KillianShots rang out through the night as Tommaso and I pulled into the lot. A bullet went right through the windshield of my car, shattering the glass.“Fuck!” Tommaso shielded his face from the falling tempered glass. We both got out of the car, ducking behind the door with our pistols ready in our hands.“What the fuck is going on?” I rasped into my earpiece as bullets rained down, putting an infuriating amount of holes in my Mercedes G-Class. No one answered the line that was meant to be kept open at all times. “Fuck! Tommaso, get the fuck down!”Tommaso grunted painfully, and I glanced under the car to see him crouched on his knees, firing from under the door at a trio of men running toward us.I broke out the glass in my window and started firing.“Get to the warehouse!” I shouted at Tommaso as the last men fell.I got up and ran, my gun aimed at every man I saw. Bodies slumped to the ground in the wake of bullets fired by both me and Tommaso. Darkness swallowed the usually qu
SeraThe curtains were open, mid-morning sun blinding me as I blinked against it. Beyond the frost-covered windows, I saw what I believed to be snow. I hauled myself out of bed and rushed to the window, looking out over the dark gray morning landscape. Soft tufts of white fell from the sky, not enough to stick but enough to cause a flurry of excitement to swell in my chest.Immediately, my mind went to my students. They’d be so excited. Even middle school students loved a good snow. I should have been excitedly talking about the first snowfall of the season with the kids, but reality crushed into me with a weight I hadn’t been prepared for.I was missing it. They were out there with someone else. Their faces flashed before my eyes, and that ache in my chest I’d been feeling off and on since I’d arrived came back with a vengeance.Would I spend Christmas here in a few months? Thanksgiving?I found it hard to swallow as I backed away from the window and hugged myself tight. How I longed
SeraThe main kitchen swarmed with staff as I followed Killian. Surprisingly, Mikey stood next to one of the cooks, arguing with him about something. Was he trying to teach him how to make my version of chicken parm?He saw me and smiled, waving. I dipped my head in a silent greeting and rushed to keep in step with Killian, whose stride was twice the length of mine. I was slightly out of breath by the time I reached his side again. Why did he always have to walk like he was tracking someone down to slaughter them?“Where are we now?”“You’re telling me you haven’t taken the time to look in every door of this place?” He smirked at me and pushed open a set of double doors.“Not yet,” I muttered, but then I stopped in my tracks, gasping.I’d never seen anything like this atrium before. Three stories high and totally protected from the elements outside, it even had an indoor swimming pool glistening on the far side of the room, steam rising from the water. A tropical scent wafted off the
KillianIt was evident by the look on her face that Sera had no idea about the true nature of her brother. I didn’t want to be the one to tell her. Fuck, I wished she didn’t need to know at all. But I’d opened that can of worms, and they’d spilled everywhere. There was no fucking way to shove them back in.Besides, if she was ever going to trust me, she had to know the why behind the murder that made her think I was the most ruthless man in the world.“Your father is one of the most powerful crime bosses in the country, Sera. He raised your brother to take over his enterprise one day, and Leo? He excelled.”“So you took him out?”“No, that’s not why.” I leaned back in my chair, eyeing her as I crossed my arms over my chest.“So tell me.” Her voice was just a whisper, tears sliding down her cheeks. Even now, with the anger against me building and face streaked from crying, she was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen.“Now isn’t the time.”She looked away from me and over at the pool.
SeraHurt gripped my body as I watched Killian walk away. Confusion blurred my senses. Only a nudge from the horse I’d been petting broke me out of a heartbreaking haze. I clucked at the Thunder, scratching his nose as a single tear rolled down my cheek.What just happened? Killian, who’d just opened up to me more than he had in all the weeks I’d been locked up in his home, had said he would sell me to someone who wanted to marry me?“That doesn’t make any sense,” I said to the Thunder. “Did it make sense to you?”A different horse whinnied behind me. It sounded to me like a comforting eyeroll in horse speak. I smiled over my shoulder at the brown mare. “Exactly.”I breathed deeply, trying to shake myself out of whatever spell Killian had cast before he left.Sleeping with him was one thing. But falling for him?“No,” I said to myself, then patted Thunder on the head before walking out into the crisp, overcast day.I expected guards to be visible outside. But Killian had left me comp
Sera“You’re going to get us both killed!” Mikey growled, pulling me up off the ground. My bloodied fingers cried out in pain as I got to my feet. Trying to break free from him, I stumbled, falling backward on my ass. I was soaking wet and bruised. He’d caught me, but the damage was already done. Leaves and twigs stuck to my expensive coat, and my boots were beyond repair at this point.I was a fucking mess in more ways than one. “Just leave me alone!” I begged him.“I’m not letting you fucking escape!” he shouted, throwing his hands in the air. “What the hell are you thinking?”“I’m thinking your boss is using me as collateral and fucking with my head!”Mikey went quiet. His dark eyes focused on the ground before lifting to me. “Killian wouldn’t do that.”“Wouldn’t he?”He looked up at me with a guilt-ridden expression. “You have to come back inside right now and get cleaned up before he sees you like this.”“Because he’ll be angry with me?” I mocked, rising unsteadily to my feet but
KillianThe quiet in my office didn’t ease the ache in my chest after abandoning Sera outside and running away from her. I’d had to do it. I couldn’t stand there and act like what I’d said about selling her to someone who wanted to marry her was actually how I felt.I knew what I’d meant. Maybe she had too. Maybe she’d seen the truth in my eyes before I’d turned my back on her.I couldn’t deny myself of her any longer. I’d proven that I was weak the second I slid back into her bed a few nights ago. I hadn’t just fucked her, either. It had started like that, with me bossing her around and denying her when she’d alluded to wanting to be on her knees for me. But something had snapped my resolve, and I’d needed to see her face while I’d felt every inch of her perfect body. I didn’t want it to be rough, not with her. I just wanted her, and that scared me to death.The Hand of Death didn’t scare easily.The power she had over me tore me to pieces. My mother had been right when she said my w
SeraA large, cozy parlor faced the eastern side of the property. The furniture and decor were masculine with black velvet couches situated around a large marble fireplace. Veins in similar dark tones coursed through the stone. Having never been here before, I took a moment to take it in, seeing Killian’s taste everywhere I looked.Mikey smiled broadly as a young woman with fiery red hair piled on top of her head turned to face us. Her dark eyes widened with both pleasure and surprise as she looked from him to me.“Hey, Pen.” He grinned, nudging me forward. “This is the woman I was talking to you about. Sera, meet my wife.”Penelope heaved herself up from the couch, her smile widening. The size of her stomach shocked me but I did my best to hide it. When Mikey told me she was pregnant I imagined her early in her pregnancy, but she looked like she was ready to pop.“Nice to meet you, Sera.” She offered her hand, but as I reached for it, she exclaimed, “What the hell did you do to her?”