by Mari Carr
“I needed your help, Seb.”
And just like that, every bit of anger evaporated. He sat down.
“With what?”
Juliette looked at his face for thirty uncomfortable seconds. She was sizing him up, deciding if she wanted to carry out whatever plan it was that had driven her to unite him with a stranger and—shit—Elyse Hunt. He held her gaze, showed her that he was still the same man he’d always been. The one who would lay down his life for her.
When she slowly sank down into her seat, he saw shades of the same familiar Juliette reemerging. One side of her mouth tipped up in the lopsided grin she reserved for people she loved. Despite the smile, there were lines beside her eyes that were new, but that Sebastian suspected would be permanent. Becoming the Grand Master was no easy task and though she’d only assumed the position a few weeks ago, it was clearly taking its toll on her.
He hated to think she would never be the same carefree, fun-loving girl she’d been ever again. From now on, she would be this woman, more reserved, less likely to talk without thinking, more introspective…and suspicious.
Then he realized none of that mattered. She would always be his friend.
“You heard that I’ve selected my partners, joined a trinity?”
He nodded. He hadn’t been surprised to hear she’d taken Devon as her husband; the two had been betrothed since they were kids. However, he had been shocked to discover she’d actually ended the planned union with the proposed third, Rose. Instead, Juliette had chosen a man Sebastian had never heard of as her other partner.
“I heard. What happened with Rose?”
Juliette’s smile emerged more fully. “I’m the Grand Master now. And I figured I’d take advantage of some of the perks associated with it. I dissolved the original betrothal.”
Sebastian frowned. “But you’re still with Devon.”
Suddenly Juliette’s happy expression made more sense.
He grinned. “You finally admitted you were in love with him.”
She lifted one shoulder noncommittally, but it wasn’t as if his comment had been a question. He’d known for years how she felt about Devon, even if she couldn’t admit it to herself.
It was clear she was genuinely pleased with her union. If he was a good friend, he’d be grateful for that. As it was, all he could think about was his own triad, the partners he’d left standing beside the altar as he stormed away from them.
“Once some of the dust settles around here, I want you to come have dinner with us and meet Franco. I think you’ll really like him.”
He appreciated the invitation—it gave him hope that all was going to be okay between them—but he couldn’t get past the first part of her statement. “When what dust settles?”
“All is not as it seems with the Trinity Masters.”
Well, that sounded ominous as fuck.
“What do you mean?”
Juliette pushed her chair closer to her desk and rested her elbows on top. “I think we’ve uncovered a secret sect.”
“A secret sect in the secret society?” He spoke the words in jest. All his life, he’d had a hard time going to the movie theater to watch suspense thrillers. Primarily because he had always felt his life was far more exciting and interesting than the fictional variety. Hollywood couldn’t hold a candle to the Trinity Masters.
She gave him a rueful grin that held no mirth. “Yeah. Certain documents have led me to believe we’ve lost some legacies, that there was a small faction of the group working in direct opposition to the beliefs the Trinity Masters always tried to uphold.”
“In what way?”
“Apparently in the forties, there were some people who didn’t like the direction the organization was taking. They didn’t approve of the members being recruited, those the Trinity Masters felt had the strength and ability to fix all of society’s ills. Poverty, education, workers’ rights. Stuff like that.”
“Why would they have issues with that?”
Juliette sighed. “Look at the time period. We’d come through the Great Depression, World War II was raging around us, Hitler had assumed scary amounts of power. It would be naïve of us to believe there weren’t people living right here in America who didn’t sympathize with the Nazi cause.”
Sebastian wasn’t sure how to reply. He’d grown up admiring and respecting the Trinity Masters. In his mind, it was this society that had kept the United States flourishing as a world power. And sure, maybe there was some naivety that came with that belief, but he’d lived his entire life surrounded by these people, by these incredible minds.
“Are you trying to tell me there were Nazis in the Trinity Masters?” It was a bit like finding out Santa Claus was the leader of ISIS. Sebastian couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.
Juliette shook her head. “No. Nothing quite so specific. What we discovered was a small sect of purists, Trinity Masters with their own agenda, one that worked against the goals and purposes set forth by our founding fathers at the dawn of this country. The purists strongly believed we needed to keep our bloodlines more pure, limit the membership to only wealthy white people.”
“This sounds like something straight out of Harry Potter.”
Juliette rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t know.”
He pursed his lips. “I gave you the whole damn set for Christmas and you still won’t read it.”
“Seb. Focus. Did you hear what I said?”
“I did. And I’m having a hard time believing it. That’s one hell of a discovery to make.”
“I know.” Juliette stood and walked over to a bookshelf covered in dusty tomes that Sebastian would bet hadn’t been touched in decades. After so many years, they’d simply become a part of the décor of the room.
Sebastian bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking down at the expensive Oriental rug. He tended to see the world in black and white, good guys and bad guys. It was a characteristic that left him struggling more often than not in a world comprised solely of gray. In his mind, the Trinity Masters had always been black and white. He could count on them to do the right thing. “And you think these members were successful in their efforts?”
