Keres

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CHICAGO RUTHLESS: BOOK 4

SADIE KINCAID

RED HOUSE PRESS LTD

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Copyright © 2024 by Sadie Kincaid
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author,
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover Design: Red House Press Ltd
Editing: Baker Street Revisions
Formatting: Red House Press Ltd
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain are
fictitious and any resemblance to any real person, living or dead is purely coincidental and not
intended by the author.

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For anyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong, you’ll find your tribe
some day.
And if you’re really lucky that tribe might include hot tattooed bikers who
know how to make your legs shake.
Until that time, enjoy these ones with my love,
Sadie xx

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 Contents

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Epilogue
Also by Sadie Kincaid
Acknowledgments
About the Author

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 Prologue

KERES—AGE 11

C
urled up in a ball in a wooden box in the back of the van, I hug my
knees tighter to my chest, trying to make myself as small as possible.
The van stops, and my back, arms, and legs tingle from the sudden
absence of vibration from the engine. Phoenix trembles beside me. Her soft
cries echo off the plywood walls concealing us and drown out the otherwise
deafening silence of the night. When I saw that she was older than me and
had already started to grow into a woman, I foolishly thought he’d take it
easier on me.
“Shh,” I whisper, hoping he’ll forget about us if we’re quiet.
Every part of my body aches, and the dirty, suffocating memory of what
he did fills the cramped space we share. The coppery tang of fresh blood
fills my nostrils and has me swallowing down a mouthful of bile.
All I want is to close my eyes and never feel this pain again. Maybe we
should both be loud. Make him come check on us. He will open the trunk
and I will run and he will shoot me. Then I can see my mom again.
But no. She made me promise to stay safe. A heavy sob balls in my
throat, but I swallow it whole, absorbing it into my chest along with the rest
of my pain and terror.
 Shouts come from afar, but they’re getting closer. Men’s voices. Men
who are here to … My teeth start to chatter.
“No, no, no,” Phoenix chants. Is she praying? Doesn’t she realize that
nobody’s listening? I’ve suspected for a while now that God doesn’t exist.
Today confirmed it. No god would ever allow the horrors we lived through
today.
The van sways as the back doors are pulled open, and I press myself
harder into the plywood floor of the box, trying to make myself smaller.
God may not exist, but I squeeze my eyes shut and beg the universe to keep
the men from finding us.
The voices grow louder.
“There’s a box in here. It’s nailed shut.”
“No, no, no,” Phoenix goes on chanting.
I cover my ears. If I pretend hard enough that I’m not here, maybe they
really won’t see me.
“Did you hear that? Crying? Is there someone in there?”
“No, no, no,” she chants.
No, no, no. I shake my head.
The top of the box splinters, and the sound rings in my ears. Blinding
light filters through my squinched eyelids. Get away. Get away. Get away.
“Oh, fuck. It’s kids. And they’re—” Muttered curses are spat with a
violence that makes me shiver.
“Get ’em the fuck out of there.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” one of the voices says, softer now. “We’re not going to
hurt you.”
Yes they are. Men only know how to hurt. I roll as far from the light as I
can get, trying to melt into the shadows and disappear. Phoenix’s chant
grows louder, more desperate, as it gets farther away, and I know they have
her. They’re taking her, but I don’t try to stop them. I can’t. All the fight I
had in me was used back in that house. The jagged edges of my fingernails
slice into my palms, and I’m reminded of just how hard I fought.
Disembodied voices continue to ring out, but one stands out among the
rest. “Put her in the car. It’s okay, I’ll take this one. Give me your coat.”
A soft, warm material covers me, and only that one voice remains.
“Hey, I know you’re really hurt, but the monster who hurt you is gone. I
promise I just want to help you. Okay?”
 I open my eyes. The glare from the flashlight in the man’s hand
obscures his face, but I can see the outline of his huge frame as he crouches
and peers down at me.
“G-go away!”
“I can’t do that. I’ll take you somewhere safe. Somewhere you’ll be
taken care of. If you come with me, I promise nobody will hurt you again.
Would you like that?”
I’ve never known safety, but I know that I want it. Every man I’ve ever
known has been cruel, and experience tells me this must be a trick. A ploy
to get me to go along without fighting. Yet my instincts tell me to trust him.
The rough wood scrapes against my cheek, and I realize I’m nodding.
He holds out his hand. “I know it’s asking a lot for you to trust someone
you’ve never met, but I have a sister just a little older than you. I know how
to pick you up without hurting you. Will you let me do that?”
“I’m scared.” My voice is so quiet, I’m certain he can’t hear me.
But then he says something that breathes new strength into me. “Of
course you’re scared. But you, little one, are a warrior. And warriors don’t
escape fear, they conquer it.”

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 Chapter

One

KERES
Twelve years later

Blood trickles down his face from the gash above his eye and mingles with
his snot and tears as he makes another pathetic attempt at begging for his
life.
The chains securing his wrists to the ceiling rattle with each violent
tremor that wracks his naked body. His pasty, mottled flesh is covered in
burn marks and welts sliced into his skin by my knife, and it makes me sick
to look at him. Evil disgusting pig.
Anger surges inside me, and I kick him in the balls, causing him to
retch.
I hold my knife up in front of his face. “I’ll ask you one more time,
Oscar, and then I start hacking off body parts. Who is your partner?”
“I don’t do it anymore, I t-told y-you. Please.”
Taking hold of his flaccid dick, I suppress a shudder at having to touch
him and hold my blade against the base. He screams at me to stop, but I’m
not feeling even the slightest bit merciful. Not given who this man is and
what he’s responsible for. He deserves worse than what’s in store for him
for what he did to me and my mom. To Phoenix and all the other women
and children whose names we’ll never know.
“Salvatore Moretti!” he screams.
I snort. “Yeah, I know about him and the Santangelos. They’re all dead,
Oscar. I’m talking about your partner. The one who coordinated the whole
operation with you.”
He shakes his head and snot flies from his nose. God, he’s pathetic. “P-
please d-don’t. Don’t do this.”
His whiny voice fills me with revulsion, and I slice off his cock with
one flick of my wrist. His screams of agony fill the room. “Shut the fuck
up!” I rage at him, stuffing the bloody appendage into his mouth to muffle
his cries.
“Did you listen to any one of the hundreds of women and children who
begged for mercy, you disgusting fuck?”
He gags on the flesh in his mouth, and I roll my eyes. “Never had a
cock forcefully stuffed into your mouth before, Oscar?” I laugh. “At least it
isn’t big enough to make you choke. How does it feel to meet my good
friend karma?”
Tears stream down his face, and his begging eyes take over where his
voice left off. It doesn’t matter how big and bad they think they are, they all
look at me with that same desperate look before I claim their lives.
“Give me a name and I won’t slice anything else off.” Now that I have
relief from his pissing and moaning, my rage has calmed. My tone is almost
soothing. “I’ll slit your throat and let you die quickly, and that, Mr. Lang, is
the only mercy you’re going to get from me.”
The muscles in his throat spasm and his body lurches, and before I
realize what’s happening, his eyes roll back in his head. With an annoyed
grunt, I yank the bloody lump of flesh out of his mouth, but it’s too late. His
body twitches and then he’s still.
I slap his face. “Oscar!”
Nothing.
Dammit, the stupid fuck went and had a heart attack on me. Pathetic. I
endured worse torture at eleven.
After I’m finished removing every trace of my presence, I climb onto
my bike and haul ass away from the Lang house without looking back. He
had enough enemies to keep the cops busy guessing who killed him. They’ll
never suspect the volunteer worker who lives in Toledo.
The roar of my engine makes me smile, and the familiar throb of the
machine soothes me. It almost makes me forget about my fuck-up with
Oscar. I shouldn’t have taken that risk. Not after spending the past four
years trying to track him down. And after all that time, it turned out the
fucker lived only an hour from the place Phoenix and I made our home. A
home that should have kept her safe from the nightmares that plague her
every night.
I should have started with a finger or a toe instead of his cock. Now I
have no option but to speed up the next part of my plan and head to
Chicago. My skin bristles with untapped rage. This day has been coming for
over twelve years. Time to face my demons. Time to take down the
Morettis.

“Y ou ’ re late , K eres ,” Father Mike says, rolling his eyes as I walk into
the rec room at the back of his church, which runs a subsidized after-school
care. I help out as much as I can, and I never miss arts and crafts on
Thursdays. A bunch of the kids and I have been working on painting a
mural, and they’re so excited to finish it.
School hasn’t let out yet, but he likes me to be here a half hour before
the kids so I can help set up. “Sorry, Father. I had some things to take care
of.” I glance at my hand. Even after scrubbing them in the shower for a
solid five minutes, I can still feel the blood under my nails. Like Lady
Macbeth.
He eyes me suspiciously, and I resist the urge to fidget under his steely
gaze. Instead I walk across the room and bump my shoulder against his.
“You know I’d never let the kids down.”
His expression softens. “I know. I just worry about you.”
“You don’t have to worry, Father. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “You will always be little K-bird to me.”
My cheeks heat, but I can’t help but laugh at the memory. Between the
ages of thirteen and fifteen, I was obsessed with Grease 2 and insisted on
being called K-bird. Shameful, I know. His eyes crinkle with his smile, and
he pushes his glasses up his nose. He’s the only adult in the world who’s
ever shown me anything akin to love.
We walk to the supply cupboard to get the paints, and he clears his
throat. “How’s Phoenix?”
I swallow down a knot of guilt. I can’t lie to him, not about her.
“She’s … she’s surviving.”
“She still refusing to take her meds?” His concern rests on my shoulders
like a lead weight.
“Yeah.”
He sighs heavily.
“I’m trying. She says she doesn’t feel herself when she’s on them.”
He takes my hands in his. “I worry about you both.” Father Mike knows
I’m a thief, and that I’m damn good at it too. How else would I support
Phoenix and me? Still, I’m careful to live within meager means, squirreling
money away for when all of this is over.
“I’m capable of looking after myself,” I remind him.
He shakes his head but doesn’t argue with me. “You were always so
much more resilient than she was.”
I roll my eyes. “You mean I went to all that therapy you forced me to
endure because I hated to disappoint you?”
“Going to therapy and facing the demons you both have is brave, Keres.
Confronting the things that keep us chained in the past is healthy. She won’t
even consider—”
“She won’t go back to one of those places, Father.” I’m barely able to
hide my annoyance. We’ve been over this a hundred times. “It almost killed
her.”
“They only want to help her, Keres. They’re professionals trained to
deal with people like Phoenix.”
“Broken people?” I’m being unfair, but I’m so sick of going around in
circles and getting nowhere. It isn’t that I think he’s wrong. It’s that I know
Phoenix can’t be helped until she decides she wants to get better.
“People who’ve experienced significant trauma and have issues as a
result,” he replies calmly. That’s his most enduring quality, and the thing
that had the strongest impact on me growing up. He was always calm,
always soothing. No matter how many times I raged at him or got in his
face because I couldn’t process all the anger inside me, he remained
steadfast and compassionate. Never losing his temper. Never once giving up
on me. Father Mike rescued me from a life of slavery and hell when he
brought Phoenix and me here to his church.
The foster family who took us in shortly after was okay. They clothed
and fed us and gave us a safe space to sleep. For kids like Phoenix and me,
that was more than we ever could have hoped for. But this man right here
gave us the true family we sought, and for that I will always be grateful.
I chew on the inside of my cheek and wonder how to tell him I’m going
out of town for a few weeks, but I have no idea how to avoid answering his
inevitable litany of questions. Lying to his face doesn’t sit right with me,
but telling him the truth is not an option. Maybe I’ll just leave tonight and
call him from the road. Lying on the phone is easier.
“Where do you want these, Father?” A volunteer I don’t recognize
interrupts us, holding a full tray of freshly baked cookies.
“On the table near the front, Josie. The kids will be hungry when they
finish school.”
Smiling, she nods and goes to put them where he indicated.
“You’re such a good man, you know that?”
He tugs at his collar. “I hope so.”
“You are,” I assure him.
His eyes narrow. “You’re a good person too, Keres.”
I force a smile. I’m really not, Father. Not even close.

I kill the bike’s engine and it purrs to a stop. Lifting my visor, I train my
gaze on the house a few hundred yards ahead. The Moretti mansion cuts an
imposing figure against the midnight sky. Lorenzo, Dante, and Joey Moretti
sleep soundly in their beds, surrounded by opulence and grandeur while the
rest of us have to forage for the crumbs they leave behind. So arrogant in
their belief that they have the right to be safe while the rest of the world
burns outside their gilded walls.
Do they have any idea of the pain and suffering they cause? Any idea of
the horrors their legacy is built upon? I wonder if women like me are
merely commodities to them, but I guess I already know the answer to that.
My lips curl into a grin. They should enjoy their privileged existence
while they still can. No amount of armed guards or iron gates will keep
them safe from me. Moretti blood runs through my veins too, and I won’t
stop until every last one of them is erased from existence.

