Terza was sitting alone at her table drinking a glass of non alcoholic Irish cream when she noticed Jonas O'Kane approaching her. No one else dared come close. She had been sitting with Vincenzo until he had moved to another table for people to go to see him to express their concerns or views in general. Jonas was a close friend to her just like how Cristina was Vincenzo's close friend. Jonas was a special one. He was smart but mysterious too. Tristan was always wary of Jonas. He was sweet but he was an O'Kane. A deadly one too. He was interested in non violent part of his family's business but it didnt mean he was incapable. He was not interested in leadership but it didnt mean he was not able to lead. It was hard to figure him out and maybe that was what pulled Terza to him to make a friendship with him.
Jonas smiled as he took a seat next to her. He didnt even need to ask for permission to sit next to her.
Vincenzo was sitting at his table speaking to Scorpious when he noticed Jonas. He kept the conversation going as he watched him sit next to his Terza. He narrowed his eyes but kept talking while glancing at Terza and Jonas. Terza made eye contact with him smiling and then turning to Jonas. He couldn't believe he dared come that close. The guy was her father's cousin but still it did bother Vincenzo. He was still a male sitting too close to his woman. He was imagining in his many ways he wanted to kill the guy.
Terza put her hand on Jonas's hand that was on the table "Jonas. Why have you come here tonight? I thought your mother doesnt let you out of the house."
Jonas smiled "Terza. I am allowed to leave the house but not alone. I am not here alone."
His cousin called her by her Italian name without a frown. He acted this way unlike his mother and uncles. His uncle Jackson didnt like her name much. He called her Terza but reluctantly and avoided saying her name much. The O'Kane family preferred not to call anyone of irish blood by any their own name unless it had Celtic, English or Irish roots. Her father said that Anna Rosario's love had changed Jackson O'Kane and he was not discriminating against Italians like how his father did. But still they just loved Irish culture.
Terza smiled "I can see. Look at all these bodyguards that you have."
Jonas glanced at Vincenzo at the other side taking in the deadly look he was giving him. He turned to Terza "I heard you have a man now. Do you think its wise to hold my hand?"
Terza said " But you are my father's cousin. He knows there is nothing going on."
Jonas said " He doesn't like seeing a male near his property I bet. He looks like he wants to shoot me."
Terza bit her lip "I am sure you can shoot back. Won't you Jonas?"
Jonas chuckled "Terza. Dont tempt me..."
Terza asked "Really? So you will shoot my man."
Jonas shrugged "I neither confirm it nor deny it ...." He then thought enough was enough. He pulled away his hand from under her grip "You call yourself Vincenzo's territory. I am not here to mess with his territory that's you."
Terza took a deep breath " I don't call myself his territory. That's his name for me. He makes me repeat it all the time. I don't feel like his territory until I have a ring on my finger."
Jonas smiled " So you want to mess with him? Of course. That's you... Now let's move on from the topic. Terza. I need some information."
Terza asked " About what?"
Jonas spoke " Well. My father is working as a journalist now in a newspaper. I managed to get that much out of some police officer once when I ran away from my guards. It's his part time job for now. I need you to get some information for me from him."
Terza asked " What kind of information?"
Jonas said " I want to see him. I need to know why he agreed to a divorce from my mother. I need to know what he did that was so bad. My mother says he is not worth knowing because he did something. I need to know what it was."
Terza smiled sadly " I think its best to ask Tristan. He is not like your uncle. Ask him to back you up."
Jonas said " I can't take that risk. If he disagrees with me then I lose all hope. I cant take on both my uncle and him. I need you to do this for me. Once I have the information then I will tell Tristan. I won't hide anything from him. I need to find out for myself. You are the bridge to knowledge for me."
Terza sighed " I can see you are desperate about this. But I will see if I can convince you to trust Tristan to handle this. He is quite fair. When we are desperate we break the rules."
Jonas said " That's an understatement. I am more than desperate."
Terza said " Jonas. Try not to think about your father much. Your uncle Jackson has a good reason to keep you away. I think you need to get yourself a girlfriend. You seem lonely to me. You are watched non stop by the body guards your mother has assigned for you then you hardly have much fun. Go get yourself a girlfriend."