“I know they were. Franco was a lost legacy.”
“You keep saying ‘lost’. What does that mean?”
“His family was erased from our history books, allowed to disappear through the cracks via underhanded means.”
Sebastian’s brow creased in confusion, so Juliette tried to explain further. “His grandfather was never called to the altar, never allowed to continue. He was tricked into staying away.”
“And you think there are others like him? Lost legacies?”
Juliette nodded. “I’m certain there are. And I’m determined to find them.”
Juliette hadn’t been happy when the leadership of the society was dumped onto her shoulders, but in that moment, Sebastian knew she’d be an incredible Grand Master. She was born to lead, but more than that, she had a huge heart, a tremendous need to correct injustices and make the world a better place.
“Good,” he said. “They deserve to have their rightful place in the society.”
“I knew you’d agree.”
“Is that why I’m here? To help you find them?”
She shook her head. “No. Your task is slightly different. I need to know if the purists are still at work.”
Sebastian reared back in his chair. “You think they’re still functioning?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks maybe they’ve always been there.”
He blew out a long breath. While he appreciated the trust she was placing in him despite the revelations of the past few weeks, the pieces still weren’t adding up.
“You know I’ll help you any way I can, Jules. But I’m confused about the triad. Why did you call me to the altar? You could have just told me what you needed done.”
“Do you know the name Breton?”
Sebastian had recognized it, but he c
ouldn’t recall why. “It rings a bell, but no more than that.”
“The only known purist we’ve been able to uncover is Jessica Breton, Grant’s great-aunt. She was the member who tricked Franco’s grandfather into staying away. Her means were lethal.”
“And you want to see if this secret sect operates on the same legacy system the Trinity Masters use?”
“It’s the only lead we have, Seb. I was hoping you could get close to Grant, feel him out, try to discover if he’s a part of them. I decided the quickest and easiest way for you to accomplish that was to call you both to the altar together. You’ll spend the next week together in the Presidential Suite at the Boston Park Plaza getting to know your partners, working out the details of setting up your lives together. I couldn’t think of any other situation where you could get as close as you’d need to. You need access, a way to delve into his family’s background, into his own personal values and beliefs without raising suspicions. Sex loosens tongues.”
Jesus. She was right about intimacy lowering walls and inviting confidences, but Sebastian wasn’t sure how he felt about crawling into bed with the guy to discover his secrets. He wanted to help, but he was straight. And Juliette knew that.
“That may all be true, but that’s a hell of a sacrifice you’ve just asked me to make. Essentially, you’ve tied me to the man for the rest of my life simply to spy on him.”
Juliette walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “The true binding ceremony, the permanent marriage, doesn’t happen for thirty days. As Grand Master, I hold the power to dissolve unions during this trial period. I can’t break up a triad once it’s made truly official, but I can at any time during the next month.”
“It’s not forever?”
Juliette shook her head. “No. I don’t intend for this to be your true trinity, but it also doesn’t give you much time.”
Thirty days. He only had thirty days to uncover one hell of a secret. And given his actions at the altar, he would probably have to spend every minute of that time simply getting his “pretend” partners to speak to him again.
“I’ll do it, but I’m afraid I may have already shot myself in the foot with the way I behaved back there.”
Juliette’s eyes narrowed and her spine stiffened.
Nice job, Seb. Way to remind her you were the world’s biggest jackass.
She lifted her finger and a shiver ran through him. Sebastian had never been afraid of Juliette, but her intimidating stance reminded him once more that she was not the girl he used to know. “By the way, if you ever treat me—the Grand Master—with that level of disrespect again, I won’t hesitate to go all Queen of Hearts on your ass.”
Sebastian smiled, rose and placed his hand over his chest as he made a vow. “I’m extremely sorry for my behavior, Grand Master.”
She appeared only slightly appeased, so he reached out to take her hand.
“Jules, if I’m ever so thick-skulled as to doubt our friendship again, I’ll walk to the guillotine and put my own head on the chopping block.”
She laughed softly and they hugged. For the first time since landing in Boston this morning, Sebastian was able to take a deep breath.
As they stayed there, letting all the bad feelings drop away, Sebastian realized there was still a question left unanswered. “There’s one more thing I don’t understand. Where does Elle Hunt figure into this union?”
Juliette stepped out of his grasp, her face radiating pure evil delight. “Oh, she was your punishment for lying to me all these years.”
Chapter Two
Grant frowned at the small door that had slammed behind Sebastian. He threw his robe back over his naked body. “Did he just chase after the Grand Master?”
Elyse shrugged, unsurprised. “Don’t worry. It’s not you he resents being tied to.”
Grant tilted his head curiously. “You know each other?”
Elyse nodded, wishing she could go back to yesterday, before that cream-colored envelope had arrived via messenger. She had finally managed to get her shit together and get to a place in her life where she was happy. At peace.
Then the invitation to the altar arrived and everything was shot to hell.
Fate hated her.
Almost as much as Sebastian Stewart.
How the hell was she supposed to live with him for the rest of her life?