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 Chapter

Two

ACE

F
ucking assholes. My gaze flickers between the two men sitting directly
in front of me, then to my boss. One of my bosses anyway, Joey
Moretti. This meeting today was a last-minute thing, and she insisted
on taking it despite my reservations about the two pricks sitting across from
her. A couple of punks from New York who are trying to make a name for
themselves in the casino security business. They clearly have no idea who
they’re dealing with.
“I can guarantee that the services we offer will be a step up from any
security you have in place now, Mrs. DiMarco,” the taller of the two says,
referring to her by her married name.
“But as I told you on the phone, I’m very happy with our current
security.” Her sweet-as-honey smile belies the ruthless streak simmering
just beneath the surface. “They’re very good at what they do.” She nods
toward my buddy and me standing at the back of the room.
I glance sideways at Romeo who rolls his eyes at me. The two men
don’t even bother to turn in their seats and acknowledge us. Arrogant
pricks.
 “We’re not talking about your personal bodyguards, Mrs. DiMarco.
We’re here to discuss the security in the hotel and casino.”
Casino security is managed by Utopia Securities, which is owned by a
buddy of ours, Ash Larsson. A former bodyguard of Joey’s and her brothers,
he branched out on his own with the support of the Moretti family a few
years ago.
She offers a casual shrug. “Semantics. And as of yet, you’ve shown me
absolutely no evidence of anything you can offer that would be comparable
to the security company we currently have in place.”
The shorter one has barely spoken since he walked into the room, but he
visibly bristles with anger now. The taller one smooths his hands over the
buttons of his shirt and gestures toward his buddy to let him know he’ll
handle it. “I can assure you—”
Joey cuts him off. “I can assure you that nothing you have to say is of
any interest to me. I agreed to take this meeting because you’re new to this
city and I wanted to see what you had to offer, but I’ve heard enough.” That
smile is back on her face, but her tone drips with disdain. “You’ve come to
the wrong city if you think you have any shot of making a name for
yourself here.”
The shorter one grunts and bangs his fist on her desk, making her laptop
skitter a few inches. Joey Moretti doesn’t even flinch, but her expression
shows a hint of amusement. Romeo, however, is across the room in a flash.
He grabs the asshole by the back of his head, slams his face into the desk,
and drops him onto the floor, blood gushing from his nose.
“Now, just what in holy fuck—” the other one shouts, but I can only
guess at what he was going to say next because I grab him in a headlock
and press my forearm against his windpipe. He clutches at my arm, clawing
pathetically at my suit jacket, and I squeeze tighter until his legs start
flailing too.
“Do not speak to Mrs. DiMarco like that ever again.” He coughs and
sputters while I glance at Joey. “What do you want me to do with him?”
She rolls her eyes. “Let him go and get the two of them out of here.
Max and I have plans tonight. I don’t need him delayed helping you clean
up this mess.” She waves her hand in the direction of the two assholes in
her office.
Romeo grins at the man still struggling in my grip. “Looks like it’s your
lucky day, fuckface.”
R omeo wipes the blood from his hands onto his dark suit pants and flashes
me a devious grin. “That was fun, right?”
I shake my head and glance down at the blood splattered all over my
jacket. “I’ll need to get this goddamn suit dry-cleaned again.” I hate
wearing suits, so I only own four. You’d think that would be enough for a
guy who only wears them on the job, right? Wrong. In my line of work, it’s
rare I get more than one wear out of them before they’re covered in blood,
snot, or puke—or all three.
“What the fuck are you two doing down here? Where’s Joey?” Max
DiMarco’s deep voice carries down the dark alley behind the hotel.
I brush the creases from my jacket and come face-to-face with Cosa
Nostra’s most ruthless enforcer and one of my other bosses. “Joey’s in her
office. She’s fine. King and Forrest are with her.”
“But you two are her personal protection. Those other two clowns are
just for show. So why the fuck aren’t you with her?”
“We were just taking out some trash, Boss,” Romeo says, all trace of his
trademark cocky grin wiped clean. In fact, his shoulders roll back a little
and he puffs out his chest. Max DiMarco trusting us more than anyone else
with his wife’s protection means more to my best buddy than he’d ever
admit.
Max gives him only a cursory glance before returning his attention to
me. “What happened?”
“Two nobodies wanted a meeting with her, and she agreed at the last
minute.”
He growls, and past experience tells me he’s frustrated at his wife’s
tendency to make rash decisions with minimal thought for her own safety.
Or her husband’s sanity. “What did they do?”
“They just got a little mouthy and disrespectful when she put them in
their place, so Romeo and I taught them some manners. No big deal.”
A hint of a smile flickers across his face. “Send me their names so I can
look into them.” He checks his watch. “I’m taking Joey home. You two can
finish up for the day.”
“Thanks,” Romeo says, and Max only gives him a curt nod before
brushing past him.
 “You think he’s ever going to stop being pissed at me?” Romeo sighs
and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I mean it’s been six years.”
I wrap my arm around his shoulder. “Pretty sure Max DiMarco will hold
onto that forever, buddy.”
He rolls his eyes. “Guy fucking hates me.”
I laugh and shake my head. “If he hated you, you wouldn’t still be his
wife’s personal bodyguard. You probably wouldn’t be breathing.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Guess I should just get used to him
barely tolerating me.”
“Guess you should. You fancy grabbing a beer tonight?” I ask, hoping
that will improve his mood.
“Fuck yeah. Let’s go home and get out of these fucking monkey suits
first.” He pulls at his collar and twists his neck. The handsome fucker looks
like he was born to wear a suit, but he hates them even more than I do.

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 Chapter

Three

KERES

T
he scent of pinewood, engine oil, and whisky is followed by a
comforting wave of warm air when I open the door to Molino’s bar.
My eyes quickly dart around the room. It’s quiet tonight, which is an
advantage. Less competition. Not that I’ve ever had much of a problem
getting what I wanted when I wanted it.
The men I’m looking for sit beside each other at the bar. The younger of
the two, Romeo Castelli, tips his head back on a laugh and brushes his dark
shaggy hair from his eyes. Lifting a bottle of Budweiser to his lips, he takes
a sip, and the man beside him, Ace Giarrusso, swirls the reddish-brown
liquid around the bottom of his glass. Probably whiskey, Tennessee’s finest,
his drink of choice.
Ace rolls his head back, displaying more of the thick tattoos that snake
around the column of his throat. The fact that Joey Moretti’s personal
bodyguards are hotter than sin makes this part of my job a whole lot easier.
The fact that they’re into motorcycles too … well, that’s just the cherry on
top of this deliciously muscular man cake.
I make my way to the bar and avoid eye contact with everyone I pass,
even when I hear a crude remark from the guy sitting alone near the pool
table. My lips curve upward. Any other time, buddy, and I’d ram those
words back down your throat. But I don’t have time for that tonight. I’m
here for one thing. My eyes remain fixed on Ace and Romeo. Make that two
things.
I take a seat on the stool beside Romeo and wonder if his mother,
Janine, named him that ironically. Not that Ace is much better, but at least it
isn’t his real name. Antony Giarrusso, born at Chicago Memorial twenty-
eight years ago. Star sign Scorpio. No siblings. Both parents deceased.
Placing my helmet on the bar, I signal the bartender. He jerks his chin at
me in response. “Jack and coke, please.”
“Double?”
I rest my hands on the bar in front of me and lean forward. “Single,
thanks.”
“Gotta go grab a fresh bottle. Be right back.” He heads into the back.
Colby Sprinter, twenty-two years old. Lives above Molino’s and works the
bar six nights a week while working toward an online degree in business
during the day.
Glancing sideways at the two men beside me, I catch Romeo’s eye.
With a flutter of my eyelashes, I offer him the sweetest smile I can muster.
After spending weeks watching him and his friend, I know their schedule
and their movements backward and forward. I know they share an
apartment, are addicted to black coffee—Romeo with two sugars, Ace with
none—and they go to the gym every single day. But I’ve never seen them
up close before, and the deep cornflower blue of Romeo’s irises catches me
off guard. With his dark hair and olive skin, I expected his eyes to be
brown.
He nods at my helmet. “You in here looking to become someone’s
backpack?” His arrogant smile reveals a perfect set of dazzling white teeth
and crinkles the corners of his eyes. Oh, goody. A sexist asshole. I shouldn’t
have expected any better from a man who looks like he does. Intricately
drawn tattoos adorn his arms, snaking around every sinew and vein before
stopping in a neat circle at his wrists. He’s clean shaven, but his dark hair is
unkempt, long enough to fall across his forehead and over his eyes. He’s
both strikingly beautiful and dangerously edgy. A lethal combination, and
he knows it. The cocksure confidence clings to his lean, muscular body
tighter than his T-shirt and jeans, which is no mean feat given that they look
like they were painted on.
 Ace rubs a hand over his thick beard, and his snort sounds like a laugh
wrapped up in an insult. My eyes are drawn to his, and I note how different
he is from his friend but that he’s no less attractive. His light brown hair is
short, shaved at the back and sides, putting the tattoos on his neck on full
display. His huge biceps strain the dark material of his T-shirt to the point
that I expect it to rip at any moment.
I offer a disinterested shrug. “Maybe I’m in here looking for a backpack
of my own.”
That garners a laugh from Romeo, but Ace’s eyes, so dark I can’t
distinguish his irises from his pupils, narrow. “You ride?”
Running my tongue over my top teeth, I hold his stare. “I do.”
Romeo edges closer, and I catch the smell of his cologne, fresh and
soapy. “And what exactly do you ride, sweet girl?”
My eyes lock on his now. His pupils are blown wide, and a wicked grin
tugs at the corners of his mouth. These are two of the hottest guys I’ve ever
seen, and the way they’re both looking at me tells me they’re into me. But
as many times as I’ve watched them drink at this very bar, I’ve never seen
them take a girl home. That’s part of why I waited so long to approach. I
needed time to figure out my strategy, but my fuck-up with Oscar forced
my hand. So here I am, improvising a way to get them to take my bait.
They put off the vibe that they’re into each other, but they’ve checked
out enough women in this bar to tell me that I’m not the one to pop that
cherry. It isn’t like they’re shy. They just exude a don’t-fuck-with-us aura
that keeps people—women especially—from approaching them. Luckily
for me, I’ve never been one to heed a warning. Maybe that’s enough to earn
me an invitation from them. I just need to play this with the proper
combination of sweetness and confidence.
I lean closer, angling my body so they both get a good view of my
cleavage. “I ride a Fireblade.” I practically purr the words. “But I’d ride
both of you if you asked nicely.”
Romeo’s grin widens, but Ace’s body language changes the most. He
turns in his seat, directing all his attention at me, and arches one thick
eyebrow. “That’s very forward, sweetheart. You should be careful about
talking like that around here. Somebody might take you up on your offer.”
I’ve been here enough times to know that most of the patrons are men, a
handful of which are accompanied by a woman, and I guess it could be kind
of intimidating for a woman walking in here on her own. But I’m not any
woman. My gaze drifts back to Ace’s. “First of all, I didn’t make that offer
to anyone but you and your buddy here. And second, I can handle myself.”
Romeo laughs darkly. “I bet you can, Fireblade.”
Colby places my drink on the bar, and I offer him an abrupt nod of
thanks. Ace’s eyes narrow as he goes on staring at me.
Romeo takes a lock of my hair and curls it between his thumb and
pointer finger. “And what if we don’t ask nicely?”
I lean forward enough that my body is only inches from his. “Why don’t
you try it and find out?”
Romeo clicks his tongue against his teeth, and I hear a distinctive clink
of metal. That will be a nice bonus for a job well done. But it’s Ace’s dark
eyes, smoldering with something so carnal that my core clenches with
desire, that hold my attention. I have to fight to keep my cool as the tension
between the three of us grows more sexually charged with each passing
second. My pulse spikes, humming against the pressure points throughout
my body. I need to stay focused, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a little
fun first, right? And it’s been so long since I had the kind of fun these two
might offer me. There’s something about them that tells me they know all
the right ways to please a woman. I squeeze my thighs together and wait for
a response, hoping I haven’t come on too strong.
My fears are allayed when the two men share a knowing look. Ace
slides off his stool and crowds me against the bar. Goosebumps prickle
along my forearms, but I hold his gaze, refusing to show any sign of
weakness. Then he leans closer, his breath dusting over my cheek. “How
about you come back to our place and show us just how well you ride,
sweetheart?”
Picking up my drink, I down the whiskey and Coke in one gulp. I’ve
never needed liquid courage before, but I have a feeling Ace and Romeo are
going to be a whole lot to handle. And with that thought, a long-forgotten
surge of excitement rushes through me.

