ALEXANDERI was the only one in the cool darkness of the room when I groaned awake, the room blurring in my vision as I stretched, my eyes resting on the low flame in the stone hearth.“Dar?” I groaned, running my hands through the warm crease where her body was supposed to be. I struggled to my feet, taking a deep breath as the whirl of emotions raced to meet up with me.Where had she gone off to? I turned in a slow arc, taking in the marbled white and black modern aesthetic of the room, the silk gold walls, and the high dias of the king-sized canopy bed with climbing plants idling on the bedside.“Darlene? Babe?” I called, tracing my hand over the gold glass of the breakfast cart that had been wheeled into a corner of the room, shouldering into the hallway instead, the rubber soles of my shoes squelching wetly on the tiled floors.The draft of coolness that had nothing to do with the overhead conditioning swept over me as I looked over the black stair banisters to the empty living
FREDERICK MCKENZIEI watched the woman settle her round backside on the gold sofa of my bedroom, resting her hand on the pinpoint of her crossed knees.It felt weird, the way the woman seemed to dig her claws into my personal space when I had convinced myself I didn't have any up until now.Laura McKenzie was not an ordinary woman, it was getting clearer day by day. But Darlene was far from ordinary either. “What do you want Laura? We both know you aren't pregnant. There’s no way for you to be.” I gritted, staring at the woman dead in her blue eyes and watching her roll her eyes.“If I had a dime for every fucking time someone in this damned manor has asked me that, I’d be rich as fuck Ricky,” Laura chortled, letting out a self-righteous huff before I let one corner of my mouth crawl up into a bitter smile.“It's Frederick to you, Diego, you might think you've got some sort of fucking trump card up your sleeve lassie, but lemme tell you something you don't know,” I rasped, stooping u
DARLENEI stopped pacing to listen to the sound of footsteps that echoed out suddenly above me, snapping my hands away from their cage on my chest and backing away farther into the dark hollow under the staircase.I had no idea what time it was, how long it had been since I left my husband in his sleep upstairs to seek out his twin brother.I knew Fredrick enough to know that he always came down to the winery to snag a bottle, a fully-functional addict like I was.“Saints,” I whispered, holding my breath as the silhouette of a well-toned man descended the stairs, shuffling languidly to the halo of yellow light that lit up the winery of the far wall before I let my shoulders drop, following on his terms like the freak that I was.“Stalking me now, are we Dar?” Fredrick whispered suddenly, his back still turned to me, and I froze, clapping a hand over my mouth to keep from gasping as my chest rose and fell with frantic breaths.“Fredrick, there's something you must know,” I stated, matt
ALEXANDERI rapped my fingers against the steering wheel, gauging the distance between the nose of the matte black BMW and the chain-link iron fence that separated my father’s safe house from the pavement where I had idled the car as silver spigots of rain beat down angrily on the glass.“What the fuck is taking so long?” I growled, feeling my lips curl with disdain as I snapped open the door, gritting my teeth at the sudden wash of ice-cold rain that slapped at my thighs and locking the door behind me, scurrying to the fence and rattling the lock angrily before it gave way, allowing me to run head first into the foyer, until the grand arch of the entryway cut me off from the heavenly blessings.I was panting when I rapped my knuckles hard against the thick bronze metal of the front door, jerking back in surprise when the door gave way under my hand to reveal Prince Charles’ roguish face.“My, don't you look a fright!” The purple-eyed man drawled, the pink bow of his lips curling into
DARLENEI batted blindly at the heavy cotton of the duvet, gasping loudly when I broke out on the surface, the blurry monochrome walls of the room gently sharpening the longer my eyes stayed screwed wide.I looked to see that it was still dark outside, the fire in the stone-marbled hearth of the fireplace burned low, a crackle of blue and cobalt flames.“Shit,” I swore loudly, dragging my weary bones from my spreadeagled sprawl on the bed and placing my feet on the cold tile of the floor.I just have come up at some point after my talk with Fredrick, slamming facedown into the sheets and not checking if Alexander was asleep already. I felt my eyes widen when I realized I hadn't seen my husband the whole day after I snuck out.Where was Alexander? I rustled for the shiny lime green of my iPhone on the nightstand, dialing his number and heaving a reluctant sigh when his mobile was switched off.”Lisa? Lisa are you there?” I called loudly, digging my fingers into my palms when the silenc
ALEXANDERThe air in my father’s secret penthouse was thick as tension danced in the space between the purple-eyed man and me, before I pushed the boulders of his shoulders slightly back, exhaling imperceptibly.“You wish you could. We left the ring ages ago, and I covered all our tracks, you won't find dog shit even if you brought in the federal bureau,” I answered blithely, seething when the ring chief cracked an unnaturally wide smile, shaking his head and pushing away from me to stalk the length of the room.“Oh I know very well how good you clean up Alexander, it's why you were the ring executioner after all,” He drawled, running white ringed fingers through his beard as his purple eyes slid to me, amusement making his almond-shaped eyes appear hooded.I felt my body tense, my heart hammering against my ribs as the droning sound in my head became louder and louder when I realized Prince Charles was about to tell me something I wouldn't like. Something that was certain to make the