“We grew up together here in Boston. We’re the same age, both legacies, and our parents ran in the same circles.” Of course, running in the same circles was a far cry from being friends.
There were cliques amongst the legacy kids that were every bit as clearly defined as the ones in public high schools. Sebastian and his best friend, Juliette, were from the “old families” in the Trinity Masters. Their money had probably come over in cloth bags on the Mayflower.
In the meantime, she was new money, her family’s association with the society only beginning with her grandfather. Granddaddy had been an entrepreneur who’d struck it rich, creating a lucrative career from a chain of pharmacies he’d started in Boston. Now, they had stores in pretty much every town in America and their net worth was well into the billions.
Not that it was the old and new money distinctions that had drawn the line between Elyse and Sebastian. Elyse had created that divide. They’d indulged in a secret friendship during their senior year that had been laced with pretty heavy crushes on both of their parts. She’d almost lost her virginity to Sebastian. Then, in one instant, everything had gone to hell.
“I see,” Grant said, though it was clear he didn’t. She’d merely mentioned their connections. She hadn’t explained the contempt that dripped off Sebastian when he’d heard her name called out.
Elyse considered telling him more, but realized she didn’t come out of the story sounding particularly good. And she didn’t want both of her husbands disliking her right out of the gate.
The silence dragged out just long enough to become awkward.
Mercifully, Grant found a way to end it. “I’m sort of a legacy, as well. Though I grew up on the west coast—L.A.”
“Sort of a legacy?”
“It skipped a generation in my family. For two generations, my family belonged to the organization, beginning with my great-grandparents. My grandparents—and great-uncle—were also a triad, but when my father came along, he rejected the offer of membership. He’d fallen in love with my mother in high school and even though he’d been raised as a legacy, he turned his back on the secret society to marry her.”
“How did your grandparents take that?”
He grinned ruefully. “Not well. Though I suspect my birth took some of the pressure off my parents. My grandparents turned their attention toward securing my membership.”
“You didn’t feel compelled to follow in dear old dad’s footsteps? To marry for love?”
He shook his head. “I was swayed by the promise of success, money and power.”
“Isn’t everyone?” The words were spoken sarcastically, but Elyse didn’t think Grant picked up on it.
She wasn’t interested in money or power. Not deep down. Because of her family’s incredible wealth, she’d spent her entire life with a silver spoon in her mouth, the word “heiress” attached to her name, and paparazzi permanently parked in her backyard. The tabloids clearly saw the potential to bill her as another Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian, but Elyse wasn’t interested in the limelight. She’d give up every single penny to spend just one damn week like a normal person. Not that she’d ever speak that desire aloud.
Since graduating from high school and officially joining the organization, Elyse had been blessed with a wonderful patron. Katherine Wythe was an elder in the Trinity Masters, but more than that, she’d been an heiress as well, inheriting a huge fortune upon the death of her parents.
The Grand Master had solicited Mrs. Wythe’s help in teaching Elyse how to command and control wealth. Elyse had struggled to fit in anywhere growing up—due to a learning disability—
but with Mrs. Wythe’s help, she felt her confidence growing, her backbone strengthening, and her ability to guard her privacy getting a bit easier. There were definite tricks to it. She blessed the day Mrs. Wythe had decided to become her mentor.
Not that she’d been a particularly easy student. It had taken Mrs. Wythe quite a few years to teach Elyse to look beyond her own insecurities and to understand what it meant to take control of your own life, rather than letting circumstances control you.
“What is it you do?” Elyse asked Grant.
“I’m a corporate mediator.”
Elyse struggled not to laugh. Partnering her and Sebastian up with a mediator was either a stroke of genius on the part of the Grand Master or the most ironic event in history.
“Wow.”
Grant must have misinterpreted her response. “You can say it. I know it sounds damn dull.”
Elyse shook her head. She didn’t think that at all. “Oh no, that’s not what I meant.”
He didn’t look like he completely believed her. “It’s actually more interesting than you might think.” He paused, a thin line appearing between his brows before he admitted, “Okay. No, it’s not.”
She drew an X over her heart. “I swear I wasn’t putting down your career. I was actually thinking perhaps your skills might come in handy in this triad.”
Elyse was instantly sorry she had reminded Grant about Sebastian’s rude departure. He glanced toward the door, his frown returning once more.
Before he could question her about Sebastian, she said, “Anyway, at least you have a job. I’m not sure full-time socialite really classifies as a career.”
“I wouldn’t say that. It appears to keep you very busy. Your name graces the pages of the tabloids quite frequently. You seem to be partial to red-carpet premieres and…” He paused to remember. “Nightclubs?”
She grimaced. “That’s what I hear.”
“But it’s not true?”
“Do you seriously believe everything you read in tabloids?”
He bowed his head. “Point taken.”
“I’m not going to say I’ve always lived like a hermit, but it feels like every time I’ve stepped out, gone to a club or some grand opening, the entire thing is blown out of proportion. I mean I have attended movie premieres and guess what? I saw a movie. End of story.”