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Four

ROMEO

M
y cock twitches as I follow the juicy ass encased in skintight denim
out of the bar. Ace catches my eye and grins, and I smirk right back.
I admire a woman who can come out and say what she wants, and
this woman is a fucking firecracker. She might just be fierce enough to
handle us both at once, and fuck me, but the thought of that has me harder
than an iron bar.
My gut tells me she’s danger with a capital D, but I’ve never been one
to shy away from a challenge. She’s not wearing a wedding ring, so at least
she doesn’t offer that kind of danger. Not that her being married would stop
us, but I like to know ahead of time if I’m going to be a pawn in some
woman’s game to make her cheating husband pay. Could be a cheating
boyfriend though. Truth is, we know fuck all about her. But the more
important truth is that she’s hotter than the fiery pits of hell, and I don’t give
a damn about anything other than getting her back to our place and fucking
her until she can’t walk.
She stops beside a yellow Honda Fireblade. It’s a hot bike—almost as
hot as her. Turning on her heel, she smirks, her deep brown eyes darting
between the two of us. “So, which one of you handsome fellas is gonna be
my backpack tonight?”
Ace shakes his head and pulls on his helmet. “I ain’t nobody’s
backpack, sweetheart.” He walks toward his Ducati and climbs on.
I run my hand over the seat of her bike. I left mine at home so I could
have a few beers, but I only had one before the brunette siren showed up.
“I’ve never driven one of these before. How about you hand over your keys
and you can be my backpack, Fireblade?”
Her laugh is dark and hypnotic and laced with a tantalizing hint of
something wild. “How about no fucking way.”
“But you don’t know the way to our place, and I’m real bad at
directions.” I give her the smoldering look that has never once failed me
with any female, whether she was eighteen or eighty, but her deadpan
expression tells me there’s a first time for everything.
“Then I guess I’ll just follow your buddy here.” She slips her helmet on,
and although I can’t see her lips now, I can tell from her eyes that she’s
smiling. “So you can be his good little backpack or mine. Your choice,
Pretty Boy.”
Pretty Boy? I bite back a grin. Oh, I’m gonna make her pay for that.
After I make her pay for making me ride on the back of her bike.
“I guess I’ll ride with you.” I shrug. “Give you a chance to get used to
the size of my cock when it’s digging into your back.”
I wait for her reaction, but she doesn’t give me anything. She flips her
visor down and climbs onto her bike. I shoot Ace a what the fuck have we
gotten ourselves into look, but he only shakes his head as his Ducati roars to
life.
I climb on and slide my hands onto her waist, my fingers digging in a
little more than they need to because I want to feel her soft flesh. I want to
bruise her skin. She doesn’t flinch at the tightness of my grip or give any
indication that she’s uncomfortable. Not that it would stop me, but it’s good
to know she’s not bothered by a little pain. “I hope you ride as good as you
flirt, Fireblade,” I shout over the roar of the bikes’ engines.
“Oh, I ride way better than I flirt, Pretty Boy.” With a sinful laugh, she
takes off after Ace.
W e barely make it through the front door before her arms and legs are
wrapped around me. Her fingers thread in my hair, tugging hard, and she
kisses me, her lips and tongue crashing against my own. She smells like
leather and tastes of whiskey and sweetness wrapped up in sin.
I pin her to the cool plaster wall and wrench my lips away from her
hungry mouth. “You’re a fucking wildcat.”
She cocks her head to one side, a playful grin spreading her full pink
lips. “I guess I know what I want and I take it.”
“Yeah?” I arch an eyebrow at her.
Ace locks the door and moves behind me, rocking his hips against my
ass and causing my hard length to rub against the woman who’s now pinned
to the wall by both of us.
He pulls her long dark curls aside and lets them fall over her shoulder.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Tell me yours first,” she retorts.
“I’m Ace. This here is Romeo.”
Her eyes dart between mine and his, her pupils blown wide as her chest
rises and falls with each heavy breath she takes. “Keres.”
“Greek?” he says.
How does he even know that? Damn, he’s such a smart fucker. I love
that about him. She blinks at him, probably surprised he knows the origin of
her name, then offers him a smile that makes me want to kiss her again.
“Half Greek, half Italian.”
He grunts, and I recognize the sound. It’s full of desire and frustration.
He wants her as much as I do.
I glance at him over my shoulder, excitement at fucking her together
making my blood pump hot and fast through my veins. “How about we take
this somewhere a little more comfortable?”
Ace steps back, and I carry her to the bedroom and throw her onto the
bed.

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 Chapter

Five

ACE

H
er long dark lashes flutter against her cheeks as she rests back on her
elbows and stares up at Romeo and me. Who the fuck is this girl? So
fucking forward coming on to us in Molino’s bar, but the
vulnerability that I can sense buried far beneath the surface is what
fascinates me most about her.
I tug my T-shirt off over my head, and her eyes rake over my chest. She
licks her lips and hums appreciatively. “You ever been with two guys
before, sweetheart?”
She shakes her head.
“You sure you’re gonna be able to handle us both?” Romeo asks as he
steps up beside me and starts removing his clothes too.
“You’ll be gentle with me, right?” Her sultry purr bypasses the logical
part of my brain and heads straight for my dick.
Romeo laughs darkly. “We don’t believe in gentle.”
Her breath hitches and her eyes widen. “He’s not wrong.” I shoot
Romeo a warning glare. “But we do believe in consent, and we won’t do
anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
My statement makes her blink rapidly, but a mere second later a devious
grin spreads across her face. Romeo stands next to me in only his jeans, his
golden abs on display. I jerk my head toward the bed. “Get her naked.”
He winks at me before he crawls onto the bed and holds himself over
her. She wraps her arms around his neck. “So is he the boss?” She pretends
to whisper, but it’s clear she said it loud enough for me to hear on purpose.
Romeo runs his nose along her throat. “He thrives on control.” Then his
hands are moving swiftly, pulling off her tank top and bra, revealing her
juicy round tits as well as a series of tattoos decorating the tops of her arms
and her shoulders. The twisted black ink all converges into one harmonious
design. I make out a phoenix and a handful of Greek symbols. Is that a
Valkyrie, or perhaps a spirit of violent death to honor her name?
I watch him with her, my cock growing harder with each inch of her
body he reveals. She moans as he trails kisses over her bare skin while
working her jeans over her hips and down her thighs. He pulls them off
along with her boots and socks, leaving her on our bed in nothing but a pair
of pink lace panties with a telltale damp patch at the apex of her thighs.
Glancing over his shoulder at me, he licks his lips.
Threading my fingers through his hair, I yank his head back until he’s
focused only on me. “You want to taste her?”
He nods, panting like an excited puppy.
Her parted lips tremble and her beautiful tits rise and fall on each heavy
exhale. I lean in and seal my lips over his, licking the seam and slipping my
tongue inside for a second before I pull back. He grins at me, his dimples
making him look even more fuckable than usual.
“You have any of that for me?” she asks, her voice thick with desire.
All that and so much more, sweetheart. After releasing my grip on
Romeo’s head, I watch him remove her panties and then lick along her wet
slit and tease her clit with his tongue piercing. Her back arches, and a low
moan rolls out of her. She runs her fingers through his thick hair, grinding
herself on his face while he teases her. The scent of her arousal is thick in
the air, and the need to taste her for myself sears my veins. I run a hand over
her stomach, pushing her flat to the bed and holding her in place, then lick a
path from her hipbone to her juicy tits.
She groans when I flick my tongue over her hard nipple, and when I bite
down a second later, she cries out. Palming the back of my head, she
presses herself deeper into my mouth. I suck on her sweet flesh while the
smell of her wet pussy drives me wild with the need to fuck her. Moving
lower, I tangle my fingers in Romeo’s hair again and lift his head. He grins,
his mouth glistening with her arousal, and she grunts at the loss of his
mouth.
I wink at him. “You’ve had your taste. My turn, pup.”
He laughs darkly and rolls out of the way, moving up the bed and
allowing me to slide into his place. I spread her legs wider apart, my eyes
fixed on her pink pussy lips—so wet and soft and inviting. Her whimper is
muffled by Romeo’s lips, and his hands roam over her body, squeezing and
pulling. She writhes beneath our touch, desperate and eager, and it makes
me harder than fucking iron. I flick my tongue over her swollen clit, and
she bucks her hips, moaning into Romeo’s mouth. Placing my hands on her
inner thighs, I hold her down and suck the slick bud of flesh into my mouth,
rimming it with my tongue as her taste washes over me. Eating pussy is one
of my favorite pleasures in life, and hers is sweeter than honey.
Not letting her up for air, Romeo swallows her moans and whimpers.
Her thighs are trembling beneath my palms, and I suck and lick her soft
flesh, bringing her close to the edge. I circle her entrance with the tip of my
finger, and her wet silk coats me as her moans grow more persistent.
Pressing a kiss to the top of her thigh, I let her climax ebb away while I
continue edging my finger around her hole. “You want me inside you,
Keres?”
Romeo finally breaks the kiss, and she gasps in a breath. “Yes.”
He kisses her again, and I slide knuckle deep inside her. She rewards me
with a rush of silky arousal. She’s so snug and hot, and my cock aches to
take her, but I need to make her ready for us before we can fuck her the way
we like. I inch deeper, rubbing my fingertip over the soft flesh of her pussy
walls. Her back bows as I sink all the way inside, her muscles squeezing me
tight. Sweet juices trickle down my finger, and I greedily lap them up. She
reaches for me, blindly grabbing at my hair while I finger-fuck her with
teasing strokes, drawing out her pleasure with the knowledge that it will be
all the sweeter when she does come for us. There’s not a lot a girl won’t let
you do to her once you’ve given her the kind of orgasm that makes her legs
shake and her head spin.
Taking a little pity on her, I go back to eating her while I fuck her, and
she matches my rhythm stroke for stroke, rolling her hips until we’re
moving in unison, like our bodies have done this before. I add a second
finger to her tight cunt, and her hand falls from my hair. The soft moans
Romeo keeps silencing grow more persistent as I work her harder, driving
faster and deeper. She continues moving with me, chasing the high she
knows I’m about to deliver. I place my free hand on her abdomen, pushing
down as I work my fingers as deep as they can go and sweep the tips over
her sensitive flesh. Her pussy walls squeeze, and tremors wrack her body.
And then she comes, and it is sweet and satisfying and loud and messy. Her
cum slicks my fingers, dripping into my palm. Romeo breaks their kiss,
allowing a guttural cry to rip from her chest.
I grin up at him, and his bright eyes sparkle with devious intent. Now
this girl is ready to be fucked.

