The Patriarch (Leon PoV)

“Raise.”

Money was pushed into the growing pile.

“Fold.”

“I’m out too,” another said as he put down his cards.

“Call.”

I glanced at the cards before matching the bet.

Cards were revealed. Curses exchanged. I pulled the pile of winnings to my growing stack. Around me were the most powerful men in the city, though no one would ever suspect it. Amir and Jaylen worked in city hall as mid-level bureaucrats. Jackson worked under the city attorney. Mason was VP of one of the big companies headquartered here. The empty seat was Collins who worked with me in the police department. There were a few more of us, but these were the major players. The ones with hands on the levers, so to speak.

Jackson eyed my pile of winnings with envy as he spoke. “Collins is attracting attention.”

“He’s young.”

“He’s impatient and his ambitions are attracting attention. He’s moving up the ranks too quickly with no merit to back it up.”

I sighed. Youth. Collins was the youngest of anyone here, barely pushing thirty. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Better do more than talk,” Jackson said as cards were shuffled. “Internal Affairs was sniffing around. I managed to distract them this time, but I can only do so much. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before the GIA starts sniffing around.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Cards were dealt and he picked his up. He didn’t look happy—either from his hand or the situation with Collins.

As for the man himself, my eyes drifted to the hall. I could hear the muffled thumps and moans that everyone at the table ignored. He had only played a few hands before grabbing Chloe and pulling her back to her room. They’d been there for the past hour. That sort of youthful energy was... envious.

Her mother walked around the table, offering fresh beers and checking to make sure the various finger foods were full. Amir and Mason eyed her hungrily. There was plenty of her to see as she wasn’t wearing much. I understood the appeal. My initial intention for the woman was to bed her until I found someone better and move on. I had just about reached that point when she introduced me to her daughter.

The moment I saw Chloe, it was like seeing perfection. From the shy way she introduced herself to her developing body, she encapsulated everything perfect in an upcoming woman. My whole world shifted at that moment. Grace ceased to be a source of sexual release and became my way of staying close to this piece of perfection in this ugly world. Somewhere along the way, I think she started to suspect something. Maybe my gazes lingered too long or my frequent excuses to touch Chloe triggered some maternal instinct.

My eyes moved to Grace as Amir’s hand grabbed her bottom. She giggled, swatting the offending hand away playfully. Catching my gaze, she gave me a smile of pure bliss. I didn’t return it, the memories of her telling me things weren’t going to work between us prevented even a meager attempt to pretend I cared about her. I’ll admit that in the moment, I went too far. My intention had only been to correct her feelings toward me. My anger got the better of me and resulted in someone wholly devoted to me.

Well, it worked out for the better. With her out of the way, I could turn my attention to the real prize. I still remembered taking her for the first time. The rush of sullying perfection was intoxicating. Yet in the end, perfection wasn’t so easily tarnished. No matter how many times I visited her bed, she would walk around the next day still radiant and perfect as ever, taunting me with my incompetence. My failure.

I hated it. Perfection should not exist in the world. It was unnatural and it was my duty to drag it into the muck and filth like the rest of us. How dare she stand above us, looking down with contempt and disgust. I refused to let her. Refused to allow her continued arrogance and ignorance of the truth of the world.

So I used my Gift. If I could not corrupt perfection, then perhaps others could. I knew she hated me. How could she not? I saw it in her eyes whenever she looked at me. She hated that I dared try standing at her level. So I weaved my beautiful lie. I planted her need to escape me, going against what I had already implanted in her. But she couldn’t just leave. No, she needed the funds to start a new life. Greed was a powerful motivator. Enough greed, one was willing to do just about anything. But I knew that wasn’t enough. Greed was the bait, but I needed a hook. Something that would sink itself into her mind and draw her in; which is where her Gift came in.