Jonas looked away " I will remember your advice... I should go. Your man is coming this way. He may need to talk to you. I dont blame him. You made him jealous by touching me." He then stood up. But as he was about to go, Terza stood up and said " Wait. Give me a goodbye kiss. A little bit of jealousy is healthy for Vincenzo. Play along." She then leaned close and kissed him on the cheek.
Jonas watched Vincenzo come closer with murder in his eyes. Terza liked to wind up men but she was making a grave mistake. She didn't know what jealousy did otherwise she wouldn't have pushed Vincenzo to the edge.
Terza put her other hand on his arm "You have strong muscles. Are you working out?" She said it loud enough for Vincenzo to hear who was approaching them.
Jonas tried to keep a straight face "Sure. I do push ups alot. Would you like to see me train?"
Terza said " Sure."
Jonas smiled " Come to our house tonight and watch me train. It gets lonely for me." He then winked and walked away quickly knowing Vincenzo was coming at her.
Terza turned to Vincenzo and immediately put her hands on his heaving chest " Is there a problem Vincenzo?"
Vincenzo wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered " You have been cheating on me Terza. Do you know the consequences?"
Terza smiled " Cheating? Come on. He is my cousin. I don't think of him that way."
Vincenzo said " He may not see you as his cousin. Come with me Terza. We need to have a talk. Now." He then let go of her and walked away."
Terza knew he expected her to follow. If she didn't, he was going to most likely cut off the electricity and abduct her in the dark. She had pulled such stunts before when he was ignored by her. He always got her when he wanted her. She wished she could wind him up by walking to some one else and chat them up to make him jealous. She wanted to see how far she could push him. But in that room she didn't see anyone worthy at all. She didn't think any other boy was worth her time.
Terza followed Vincenzo out of the room and she was lead to a different room. She found herself face to face with a livid Vincenzo as he closed the door to the isolated room after she entered after him.
Vincenzo was looking at her so possessively. As he touched her he felt she felt his possessiveness. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and made her tremble as his breath hit her neck "Terza. Don't ever forget who I am."
Terza took a deep breath " I won't. If you don't forget who I am, then I won't forget who you are either. I am yours but not fully. I am not married to you Vincenzo and won't be for a while."
Vincenzo chuckled darly " Are you taking me on Terza? A ring will be on your finger sooner than you think. I want to claim my territory as soon as I am allowed to invade."
Terza gave out a shaky breath "To invade a territory you must break through the territory walls Vincenzo. It's not that easy."
Vincenzo looked into her eyes as his lips brushed against hers " I know that... But ... Terza. Don't make me jealous next time. It won't end well. Jonas is no enemy of mine but he will be if you force me to make him my enemy. I defend my territory."
Terza breathed " If you want your territory you need to fight for it. Others may invade too. There is a world full of men Vincenzo."
Vincenzo replied " No one will never win against me Terza. I will strike them before they reach the territory walls." He then attached his lips to hers and kissed her urgently.
As Vincenzo pulled away once he was satisfied he said " Terza. I am going to Sicily."
Terza nodded " I know."
Vincenzo asked " Do you want to come with me?"
Terza said " I thought I had to come with you and stay as long as you do. That's what Vitale said."
Vincenzo shook his head " You will need to come with me to be introduced to my people. But you don't have to stay unless you are ready. I won't force you to do anything Terza. You should know that by now. I will always give you a choice. I will tell you what will happen in case of each option if you don't choose it how I want it. Your choices will have consequences but not for you. Terza, a lot will change from now on. You have some tough choices ahead of you and so do I. But always remember I will never hurt you. I know your people may think otherwise. I know how your relatives feel about me now they see me taking a Sicilian route. I have been hearing how people think I will hurt you. It's not true. I may be the Don's successor but I won't follow his path. I will make peace with the Irish in every way I can. You are my territory and always will be."
Terza smiled " I know you won't hurt me. Vincenzo. Neither will I. You are my man. I look out for you if you act like my man. If you betray me I will not tolerate it. But know that this territory won't say no to another king if he is more worthy than you."
Vincenzo narrowed his eyes " Terza.... This king will invade and will take no prisoners. Always remember that." He then leaned close kissing her possessively.
Terza saw their relationship was as complex as she expected. But she liked the idea of having some distance between them. She needed some more time for herself to get ready to be with this man who was an invader as he said taking no prisoners.