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 Chapter

Six

KERES

W
hat in hell’s name was that? I can barely open my eyes from how
fast my head is spinning. Euphoria snakes through my limbs,
warming every part of me like a blanket of ecstasy. My legs
tremble like I just finished a five-hour spin class, and my heart is
beating like it will burst through my ribcage at any second. I’m boneless,
unable to move, and completely … I don’t even know. Spent? And I haven’t
even done anything but lie here.
Rough hands coast over my skin, massaging and soothing as my
breathing evens out and my eyes flutter open. I blink to see Romeo grinning
at me. “You okay there?”
I’m barely able to nod.
He runs the pad of his thumb over my cheek. “You came pretty hard,
Fireblade.”
“Soaked my face,” Ace adds with a laugh. I’d call them both arrogant
assholes if they weren’t completely right. Just how much practice have
these two had with their tag-team routine? Because they have it nailed.
 That realization is enough to snap me from this orgasm-induced haze I
seem to be in. I am only one in a long line of women they’ve done this with.
So yeah, it was an earth-shattering orgasm, but it only confirms they’re a
pair of manwhores, which adds to the long list of reasons they deserve
what’s coming to them.
I need to reclaim control of the situation, even if that means choosing to
submit. I’ve already given up way more than I planned to. Submission
might not be my jam, but Ace and Romeo are clearly into the control thing
too. Especially Ace. For one night, I can swallow down my pride if it’s
going to get me what I want. Playing the sweet girl who likes being
dominated will only work in my favor.
Ace climbs off the bed and takes something from the nightstand while
Romeo distracts me with his skillful mouth, trailing kisses and bites over
the column of my throat. When Ace climbs back onto the bed, he’s wearing
a condom.
He winks at me. “Now it’s our turn.” He hands another condom to
Romeo who puts it in the pocket of his jeans.
I swallow down a bitter memory. Our turn? Men like them think they
have a right to my body just because they made me come. Is this when they
reveal their true colors? Was the whole incredible orgasm thing designed to
lull me into a false sense of security before they turn into a pair of selfish
pricks? I take a deep breath. Whatever they have planned, I can do this. I
am Keres fucking Sideris.
Ace cups my jaw in his huge hand and tugs my face closer. His kiss is
full of dominance and possession, but his tongue sweeps softly against mine
as he holds me in place. Tasting myself on his tongue heats me up from the
inside. He pulls back and I’m left gasping. “So how about you make good
on that promise to ride us, Trouble?”
I bite my lip and nod, eager to show them who’s really in charge here.
He brushes my hair back from my face. “Good girl.”
“Are we both …” Romeo asks.
Ace searches my face for a long moment, then glances at Romeo. “Not
tonight.”
I frown. “Not tonight, what?”
He kisses my lips softly. “He wants to fuck your ass while I fuck your
pussy, but maybe another time.”
 My pulse flutters in my throat. It’s obviously something they’ve done
before, so why not with me? “Why another time?”
“You said you’ve never been with two guys before. Ever had your ass
fucked?”
I swallow hard. I’ve never been willing to try that, but with these two …
and if it gets me what I need … Well, I’d consider it. “No.”
His smile makes his brown eyes sparkle. “So, maybe we don’t do that
right now.”
I nod my agreement.
He winks at me. “You’re still gonna ride me though, sweetheart.” He
rolls onto his back and wraps one hand around the base of his shaft. I’ve
never been impressed by dicks, but Ace’s is pretty damn impressive. It’s
thick and veiny and a beautiful shade of pink. I unconsciously lick my lips
as I drink him in, which makes them laugh. Like I give a shit. They both
clearly know how ridiculously hot they are.
Ace pulls me up, and I go to straddle him but Romeo shakes his head.
Sinking his teeth into his bottom lip, he kneels between Ace’s spread thighs.
“Face me, Fireblade.”
With Ace’s hands guiding my hips, I shuffle into position. “Jesus fuck,”
he groans. Spreading my thighs far apart so I straddle him reverse cowgirl,
he pulls me down and sinks inside me. I’m so slick from the orgasm they
already gave me that I effortlessly slide all the way down his thick shaft.
Tipping my head back, I moan. My body convulses with pleasure and
hot, demanding need.
“Oh fuck, Ace, you should see this. The way your cock’s stretching that
tight pussy.” Romeo runs his hands down my torso and I arch into him. “It
looks fucking incredible.”
“She feels fucking incredible,” Ace says with a harsh grunt as he rocks
his hips and sweeps the head of his cock over a sensitive spot deep inside
me. My thighs tremble. My core clenches. Ace rubs his nose over my neck.
“So fucking tight, sweetheart.”
Desperate whimpers claw their way out of my throat. It wasn’t supposed
to be like this. I was supposed to be in control, but these men … I cry out
when Romeo presses the pad of his thumb on my clit.
They dominate my body so effortlessly, and I’m powerless to stop the
physical reactions they’re pulling from me. I’m completely blindsided by
the way they focus on my pleasure before their own.
 I suck in ragged breaths and tell myself I can take the pleasure from this
and still do what I need to do after.
My internal chatter is cut off by the electric sparks of ecstasy caused by
Romeo’s expert tongue as it snakes its way up my inner thigh. “You smell
incredible too, Keres,” he says with a throaty growl, his soft lips moving
over my skin along with his tongue.
Ace palms my breast with one large hand and squeezes roughly. Wet
pulsing heat rolls through my core. I clench my thighs, but they’re held
open while Ace goes on slowly rutting into me and Romeo works his
deliciously sinful mouth even higher. “So fucking sweet,” he murmurs
against my hypersensitive flesh.
And then Romeo’s mouth is right where I ache for his touch, and as
though he hears the call, he sucks and licks and teases, all lips and tongue
and soft, wet kisses. He flicks the stud of his piercing over the most
sensitive part of me, and I let out an unearthly cry that’s a combination of
both their names. And still they don’t stop.
Ace’s hands roam my body, squeezing and pulling and taking while he
remains seated so deep inside me I worry I might feel him there forever.
Romeo continues feasting on me, seemingly taking as much pleasure in
what he’s doing as I am as he pays such careful attention to my needy,
drenched pussy.
This is all too much. I can’t think straight. Can’t feel anything but the
exquisite pleasure they’re bringing me. Over and over my body crests and
falls. My head spins so hard I fear I’m going to lose my mind or my soul.
Or both. After all these years, Keres Sideris is about to be defeated by
orgasms.
“Can you give us one more, sweetheart?” Ace’s deep, commanding
voice rolls through my body.
I shake my head. “I c-can’t.”
“Yeah, you can do it, Fireblade,” Romeo murmurs. “We’re right here
with you. I want you to soak my fucking face in your cum.”
Then he pushes his finger against my entrance, where Ace’s cock is still
sliding in and out of me. “I wish you could see how much of your thick
creamy cum is soaking my buddy’s cock.”
I glance down, and he winks at me right before he slides his finger
inside me, stretching me so much wider. It burns, but the sensation of them
both inside me at the same time only adds to the cacophony of sensations
barreling through my body. My back bows and white-hot thunderbolts of
euphoria pulse through my thighs and core. “Oh god!”
“You won’t find him here, Keres,” Ace says with a devilish chuckle as
he sinks his teeth into the soft skin at the base of my neck.
My body shudders violently from head to toe with the force of my
orgasm. Ace bands his arms tightly around me, holding me close to his
chest as Romeo coaxes every last tremor from me with his mouth.
I whimper shamelessly when Romeo’s mouth disappears and Ace slides
out of me. Through hooded eyes, I watch Romeo slide his jeans down over
his hips and pull open the condom wrapper with his teeth. My eyes drop to
his dick. His incredibly impressive dick with a barbell piercing at the end.
Sweet Aphrodite, I want it.
While he rolls on the condom, he catches me staring and grins, his
narrowed eyes locked between my legs, and I’m painfully aware that I’m
dripping with arousal.
With one hand wrapped around the base of his thick length, he
approaches. Ace pulls me backward on his chest and bands his arms around
me, spreading my thighs wider apart. I’m helpless, restrained by a giant
mountain of a man while another, equally fearsome, is about to fuck me into
oblivion if the hungry look on his face is any indication.
“Take her, pup,” Ace commands.
Romeo falls forward, bracketing both mine and Ace’s hips and making
me the filling of their man sandwich. Slowly, deliciously, he sinks his cock
inside me. It burns, but the pain is far outweighed by the sweet relief of
having the deep throbbing ache inside me sated by him.
“Jesus, fuck, you do feel good, Fireblade. Squeezing my cock like a
good girl.”
I whimper as another orgasm already starts to take hold. Romeo sinks
deeper, rolling his hips so his piercing sweeps over the sensitive spot inside
me. Tremors wrack my body, and he presses his mouth close to my ear. “I
fucking love those sexy little whimpering sounds you make.”
Ace grabs my head and tilts it back, sealing his lips over mine and
making it hard for me to breathe. He squeezes my breast in his palm,
kneading it gently, almost reverently, while Romeo fucks me at a steady,
relentless pace. All too soon, Ace breaks our kiss, leaving me panting for
breath. “My turn.”
 It’s only now I remember that he didn’t finish. Romeo slips out of me,
and Ace takes his place, driving in deep and making my teeth rattle in my
head. They take turns fucking me, thrusting in and out over and over again
until I can no longer tell which one is which and my entire body is shaking
with the threat of yet another orgasm. I don’t know if I’ll survive this one.
They rut into me one at a time, like they move as one being rather than
two. Like they’re completely in sync, and I can do nothing but lie helplessly
in Ace’s arms and take the pleasure they dole out. Because that’s what this
is—intoxicating, sinful, deliciously decadent pleasure, better than any high
I’ve ever experienced in my life.
Their breaths turn to grunts and groans and growling words which only
heighten my pleasure. My back bows. My ears ring. Death by orgasm, is
that a thing?
I have no idea what happens next because electric white stars dance in
my vision and I’m pulled under a blissfully warm blanket of oblivion.
When I come to, Romeo is leaning on his elbow beside me and brushing
his knuckles across my cheek. “There she is,” he says with a wicked grin.
“We made you come so hard you passed out.”
Icy fingers of terror curl a threatening grip around my heart. I lost
complete control. Blacked out from a fucking orgasm. What the hell is
wrong with me? This is not who I am. I don’t lose myself over men with
big dicks and cute smiles, no matter how many intense orgasms they can
deliver. I am Keres fucking Sideris. A goddamn warrior. Warriors don’t
escape fear, they conquer it. The reminder of who and what I am calms the
worst of my terror.
I resist the urge to brush off Romeo’s tender ministries and get the hell
away from him. Instead I force myself to smile. I still have a role to play.
“Yeah, you kinda did.”
He raises his eyebrows. “And that was just round one, Fireblade.”
Round one? How many rounds are there? I swallow down the anxiety
that wedges itself in my throat and flutter my eyelashes at him with a laugh,
then glance around the room to regain my bearings.
Ace is a few feet away, discarding the condom. He rejoins us on the bed
and lies down beside me, hands behind his head and a smug grin on his
face.
Licking his lips, Romeo rakes his eyes down Ace’s muscular naked
body, and a soft groan rumbles out of his chest.
 “What’s going on in that deviant brain of yours?” Ace asks.
Romeo’s eyes twinkle with amusement. “I was just thinking that if
you’d fucked Keres with no condom, I could have had so much fun
cleaning her cum off your cock.”
Oh. My. God. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop a groan of
appreciation at the image that pops into my mind in glorious Technicolor
4k. Seeing them kiss earlier was hot enough, but I wasn’t sure if their
relationship went further than that. Clearly it does.
Ace’s chest rises and falls with his laugh.
Romeo’s hand coasts down my body, and he leaves it resting on my
lower abdomen. “What do you think, Keres? Would that be hot?”
“Seeing you two together would definitely be hot. But the no condom
thing isn’t happening, Pretty Boy.”
Romeo frowns. “Spoilsport.”
“Are you on birth control?” Ace asks.
“Not that it matters because we used a condom, but yes.”
Ace rolls on top of me. “Doesn’t mean we’re always gonna though,
does it?”
My mouth runs dry, and I try to swallow but I can’t. What the hell? “I
don’t … what are you talking about?”
“I haven’t seen you around before, but Colby at the bar seemed to
recognize you. I figure you’re new in town, yeah?”
“I moved here a few weeks ago for a new job.”
“What job is that, Fireblade?” Romeo asks me.
Ace rolls off me and the two of them lie facing me, waiting for my
response.
I wince, playing up to my role with everything I have. “Don’t judge
me.”
“You a stripper?” Romeo’s devilish grin showcases his adorable
dimples.
I give his shoulder a playful shove. “No. I’m apprenticing with an
accountant.”
Ace arches an eyebrow at me. “An accountant trainee, huh? I knew you
must be smart.”
I shrug, uncomfortable with the compliment even though it’s true. Not
me being an accountant, obviously, but I am smart. You kind of have to be
to survive growing up the way I did.
 Ace trails his fingertips over my cheek. “So, you’re new around here.
Maybe you need some new friends. And we all had fun tonight. All I’m
saying is there’s no reason we can’t do this again.”
I suck in air through my nose and will my blood to stop thundering in
my ears so I can think clearly. Them wanting to do this again wasn’t a
scenario I prepared for. I’m always the take her home for one debauched
night of kinky sex only kind of girl, and I like it that way. But I can’t piss
them off. Not before I’ve done what I need to do. “You want to do this
again? See me again?”
“I don’t know about you, sweetheart, but we thought tonight was pretty
fucking spectacular. Of course we want to do it again. Don’t you?”
I wet my dry lips with my tongue. “Yes,” I say quietly, acutely aware
that my response isn’t a complete lie. But unfortunately for all of us, we
will never be doing this again. Soon enough, I’ll be the last person they
want in their beds. They won’t want me anywhere near them. But for now, I
can let them believe. Maybe even let myself believe in the possibility …
“But we’d still use condoms though.”
Ace narrows his dark eyes and brings his handsome face closer. “We
could get tested. Make sure we’re all clean.”
“Seems like a lot of effort for an occasional hookup.”
Romeo laughs loudly, making me turn my attention to him. His dimples
grow deeper as he looks at Ace. “Tell her, buddy.”
Ace rocks his hips, pressing his rapidly hardening cock against my
hipbone. “It’s no effort as far as I’m concerned. I want to fill you up with
my cum, sweetheart. Make you my own personal Twinkie. And then I want
to watch it drip out of your sweet cunt before Romeo cleans you up.”
My mouth opens on a gasp. That’s kind of gross, but also absurdly hot.
“So that’s your thing? You have a cum kink?”
“I have a my cum dripping out of tight little pussies kink.”
“It’s very forward of you to assume I’d let you do that.”
That makes him and Romeo snort-laugh, and I grin too. For a moment I
wonder what my life would be like if I truly was an accountant apprentice
who moved here to start a new job. That Keres would have an ordinary life
that included regular no-strings-attached sex with men like these two right
here. Men who made my body feel things I never knew it was capable of.
I close my eyes and remind myself why I’m here. Pipe dreams are
exactly that, and they have no place in the real world. Definitely not in
mine.
Ace turns my head and presses his forehead against mine. “Where have
you gone, Keres?”
His breath dusts over my cheek and I open my eyes. “I’m right here.”
Romeo’s stomach growls, and I slap my hand over my mouth to stifle a
snicker.
“You hungry too by any chance?” Ace asks me.
I nod. “Kinda.”
He pushes himself up and rests on his hands which are planted either
side of my head. “I make a mean Monte Cristo. You want to stay for
supper?”
I look down, taking in the tattooed ridges of muscle and the impressive
erection currently resting on my stomach. For a second, I pretend that this is
all real. “Yes, please.”

