KillianNo one would assume anything about tonight was abnormal. My men moved between the crates stacked nearly to the ceiling while others mingled in small groups, the air thick with cigarette smoke.I moved toward the open bay of the main warehouse. It sat on a property I owned across the city from my house. Not too close, not too far. Alonzo had been right. Giuseppe’s revenge for his father’s death at my hands would happen tonight, right here, any minute now.I imagined his guys were already waiting somewhere in the tree line surrounding the trio of warehouses. I glanced up at the twinkling starlight and ripple of golden haze drifting up from Philadelphia in the distance before turning my back to the garage bay and walking toward the back of the warehouse, where Tommaso, Francesco, and Mikey were waiting.“Tonight might be the night for you, Mikey,” I said with little warmth as I checked my watch. “Get one of these fuckers alone and gut them, and I’ll make you a caporegime.”Mikey
SeraI dreamt of black lace and red velvet. Of a warm body gliding over mine. Everything about space and time was nothing but fragmented glimpses of a man I wasn’t sure I recognized, but his voice, full of smoke, want, and pure unadulterated longing, felt so out of place.Shouts broke through my slumber and I sat straight up in bed, the memory of the dream fading into nothing as a huge commotion rattled the house all around me.Gooseflesh rippled over my arms as I slowly crawled to the end of the bed and perched on my knees, the silk chemise and robe I was wearing bunched and wrinkled over the curves of my body as I strained to listen.More shouting broke through the silence. What was going on? Were we under attack? Given that I was in serious danger just being in the presence of the Mano Della Morte, why was I so calm and assured that that same man would protect me from whatever was happening downstairs?I went to the door and rattled the knob. Locked, of course. I banged on it, shou
SeraA young man named Mikey was tasked with escorting me back to my room. I trembled as we walked through the darkened house and my adrenaline crashed. It was still pitch black outside. I hadn’t bothered to find a clock during the last thirty minutes or so. Everything had been a blur. A blur of noise, a blur of activity. A blur of hot blood and frantic energy.Mikey wordlessly led me to my room but didn’t step inside. I went to the ensuite bathroom and closed myself in, choking on a sob as I turned and saw my reflection in the mirror. I was covered in Tommaso’s blood. If he died, it would be partially my fault. Even with the doctor here now, I’d been the one to stop the bleeding by picking out pieces of metal from his chest and sewing him back together. What if I’d made a mistake? What if I missed something?What if Killian never forgave me?I showered, forcing myself not to look at the crimson streaks curling around my feet as I scrubbed my skin until it burned.I stepped out of the
SeraKillian stared at me for a long moment, his body only inches from mine. Despite the fire in the hearth, the air between us felt chilled. He panted like he was holding back. I tilted my chin up to him and ran my fingertips over his jaw.He’d kissed me because he wanted to. He had no reason to seduce me other than desire. I had many reasons to seduce him—freedom, privileges, not getting killed.But there had been no reason for me to lean into his touch and accept that kiss, other than that I wanted to. And I hadn’t wanted it to stop.He grabbed my wrist and whirled me around, shoving me into the hallway before slamming the door shut behind me.Sudden fury swept over me, igniting the instincts I’d been ignoring.Again, I questioned why I’d come down here in the first place. Why hadn’t I put on some shoes, at least? It was fall, so it would be cold. And I was an idiot for using what I knew would be my only chance of escape in trying to comfort a beast like Killian. Comfort him! Like
KillianAnother glass of whiskey hadn’t washed the taste or feel of Sera’s lips from my own. A third glass hadn’t done much to ease the dull ache in my chest whenever my mind drifted from her to Tommaso and our ill-fated night.Ill-fated in so many ways. Sure, Giuseppe had been sent what I hoped he’d consider a valuable message. Fuck with me and get fucked. But it had cost me, too.Tommaso had almost paid the ultimate price. We’d already lost one of our men, his body now being prepared for burial. I ran my fingers through my hair as I thought of the funeral that would take place within the next week. He’d been young, as young as Mikey and just as green with a gun.His mother would be cared for, for the rest of her life, I’d make sure of it. But her heart would be forever broken.I sucked in a breath and stood, stumbling a bit until I found my footing. I left my office and walked through the dark house, lingering for a moment in front of Tommaso’s room.Instead of continuing to my own
SeraI’d lost track of time.I wasn’t sure what day it was when I woke from a restless, dreamless sleep the day after Killian kissed me in his office. My toes curled over the soft, creamy carpet as I got out of bed.It was early enough that no one had come into my room with breakfast yet, so I padded into the bathroom for a scalding shower.Pressing my hands to the dark tile, I closed my eyes as water beat down my neck and spine, my hair curling into thick, wet tendrils over my breasts.I tried to get him out of my head. I thought of Emma, of my students, of my friends back home. I even thought of Jim, but the content and safe space he once took up in my mind felt hollow now. Instead, it had been encroached upon by the sharp, prickly, uneasy need I felt for my captor. Everything with Jim had felt easy, if a little slow. Killian was everything but easy. He burned me every time I got too close. Cut me with just a look. Made a fool out of me with his wicked tongue. And yet I wanted him.
KillianEdoardo Lombardi wailed, his teeth stained with blood. “Just kill me, Ricci. For the love of God, shoot me in the head or the balls, I don’t care. Just let her go. Let Delaney go, please! She was never part of this!”He screamed as I grabbed him by the throat and bent his neck back over the metal edge of the chair. The single lightbulb flickering above his head illuminated the room, which was nothing more than a cement box covered in plastic stained with his blood.“Tell me who you sold the blueprints of my warehouse to.”That warehouse was a gold mine in a highly coveted location. A secret location, hidden in plain sight. It had been raided several weeks ago, before the Sera mess happened. Now I had a kingpin breathing down my neck and several bosses cowering at my feet, pleading their innocence.Everyone knew about the three warehouses only a few miles from here. Those were decoys, a distraction, mostly empty. Giuseppe thought he was slick trying to raid those and met my wra
SeraIt’s been hours now since Olivia brought me breakfast. An entire day had passed. I paced beside the windows overlooking the mist-covered garden two stories below me. Night was falling. Stars played peek-a-boo through breaks in the clouds, and I counted a handful of constellations before the cloud cover darkened the sky entirely. Down below, a guard paced back and forth across the patio, his shadow stretching out across the grass in front of him.I ground my teeth as I picked through what was left of the dinner that had been delivered, and not by Olivia. I hadn’t seen her since this morning, which was odd. The new maid bustled in and out so quickly I didn’t even get a look at her face.I sucked my lower lip between my teeth and let it go with a pop.This wouldn’t do. I was trapped up here while someone, possibly my father from the sound of it, was downstairs.Could he have left already? No, Killian wouldn’t have just let him walk out the door like that. If a deal had been made, I