I slipped into one of the chairs in the courtyard section. Silently fumed at myself. Why not just lay down and expose your belly, you idiot? It would make it easier for him to slide the knife in. A warm palm engulfed the back of my neck. Immediately that stupid feeling of belonging swamped through me again. Asshole. I tried to shrug him off. He tightened his grip. "You're driving me crazy. Do you know that?" He took a seat next to me without letting me go. Pulling my face forward, he crashed his mouth to mine. I sank into his heat. My hands came up, gripped his shirt. And he was claiming I was driving him crazy? It was the other way around. As if he could read my body, he pulled away right before my lungs started aching. His pupils were dilated as he sucked in air through his nose. A slight flush rode his cheeks. "I need to taste you. Every single part of you. These kisses are doing nothing but whetting my appetite." My ovaries sat up and started dancing. Finally. I n
Don't screw this up. Don't screw this up. Don't-for the love of all that's holy-screw this up. I chanted it to myself as I sipped and sucked at her lips. The taste of her mixed with the essence of her. I was rock hard and trying not to think about her naked body stretched out underneath me. The beckoning heat of her cunt. The tightness of her pussy after her orgasm. The dripping wetness that sang a siren's song. They all urged me to claim her. Take what was mine. This woman-all of her-was mine. Now I just needed her to stop freaking out long enough to believe me. Conscious of her healing body, I eased back after a long count of ten. I wanted to ravage her, destroy her world and body. But I needed her to be healthy to do that. I couldn't get her healthy if she couldn't use her lungs. Fucking Lily Turner Sterling. She would die. Soon. By my hand. Nik's eyelids fluttered open as a bemused smile tugged at her delicious mouth. "If you think kissing me into silence is going to
My stomach churned even as my blood raged in hate. They hurt him. The sweetest man on earth and they bloodied him. I started tracing the call, even as Peter and Bentley came rushing back in. With my free hand and part of my brain, I followed the familiar path to initiate communication with my collective. Five new pictures popped up on the main screen. "Who the fuck is this?" Turo demanded. I'd never heard his voice so cold. I wanted to cuddle him. Offer some kind of comfort. You will. Find this fuck and kill him. I nodded. Yes, I would. For Papa. For Turo. For me. These assholes were messing with my people now. My family. They shouldn't have even tried. I've got a video call live in my location. I need it tracked and traced with highest accuracy as quickly as possible, I typed out over the collective's secure channel. On it, four of them typed. I'll get the backend, Hamster responded. Do not engage. They have two hostages. At least one is beaten. The other is
I gritted my back teeth as Beverly mocked and giggled like a school girl on Speed. I was going to have a discussion with our soldiers back home. They should have been on top of this. Should have alerted Nico that somehow this crazy bitch was free. Speaking of Nico, I pulled my phone from my pocket. Dialed his number. When the call went live, I handed the phone to Edi. My second in command went out of the ops room, filled in my little brother. As I focused back in on the conversation, I saw Bentley and Amato slide over into Nik's space. They pushed their heads together as they carried on a whispered conversation. I saw Nik rip the duct tape off her mouth, but keep it stuck to her finger. She answered back to whatever they were saying. Soon, they were zinging back to their own stations, fingers dancing over the keyboards once again. Play into her narcissism, she thinks she's won. Let her believe she has, Mercy's words floated through my mind again. "Tell me how, Beverly. P
My entire body went cold as I coordinated not only with the collective but with Ryker on the infiltration of the warehouse where Beverly was holding Momma and Papa. With one little bullet, Turo could save everyone he loved. Hell, he could save everyone I loved. I turned to look at him. Saw the horror in his eyes. He'd shot Callie for a lot less than his family. I wasn't worth that much. Not when it was his family. Unwilling to force him to stare at me while he made the decision to end my life, I put my plan into action. Shut them down, I typed out to the collective. 10. It came back in quadruplet.Hamster, the guy who had taken the backend of the whole thing, messaged me privately. Host ISP in bouncing off at least thirty relays. But the bot packet you designed is showing me New York City. Right where you said it would be. Thx, H. Deploy the exe. Bomb's away. It would take roughly thirty seconds for the virus to upload to the incoming signal. Another ninety seconds
The echo of the gunshot shattered my ears. As her body fell to the ground, my soul broke into pieces. Beverly crowed like a hawk as she danced around my father's slumped body. Over the video feed, I saw Nico and his soldiers break in and stop Beverly from slicing Papa's throat. He was a second too late to save her. To save me. "Turo?" Nico called. I shook my head. Unable to open my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to look at her. See the woman I'd loved dead at my feet. When I'd shot Callie, all I'd felt was an odd sense of loss. With Nik, I wanted the world to open and swallow me whole. I couldn't live with this. "Tell Momma I'm sorry. I can't live without her." I put the gun to my head. Pulled the trigger. Nothing happened but the hollow click. "ARTURO ANGELO AMATUCCI!" Nik yelled. "Did you just try to fucking kill yourself?" My eyes flew open just in time to see her launch herself at me. I was down and under her body in one smooth motion. I laid there and tried
One month laterI pulled the door shut to the loft. Made sure it locked behind me. Tali came out of her home across the hall. "Hey, last checkup. You ready?" she asked.I nodded. "I was ready two weeks ago, but Jessa told me I'd had too much excitement and that I'd stressed my lungs. She better let me get back to my life."Tali chuckled. "Just be glad Momma forgave you. Jessa's stubbornness has got nothing on Momma. How did you manage that, by the way?"I smiled as we walked down to the basement together. I hit the button on my key fob to get my new car started so I wouldn't be freezing my ass off against the leather seats. "I might or might not have given her a complete family tree for both her and Papa."Tali's mouth dropped open. "How the hell did you manage that?""Well, with all the forced down time, what else was I supposed to do?" I shrugged. It really hadn't been difficult. "She came over one day, made me lunch. We were talking about family and what it meant to h
I fidgeted in my chair. Talked myself out of calling her. Seeing if she'd been released from all restrictions yet. I was going to demand a second opinion if Jessa told her she had to restrain from sex for another month. Hell, I might duct tape Jessa's mouth and deliver her to Nico's door. Let him keep her occupied. A soft knock on my door had me jolting. "Come." I slid my hand down my tie. Edi's knocks were usually a lot stronger than that. A smaller woman came into my office. Dark hair, dark eyes, she looked vaguely familiar. She pushed back her hair, tucked it behind her ears. "Mr. Amatucci?"I stood up, waved her over to a seat. "Yes. And you are?""I'm Eden Forester. I need some help."I waited for her to sit before I took my seat again. "What can I do to help you?"Her cheeks flushed. "I know who you are. I also know who your family is."I stayed silent. Most people who came to us for protection knew exactly who we were. It was one of the reasons they sought us out