SeraHolding a plate of chocolate cake in one hand and my wrist in the other, Killian took me to the pool on the other side of the atrium. We could only hope Giuliana was asleep in bed with her cold and not spying on us. Part of me really didn’t care. The soft lapping of the water echoed in the humid room. The reflections patterned the ceiling.Killian set the cake on one of the lounge chairs and wasted no time stripping his shirt off. I knew better than to shimmy out of my dress. But I was glad to kick off my heels and pull my hair free of its clip.Heat pulsed in my core at the look in Killian’s eyes as he walked up to me. The hungry gaze drifted to my breasts while I admired the planes of his chest and torso. Through his pants, his cock was already hard.“Just my boobs turn you on?” I mused as he slipped the straps off my shoulders.“Everything about you turns me on, Sera,” he said huskily. “Let me see how you look in a swimsuit.”“I’m no Baywatch actress.”“You’re sexy as hell, bu
KillianThe next day, I was still riding the high of pool sex with Sera, despite having slept for almost ten hours. It wasn’t so much a physical high as an emotional one.I replayed the night in my mind’s eye as I sat in my office. Sera and I, weak with effort, had swam around a little afterward. I could still taste the chlorine on her lips. I could feel her legs wrapped around me, the way the water swirled around us.“I love you, Serafina,” I’d murmured into her neck as I held her like a lifeline.She’d clung to me tighter. “You’re not just saying that because we just had sex, right?” she’d asked jokingly. When I’d hummed in disagreement, she’d laughed in return. “I love you more than anything, Killian.”“Even chocolate?”“Hm. That might be debatable.”“You can still eat it off me,” I’d offered.Sera had glanced over to the lone piece of cake on the lounge chair, then up toward my mother’s room. I’d had no doubt she was asleep or just lying in bed. Sera’s reservations were noted, tho
SeraI’d overheard Killian and Tommaso’s entire conversation, and I wouldn’t lie that I got choked up. The two of them had been best friends for years and had never really spent much time apart. This was a first for both of them.I was going to walk in at some point to stop Tommaso from leaving without saying goodbye because I knew he was planning to ditch me to avoid the emotional farewell. But when it was clear he was on a tight schedule, I came up with my own plan. When he’d seen me sitting in the driver’s seat, he shook his head and climbed in.They also probably heard me hightail it down the hallway. At least I’d made it into the right car. I’d heard Tommaso rattle off the license plate. My heart had started to beat out of my chest. I’d suddenly felt like a stowaway, but when Killian spotted me and grinned, I knew everything was fine, and he didn’t mind me taking Tommaso to the airport.“Be careful, righthand,” I’d heard Killian say as Tommaso opened the back to throw his suitcas
SeraI spent the drive home letting my emotions wash over me. I had only known Tommaso for a few months, but it felt like so much longer.The bonds I had with the men of the mafia world had never been good up until now, and I didn’t want to let those good ones go, even if it was only temporary. Tommaso would come back. I felt certain of that. But luck wasn’t always on anyone’s side. So many unimaginable things could go wrong between this plane ride and the one that brought him home. I knew I wouldn’t be able to rid myself of the nagging voice listing all those things until I saw him again. Hopefully, Paige would be with him.I was mopey by the time I got back to the mansion. I was braced for Killian to be waiting in the garage. I didn’t think he’d be mad, but he might be standing there with his arms crossed and foot tapping, but when I pulled in, there was no trace of him. My heart skipped a little beat. Was something wrong?Then I heard his voice coming from the parlor off the foyer
TommasoThe plane taxied to a stop in front of a large airport that could’ve been anywhere. I stretched my legs, my suit pants sliding against the first-class leather, and wished the flight attendants hadn’t been so, well, attentive about taking away my shitty airplane scotch. It had the bite of a kitten, but maybe it would soothe some of the tension in my muscles.Paige was here. I could feel it.After what felt like eons, they opened the door. I’d paid extra for a seat right near the front, first to disembark, and only brought a carry-on. Nothing would keep me from her. I grabbed my leather duffel and marched out the door.The jetway rattled under my feet, letting in gasps of dry, hot air. I’d chosen a linen suit, at Killian’s advice, but sweat collected on my forehead and under my arms.I emerged into the packed airport. Ice-cold air-conditioning rattled down on me like it could make me forget the blistering heat outside. Someone yelled in light, high Arabic. I swore under my breat
TommasoI stepped through the door, and the bartender shut it behind me. I swallowed. “Mr. Saad?”A lamp flickered on, a weak halogen bulb that spilled light over the middle of the desk. I blinked in the sudden glare. The man’s brown wrist caught the light, bearing a glittering Rolex I recognized from their latest line, before he shook a shirtsleeve over it and folded his hands on top of a high-end laptop.“Ahmed, please, Mr. Conti.”I exhaled quietly. I knew that reedy voice, that thick accent. Ahmed had a flair for the dramatic, apparently. My heart pounded. If I’d found him, I’d find Paige before long.“Do you have the money?” he asked.I set my bag on his desk, tilted it toward me, and unzipped it. Ahmed was a middleman-of-all-trades, a guide to the Egyptian underworld for anyone able to pay the right price. For a simple tour of the area, I would’ve had to pay fifty thousand American dollars, but I couldn’t wait that long. I had let Paige suffer for long enough.I pulled out the c
TommasoI stalked out of the hotel that night and pulled my coat around me to ward off a sudden breeze. Fucking deserts. The second the sun went down, it was like a whole different climate. But the yelling, crowded streets, and stink of exhaust hadn’t gone anywhere.Napping proved futile. I didn’t know how I was gonna sleep in that damned bed when I finally had to, but I definitely couldn’t with Paige so close I could touch her. Instead, I spent the afternoon fighting with the hotel wi-fi to find and memorize walking directions to the market Ahmed had given me. If I never had to get in a car and traverse the streets of Cairo again, it would be too soon.Heads turned as I walked, but fewer than in the daylight and in Ahmed’s part of town. I still towered over most of the people on the street, but I towered everywhere I went. At least in downtown, I blended in with the other pale-skinned tourists.That wouldn’t last. Like everything I needed in Cairo, the market sat somewhere most touri
TommasoI stormed into Ahmed’s fucking tavern, the noon sun hot on my shoulders. I’d spent the last few hours pacing back and forth in my hotel room, trying to convince myself to get some fucking sleep for the first time since arriving in Cairo, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even lie down.That fucking snake needed to know I shouldn’t be fucked with, not because of the Ricci name at my back but because I knew how to solve my own goddamn problems.I marched up to the bar and the same reedy bartender. The place was even emptier than yesterday, and the few red-eyed men at the tables stared even more. I didn’t care. Last time, I’d been crossing my fingers and hoping for a lead. Now, with my Beretta in my shoulder holster and the laughter of that guard ringing in my ears, I wasn’t hoping for shit. I had come here to get what I paid for.It took a lot to make me angry, but Ahmed had managed it.“Almawyrid yantaziru,” I spat.The bartender eyeballed me for another long moment. He ran his