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 Chapter

Seven

KERES

“Y ou got anything stronger to drink?” I ask, holding up my empty soda

glass.
Romeo arches an eyebrow at me. “You know you don’t have to
get us drunk to have your way with us, right?”
“Maybe I just need a little liquid courage?”
He stalks around the breakfast island and places his hands on either side
of me, caging me in with his hard chest pressed up against my back. “Like
you need any of that. You’re a fucking siren, Keres. You got me and my
buddy hard as fucking iron here just waiting to take you again, and you
think you need a little liquid courage?”
“Is Jack okay?” Ace holds up an open bottle of Jack Daniels.
Romeo rests his chin on top of my head, and I smile sweetly at his
buddy, thankful for the distraction from the tattooed demigod standing right
behind me. “Yes, please. Do you have ice?”
Ace flashes me a grin. “Wouldn’t drink whiskey without it.” He pours
each of us a generous measure over ice, and I lean back against Romeo’s
chest and rub a hand over my stomach.
 “I know you said earlier was only round one, but I feel a little full right
now. Could we maybe do round two in the morning?”
Ace sips his drink. “So you’re staying over?”
I tip back the entire contents of my glass and swallow it down in one
gulp, enjoying the smoky liquid burning my esophagus. “Can’t drive now. I
might get a DUI.”
He chuckles. “I guess you’re sleeping over then.”
Romeo plants a kiss on the top of my head, and I resist the urge to
squirm out of his arms. This would be so much easier if they acted like the
heartless douchebags they must be if they work for the Morettis. “We
probably need to change those sheets first. You soaked them with cum.”
I scoff. “I’m not changing any sheets. That mess was created by you
two.”
Ace flashes me a wink. “We would never ask a guest to change our
sheets, Trouble.”
I roll back my shoulders, steeling myself against their devilish charm.
“I’ll fix us all a nightcap then and follow you guys through in a few
minutes.”
Ace knocks back his drink, but Romeo places his full glass on the
counter, and I remember that he doesn’t drink a lot of liquor. I’ll have to
think of something different for him.
A few moments later, I walk into the bedroom to find Romeo wrestling
a pillow into a pillowcase while Ace effortlessly fixes the duvet cover in
place. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch them, mildly impressed at
their obvious comfort with domestic chores. After tossing the last pillow
onto the bed, Romeo blows out a breath. “Fucking hate changing sheets,”
he grumbles.
“Well, here’s your reward.” I hand him the glass of Budweiser I poured
in the kitchen.
He frowns at my outstretched hand. “Where’s my Jack Daniels?”
“I thought you preferred beer?”
The frown on his handsome face deepens.
“You were drinking it at the bar earlier.” I shrug. “You left your
whiskey, so I figured you’d prefer beer.”
Ace comes to stand beside us. “And she even put it in a glass for you.”
I laugh and hope they don’t notice how fake it sounds. “So you can
pretend to be all civilized while you drink your piss water.”
 Romeo takes the glass from me and gulps down a mouthful, then
smacks his lips together in satisfaction. “Best piss water I ever tasted.”
“I’ll take Jack over piss water any day of the week.” Ace reaches for his
drink, and I hand him a glass.
“Cheers.” I toast them both, then down my own drink while watching
them do the same. Once they’re done, I fake a yawn. “That bed looks so
inviting.”
“So does your ass.” Romeo gives it a slap, and I let out a fake squeal of
protest. “So get the fuck in it.”
Stripped down to our underwear, we get under the covers, and I wonder
if they usually share a bed or if this is just for my benefit. Before my mental
fantasy of the two of them writhing naked in this bed can finish playing out,
Ace and Romeo are practically comatose either side of me.
The sedatives I put in their drinks in the kitchen earlier did their job
perfectly, but just to be sure, I nudge them both in the ribs a few times.
When neither of them move, I slip out of bed and silently pull on my
clothes.
Taking Romeo’s phone from the nightstand, I hold it in front of his face
to unlock the home screen. I glance at the two sleeping men, and an
unexpected pang of guilt stabs me in the stomach but I brush it away. It’s
not like they’re going to get hurt. And even if they do … Nobody forced
them to work for the Morettis. One night of hot animal sex where they acted
like decent human beings isn’t enough to make me forget they work for sex
traffickers. A shudder ripples down my spine at the thought of all the
innocent women and children who were hurt far more than men like these
can even comprehend. For all I know, Ace and Romeo are an integral part
of the whole operation.
With renewed determination, I take the burner phone from my purse and
use the app I bought for this very purpose—to clone Romeo’s phone. From
now on, I’ll hear every call he makes and see every text, email, and DM he
receives and sends.
Game on, motherfuckers.

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 Chapter

Eight

ACE

“J esus fuck!” Rolling over, I throw an arm over my face to shield my

eyes from the glare of the morning sun. My head pounds like someone
used it as a battering ram while I was asleep.
Romeo grunts and groans. “What fucking time is it?”
I glance at the clock on the nightstand. “A little after eight.”
“Fuck, it’s still way too early.” He flops over and buries his face in the
pillow, but a few seconds later, he turns back to face me. “Where is she?
The girl from last night?”
Romeo sits up, and I shake my head, trying to clear the thick cotton that
seems to have taken up residence in my brain. How much whiskey did I
drink? Not enough to feel like this. Maybe the past few weeks have finally
caught up to me. Yesterday was the first easy day at work in weeks, and
sleeping no more than four hours a night was bound to knock me on my ass
sooner or later. There’s no sign of her. The pile of clothes she left on the
floor when she stripped down and climbed into bed with us is gone.
Romeo nudges me, a piece of paper held between his fingers.
I push myself into a sitting position and rub my throbbing temples.
“What does it say?”
 “She says thanks for a great night, and maybe she’ll see us at Molino’s
again some time.” He shrugs and drops the note into the middle of the bed.
I pick it up and scrutinize it. “She didn’t leave a number.”
“We have the resources to find her if we need to.” Dropping back down,
Romeo yanks the pillow from beneath his head and drops it onto his face.
He’s such a grumpy fuck in the mornings. It takes him at least a half hour
and two cups of coffee to even be almost tolerable.
The marching band in my skull switches tempo. Wincing, I head into
the kitchen in search of Tylenol. Despite her chirpy note suggesting she
simply went home before we woke up, I still check my wallet on the
sideboard when I pass, as well as the safe behind the painting on the wall.
Everything’s exactly as it should be.
I want her number though. Dammit, I wanted to fuck her again this
morning, headache or not. Between my raging boner and the pounding in
my head, I could do with some release. And the memory of her sexy body
wrapped around mine, her tight cunt squeezing my cock, and the sound of
my name on her pouty lips when she came for me... Sweet merciful fuck. I
need her fucking number, and I need it today.

I squint in the afternoon sun as I wait outside the coffee shop for Joey and
Romeo, the remnants of my earlier headache still lingering. Thankfully our
schedule is light today with Joey working in her office at her family’s hotel,
but anything can happen in this line of work. I scan the street, alert for any
suspicious activity, but nothing stands out. My phone vibrates, and I pull it
from my pocket and open the message from my buddy at the police
department. I asked him to look into the employees of all the accounting
firms in the city so he could get me Keres’s name and address.
Nobody by that name works for any of the registered accountants in
Chicago, dude. I ran the check three times. Sorry.
Frowning down at my screen, I tap out my response, asking him if he’s
sure.
Hundred percent.
I slip the phone back into my pocket and keep my eyes trained on the
door of the coffee shop. Maybe she works at an unregistered firm. Or did
she give us a false name? She snuck out this morning before either of us
were awake, and while I told myself it was because she had to go to work, it
makes more sense that she considered last night a one-time deal.
And why the fuck does that bother me so much? Romeo and I only do
casual hookups, at least with anyone but each other. That’s how it’s been
since we first got together four years ago. Nothing serious or complicated.
There’s no explanation for why this Keres girl has gotten under my skin.
Sure, the sex was out of this world. She took our cocks like it was an
Olympic sport and she was gunning for gold. But I’ve had great sex before.
Romeo and Joey step out of the coffee shop, and Joey hands me a paper
cup. “Thought you might need this,” she says with a grin. “You look like
shit.”
Rolling my eyes, I gulp down half of the unsweetened black coffee.
“Thanks. For the coffee not the insult.”
She drops her head back and laughs before she climbs into the back of
the car.
Romeo flashes me a smile. “You do kinda look like shit, buddy. You
feeling okay?”
“I think I’m coming down with a cold or something.” I resist the urge to
tell him what I learned about Keres. She’s already taking up way too much
of my headspace, and neither of us can afford to focus on anything but our
jobs while we’re on the clock.

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 Chapter

Nine

KERES

I
hold my cell phone to my ear, and after a few rings, Phoenix’s sleepy
voice fills my ear. “What is it?”
I check my watch and suppress a sigh. It’s past noon. “Have you
made a start on that list yet?”
“I said I’ll get to it, Kee,” she whines.
“I need you to do it today. You said I could count on you.”
“You can.” Her dramatic huff makes me feel like she’s my teenage
daughter, even though she’s a year older than me. “It’s early. I can get it any
time.”
“No you can’t. I got what we need, Nix. The next phase of the plan
could happen any time.”
“You do?” Her voice is brighter now. Sharper. I can practically see the
wide smile on her face. “You have one of them right now?”
“I will soon.” She lets out another noisy sigh, and I roll my eyes but
keep my tone even. “Maybe tomorrow, a few days at most. You know we
can’t rush this. It has to be right. Which means I need to know you’ve got
all the pieces in place.”
 “I say you just rock up to their fancy-ass house and shoot them all in the
fucking head. That’s what I’d do.”
Yeah, and get both of us killed in the process. “These are the Morettis,” I
remind her instead. “Not some punk who hit on you in a bar. We do this my
way or not at all.”
“Whatever.”
“So, the supplies? Can you get it all today?”
“Sure.”
I scratch the tip of my nose, squinting as the sun peeks out from behind
a cloud. “Everything on the list.”
“I can handle a fucking grocery list,” she snaps.
I roll my lips together, biting back the retort that springs so easily to my
tongue, and remind myself she’s all I have. We’re all each other has. “Did
you take your meds today, honey?”
Silence.
“Phoenix?”
“I don’t like the way they make me feel, Kee.” She’s back to whining
like an overstimulated toddler.
Taking a deep breath, I channel my nurturing side that seems harder to
access when dealing with her. “But you’ll get sick and then they’ll try to
take you away again. You don’t want that, do you?”
“I hate you not being here. It’s so fucking hard doing everything on my
own.”
“Just a few more weeks and this will all be over. Promise. But only if
you follow my plan. We have to be smart about this.”
“And then we can go live on our island? Just me and you, and no one
will ever bother us again?” The childlike optimism in her voice is no easier
to handle than her whining.
I rub my throbbing temples. “Yeah. Just you and me.”
“I’ll get the stuff today.”
“Thank you.”
I stuff my phone into my jacket pocket and put on my helmet while
trying to shake the image of a grumpy Phoenix burying her head under the
covers and falling back to sleep rather than going to the hardware store and
buying the things she’ll need to keep Joey Moretti prisoner for the next few
weeks.
 This plan has been twelve long years in the making, and nothing and
nobody will fuck it up for me. Not even Phoenix, my … What the hell is
she to me? She isn’t my best friend; we barely tolerate each other. I suppose
she’s my sister. We were bound together as children by a darkness so
profound that it still consumes us both, forever keeping us in the shadows
and far from the light. But not even Phoenix knows the whole truth.
Nobody does. The only other person who knew died an agonizing death
with the secret on her lips.
The memory of my mom knocks the air from my lungs, and I do the
only thing I can when the bitter memories of my past threaten to overwhelm
me: I take off as fast as my bike will go, flying down the almost-empty
freeway. With my visor up, I can feel the wind on my face, and I lean into
the solitude of the open road. The only place I ever feel at peace.

S crolling through Romeo’s Instagram page, Biker_69, I pore over his

photographs and captions, trying to learn as much about him as possible.
It’s all for research and has absolutely nothing to do with the shirtless
pictures of him on his bike, which are certainly what earned him most of his
forty thousand followers given the comments section.
I stop at an image of him and a blond woman with her hand on his
chest. Her pouting crimson-painted lips are slightly parted as she stares at
the camera. Wondering if she means something to him, I study his body
language. He’s leaning toward her, but their bodies aren’t pressed tightly
together. His hand rests on her hip, fingers relaxed and not digging into her
flesh. No bruising grip where his fingertips would leave a mark like they
did with me. He’s not holding onto her like he never wants to let her go.
And for a reason I don’t want to explore any further, that makes me feel
happy.
A notification tells me Romeo just sent Ace a message.
Can you pick up my suit from the cleaners on your way? Joey’s
attending that charity event downtown next Friday so looks like we are
too.
Jackpot! I sit up in bed, a wide smile spreading across my face as Ace’s
one word reply of agreement comes through. After opening the web
browser, I search for charity events in Chicago on Friday. If Joey Moretti is
attending, it’s got to be something big. Given the number of charities the
Morettis are patrons of, I figure they’ll take any chance to convince the rest
of the world that they aren’t the heartless monsters they truly are. I have no
idea why they try to do that, but maybe I’ll ask them when I have the
Moretti brothers strung up and at my mercy.
When I find the event in question, I can’t help but snort at the irony of a
family of sex traffickers attending an auction and lunch fundraiser in
support of a domestic abuse helpline.
Hypocritical bastards. They really think the world is so blind that all
they have to do is donate a tiny fraction of their immense wealth to charity
and that will mask the harm and pain they cause. Or are they really so
deluded that their consciences are eased by merely attending some fancy
charity event? Jumping off the bed, I stalk over to the motel room mini
fridge and pull out a carton of chocolate milk. Whatever the reason, Joey
Moretti just gave me the perfect opportunity, and I have three full days to
prepare before I finally put my plan into motion.

