Hidden Devotion

by Lila Dubois

  “Oh? I look forward to it.”

  He hung up.

  “Were you speaking in code?” Franco asked.

  “Old habits die hard. Jessica Breton.”

  “We’re going to have to go to the office to check the files.”

  They were gathering up their things when Devon’s phone rang. The display read “Parents-Private”. Someone was calling him from the secure line.

  “Dad?” he answered.

  “No, it’s Mom.”

  “Hi, Mom. Everything okay?”

  “Your father told me you called. You were asking about Jessica Breton.”

  “Yes, do you know who her trinity was?”

  “No, but be careful.”

  Devon sank to the edge of the bed. “Why?”

  “There were rumors about Jessica. I remember hearing your grandmas talking about it.” Devon’s mother was a legacy also, her maiden name Butler.

  “What were the rumors?”

  “That she was a purist.”

  “A what?”

  “A purist. In the early part of the war, there were rumors that some members were Nazi sympathizers. They were upset by the integration and social-justice initiatives the trinities were focused on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In the nineteen thirties, a lot of members were recruited to help address issues around poverty, education and workers’ rights. There were rumors that some legacy members weren’t okay with that. They didn’t like the focus, didn’t like that these new members weren’t from wealthy white backgrounds.”

  “And they were called purists?”

  “Yes. But it was just rumors. I don’t know how much that’s worth.”

  “You might have just solved the mystery. Thanks, Mom.”

  When Devon hung up, Franco looked at him expectantly. “What was that?”

  “My mother says the delivery woman may have been part of a racist subset of members who were active in the thirties and forties.”

  “The kind of people who wouldn’t want my grandfather in their white-only club.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So Jessica sabotaged my grandfather by lying to him when she gave him the box. She told him not to open it when he was supposed to do the exact opposite.”

  “I think so.” Devon shook his head in disgust.

  “Then why the poison?”

  “Backup plan? In case he did open it?”

  “That makes sense. And when Grandfather never turned up with the answer, the Grand Master just forgot about him.”

  “No one should be forgotten.” Devon checked his watch and cursed. “Juliette found poison meant for your family, to keep them from continuing as members. That answers one mystery, but raises more questions.” Devon grabbed the garment bags off the bed.

  “What questions?”

  Devon pushed Franco out the door. They couldn’t be late. Not tonight. “If these purists were close enough to the Grand Master to be trusted as messengers, how many other people did they either sabotage or outright kill?”

  “I’ll add it to the list of mysteries.”

  Devon laughed, pulling Franco against him and kissing his cheek. “You’re so weird.”

  “Aw, you know you love it, Dev.”

  “Don’t call me Dev.”

  “Why not, Dev?”

  They were still bickering by the time they picked up Juliette, who’d gone to get ready at the townhouse. She laughed at their antics all the way to the library. When they parked, the amusement left her face.

  The solemn trio made their way to the headquarters. It was time.

  *****

  The whispers started the moment she entered. The altar room and large foyer hallway were filled with people. Some wore the concealing gray robes of the Trinity Masters while others were in tuxedos and evening dresses. The Winter Gala always coincided with the library’s black-tie fundraiser. Members would mingle at the fundraiser before slipping away and taking the hidden elevator to the real party.

  Though there were hundreds of members, only a hundred or so attended these gatherings. Usually each trinity was able to send at least one person, and those who hadn’t been called to the altar—the younger members—often came to revel in the still-novel aspects of the secret meetings.

  There were no caterers, but silver tubs of ice held bottles of Champagne that was sipped out of realistic-looking plastic flutes.

  Juliette wore the black robe and gold chain of the Grant Master. It rendered her anonymous, but she was shorter and slighter than her brother. The height difference was emphasized by the two men who walked behind and slightly to each side of her. Franco wore a gray robe with the hood down. Devon wore a tuxedo. He nodded to members he knew as they passed.

  A ripple went through the room as people realized that the person in the Grand Master’s robe was new. Plus, Devon’s presence at the Grand Master’s side wouldn’t go unnoticed. Though the identity of the Grand Master’s council was secret, at events like this, it was fairly obvious who was close to the Grand Master, especially if that person chose not to go robed. Price Bennett, one of Harrison’s former advisors, was well-known among the members, and it had always been clear that he was one of the councilors.

  Yet he stood off to the side with his spouses, Deni and Gunner.

  Franco rang the gong in the altar room, the reverberating sound heavy and solemn.

  Juliette took her place behind the altar. Franco and Devon flanked her. Harrison, Alexis and Michael stood near the front of the crowd, Harrison’s expression was worried. He whispered to Michael and Gunner, who melted back through the crowd, taking up positions in different places and carefully watching the reactions of those around them.

