Chapter 142Cephus’ POVWhen I go to the casino, time stops, people freeze, and the animation fades, everything becomes a muted scene with no life in it.I used to get all the eyes in the room when I walked in.I get them now, too, but not before they take her in first.Katie has no idea what’s going on.Her cheeks are flushed. Maybe it’s from the sun today, or maybe it’s from walking next to me.Her hair and eyes steal the show.I’ve never seen someone more magnetic in my life, and I’ve seen women covered with glitter, clad in sequined costumes, wearing feathers and tiaras.I run the kind of business where magnetism is instrumental in making money.People like to be distracted, see magnificent things, and fully experience them.That’s what makes this even more fascinating.The way she draws people’s eyes to herself without even knowing is astounding.Even I’m distracted by her dress.Not only that.I couldn’t think straight the entire day.The image of her almost naked in that lounge
Chapter 143Cephus’ POVI’m doing my due diligence to prevent it, and then I get this kind of shit?Why?I’m paying the right people not to have FBI agents at my door.Vito looks at me without answering.“I can’t get in touch with my people right now. I don’t know who’s ratted us out or why.”Yes, it could be the FBI agents who are on my payroll. Maybe they have become susceptible to blackmail.Or maybe there is a new player in town, overbidding me. Offering more.This is not about the money, after all. I have money. I’ve already given them too damn much, but I could up that sum.This is about power.“That Boris guy…” Vito says, his voice trailing off as he unbuttons his jacket and slides into an armchair.“Yeah… I know.” I mutter, reaching inside the drawer and going for my pack of cigarettes.I retrieved one and put it between my lips.Fire goes through my veins, and I’m so tense I could easily break someone’s neck.I crash into my seat and light my cigarette.“I knew it was all a d
Chapter 144Cephus’ POVShe looks normal, although there’s nothing normal about her roaming around.And she knows that.I look at the time stamp.This happened a few moments ago.“She’s gone,” I say, pushing up and yanking my suit jacket off the back of my chair before putting it on.“Where are you going?” Vito asks.“I’m going after her.”“Where?”“I don’t know,” I say, shrugging and sliding my pack of cigarettes into my pocket.I fucking hate this shit.I take it out and push it back into the drawer.They look at me when I lift my gaze.“I don’t need you.”“Are you serious, Boss?”“Yes. I fucking am. There is so much going on right now that me going after that fucking girl matters to no one.”With that, they stay behind while I head straight to my suite.* * *First, I check her room.There are things in my head. Things I couldn’t say out loud.So, I want to make sure I was right about her and didn’t lose my touch.I walk in and make a beeline for her room without as much as glancin
Chapter 145Katie's POVA lot is happening around me.And I mean a lot.There are so many people, voices, lights, and sounds.The crowd is having a good time while I try not to stumble and make a fool of myself.I pay attention to how I walk, sit, and speak.Well, I don’t speak much. I mostly take in the world swirling around me.It’s strange and intense at times as everyone seems to be a bad joke away from shifting from joyful exhilaration to having a nasty argument.This world is theatrical and volatile, yet Cephus doesn’t seem to be like that.He observes everything with undisguised thoughtfulness, reading the clues and participating in the conversations, yet still keeping his cool and being reserved.I think he’s seeing what I’m seeing.And maybe I’m learning from him to just sit and listen and, more importantly, read the room.I furtively glance at him.His eyes move around the room, but all I see is his magnetism. Pure testosterone flows through his blood, fueling his power over
Chapter 146Katie's POVA sigh leaves my chest, and my eyes fly to the window.I wish I could go outside––have some fresh air.I push my chair back and walk to the wall of windows.Lights play outside in a magical dance of perdition. I slide the glass doors open and walk onto the terrace.The evening air gives me a chill, and it’s cooler than I expected. My eyes move to the world outside, the cars and people on the sidewalks.I could be right there right now. Getting lost in that crowd and forgetting that I can’t get any sleep.What if I go down there?The idea sounds crazy, especially since I have no business being there. But… I would be outside only for a few minutes.Half an hour, maybe.I spin around and go straight to my room, where I remove my necklace and deposit it in the drawer before picking up a jacket from the closet.The problem is… How do I get out?I’m sure I can’t use the elevator without running into his bodyguards.I’ll find a way.I collect my purse and quietly snea
Chapter 147Katie's POVThe bright world of Las Vegas ends where the desert begins.If you turn your back to the city and just look into the night, your whole life has a different feel.You forget about the angst of living and ugly people making your life unlivable at times.I don’t remember a time in my life when I felt so alone.I miss my home, and I miss Tina and Jen. I even miss my old job with its grueling hours and rowdy crowds.I wish I could go back to that without facing my father's wrath, but that’s not possible.And he is no longer possible.He has no place in our lives.I stare at the starry sky, wishing so many things for myself and Tina, most of which seem impossible.And then I look back at the brightly lit city, and it’s like staring at my destiny.And I’m not sure I want to go back, but on the other hand, I know I can’t fight it.So I go.After spending a few more moments enjoying the view, I make the trip back.I arrive at the hotel around midnight and park my car in