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 Chapter

Ten

ROMEO

S
lipping my fingers beneath the collar of my white dress shirt, I tug at
the fabric. I fucking hate these black-tie affairs. I’ve never understood
why we’re expected to dress to fit in at these things. We have one
objective, and that’s to keep Joey Moretti safe.
I flick the stud of my tongue piercing against the back of my top teeth,
causing Ace to grimace. “You’re gonna chip a tooth one day doing that.”
I wrap an arm around his neck, but he shrugs me off. “You’re in such a
bad mood today.”
He twists his neck, as uncomfortable in a bow tie as I am, even though
he looks like he was born to wear a tux. The tattoos creeping over his neck
and hands starkly contrast the crisp white cotton shirt, creating the perfect
paradox. A gentleman and a killer. Just the way I like him.
He runs a hand over his thick beard, and I have an urge to follow the
path of his fingers with my tongue. “Stop fucking looking at me like that,
pup,” he mutters.
I bite back a laugh and head up the driveway to the Moretti mansion.
The door opens before I reach it, and Max DiMarco scowls at me. I lick my
lips if only to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Is Mrs. DiMarco ready,
Boss?”
He shakes his head. “Not for you.”
My brows pinch in a frown. What the fuck is going on here? Max thinks
I’m an asshole after a misunderstanding we had many years ago, but he’s
never indicated that he doesn’t trust me to protect his wife.
“I’ll be taking my wife somewhere else today,” he adds by way of
explanation.
“So we’re not going to the charity thing?” I barely manage to mask the
annoyance in my tone. I dressed up in this fucking tux for nothing.
“You are, but not with Joey,” Max replies right as Lorenzo comes
walking out the door with Mia.
The oldest Moretti brother narrows his eyes at me, a frown furrowing
his dark brow. His face softens when he turns to his wife and gives her his
full attention. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you, tesoro? I
can push my meeting back.”
She places her hand on his cheek and laughs softly. “I’ll be fine, my
love. Romeo and Ace will be with me, and it’s a charity dinner for some of
the richest people in the tristate area. There’ll be more armed guards there
than at the White House.”
Lorenzo lets out a heavy sigh. It’s no secret that he’s possessive as fuck
when it comes to his wife. It’s also no secret that she’s a successful
businesswoman in her own right and refuses to be kept on a leash. Mia has
her own security detail, and I glance around, wondering why they can’t
strap on their own penguin suits and give us the afternoon off.
Ace steps up beside me. “Change of plans?”
Lorenzo clears his throat. “Max and Joey have somewhere they need to
be. My wife will be attending the event today in my sister’s place.” He
kisses Mia’s knuckles before walking down the steps toward us. “As this
was last minute, her bodyguards are otherwise engaged. I’m trusting both of
you with her safety. You understand me?”
“Of course, Boss,” Ace agrees. We’ve been the personal protection for
every Moretti at one time or another. It’s not unusual for us to be called on
to switch duties at short notice, and Mia is a hell of a lot less trouble than
Joey is. She tends to do what we ask of her without question, so today
should be a walk in the fucking park.
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 Chapter

Eleven

KERES

“H ey, you can’t just leave that here,” a guy in a cheap suit yells as I
jump out of the catering van parked outside the kitchen entrance of
the Regency Hotel.
I sashay over to him and offer him my sweetest smile. “Just doing what
I was told to do, handsome. The van is refrigerated and apparently they
don’t have enough room inside to store the fancy macarons.” I put on a
posh accent for the last two words and pull a disgusted face, earning a smirk
from him. “Rich people, huh?”
He rolls his eyes and mutters, “Pretentious assholes.”
“Tell me about it. But now I gotta go inside there and smile while I
serve them food and drinks for the next five hours. All for less than what
they spend on their dinner every night. So wish me luck.”
“Rather you than me, babe.”
I straighten my server uniform and wiggle my ass. “Do I look
presentable enough?”
He arches an eyebrow and licks his lips. “You look good enough to eat.”
 I put my hand over my mouth and giggle. With a final flutter of my
eyelashes, I sashay past him and into the kitchen. Once inside, I head
straight for a tray of food and prepare to head out into the ballroom. Events
like these always use overpriced catering companies that employ hundreds
of temporary staff whose names they never bother to learn. All it took was a
little online searching to confirm the usual white shirt and black miniskirt
uniform for female employees. Getting ahold of the van was trickier, but
not all that difficult for someone who’s been boosting cars since she was
thirteen.
I push open the door with my ass, plaster on my best fake smile, and
head into the crowd to search for Joey Moretti. People take canapés from
my tray as I pass, and a few offer me a polite smile, but most of them
simply ignore me. Catering is one of the best jobs for fading into a crowd,
especially this kind of crowd. I scan the sea men dressed in tuxedos and
women wearing colorful dresses that cost more than the average American
makes in a whole year. It makes my blood boil to think of the obscene
amount of wealth in this room alone, and how many of them acquired it by
exploiting other people.
Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I remind myself that I can’t
get distracted by politics right now. My food tray is empty, but I continue
snaking through the crowd, even more unnoticed than before now that I
have nothing anyone wants.
And then I see him—Ace Giarrusso looking finer than any man ought to
look. His wide shoulders fill out his black tux and nearly block my view of
the vaguely familiar-looking woman he’s chatting with. I’m studying her
honey-blond hair and yellow dress, trying to place her, when Romeo comes
into view. While she converses with an older couple, Romeo and Ace
discreetly flank her on both sides. If they’re watching her, where the hell is
Joey?
I edge closer, still hidden enough by the crowd of people that Ace and
Romeo won’t see me until I want them to. The blond turns her head, giving
me a good look at her face. Mia Moretti, Lorenzo’s wife. If she’s here, with
Ace and Romeo clearly acting as her security detail, does that mean Joey
didn’t come?
I scan the crowd even as I realize that there’s no way Max DiMarco
would let his wife out of the house without her two guard dogs by her side.
Shit! This wasn’t the plan. Joey was my target—fashion-conscious Joey
who wouldn’t sit through a charity event with red wine staining her dress.
Dammit. I know hardly anything at all about this other woman, but a
cursory glance tells me she’s well put together. I guess money will do that
though. Still, her dress isn’t new. It’s beautiful and it’s expensive, but it’s
not from this season. In fact, I recognize it from the Chanel spring
collection from a couple years ago.
I could kiss Phoenix, and I wish I could take back all the times I berated
her for spending all our money on fashion magazines instead of food.
She used to love to look at the pretty pictures of things we could never
afford. I pretended not to care, but as soon as she went to sleep, I pored over
the outfits and dresses and imagined what it would be like to be a princess.
Until I inevitably ended up gripped by jealous rage over the unfairness of
life. I’d toss the magazine in the trash only for Phoenix to fish it out the
following day.
I miss that Phoenix. The one who sometimes felt carefree long enough
to gush over pretty clothes in fashion magazines. Now, there’s only fury and
frustration, and on the particularly bad days, apathy. I swallow down a lump
of regret that I don’t have time for right now.
I watch Mia closely. She’s a new mark and I need a read on her. She
shifts ever so slightly from one foot to the other and taps her fingers in a
pattern of three beats against her leg, not all the time, just every twenty
seconds or so.
“Miss, can you get me some champagne?” A guy’s voice says in my ear.
I frown at him and move away, tuning out his grumblings over my
refusal to do his bidding. Pretentious prick. I keep watching Mia. She’s still
talking, and she looks at ease with the people she’s speaking with.
However, she steals occasional glances at Ace, who gives her a subtle but
reassuring nod in return. She looks the part, but this isn’t her natural habitat.
No matter how good she is at hiding it, she’s nervous. People find comfort
in the familiar, which makes me think she’s wearing that dress because it’s
her favorite.
I grab a tray of red wine from the bar and quickly maneuver through the
crowd so I don’t end up with an empty tray before I reach her. I lose a few
glasses to some quick hands, but there are half a dozen remaining by the
time I get within a few feet of Mia.
 She finishes talking to the couple I saw approach her earlier and they
walk away. “Wine?” I say sweetly.
And then I catch Ace’s eye. A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips. I feign
shock. My hands tremble. “I-I …” I stumble forward, and despite Ace’s
hand darting out to catch me, I spill the contents of my tray over the bottom
of Mia Moretti’s beautiful yellow dress. She gasps as a patch of the yellow
fabric turns a dark orange.
My eyes go wide. “Oh! I am so sorry.” I crouch down and dab at the
stain with the sleeve of my blouse, ignoring the broken glasses scattered on
the floor around me.
She pats my shoulder and indicates for me to stand. “Are you okay?”
she asks, her eyes dark with concern. I blink at her. That wasn’t the reaction
I expected. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
Opening my mouth to speak, I glance between Ace and Romeo. The
latter grins at me while his friend looks between me and his boss’s ruined
dress. “I kind of …” I cover my face with my hands.
Ace grabs a passing member of the waitstaff. “Can you clear these?” He
nods at the broken glass on the floor.
“Of course, sir,” the waiter says, shooting me a sympathetic look before
he ducks down and starts picking them up.
“Ace and I have met this young lady before,” Romeo finally tells Mia.
She smiles knowingly. “Oh, I see.”
“She told us she was training to be an accountant though,” Ace adds, his
eyes fixed on me now.
“I am, but it doesn’t pay all that well,” I whisper, keeping one hand on
my cheek. “I have to waitress on the side. Kind of embarrassing, right?”
“Nothing embarrassing about an honest day’s work.” Mia’s kind smile
falls away when she looks down at her dress.
“Not half as embarrassing as ruining your beautiful dress. I’m so sorry
Mrs. …”
She waves a hand dismissively. “Call me Mia.”
“I’m Keres. I know how we can get that out. My grandma has an old
remedy she swears by.”
Mia shakes her head. “It’s fine. I’m sure we can do something with it at
home.”
“Not red wine. You won’t get that out if you leave it to set, and I’ll be
devastated if I’ve ruined your beautiful dress. At least let me try my
grandma’s remedy. All we need is a little baking soda, lemon juice, and
water. I can grab them from the kitchen.”
She glances between Ace and Romeo. “I don’t know.”
“Please let me try. I’ll never forgive myself if your dress is ruined.
Chanel’s 2021 spring collection, right?”
“You know fashion?”
I offer her the sweetest smile I can muster. “I know Chanel. It must be a
favorite?”
“My husband’s favorite actually, but …” She looks down at the stain
again.
“Give me five minutes with that dress, and I promise it will live to see
another charity dinner or two. My grandma got a red wine stain out of my
mom’s wedding dress,” I say, giving her the final nudge she needs.
Ace’s eyes narrow. “I can’t let you go off alone, Mrs. Moretti.”
“She won’t be alone. She’ll be with me. You can wait right outside the
ladies’ room. We’ll use the staff one if you like. Nobody else is allowed in
there.”
Romeo and Ace share a look, then Ace grunts. “Fine, but I’ll come with
you.”
Romeo snorts. “Pretty sure the boss won’t appreciate you accompanying
his wife into the ladies’ room, buddy.”
“It’ll be fine,” Mia says with a warm smile in my direction. “Lead the
way.”
I smile, barely able to contain my delight, but fortunately it all feeds
into my sweet-but-clumsy-routine. “I’ll just run to the kitchen and get what
we need. I’ll be right back.”
As promised, I go straight to the storeroom in the kitchen and grab the
small bag I stashed last night. It contains the ingredients I just told them I
needed, as well as a cloth and a bottle of chloroform. I tuck the small bottle
into my bra and head back out to find Mia and her bodyguards waiting for
me.
“This way.” I walk toward the staff bathroom. I couldn’t believe my
luck when I staked out the venue for the fundraiser and found that the
janitors’ closet inside the staff bathroom had a door leading back toward the
kitchen. Even now, I have to work to maintain my composure and force my
legs to move naturally.
 Romeo and Mia walk behind me and Ace walks in front. Before we
reach the bathroom, he turns and grabs my arm. His lips dust over my ear,
and a shiver runs the length of my spine. I remember exactly how good that
mouth felt exploring every inch of my body. “You left without giving us
your number.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I kinda freaked out when I woke up with
you both. I don’t usually do that kind of thing … I know that’s hard to
believe considering how strongly I came on to you.” I wince at the memory.
His handsome face furrows in a frown. “You don’t?”
I shake my head and bite my lip, trying my best to look ashamed and
naive. “I just got out of a real bad break-up, and I just wanted to be
something …” I sigh and shake my head. “Try something different, I
guess.”
He flashes me his panty-melting smile, but it won’t work on me. At
least not today. “Well, you sure as fuck did that.”
“I can give you my number now if you like,” I purr seductively. “After
I’ve taken care of your boss’s dress.”
He sinks his teeth into that sinfully delicious bottom lip and groans. We
come to a stop outside the bathroom, bringing an end to the moment. I
gesture for Mia to follow me into the bathroom, but Ace stops us.
“We’ll be right here. Holler if you need anything.” His commanding
tone is back now that his boss is in earshot.
She brushes off his concern. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
I open the door wide, and Ace pokes his head inside and gives the
bathroom a once-over. As I suspected, he eyes the door at the back with
suspicion. “What’s that?”
I shrug and lie with ease. “Cleaning supplies, I guess. It’s never
unlocked.”
He walks inside and tries the handle, finding it locked as I knew he
would.
I follow him inside and stand with my arms folded, tapping my foot on
the tiled floor. “I do kinda need to get back to work soon, Ace. I’ll be lucky
if they don’t fire me for spilling wine all over your boss.”
“They won’t,” he says absent-mindedly as he goes on checking the
small room. When he’s satisfied it’s safe, he beckons Mia inside. “I’ll be
right outside the door.”
 She looks up at him, so trusting of him. I wonder if she knows what
kind of business her husband and his minions are involved in. Regardless of
their business, I would bet my entire life’s savings that Ace would give his
life to save Mia’s. The Morettis seem to foster that kind of loyalty.
Sickening really, given who they are and what they do. But I wonder at that
kind of selflessness—of giving your life for someone else. I’ve never
experienced that kind of devotion. Well, apart from … Choking back a sob,
I turn away so they don’t see me. Only when I’ve regained my usual calm
composure do I turn back to Ace and give him a sweet smile.
“Take care of her, Trouble,” he says, flashing me a wink.
I nod and ignore the guilt gnawing at my gut. So what if he seems like a
nice guy. And who gives a fuck if Mia isn’t the Moretti I wanted. She may
have been nice to me after I spilled wine on her dress even though she had
every right to be a bitch about it, but that doesn’t change the plan. Nothing
can change my end game.
Ace closes the door, and Mia locks it behind him, I guess out of habit
more than anything else. Not like the guys would allow anyone to come in
here. She looks down at the wine stain and then at me. “Work your magic,
Keres.”
I cross my fingers and hold up the cloth. “Can you run the cold tap?” I
nod toward the sink.
“Sure.” She does as I ask, her back to me as I take the bottle of
chloroform from my bra and soak the rag, careful not to breathe in any of
the fumes. She feels me come up behind her. “Lorenzo will—”
I seal the cloth over her mouth and nose and wrap my other arm around
her neck. She scrabbles to get away, but I hold tight. The toxins kick in
within seconds, and she slumps silently in my arms. I lower her to the floor
and work quietly and quickly, taking the key I had cut and unlocking the
janitor’s closet. Then I hoist Mia over my shoulder fireman-style and carry
her out of the bathroom, locking the closet door behind us. People rush
around the kitchen, too busy preparing dinner for the pampered rich folks in
the next room to notice us.
I kick open the exit and stride outside, inhaling a lungful of fresh air as
my shoulder starts to ache from the weight of my hostage. The same guy in
the suit is still there, only now he’s smoking a cigarette. Is he going to be a
problem? My senses on high alert, I scan the area quickly but there’s
nobody else around.
 He frowns at me. “Everything okay?”
I roll my eyes. “My boss had way too much to drink.”
He eyes me suspiciously as I open the side of the van and place Mia
inside, rubbing my shoulder when I’m free of her weight. But he’s not
bothered enough to stop me. Or so I thought. But thankfully I’m already
climbing into the van when I hear him shout after me.
I reverse down the side street and onto the main road and let out a
relieved sigh. Light traffic slows me down, but not enough. Phoenix will be
waiting for me at the meeting point, and then I will have the Morettis in the
palm of my hand.

