KillianThe blinds hadn’t been closed. Watery morning sunlight blared in my face as I rolled over.I groaned, lifting my arm to shield my eyes, but I froze when Sera moaned softly in her sleep behind me. I craned to look at her over my shoulder.Lord, spare my unredeemable ass. Curled up on her side, she was beautiful even in her sleep. She would likely punch me square in the nose, however, if I told her she was drooling on my silk pillowcase and had a fearsome bedhead.I slipped out of bed and crossed into the closet across the room, changing quickly and quietly. Sera didn’t stir when I opened the door, either. I just hoped she didn’t hear it close. She’d want to kill me for leaving before she woke up again.I left the door to the office open for Tommaso whenever he got around to start the day. And what a day it was going to be. This world was just a game of chess, I reminded myself, but today I was going to move the pieces. Even if they were covered knee-deep in shit.I dialed Patri
Sera“We can find her later,” I had caught Tommaso say as I reached the door to Killian’s office. Did he mean Paige?I looked between Killian and Tommaso, waiting for an answer, but Tommaso avoided my gaze, and Killian was roaming his gaze up and down my body as if my dress left little to the imagination.Their silence was more than suspicious, so I crossed my arms and turned my look into a glare. “Is this about your mission before the plane crash?” I demanded of Tommaso, who cleared his throat and took a deep breath.“Just someone we hear’s got some fellas who might be perfect for filling our ranks.”I narrowed my eyes. What a bunch of bull—at least some of it. They were working on filling gaps, but the “she” was clearly debatable. But I knew better than to push it. I wouldn’t get any real answers.“Whatever,” I grumbled, turning back to Killian. “Are you going to get dressed, or what?”He was already dressed decently nice for so early in the morning. I wasn’t going to penalize him f
SeraLater, I was curled up on a big chair in the parlor with comfier clothes and a cup of coffee, watching the snowfall that had begun when we returned to the manor. Penny had gone to put Michael down for a nap, Tommaso went to rest as he had promised Killian, and Killian went to his office. I didn’t mind him doing so, as long as it wasn’t for the rest of the day.There was a knock on the door. I turned to see Killian there, spinning a car key on its loop with one finger. “Want to go somewhere?”I was on my feet instantly, running over to him, coffee forgotten on a side table. “Yes! Where to?”“You’ll see.”Equally excited and suspicious, I followed him to the garage. I faltered when he got into the front seat. No other guys were around. The last time we took a car by ourselves things didn’t end so well.I shook my head free of flashbacks of the car wreck. I paused at the passenger side. “Killian?”He rolled down the black-tinted window. “We’re safe. I promise.”Sometimes it was hard
KillianWomen liked to be wooed with wealth. Sera was no exception, but it had to be tailored to her specific tastes, which meant tying sentimentality into the display. I had no idea, but wasn’t entirely surprised, that she wasn’t well-traveled. Her bastard father didn’t even like his wife walking out the door to go to the mall, it seemed.Taking the jet for a joyride was a break we both needed. Francesco’s death and “burial” were still a cloud overhead, so what better way to banish that than with real clouds?But a vacation would have to wait. My phone buzzed, and an unknown number popped up. I let it go to voicemail. Sera was my priority.When we landed, it buzzed again. Sera noticed and glanced at me as we walked toward the car. “You going to get that?”“I don’t know who it is,” I said, though my fingers itched to pick it up. There were a few people I was hoping to have calls from. Some odd instinct told me it wasn’t another buyer for the girl. “I’ll get it when we get back to the
SeraI didn’t want Killian to leave, especially when no one knew when he would come back.If he came back.I banished the terrible thought before it could take over. It wasn’t hard because I was too focused on Killian’s mouth leading a path of kisses up the inside of my thigh. This was one hell of a farewell-for-now.I was perched on the edge of his bed while Killian knelt before me. A mafia king, the Hand of Death, was kneeling only for me. He’d already taken my dress off to discover my lacy, scanty lingerie. He’d announced that they needed to come off as well, but he was taking his time doing it.“I won’t be gone long,” Killian murmured against my skin, his breath sending a shiver through my body, making my lower abdomen tighten. I couldn’t close my legs even if I wanted to because he held one of them hostage by the back of the knee, spreading me just a little. Then his voice was a growl. “I’ll make sure of it.”“You better—oh,” I whimpered at the light scrape of teeth just a few in
KillianMy hand tightened on my revolver as I crouched in the scant undergrowth of forest, fingers itching to shoot something.The moon hung above us in the starlit sky, the wind biting through my overcoat and slicing my cheeks. Fuck winter. Why the hell was I here instead of in my bed warmed by Sera?I was tired and irritated after watching the log cabin at the bottom of the slope for the past two hours. There was no evidence of life within it.“How the hell does Alphonsi know Niccolò’s in there?” Tommaso asked beside me, his breath clouding in front of him. The other guys were holding down the fort at the hotel we booked while we tried to make sure we had the right location. “And why isn’t the bastard here freezing his ass off with us?”It wasn’t the first time that question was asked. Scott’s reasoning was that his men already put in their hours tracking Niccolò’s movements. There was also the concern that this was just a setup between Scott and Niccolò and that the latter had some
SeraI was asleep in Killian’s room, surrounded by his musk and soft silk, when I woke to the sound of people shouting and shattering glass.Dread sluiced through my body, adrenaline replacing the blood in my veins, as I chose fight over flight without pausing. I ran to Killian’s closet where I knew he kept a small arsenal of weapons. It had been a while since I’d used a handgun, and my awkwardness with the one in the forest when Francesco tried to kidnap me proved it wasn’t my best weapon, so I grabbed a serrated knife. Not that I had much experience with that, either. I wished I’d had more lessons with Tommaso.Forgetting that I was only wearing a skimpy nightgown, I wrenched open the door—and nearly ran headfirst into Olivia, who had clearly run to find me.Her eyes were wide, and her voice shook when she gasped, “Cops. They’re trashing the place.”Run the house, Killian had said.Another rush of adrenaline shot through me, but I knew I had to keep my cool. More noises of destructi
KillianWe stalked down the snowy slope like wolves creeping in on prey. Halfway down, my phone buzzed in my back pocket.Everyone skidded to a stop and Scott hissed, “The fuck did you bring your phone for?”I silenced it against my better judgment. “Just an update from the house,” I hissed back. “It’s fine.”I made it all of two more steps before it buzzed again. Who the hell would be calling me at four in the morning? It couldn’t be Reggie, could it? Nothing could be going on at this time.I silenced it again.Another few steps.It buzzed insistently.I felt the guys’ annoyance, even my own, spike the already sharp air. They were already on edge with this mission. They didn’t need a buzzing phone grating on their nerves.“Give me a second,” I snapped at their glares, pulling out my phone to look at the caller ID. It was Reggie. “Hello—”Scott scoffed and gave the motion to move. “Let’s just go.”My heart lurched. “No—”But even my guys took off after Scott, storming down the hill an