Chloe’s Gift was powerful. Enough to get her a scholarship at the elite prep school here. It was the reason she was able to float above all my attempts to drag her down from her pedestal. It was only right it would be the cause of her downfall. A few tweaks to her mind; a few suggestions and the stage was set. Her desire for money. The way she would encourage men to continue when touched. Most importantly, how she would use her Gift in the act. It would start small, building in strength as she was taken by the man until she would lose herself completely and flood herself with the full power of her Gift. To encourage repeat use, I planted the suggestion she share a portion of her Gift with her partner.

The final touch was to simply wipe away all memories of my tampering. Well, not that I could actually do that. That ability would certainly make things easier in my line of work; alas the world was never that easy. I could bury them so far into her mind she simply never thought of them. The end result was the same. And what a result. It took no time at all before she was spreading her legs for anyone who had the cash. Listening to her talk about how the boys had her at school while I took my turn was better than I imagined. Little by little, the radiance around her dulled, soiled by the weight of her deeds.

To be honest, I had lost interest in her now that she was no longer standing above the rest of us. She still served her role to sate my urges from time to time like her mother, but my attention was elsewhere. It was only recently that she caught my attention once more. Her radiance was returning. A slight thing at first, but now it was clear. My hard work and effort was being chipped away and undone. Her boyfriend’s influence no doubt.

Collins walked down the hall still adjusting his pants as he fiddled with his belt. The group had finished another hand as I lost three hundred to Mason’s straight. Pocket money in the grand scheme of things, but annoying to not pick up on his tell. Reliving old memories was making me lose my focus.

“Gentlemen,” he said with his boyish grin. Compared to the rest of us, he was a child. He certainly acted like it at times, but it was important to nurture the young. They needed guidance so that when the time came, they could replace those that came before.

Someone needed to run the city after all.

“About damn time,” Jackson said as he got out of his seat. He was already unbuckling his belt before he made it to Chloe’s room. “Last time I let you go first.”

“Sorry about the mess!” Collins called back before chuckling and taking his seat. “So… What did I miss?”

“Leon’s cleaning us out,” Amir said with a bitter look on his face. The look shifted when Grace set another beer in front of him. She gave him a lovely smile before heading back to the kitchen. His eyes never left her.

“Go ahead,” I said with a sigh. My hands worked to shuffle the deck. Amir didn’t hesitate. He had set his eyes on his target and there was no escape.

“I can understand the girl, but I never understood why you’re cool with other guys and your wife,” Collins said as I dealt.

“She’s only my wife on paper,” I said, checking my cards. Hmm. I could work with this. “This is a relationship of convenience.”

He laughed. “Damn, dude. That’s cold.” He tossed money into the center of the table. “This is why I’m staying single. Too many hot babes out there for one to tie me down.”

“Speaking of which,” I said as I put my money in. “You aren’t following the plan.”

He swore softly under his breath. “I mean, mostly—”

“That plan is there for a reason.” My voice left no room for misinterpretation of my displeasure. “Your actions are bringing attention to yourself. If you bring attention to yourself, you bring attention to us all.”

“It’s not that big—”

“You are not special, Collins. Your Gift makes you useful, but not irreplaceable. Do not become more trouble than you’re worth. Is that understood?” The atmosphere had chilled considerably as I leveled my gaze at him.

He buckled rather quickly. Seemed I wasn’t losing my touch. “I got it.”

I looked back at my cards before pushing more money into the center. Off to the side, I saw Amir had bent Grace over against the counter and was enjoying himself. She had a nervous look as our eyes met. My small nod set off a smile as she allowed herself to enjoy the moment as well. Her devotion was truly absolute.

Cards were laid down. Cruses followed as I reached forward and pulled my winnings towards me. Things were running smoothly—not that I expected trouble. Besides Collin, everyone knew their role and performed it well. All we needed was to keep collecting our winnings.

I drummed my fingers against the table as my thoughts drifted to Chloe. I had been distant a bit too long and it was starting to show. Perhaps it was time to meet this boyfriend of hers.