DARLENEAlexander’s mother looked at me like I had just told her Michael Jackson was well and alive, running cross-country in the Yorkshire Olympics.“What do you mean what party? The party I'm hosting in honor of my sons tomorrow night!” Stephanie said, jutting her needle-sharp chin outward with an air of self-importance before Laura leaned over the table, her eyes flashing mischievously so that I felt my jealousy cave a little.“Mrs. McKenzie wants to host a ball at the manor, happening tonight. She wants us to be her angels Darlene,” Laura simplified, and I forced the knot that had gathered between my eyebrows to relax into something I felt was more accepting.“It would be the most exquisite dinner event to hit New York yet! Oh, I simply can't wait!” Stephanie purred, pumping her small clenched fists with excitement and beaming at me as I hastily worked a constipated smile onto my face.“That sounds ...er...lovely, Mrs. McKenzie, what does the mon signour think?” I sputtered, and i
ALEXANDERI watched my brother bite into the full meat of his pink lips anxiously, his form slouched into the driver’s seat as cold air slapped at us from the slanted vents of the air conditioning as he stalled the car in the forest path where we had a clear view of Duke Chabok’s driveway and twenty feet mansion.“Damn bastards must have planned to kick us out from the moment we fucking walked in! Fuck!” Fredrick cursed and I gritted my teeth, wincing painfully.They’d gotten me good when they’d brought up my woman. What was that? Since when did I lose control of my faculties so completely e?I had to be sure it didn't happen again, at least not when I didn't want it to.A deep sigh rose from the cherry pits of my stomach to escape out the lines of my parted lips as I raked a frustrated hand over my head.“We can't go back home without the shipment Fredrick,” I deadpanned, and my twin shook his head like I had just told him that there was a stair to the milky way right next door.I re
DARLENEMy ears rang in the silence that followed after Laura told me what she’d seen on the guest list, the foamy sponge of my brain skirting around the information so that I deliberated a moment before giving the dark-haired woman a puzzled look.“What do you mean you saw Kayla Storm on the guest list? Mrs. McKenzie just said it was by invitation only!” I croaked, trying to tamp down on the heat that was rising in my chest as I felt my breathing shorten to shocked gasps.We’d had a brief tussle in his office, his eyes darkening the second I shut the door so that he pulled me farther into the dimly lit expanse of his office.“What the hell Darlene? What was that? What's wrong with you?” Alexander whispered hotly, his eyes flashing with annoyance as he stared down at me, the hard barrel of his chest rising and falling with a quickness I hadn't seen before.Oh, I knew sure as hell he did not just try to pin this on me! I felt my teeth clench as I marched right up to him, stabbing the n
ALEXANDER MCKENZIEI felt the truck fishtail sporadically, away from the line of guards who had jumped away as I swerved the steering wheel into the forested path, only just missing the beam of my brother’s headlights up ahead.“Shit,” I cursed under my breath, my eyes darting off the road so I could slap the hades music off before I lifted my gaze back to the stretch of asphalt, swerving wildly to avoid the signpost that the car had been leaning toward.Green almond-shaped eyes met my cautious gaze in the rear view mirror as I watched the manor’s security team run into the brightly lit street, with some of the hump-chested men stomping their feet on the granite angrily and the other suit-clad protocols appearing to shout into their phones.We’d done it, stolen the shipment from right under their noses. Duke Chabok was not going to like this, Not Stephan McCoy either, No siree. I could tell the bastard had been gunning to outbid us if his plan to outs us hadn’t worked back at the Chab
DARLENE BERNARDO“I don't mean to sound like a broken alarm clock Darlene but uh, Mrs. McKenzie kinda said to take care of the interior decorations tonight,” Laura chimed, wringing her hands in front of her and biting her lips furtively.And that was how close I was to shooting a damn harpoon needle up my freaking ass!I squeezed my eyes shut, heaving a long-suffering sigh and greasing the throb in my temples again.Workers around the manor were always a hassle. The missus seemed to have a particular knack for picking just about some of the worst uptown snobs, she could find.Dammit, Darlene, what now?I eyed the eager-looking woman eagerly, the itch that had been scratching at my spine pressing even harder now as I leaned heavily against the door frame.Perhaps?“Laura?” I rasped, my chest heaving with shaky breaths as I watched the line of her midnight-black eyebrows scrunch up almost imperceptibly.”Yeah?” The woman breathed, holding her hands to her chest as though I were a doctor
ALEXANDERThe fire from the shipment truck had been slow and climbing at first after Fredrick had flicked the match on the gas trail he made as the lick of flames followed to where it would meet the open tank of the white van.“Get in goddammit, hurry!” I gritted when the maverick began to tussle his strawberry-blonde hair in the side mirror first, instead of trying to flee the scene, as any reasonable man with a good head on his shoulders would.”Just making sure my frizz is still intact,” My brother huffed as he got in and I rolled my eyes, resisting the strong urge to bop him over the back of his head.Damn rat sounded like I was the one ruining his style.“The hair implant treatments not paying off?” I quipped and saw the man’s shocked face whip to me from the corner of my eyes, biting my lip at the exaggerated look of shock on his face, before it fell away and he snickered wordlessly.The din of the explosion sounding out behind us had me snapping my eyes to the rearview mirror w
DARLENEMy eyes moved to the gun my husband was gripping tightly in one shaky hand, gulping reflexively with some measure of relief when I saw that his fingers were loose on the trigger.HE HAD A GUN? Think Darlene! THINK!“Alexander,” I whispered hoarsely, my tongue darting out to lick my lips before I trailed off, keeping my eyes trained on the hand that was fisting the gun.He was walking towards me now, with slow, deliberate steps. Saints, what was I going to do?I felt around the wall behind me as my heart beat a jagged rhythm in my chest as an icy, bottomless terror opened in my stomach.Why did I have to be backed against the stretch of wall with no hooks? Stupid, stupid Darlene!I was almost certain, that this was how I was going to die, backed up against my husband's office wall with nothing to my person but a demure slip dress that did nothing to match my hair, before I saw him place the gun carefully on the table.“Wait, you're- your’e not gonna shoot me?” I croaked as the
DARLENEMy eyes were swimming when I managed to stand, immediately regretting it when my legs turned to water under me and I fell face-first to the sharp, marbled end of the table.“Woah, easy there sonic the hedgehog,” Alexander’s throaty rasp chuckled in my ear as he caught me just in time before I could spear myself on his office desk, the thick length of his arms brushing against my exposed nipples sweetly so that I leaned back into him.“Fuck you,” I moaned, flashing my teeth at him and letting my eyes drift closed as he nibbled on my ear, a bolt of excitement making my core swell until I could feel the puffy lips of my clit press into each other deliciously and I moaned again.“The things you do to me Darlene, fuckkk,” My husband groaned, his whispered baritone sending shivers through me that made me arch my back and spasm reflexively against his cock that had gone hard again on my back.A wave of heat had me grinding my ass against the thick mushroom head of his shaft like a bi
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