Chapter 148Katie's POVWithout her, I have nothing. In the same way, I have nothing without you if you get in trouble. I can’t stop you from doing what you need to do if that’s the best course of action for you… And I’ve already told you I’d do anything for you and wouldn’t mind if your face was the last thing I saw if we’d gotten to that. But if you don’t need to do any of that… To end me… Then you have to let me go.”His eyes glint with quiet determination before I lean to him and place a soft kiss on his lips.He doesn’t move like he’s carved in stone, and I break away from him this time without him stopping me.I’ve never kissed a man like him before. I’ve never kissed a man.They kissed me, and they were boys.My ex included.As I pull away from him, he doesn’t move, yet the heat of his body curls around me as if wanting to make me stay.His eyes burn like his skin, fueled by his turmoil.“I’m going to sleep,” I say. “It’s been an eventful evening.”I pull away from him for goo
Chapter 149Cephus’ POVKatie has slept the whole afternoon, and though I want to wake her, every time I walk into the room to do it, I can’t. She looks so at peace in bed, and I know if I wake her, the peacefulness that resides within her now will be gone.Instead, I sit in the chair across from the bed and watch her delicate body. I appreciate her plump lips, the slope of her back, and the way her mouth parts as she allows a sigh to escape her lips as she sleeps.She is magnificent, and she is mine. No longer able to hold back, I slip back into bed beside her. I need her to wake up. I need to talk to her, tell her how much her life has changed. The moment she saved my life is the moment she became a part of this war.“Piccolo…” I whisper in her ear. She doesn’t move, and for a moment, I think she doesn’t hear me. That is until my eyes sweep across her face. Her big, brown, doe eyes are wide open, peering up at me.“What time is it?” she asks, her voice full of sleep. I smile at the
Chapter 183Katie's POVAll I see is a blur of him as I try to get my mind and body to function so I can answer him. My legs hit the floor as he pushed me down, releasing me to walk away. His hand grips his hair as he stares at the gun in his other hand and back down to me.“No. No, it’s not true,” I whimper, tears still falling. “Don’t listen to him,” I plead, looking him straight in the eyes.“Silence,” he orders, walking over to me with his hand raised. Will he hit me? Will he hurt me?“That isn’t true!” I shoot back. “Nothing he is saying is true…”Silence ensues for a long second before Cephus speaks. “Get the ropes and tape!” he yells to Mack. I’m lying on the ground on my side when his face comes into my vision.“Was it all a lie, Katie? Was it all some fucked up lie so that you could get into my head? So you could get the inside job done and walk away unscathed?” His voice is so loud in my ears, I push away from him.“Was it?” he shouts, demanding a response, his fingers gripp
Chapter 182Katie's POV“I see it as more of a protective arrangement for both of us. There are legal protections for each of us… incentives to keep one another’s secrets.”I fixed him with what I hoped was the most vicious look I had in me. “I never went to the cops after you kidnapped me, didn’t go running to my parents begging them to find someone to break your kneecaps, and you thought you needed some other way of getting me to keep your secrets?”“It matters…” I can hear the anxiety in Mack’s voice. Something is very, very wrong.“Why does it matter? She was nothing before this whole incident and will be nothing after everything takes place. She’s clean. I know it.” Cephus sounds confident, and though I know I have done nothing wrong, if Mack convinces him I did something, I know I am as good as dead.“It matters because I know she’s not clean. After Jared called me and told me what Luccio said, I did a little digging on her and found some shit out.”Horror fills my mind. What i
Chapter 181Katie's POV“I was seven or eight, in a regular primary school not far from here.” His right hand moved, grasping for his phone, then he left it alone and pulled my hand he was still holding onto his knee, placing both of his hands over it. If the ring I was wearing was digging in, he didn’t give any sign. “It might surprise you to hear this, Katie, but I was not the best of children.”“Shocking revelation.”“I was always targeting kids a bit younger, a bit smaller. The ones I knew wouldn’t be able to give me any shit in return. Except this one time, there was this kid—Billy Burke, I remember his name vividly—and he did give me shit. He told me he wanted me to stop pushing him around and trying to scare him, and no he wasn’t going to give me his lunch money, by the way. I’d never run into this situation before when I was running this scam, so I panicked a bit. I hit him in the face. Told me to his parents.”I didn’t know what to say to this. It took me all too quickly b