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 Chapter

Twelve

ACE

I
check my watch. It’s been three minutes, and I don’t expect them to be
done, but I bang on the door and call Mia’s name, asking if they’re
okay.
No answer.
Romeo shoots me a worried glance.
Pressing my ear against the door, I knock again. “Mia?”
She doesn’t respond.
Romeo slams his fist against the solid wood. “Mia. Keres. Is everything
okay?”
Nothing.
“Shit.” I draw my gun and shoot through the lock, not caring about the
mayhem it will cause. Screams fill the area around us, but I ignore them all
as I wrench the door open. My heart almost hammers through my ribcage
when I see the small room is empty. That fucking bitch. I run for the
janitor’s closet, cursing when I find it locked. Of course it’s fucking locked.
“Sir, can I help you?” I spin to see a man in a suit, probably the hotel
manager, staring at the gun in my hand with wide eyes, his mouth hanging
open. Romeo stands behind him, his own gun drawn and pointed at the
guy’s head.
“Where does this door lead?”
“To the janitor’s closet and then into the back of the kitchen.”
I aim my gun at the lock on the closet door and tighten my finger on the
trigger.
“Sir, there are hazardous chemicals in there,” he warns. “You’ll be just
as quick going through the kitchens.”
Romeo and I rush out of the bathroom and barge through the gathering
crowd, guns aloft and ready to shoot anyone who gets in our way. We run
through the kitchens, knocking over three waiters with trays full of food,
both of us on a single-minded mission to find Mia and the bitch who took
her out from under our noses. Whoever the fuck she is.
My gut churns and blood pounds in my ears when we reach the exit at
the end of the hallway. I kick the doors open, but all we find is a bald guy
standing in the middle of the side street, staring down at the main road.
“Did you see two women come out here?” I shout at him.
He spins around. “Yeah. I thought it was kinda strange, but—”
I cut him off with a snarl. “Where the fuck did they go?”
“That way.” He points to the road.
Romeo grabs him by the lapels of his scruffy jacket. “In a car? On a
bike? What?”
“In a Decadent Delights catering van. The caterer put the other woman
in the back of it.”
“Was she struggling? Screaming? Anything?” I bark.
“No, looked like she was passed out. The caterer said it was her boss,
that she was drunk.”
I stare in the direction he indicated. Of course she had to be
unconscious. Otherwise she would have called for help. And if she was
dead … Nausea punches me in the gut. No, Mia isn’t dead. A live Moretti is
a whole lot more valuable than a dead one.
“They just left like a few minutes ago.”
Romeo pushes him aside, and we both run down the street, but there’s
no sign of any catering van in the distance. Out of sheer desperation, or
maybe fear for my life, I keep running in the hope that I’ll see the van up
some side street that we pass. After eight blocks, I double over, my hands
planted on my knees as I suck in harsh, rasping breaths. My lungs and
thighs burn from exertion. Pounding footsteps behind me signal that Romeo
has caught up.
“Fuck, Ace!”
Sucking in another breath, I stand up straight and take my phone out of
my pocket.
“What the fuck are we gonna do?”
I don’t reply. Instead I scroll through my contacts and bring up Lorenzo
Moretti’s number.
“Ace!” The panic in Romeo’s voice has me looking up at him. “We lost
Mia.”
Rage and betrayal, shame and guilt roll in my gut, each fighting for
dominance. But I can’t let any of them take over right now. We fucked up.
More than fucked up. We screwed up our only fucking job. The thought that
Lorenzo Moretti is likely to put a bullet in my head for this crosses my
mind, and I consider running. But we can’t. We need to alert Lorenzo so we
can get as many boots on the ground as possible. So we can find his wife.
Romeo’s eyes are wild as he glances between me and the passing cars,
like he thinks that bitch might turn the van around and bring Mia back. Like
this was all some fucking joke.
“I know. We have to tell Lorenzo before someone else does.”
His throat works as he swallows, his blue eyes dark and his brow
furrowed. After a few seconds, he nods his agreement. There’s no other
option. We have to let Lorenzo know, and then we need to do whatever the
hell it takes to get Mia back.

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 Chapter

Thirteen

KERES

G
lancing in the rearview mirror as I slip the van into park, I chew on
my lip and study the sleeping woman on the floor at the back of the
van. Lorenzo Moretti’s wife. Why the fuck was she at that event
instead of Joey? I screw my eyes closed and shake my head to clear the
cacophony of self-doubt and negative thoughts. I don’t have time for this
right now.
The sedative will wear off soon enough, and she’ll wake frightened and
confused and … Opening my eyes, I blow out a breath. Not my fucking
problem. She’s a means to an end. While I have no beef with her, her
husband and his family have something I want. No, something I need. And I
will do whatever the hell it takes to get it.
Nobody followed me, so I take a minute to catch my breath before I
bind her wrists and ankles with rope and place a black nylon bag over her
head.
A familiar gray station wagon rolls to a stop beside me, and Phoenix
rolls down the window. “You got her?”
“I got someone. Not Joey; one of the brother’s wives.”
 She climbs out of the car and offers a cursory glance at our hostage.
“All the same,” she mutters.
I pull Mia out of the van and hoist her over my shoulder. Phoenix
bounces on the balls of her feet, chewing on her thumbnail as she glances
around. I half expect a convoy of armored SUVs to turn down this dirt road.
But I planned this perfectly. There are no cameras around here, and nobody
will find the van for at least a few hours. By then all three of us will be long
gone.
I lay Mia down in the back seat of the station wagon. Her head lolls to
the side, and her honey-blond hair fans out over the faded gray upholstery.
All I can do is hope that this woman is as valuable to the Morettis as Joey
is. She’s gotta be. Even if her only value comes from being a status symbol
that Lorenzo Moretti can’t afford to lose. Her kidnapping will make the
family look weak. I may not have grown up in their world, but I know all
about the importance of looking strong in the eyes of an enemy.
After shoving the door closed with my hip, I push my fist into my lower
back and stretch. Mia’s gotta weigh twenty pounds more than Joey, and I
felt every pound when I carried her to the van earlier.
“I can go now, yeah?” Phoenix asks, still glancing up and down the
deserted road.
“Yes. She’ll be out for at least three more hours. You park in the garage
and take her through the house, okay? No one will see a thing. Did you get
everything on the list?”
Phoenix goes on chewing her thumbnail, but she gives me a jerky nod.
“The long chain so she can use the bathroom?”
“Yeah, Kee,” she snaps, more agitated and twitchier than usual. I
suspect she’s still not taking her meds, but if I ask her about that now, it will
only start an argument that we don’t have time for.
“You know she’s innocent, right? We only need her as leverage for the
information we need. She doesn’t deserve to get hurt, Nix.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’ve told me that like a dozen times.”
Yeah, well, I also told you that before you smashed a guy’s head into a
brick wall when we were only supposed to steal his wallet. And the time
you punched the cheerleader in the mouth and broke half her teeth because
she looked at you funny.
Clenching my jaw shut, I force myself to stop thinking about all the
times Phoenix has lost control of her volatile temper and I’ve had to clean
up after her. What choice did I have? She can’t help being the way she is.
I wish I could keep her out of this. For my sake, but mostly for hers. But
other than Father Mike, who would never approve of me seeking
vengeance, she’s the only person I have in my whole life. The one person
on this entire earth I would die for. And although she doesn’t know the full
truth of why I carry such a grudge against the Morettis, she wants this as
much as I do. She has no idea that I share their blood. That they sold me
like a piece of meat without even knowing I exist. Nobody does, and I
intend for it to stay that way.
Phoenix twirls the car keys on her finger. “You’ll call me tonight? Will
it be done then? Then you kill the others and we can leave, yeah?”
“I can’t kill the Morettis until I’m sure we have the information we
need, Nix. I’ll call you after my meeting. I promise.” I nod at the sleeping
figure of Mia in the back seat of the Ford. “But you need to get out of here
and get her comfortable before she wakes up.”
“Comfortable,” she snorts.
I have every intention of ending Dante, Lorenzo, and Joey, as well as
their attack dog, Maximo. But there will be no innocent blood on my hands,
and definitely none on Phoenix’s—at least not if I can help it. And right
now I have no real idea whether Mia falls into that category or not. “Yes,
comfortable, Nix. We have no idea how long she’s gonna be with you. It
could be a few hours or a few days. And if she gets hurt in any way, we
would lose our only bargaining chip.” I cup her face in my hands, and her
dark brown eyes fill with tears. My heart breaks for her. She’s only ever a
split second away from rage or despair, doomed to live in the haunted
memories of our past. That is why we need to end the cycle, so she might
finally have a chance to find peace. “Please trust me on this. It’s the only
way.”
She wrenches her face out of my grip. “I know. You’ve told me like a
million times.”
I bite back a retort. She wasn’t always like this. Sure, there were dark
days, but they were peppered with days full of joy. The memory of us
dancing in the rain beside a taco truck on my seventeenth birthday, her
infectious laughter filling the air, makes me want to cry and smile at the
same time. I would move heaven and earth to hear her laughter again. The
darkness has slowly creeped in, claiming those bright pieces of her soul,
and I hardly recognize the person she’s become. I can’t recall the last time I
saw her smile.
I know the meds helped stabilize her mood, but she always said they
stopped her from feeling anything. I guess they never found the right fit for
her, which makes it hard to begrudge her refusal to take them. I don’t think
I’d be willing to trade in all my negative emotions for absolute numbness.
“As soon as this is over, Nix, we will go to our island and spend the rest
of our lives living in a hut by the sea.”
That at least gets her to stop scowling at me. “Will things be better
there, Kee? Will I be better?”
“Living in the sunshine with nothing to worry about but applying
sunscreen. How could it not be better?” I say, giving her a smile, even as
I’m forced to admit to myself that Kefalonia is an island in the Med, not a
magical portal to another world. My heart is full of hope that our safe haven
will stop her nightmares, banish the bad days, and ensure that the slices
covering the sensitive flesh of her arms are able to finally heal. But my
mind knows the truth. Still, it has to be better than the life she has here. And
we have to try something better than here.
She shrugs, her gaze now trained on the trees in the distance. “Just a
few more weeks, Nix. Okay?” Without responding, she climbs into the car.
After the headlights fade away, I grab my bike from the garage where I
stored it last night and shake off the familiar sensation of impending doom
that wants to settle in my gut. I focus instead on the conversation I’m about
to have and decide to call Ace over Romeo. The latter will be pissed, but his
ire will have nothing on the brooding alpha he loves so much. Pushing
Ace’s buttons might be just what I need to put a smile back on my face.