LAURA DIEGOThat fucking bitch! The nerve on that woman! Trying to one-up me in my own house! Well, it wasn't my house just yet, but it would be the second Fredrick married me!“I need to do something about you Darlene,” I growled, digging my fingers into the polished wood of the vanity mirror where the porcelain-faced woman with severely drawn eyebrows was staring stonily back at me.I turned my head this way and that, marveling at the way the bright fluorescent caught the tight porcelain skin of my face, my small pearl earrings slapping against my cheeks softly.I’d made only two stops on my way to the McKenzie manor.One at the back street ville of the high-end estate, to meet with Dr. Erlis. A shady, shorthanded elite plastic surgeon who dealt in blood, currency, and secrecy, the perfect cover when you were looking to maintain that fountain of your youth away from the elite women’s prying eyes and rubber flappers that were sure to talk.I pressed cold fingers to the supple skin o
DARLENEI ran the brush over the dried husk of the tears that had been streaming down my face once more, trying to straighten the hunch that had grown in my spine in the time it had taken me to wash up and beat the makeup brush over my face.“Saints, give me strength,” I sighed, ignoring the pain that had begun to throb in my eyeballs. This was the night I was going to tell Frederick everything about Laura, the way she had stalked me in that forest, her house in the killer shack that the detectives were almost certain had been used in killing almost a hundred people.Detective Bowler had come just before dawn, with haggard pea-black eyes and the leathery skin of his cheek drawn in sad lines.”Mrs. Alex McKenzie, may I come in? I have a few follow-up questions you must answer,” He jeered, crowding into the doorway when I hesitated and sweeping past me with the hard-eyed officer who had followed him in tow.The detective did not lie when he told us stories of bodies that had been decapi
DARLENE“Rise and shine sleepy heads! Breakfast’s ready!” Prince Charles’ booming baritone cracked through my skull before a wash of yellow light bored through my closed eyelids so that I groaned, breaking into a chuckle when Alexander groaned beside me.“Fucking hell Charles, did your parents not teach you to knock?” My husband hissed, throwing the soft white duvet away from his hard body and stretching to his feet to snatch the coffee mug the purple-eyed man held out like a peace offering in one hand, his gaze sliding over to me and darkening a shade before he smirked.“I don't believe they did,” He whispered breathlessly, nodding his head to the door where the strawberry blonde-haired man was leaning against the doorframe in brown capri pants, a pearly grin stretched across his smooth face.“Have some decency Frederick, my wife’s in the room,” Alexander whispered, scoffing loudly and sipping his tea as I stretched a yawn and shimmyed away from the bed to rest my head on my husband’
FREDERICK“Die motherfucker,” I gritted, pressing my finger into the claw of the trigger and feeling the gun jerk in my hands, the impact pulling me forward so that I tumbled into the stone flooring.“Come on! Go go go!” I screamed through gritted teeth, waving my hands wildly at Darlene and pushing her around the car as she surged through the barrage of shots pummeling us and firing off a few more rounds as the Umbrella man roared with pain, tearing the knife from his eye with an impossibly loud sucking sound.“I need to get closer,” I hissed through my teeth as I rounded the bend of the car to meet Alwxander’s tense body where he was hunched, hiding from the rain of bullets with Darlene curled in his arms.I swallowed the bile that had risen in my throat, jabbing my fingers into my palms to battle the wooziness that stabbed the sides of my head and peering through the rim of black sedan to see that the man now had a gaping hole in one eye that still spurted blood as he glared around
STEFAN MCCOYMy knuckles were white on the trigger as I watched the man’s hard body as he walked slowly into the room, his eyes never leaving the gun I had pressed dutifully against his wife’s empty ass head.“No sudden moves Alexander or I’ll have the woman’s brains plastered across the floor,” I growled through clenched teeth as Alexander staggered into the room with his father and more of my men surrounding them.I had known something was off the minute I left the penthouse, even before the sound of gunshots echoed out behind us and I asked Markov to turn the car around.The white penthouse with its flashing lights and tall pine trees loomed as ghastly as ever, as I motioned the men every which way, feeling adrenaline rush through my veins when the sounds of gunfire exploded around the sides of the house as my men sniffed the bastards out like the rats that they were.“Please, McCoy, don't do this, My wife has nothing to do with this okay? I’ll, I’ll give you whatever it is you wan