Chapter 180Katie's POVEven when it gets worked out in the end, it sucks for long-term relationships.”It had to be even harder to find someone you could enter into the sort of long-term relationship most people were especially keen on with. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised Cephus had jumped at the chance to get me on board as a future wife.And speaking of my future husband, I had half-expected he wouldn’t be there when I returned. Then when I saw him sitting on the couch in front of the TV where he’d been when I ran out to get in Caroline’s car—where he’d probably slept for all I knew, he’d gone out the night before and hadn’t been back before I admitted defeat and crawled to bed—I half-expected to spot Angel somewhere in the room in the next moment. She didn’t have anything further to add to her roster of manipulations for the moment: we were alone.“What was your day like?” asked Cephus without looking at me. I let my bag slip by degrees from my fingers, frozen in place by the p
Chapter 179Katie's POV“Cephus isn’t supposed to be a part of this side of things, he can’t do it… and I doubt you’re in a position to ask your mother for assistance. Caroline is an ideal choice.”I didn’t like it, but she was right. I couldn’t go about this the wrong way if I ever wanted to be on Cephus’s good side. I didn’t want to go about it the wrong way. And while I was surrounded by Cephus’s family I needed to make connections unless I wanted to be treated the same way I was on my own. Caroline seemed like the safest option there so far.“If you’re sure I won’t be inconveniencing you,” I told Caroline. “I could use the help. I don’t have much experience with the whole wedding business, that much is for sure.”Caroline broke out in a little golf clap of delight. There might actually be some benefit in spending trying to absorb as much as I could of her elegance. “I’m so pleased to help. Now, I was thinking, I have the whole of tomorrow afternoon off work, so that would be a g
Chapter 178Katie's POVI sat up with a gasp.It was just like the morning before when I had woken to unexpected voices. But this time I was in a strange bed again, and at least one of those voices didn’t seem familiar at all.I’d learned my lesson from the day before. I couldn’t get myself into the single bathroom in the apartment, but I pulled on a proper outfit, brushed out my hair, and cleaned my face thoroughly with some wipes. I didn’t dare put on makeup without a full mirror, but I was young and fresh enough that I could probably get away without it.Once I was decent, I made a quick and quiet tidy of my room and then stepped up to the door for a bit of strategic eavesdropping before I joined the action.A childish female voice was doing most of the talking. “She’ll need someone to guide her through the process.”Cephus’s voice sounded both amused and exasperated. “Someone who has never been even close to getting married before?”“You know exactly what Caroline means.” The thi
Chapter 177Katie's POVI kept trying to convince myself that what I was craving was the worst craving anyone had ever had, including anything that had been thought up by a brain on pregnancy. But it was ridiculous to be so worried about whether I did or didn’t sleep with him when I was already making myself vulnerable to him, right? Or was this just how I was convincing myself to go along with wherever my lust took me?I don’t think about looking at my plate. Then when Cephus abruptly slid his chair backwards and stood, I startled like a tiny animal that could run away if provoked further. I knew damn well I couldn’t run.Cephus came to my side and put his hand out for mine, drawing me to my feet when I complied.“You have sauce on you,” he said and pointed it out on my shirt—his fingertip pressing slightly into my breast in a way that was, I’m sure, entirely necessary.I looked down at his hand there. Well, I’d managed to at least try to eat something.I thrust my chest forward in
Chapter 176Katie's POV“Madonna and child.” Cephus folded his arms and leaned back; it felt like an acknowledgment that I’d landed a hit, but I didn’t have any idea how. I’d just been trying to give a voice to my frustrations. “So you know a little bit about art, then.”“I think that’s kind of something I picked up through pop culture actually,” I said. I was hoping to screw with him while I seemed to have an advantage, and he did appear to deflate a little in response. “You’d be more eager to get a leg over if I was the kind of girl who t art and how to engage with you because I have any desire to ‘get a leg over’. And I have no intention of scorning you because you lack cultural polish. I assure you that I will be able to provide for you sexually in every way you might require.”“What kind of statement is that? Trust me, I’m a sexy beast, even though from the way I behave you would expect pretty much any Arctic land to be less frigid than I am?”“Do you want me to provide referen
Chapter 175Katie's POV“Am I supposed to believe you are shy?”I was so startled by Cephus's Voice that here I dropped the capsicum I’d been fidgeting with. It rolled across the bench, and Cephus caught it with one hand while he continued dicing its unlucky sibling with the other.“I guess you wouldn’t,” I admitted, “but if any situation was going to make me feel that way… I mean, we’ve gone from you having me dragged out If bed to trying to cook with me?”“You’ve got to roll with the challenges life presents you sometimes, Katie,” said Cephus, rolling the second capsicum into the path of his knife.“Are you talking about me here or you?”“Both of us, for once.” His expression visibly dulled. It struck me then just how much more animated he had become since we had first met. It was just a handful of hours but there was someone behind the mafia man front he was slowly letting me see, whether by choice or unconsciously I did not know.It bothered disappearing again. It was messing wi