  Price stepped forward, standing in front of the altar. They’d decided he was the best person to start the presentation, since he was well known. His support would carry weight.

  Price waited until the crowd fell silent, those who were out in the hall crowding into the altar room. When all eyes were on him, he spoke. “Tonight we welcome a new Grand Master, even as we honor the service of the previous master, who can no longer shoulder the responsibility.”

  Unease rippled through the crowd, spreading out from Price as if he were the point where a stone had dropped into water. He stepped aside, revealing the cloaked figure of the Grand Master.

  “I greet you at the dawn of a new day.” Juliette projected so her voice carried, but had to pause as whispers and small sounds of surprise moved through the assemblage. Her voice was clearly feminine, her words unexpected.

  “We are stronger than ever before, our dedication to our society second only to our commitment to our country.”

  There was a smattering of clapping and even some cheers from the oh-so-slightly drunk younger members.

  “But our line is not unbroken, the story of our past is not complete.”

  Now everyone fell silent.

  “Within our records are mysteries that must be solved. Powerful families who were once part of our order were allowed to drift away. Secrets and artifacts we swore to protect have been lost or forgotten. It will take the combined intellect and talents of all members to solve these mysteries.

  “Therefore, starting now, all new trinities will be given a task, a puzzle to work, when they are called to the altar. Only when they’ve completed that task will they return to be formally married. Success or failure will impact their trinities, and their marriages.”

  There were exclamations of surprise, disgruntled mutterings from older members, and in the front, Harrison’s eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. The rumblings rose in volume, the situation seeming to slip out of the Grand Master’s control.

  Juliette held up her hand in a “stop” motion. Her will and authority flowed over the crowd. They fell silent and waited. Waited for orders from the Grand Master.

  “This is not without danger. A box bearing our symbol and containing a secret message was left with a man who, two generations ago, was
not called to the altar. His grandson wore his ring, not knowing the truth. The box, when opened, contained a deadly poison that nearly cost one of our members their life.

  “A new trinity was tasked with solving this mystery. They uncovered past misdeeds and betrayals. We must right the wrongs of our past, ferret out threats to our society.”

  When she paused, there was a respectful silence.

  “I will not allow disloyalty to our society or our mission. Together we will move forward, even as we respect and honor our past.”

  Juliette raised a glass. “Mitimur in Vetitum.”

  They repeated after her. “Mitimur in Vetitum.”

  We strive for the forbidden.

  The Grand Master disappeared through an archway, Franco and Devon stepping out from behind the altar and going to mingle with the crowd, who quickly surrounded them in an effort to find out more about the new Grand Master. They answered the questions they could, and shook their heads when they were asked something they would not answer, such as who was the new Grand Master or what had happened to the previous one. No one would have dared asked if it had been a man’s voice.

  Juliette Adams slid into the room. She wore a sparkling white gown and a crystal broach in her hair. She snaked through the crowd, avoiding her friends. Because she’d grown up as a legacy, because she was known by many, it wouldn’t take her friends long to figure out she was the new Grand Master. The great legacy families knew an Adams always had been, and always would be, the Grand Master.

  Moving quickly, she found her brother in the crowd.

  “Harrison.”

  He turned, his expression a combination of pride and alarm. “Juliette. Why don’t we go and talk—”

  “No. Thank you, but no. I appreciate your offer but I don’t need your advice.”

  Harrison’s jaw clenched, and then he nodded once. “Of course.”

  “But I do need something else. Will you stay after?”

  He looked her over from head to foot, taking in the white gown and elegant hairdo. He smiled. “I’d be honored.”

  She took his hand and squeezed it before turning away.

  “Juliette.” Rose tapped her shoulder, pulling her attention.

  “Rose.” Juliette’s heart lurched. Rose had been caught in the middle of her battle with Devon, and now that she and Devon were going to be part of a trinity, it was Rose who suffered the most.

  So much had happened that Juliette hadn’t considered what she would say if she saw Rose. She couldn’t say much without revealing she was the one who’d broken the trinity.

  It turned out she didn’t need to say anything.

  Rose hugged her, kissing her cheek. “You just answered most of my questions.”

  “Rose, I’m sorry. So sorry.”

  “Don’t be. For the first time in my life, I don’t know exactly what my future will be.”

  Juliette kissed Rose’s cheek. “I hope it’s a good feeling.”

  “It is. But, Juliette, don’t give him too much of a hard time. He really does love you, even if he’s an ass.”

  “He loves you, too.”

  “Not in the way he loves you. And not to be rude, but I love both of you as siblings more than anything.” Rose kissed her cheek once more and squeezed her hands.