DARLENE“Something’s wrong,” I whispered breathlessly, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight as I watched the man with the Jerry curls stride away from the large lattice silver gates, a gun held tightly in his right hand.“What the fuck do you mean something’s wrong? McCoy’s going with most of his men! This is our cue to go in, grab the twins, plant the bombs, and hightail the fuck out of here in time for Mrs. McKenzie’s dinner special,” Erwin snapped blithely from his crouch beside me, the rim of a sniper rifle held tightly in his hands, as he peered through the scope.“Lassie’s right, this seems too easy, they must have found out about the decoy car approaching already, that's the only reason for him to leave...and yet,” Williams McKenzie growled on my right flank, raising the tight hulk of his frame into a low squat and inching to slap himself against the tree, the burnt orange blackness of the forest blending perfectly with our camo gear.“We should-” Erwin start
ALEXANDERThe bright fluorescent lights tore through my eyelids to fry my eyeballs before I had even opened my eyes. I groaned, the soreness in my arms and stiff legs making me groan louder as I let my head fall back into my chest.What the hell did the bastard hit me with? Fucking hulk?“Ugh!” I groaned, screwing one eye open to lock gazes with my brother’s blanched face and watching him sag with relief when he saw that I had opened my eyes.“Alexander? Fuck! Thank saints you're okay,” He rasped breathlessly and I felt the scowl deepen between my eyebrows as I glared at the swollen purple bruises on his face that had left the skin of his face puffy and red.“Your buddy didn't take too kindly to you I reckon, stabbed you in the fucking balls just like you did to me you piece of shit!” I barked acidly, watching my brother rear back on the chair that he was strapped to like he had been slapped.I looked down to see I was lying on some makeshift gurney table, feeling my heart pound wildl
DARLENE“Where is he? Where’s my husband?” I whizzed when I caught up to the ring chief scowling in the middle of the road, his hands fixed patiently on his narrow hips.“He’s gone Dar, that McCoy took him,” Prince Charles gritted, eyeing me carefully before I noticed his hand cupping the large gash on his chest, the trickle of blood pooling on the purple suit staining the area black.“Here, let’s get you to the car,” I gritted through clenched teeth, managing to push the words past the lump that had grown in my throat and tugging the man’s hand free when he resisted before hooking it over one shoulder, grunting when he leaned his weight on me a little.I could hear the whirl of sirens in the distance as they got closer and I yelped, slamming to a stop when the purple-eyed man stopped suddenly in his tracks.What the hell was it with mafia men and having death wishes? I tried not to look at the nasty knife wound on his abdomen or the purple and red bruises on his chin and focused inst
FREDERICK“Did you have to do it that hard?” I whispered, feeling tears gather in my eyes as I watched the Umbrella Man tower over my brother’s limp body, his brown eyes almost luminescent in the dark.“Quiet Frederick, you're ruining my groove, take him.” Stefan McCoy growled and I felt my heart hammer in my ribs as the masked ninjas dropped from the trees like banana monkeys, hooking my brother’s hard body onto the stretcher as I watched on with widened eyes.“Is he dead?” I rasped breathlessly, feeling panic burn in my chest as I trotted after the men, the crunch of dried leaves under my feet sounding loud in the silence as the masked men marched my brother to the large white van that had been parked off to the side of the highway.“Not yet,“ The Umbrella man whispered, rubbing his hands together in glee as they loaded him into the van and I felt a flicker of doubt spark in my chest.“So it’s all good now right? Everything will go as planned now?” I coughed, scarcely trusting mysel
ALEXANDERIt took longer than I would have liked for my eyes to adjust to the near blackness as I entered the forest.“Where are you? You son of a bitch,” I ground through clenched teeth, waving the gun this way and that and aware of the way I was panting loudly, carefully placing one foot in front of the other.My arms were starting to get sore from holding the gun up and high, my knuckles white on the trigger as I crept along the line of trees, freezing when I thought I had heard the distinct sound of a tree branch snapping.Could this get any fucking worse? Did the motherfucker have to pick the shittiest forest in the whole of New York to make his dramatic comeback?“Go on and run away like the coward that you fucking are McCoy, I can smell that cheap perfume from a mile away,” I jeered loudly, feeling goosebumps rise on my skin when my distorted voice echoed back to me in the blackness.I tried to focus past the hum that had started in my ears but my mind was not following my eyes
DARLENEMy husband hadn't made any sense when he got off the phone with the purple-eyed man and it made even less sense now as we sped toward the edge of town with his knuckles white on the steering wheel.I braced myself against the cool leather of the dashboard, trying to calm the staccato beating of my heart in my chest as we sped through the stretch of asphalt and felt a wave of nausea press insistently against the roof of my mouth.“Are you sure about the address?” I wheezed, unable to bear the silence any longer and risking a glance at the chiseled line of Alexander’s jaw, the way his piercing green eyes were starting dead ahead, his flock of obsidian black hair falling over his face as the muscles of his shoulder and bicep flexed when he fishtailed the steering wheel.“White Villa at Maple Street, I didn't know he lived there, there's only one of the kind, you can't miss it,” He whispered, and even though I knew the steel in his voice couldn't have been meant for me, it made sh