and Selene. Had they intentionally lied to him? Before he had time to consider the possibility of their betrayal, the woman spoke again.
“You didn’t really think the Americans would submit to being members of a society based in Europe, did you?”
Luca blinked, then cursed. “There are two societies?”
She gestured at the cave. “Welcome to the headquarters of the Trinity Masters. America’s oldest and most powerful secret society.”
The Trinity Masters. He’d simply assumed, when he saw Langston with a man and a woman, and associating with known Masters’ Admiralty member Milo Moretti, that they were part of the same society.
It also meant that Selene and Oscar truly had lied to him. He’d told them all his deepest secrets, and they’d let him continue to assume they were members of the Masters’ Admiralty, not correcting him when he said so.
Their betrayal cut deep. He’d given them his trust, his truth, while all along they’d lied to him, deceived him.
Distracted by his heartbreak, Luca didn’t look up until the Grand Master repeated her next words.
“Mr. Campisi, I have a proposition for you.”
He took a moment to gather himself. To think. “You want me to return to the Bellator Dei as your spy.”
“No, though I won’t say that isn’t something either I or the leader of the Masters’ Admiralty might ask of you.”
“What is your proposition?” Luca asked warily.
“In exchange for your loyalty to our members and laws, in exchange for your obedience to my orders and your acceptance of an arranged marriage…I offer you membership to the Trinity Masters.”
Oscar was on his fourteenth trek across the floor of the stone “conference room,” which could have doubled as a dungeon, when Selene cracked.
“Sit down, Oscar.”
He glanced up, then walked over to a chair, sinking down heavily. The scowl on his face had grown darker with each passing minute. It had been nearly two hours since Sebastian had led Luca away from them, and the Grand Master—in full robe regalia—had quickly questioned them before leaving them alone with a terse, “You will remain here.”
“We should have stayed with him,” Oscar barked.
“We weren’t given that option. It’s going to be okay.” Selene wasn’t sure she truly believed those words or if she was merely saying them to comfort herself.
“What the fuck could be taking them so long?”
Selene shrugged. “I suspect the Grand Master had a great many questions to ask him about the bomb. Though I assume she wouldn’t have a technical discussion without me there.”
“What if the Masters’ Admiralty is here?” Oscar asked.
The same concern had crossed Selene’s mind as well. While she felt relatively sure no harm would come to Luca at the hands of the Trinity Masters, she wasn’t familiar with the Masters’ Admiralty or the way they operated. The fact that Luca was a member of the Bellator Dei, a very real enemy of the other society, could outweigh the fact that he didn’t believe in their “cause” and was being forced to work for them.
“Luca is of more use alive than dead, Oscar. To both societies. You know that.”
He nodded, then he said what Selene suspected had been bothering him the most. “We should have told him. About the Trinity Masters. I didn’t like lying to him.”
“We were under direct orders from the Grand Master.” And while that was true, their deception wasn’t sitting well with her, either. Just because she didn’t like an order didn’t make it optional.
“Fuck that!” Oscar said hotly. “We should have told him.”
Selene sighed, but before she could reply, the door to the conference room opened. Both she and Oscar sprang to their feet, and Selene found herself able to take the first real deep breath since Franco left them here as Luca walked in, followed by Sebastian and Franco.
“We’ll give the three of you a few minutes to talk, then we’ll be back to continue, Luca,” Sebastian said.
“Continue what?” Oscar asked.
Sebastian didn’t respond. Instead, he turned around and left the room. Franco merely gave them all a big smile, then slipped out as well, closing the door behind him.
“Are you okay?” Selene asked, walking over to Luca, placing her hand on his forearm.
Luca pulled away from her, offering only a brief nod.
Selene shared a glance with Oscar, whose guilt was practically oozing out of him.
“You know?” Selene asked. “That we are not…” She hesitated to say it, in case he didn’t know.
Again, Luca nodded.
“We’re sorry, man,” Oscar started.
Selene rested her hand on the back of one of the chairs to stop herself from reaching for