother once. I'd only ever heard of his estranged wife and mistress but never any mention of children."

Peg nodded toward the screen as he scrolled down. "No wonder. Looks like he was protecting the name of his sole heir. The boy is the only son of Xavier and Vivian DeMarco. He was probably sent to Fern's as a representative and the new face of the DeMarco clan." He continued searching through the online files. "It looks like he has a few full-blooded sisters, but the only other brothers are all half."

Jos's eyes widened and she couldn't hold back the shock any longer. "My gods! How many kids did the man have?!" She scrunched her brows. "I recall that crazy woman who attacked us on the beach that day talking about having a son... but..."

Peg nodded as he continued typing and scrolling through screen after screen. There is a Mattie mentioned in several of his social media posts. Judging by their likeness, I'd say this is the mistress's son." He turned the computer around to face her. "He was also present that night at Fern's party, or at least his name was on the flight itineraries.

Jos paled, "Then that means both of them most likely saw Russ either kill that guard or, at the very least, saw the aftermath."

Peg and Arei both nodded in agreement, heavy frowns spread across their lips. "That's why I believe it's important to go ahead and get the council's approval for an official investigation. One, it will allow me to speed up my end of things and open up resources for us. Two, it will help clear the kid of any wrongdoing in case they try pressing charges against him; and three, it could be the link we need to bring down both operations, the DeMarcos and Fernando..."

Arei straightened, "I'll call Ry and dad and let them know. It's probably best if they stay away from the palace until the guests leave... or at least not be seen around there. The mistress admitted to Ry that she'd been sent to Maine to assassinate the kid by Fernando, but that information can't be used as evidence without her murder being pinned on Ry and the kid because of the means the confession was gotten."

Jos's eyes widened farther along with Shelly's. "And exactly how was the confession gotten?!" Jos bit out.

Arei ran his hand across the back of his neck as he looked away from both pairs of angry, concerned eyes staring up at him. "Ry said the kid got a little carried away while in the beast form, but that they had left her alive knowing well that Vivian DeMarco would use the excuse that the woman had betrayed the clan as a way to finally be rid of the woman."

Jos and Shelly's mouths both dropped. "Let me get this straight... Ry has been encouraging him to use the alpha form for random violent tasks instead of dealing with the shit himself?! Isn't that why he's there with him, to protect him?!?" Jos nearly yelled as her irritation for the man she loved's eviler twin made her want to head straight to the island and strangle his handsome face. She shot to her feet holding her hand out to Arei. "Give me your phone, I'll call that asshole myself!"

Arei met his sibling's amused expressions as he dug in his pocket and produced his phone. "Let him have it, love. I'll not stop you." All eyes were focused on her as she grabbed the phone and quickly found Ry's number and stomped off as she waited for the call to be answered. "I would love to see their faces once she's finished with them." Arei laughed as he straightened and followed after her.

Chary sent Peg a wide smile, "So, can you hack the phone and pull their call?"

"Already on it!" Peg replied as he turned the volume on the computer all the way up.