  Juliette had mixed feelings as she watched the woman who would have been her wife walk away. But then she caught Franco’s eye. He gifted her with a small secret smile.

  She could do this. She was the Grand Master.

  *****

  This room was small, an intimate space compared to the altar room. A few people had lingered though it was approaching dawn, so they’d decided to use the medallion room. The floor and walls were marble and a large bronze medallion with the Trinity Masters’ symbol and logo was inlaid in the center of the floor. Three high-backed chairs faced the center of the room. They ignored the chairs. They were not three strangers called together to meet their trinity. They’d bypassed that ceremony.

  Harrison Adams wore no robe, but when he spoke, his words carried the authority of the office he used to hold. “When you joined, you made a vow. You pledged your lives to our cause and our way. You’ve met your partners, your lovers, your spouses.

  “You are here to be formally bound in the marriage of the Trinity Masters.”

  Juliette, Franco and Devon stepped forward. Harrison’s voice was filled with emotion as he quietly officiated his sister’s wedding. Like Harrison’s own wedding, this was rushed—there’d been no bonding ceremony, and Franco had not gone through any of the new-member initiations or the six-month waiting period. But Juliette was the Grand Master and the only people who could have questioned her were her councilors, who were hardly going to raise objections. Besides, technically Franco was a legacy.

  Juliette was radiant in her white dress, Franco and Devon both handsome in their tuxedos, though Devon looked tense. Only when they’d sealed their marriage with a kiss did Devon relax, prompting Franco to laugh.

  Alexis and Michael appeared with one of the last bottles of Champagne, passing around flutes and toasting the new trinity.

  When there was no one left but the three of them, Juliette sank to the floor, tracing the edges of the triquetra with her hand. Franco and Devon joined her.

  “A lot of people know. They recognized my voice.” Luckily the shock over her being the Grand Master had prevented most people from asking what had happened and why Harrison wasn’t the Grand Master.

  “It doesn’t matter. You’re the Grand Master. Your word is law.”

  The tension that had built up over the past few days was finally dissipating. Her hands started to shake. “I’m not sure I can do this,” she whispered.

  They surrounded and comforted her. She had to be strong. Only they could see her fall apart.

  “You can. It’s in your blood.”

  “We won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  Juliette Adams let them comfort her, let herself shake and cry in reaction to the stress of the evening. Then she rose, flanked by her new husbands, and went to celebrate her wedding night.

  Epilogue

  Sebastian should have been in Boston weeks ago. There were things happening there that he needed to deal with, things he needed to tell his best friend before she discovered them on her own.

  Unfortunately, midway through his flight, he’d gotten word a shipment of arms he’d been tracking finally made its way to Libya. He’d had to make a split-second decision, and in the end he’d decided finding those guns was more important and had taken the next flight home. Locating and confiscating them had taken longer than he’d thought—weeks instead of days—and he’d had to ditch his phone along the way. He would have died if not for Anderson.

  When he finally arrived in Boston, there was a letter waiting at the townhouse he co-owned with Juliette and a few friends. The expensive creamy paper was unmistakable. It was a letter from the Grand Master.

  Sebastian,

  You are called to the altar…

  It was signed “Grand Master”, but he knew that handwriting. He’d passed too many notes in high school English class with the author to not recognize that scribble as Juliette’s.

  Shit. This was bad. He needed to find Juliette and talk to her. She’d been his best friend since they were kids. Sebastian could only imagine how she must be feeling, knowing he’d lied to her for years. The dishonesty hadn’t come easy to him, but he’d had no choice. Surely, she’d understand once he had a chance to explain.

  Maybe.

  He needed to touch base with his handler, Devon, and get a read on the situation. The Grand Master held absolute power over the Trinity Masters, and Sebastian was pretty sure that at the moment, the Grand Master was super-pissed at him.

  That was exactly what he didn’t need—his pissed-off best friend, who’d just found out that he was secretly a CIA asset, deciding who he should marry.

  Juliette was good at revenge, and if he didn’t find her soon, he might be fac
ing a lifetime of it.

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  *****

  Mark, rather than pulling away, was leaning toward her, absorbing her anger and drawing in the emotions in her words.

  “Liz, Liz, let me finish my thought. I would never treat you like a toy. I didn’t mean to be arrogant or condescending. That was a dumb-fuck thing to say.” He studied her for a moment. “I can only imagine that you would be an incredible submissive.”

  “That’s sweet, and thanks, but I know my attitude isn’t…” She sighed and toyed with her straw. “I want sex, Mark. I want lots of sex. I want pleasure and pain and bondage and yes, I want to be controlled, but if that control involves being told to vacuum the house naked while not having sex for days then I’m going to walk.”