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 Chapter

Fourteen

ACE

I
bring the car to a stop outside the Moretti mansion. Cars line the
driveway, and men in suits, no doubt armed to the teeth, stand idly in
the driveway of the house, awaiting their instructions. But it’s Lorenzo
Moretti, stalking toward the car like he’s about to tear the doors off, who
holds my attention. Dante and Max follow close behind him.
“Holy shit,” Romeo mutters.
We jump out of the car before we get pulled out by our throats. It’s not
unexpected when Lorenzo pounces on me like a starving lion on a lame
zebra, but it still knocks the breath out of me. With a hand around my
throat, he pins me to the car, squeezing tightly until black spots dance in my
vision. I ball my hands into fists, aware that following my instinct and
fighting back is likely to earn me the ass-kicking of my life—if I’m lucky.
He bares his teeth, his face crimson with pent-up rage. “What the fuck
did you do?” I open my mouth to answer, but it snaps shut when he pulls
me forward and pushes me back hard. “Where the fuck is my wife?”
“We’ll get her back, Boss,” Romeo pipes up, and Lorenzo’s fierce glare
is drawn to where my friend is standing and, I assume, not being choked to
death.
 “You’ll get her back?” He slams me against the car again and turns to
Dante. “Did you hear—what the fuck?” he roars.
At this point, Dante places a hand on Lorenzo’s forearm, the one
attached to the meaty hand crushing my windpipe. “Let him go.”
Lorenzo’s nostrils flare, but he releases me. I rub the tender skin,
grateful to be able to suck in a breath. But now I have the eyes of both
Moretti brothers stripping the flesh from my bones, and the image of my
slow, agonizing death if anything happens to Mia flashes through my mind.
“You can kill him later,” Dante says with a growl. “Right now we need
to focus everything we have on finding Mia, and these two fuckwits are the
only ones who know anything about who took her.”
Lorenzo pinches the bridge of his nose, his body visibly vibrating with
fury, but his voice is quiet. Like the calm before a life-destroying Category
5 storm. “Tell me again. Who took my wife?” His breathing speeds up.
“And how the fuck did she take her from under your fucking noses?”
I take a deep breath and explain how we met her a few nights ago, that
she must have waited until we fell asleep to tap into one or both of our
phones, and how I will scorch the fucking earth to ash to find her. I decide
to leave out how it never occurred to me that I was drugged after I woke up
Tuesday morning feeling like I’d gone on a weeklong bender despite only
having two drinks.
“But Mia wasn’t supposed to be there today. Joey was,” Max reminds us
all, his dark eyes full of worry.
“Everyone is on lockdown until we find this woman and get Mia back,”
Dante barks. “Every-fucking-one.”
Max frowns. “You’ll get no arguments from me, D. Your sister would
never leave the house again if I had my way.”
Lorenzo puts his hands on his hips and tilts his face toward the sky.
When he looks at me again, he appears to have a firmer hold on his desire
to wipe me off the planet. “Do you have any other information on this
woman other than her first name? If that even is her name.”
“She drives a yellow Honda Fireblade, not many of them around. I can
check local sellers and dealers. I gave you the plates of the van she used to
take Mia that we pulled from the hotel security footage. We could—”
“Already dumped,” Dante says. “Looks like they were headed out of
town. We have someone scouring for footage of the area, but nothing yet.”
“Who the fuck would take one of the girls?” Max asks with a growl.
 Dante sighs. “It could be any one of our enemies.”
Lorenzo shakes his head. “Who have we pissed off enough lately that
would do something like this?”
“They might just be trying to send a message that they can get to any of
you. A power play,” Romeo says, and the three glares he gets in response
make me want to punch him in the mouth. Thanks, buddy, for reminding
them that we couldn’t stop Mia from being taken.
I shake my head. “No. It has to be about more than sending a message.”
Dante tips his chin at me. “Why?”
Lorenzo stalks off to pace the driveway, which gives me a chance to
catch my breath and answer. “In this business, men are the ones who make
those kinds of clumsy power grabs. But Mia was taken by a woman, a
woman who likely targeted Joey. And women are calculated and ruthless.
We only spent one night with this chick, but she was smart. Like super
fucking smart. The way she had this all set up too. She wouldn’t risk her
life for a paycheck, so this wasn’t a hired job. There has to be an end game
here. We just need to figure out what it is.”
Dante nods. “He’s right, Loz. And that also means that it’s likely Mia is
safe. Dead leverage isn’t leverage. And I’m sure we’ll find out what that
woman wants from us very soon.”
Lorenzo stops pacing and glares at his younger brother. “And until then,
what? This is my fucking wife we’re talking about. Mia!” He roars her
name, and we all flinch.
Dante softens his tone. “Until then we tear the country apart to find
her.”
Joey comes out of the house. “Loz, Raven’s asking for you.” She walks
down the stairs and joins our uneven circle. “She’s really upset.”
Max slips an arm around his wife’s waist, and she leans against him, her
cheeks wet with tears. I can’t even bear to look at her. I wonder if she
realizes that she was the target. Of course she does, she’s not stupid. I hate
that we fucked up. I hate that I failed them, and most of all, I hate myself
for being blinded by nothing more than a good fuck.
Lorenzo stalks into the house, muttering curses under his breath. The
plan is to move out in the next half hour in search of Mia, so Romeo and I
stand by the car. The rest of the security team avoid us, like they’re scared
to be associated with our incompetence. Can’t say I blame them.
“You think we’ll get her back, Ace?” Romeo asks me.
 “Course we will. The bitch must have taken her for a reason. I’m sure
we’ll find out what it is soon.”
He scrubs a hand through his hair and pulls his phone out of his pocket.
“I’m going to check in with the hotel and see if we can get any more
information on her. Maybe she really did work for that catering company, or
maybe someone recognized her.”
She’s too smart to leave behind any easy-to-find loose ends, but I
understand his need to do something, anything, to stop feeling so fucking
helpless. “Sounds good. I’ll head inside and speak to Joey. Come up with a
list of people she’s pissed off lately, starting with those pricks she met with
the other day.”
I’m about to open the front door when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I don’t recognize the number, but I hope to fuck it’s that bitch so I can tell
her I’m going to tear her goddamn head off with my bare hands when I see
her. After I get Mia back obviously.
I hold the phone to my ear. “Yeah?”
Her annoyingly sweet voice fills my ear. “Hey there, handsome.”
I snarl. “What the fuck did you do with Mia?”
Her musical laugh rings out, and I want to rip her fucking tongue out
and strangle her with it. “You should relax, Ace. You sound all kinds of
fired up there. You’re gonna give yourself a stroke if you’re not careful.”
I suck air through my teeth and ball my free hand into a fist. “What do
you want with her?”
She snorts. “I don’t give two shits about that pampered princess.”
“So what the fuck are you interested in?”
“Your bosses.”
I close my eyes. She’s fucking unhinged. “Dante and Lorenzo?”
“Tell them to meet me at St. Nicholas Church out near Fort Heights at
eight tonight.” The amusement has left her voice, and her tone is now cold
and detached. Fucking psychopath. “And tell them they can bring their
entire goddamn army with them if they want, but if I don’t walk out of there
with all my limbs intact, they’ll never see their beloved Mia again.”
“What—?” The line goes dead. Fucking bitch! I blink down at the
screen, half tempted to call her back, but there’s no point. She said
everything she planned to say.
“Who the fuck were you just talking to?” Lorenzo growls from behind
me as he steps out of the house.
 I’m hit by a fresh wave of guilt when I see the haunted look in his eyes.
“It was her.”
He sucks in a breath, one of the most powerful men in Chicago winded
by those three little words. “What did she say?”
“She wants you and Dante to meet her at an old church near Fort
Heights tonight at eight.”
“Does she have Mia? Did you speak to my wife?”
I shake my head. “That was all she said. That and …”
He bares his teeth, snarling like a wounded animal. “And what?”
“She said you can bring as many of your army with you as you want,
but you won’t see Mia again if anything happens to her.”
Dropping his head back, he stares up at the sky and sucks in several
deep breaths. The thick vein in his jaw pulses. “What do you need me to do,
Boss?”
It takes a few seconds before he looks at me again. His dark eyes burn
into mine like I might have all the answers he seeks. I wish I did. It was my
fucking job to protect her, but I failed.
Lorenzo checks his watch. “Prep two cars. You and Romeo will follow
behind.”
After he leaves, I twist my neck from side to side. I will kill that sneaky,
lying little bitch as soon as this is all over and we have Mia back safely. No,
death would be too easy for her. I’ll make her suffer for fucking eternity
instead.
Romeo comes to a stop beside me, slightly out of breath. “He have any
news?”
I glance sideways at him. “Keres just called me.”
“Fuck. What did she say?”
I signal him to follow me to the garage so we can prep the vehicles. On
the way, I fill him in on my conversation with the woman I’ve come to hate
more than anyone else in the world.

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 Chapter

Fifteen

KERES

M
y boots kick up dirt as I stride across the abandoned parking lot. Ace
and Romeo are parked in a black sedan beside the now empty
vehicle that the Moretti brothers and their enforcer, Max DiMarco,
got out of a few minutes earlier. I watched from my vantage point and am
confident they didn’t bring any further backup. Not like they need it. Any
one of these men could squash me like a bug if they wanted, which is why I
like to be the one holding all the power. And Mia Moretti is power.
I feel the burn of Ace’s and Romeo’s eyes and suppress a smile at the
thought of them seething with impotent rage because a feeble woman got
the better of them. I glance in their direction and offer them a cheeky wave
before pulling the door open and going inside.
The tension in the derelict church is already thick enough to choke on.
The evening sun is still high enough in the sky that it bathes the entire room
in a warm amber glow that dances over the wooden benches, some of which
have been overturned by kids passing through the place. The wall behind
the missing altar features the faint outline of a giant crucifix, like an
ominous shadow of the past.
 “Hey, guys.” I give the three men glaring at me a sickly-sweet smile.
They remain standing in what would have once been the aisle that brides
and grooms and coffins ventured down. I’ve always been fascinated by
abandoned buildings, but churches in particular hold a special interest. How
many sins were confessed within these walls? How many were committed?
All in honor of a god who doesn’t exist.
The ferocity of Lorenzo’s glare would make a lesser mortal squirm, I’m
sure, but I’ve dealt with crueler men than him almost my entire life—or at
least as cruel.
I roll my shoulders back and lift my chin even as a tiny sliver of doubt
threatens to shatter my confidence. Without Joey, I have no way of knowing
whether my plan will work. Not only is she a Moretti, but I’ve seen the way
that giant, Max, fawns all over her. But Lorenzo’s wife—his second wife at
that? I have no idea if she has the same kind of value to them. For all I
know, she could merely be a pretty trophy for Lorenzo to parade around on
his arm.
I take in a deep breath and count to five. A warrior doesn’t escape fear,
they conquer it. I breathe deeply, and the crack in my armor remains just
that. No danger of breaking me open. Not today.
“Where. Is. She?” Lorenzo grits each word through a clenched jaw, as
though every syllable pains him.
I tilt my head, eyeing him with curiosity. “She’s safe. For now.”
His entire body seems to vibrate with pent-up rage, and he inches
forward until Dante places a hand on his shoulder, giving the lightest
squeeze of his fingers into Lorenzo’s muscle, but it’s enough to still his
older brother. Like an obedient dog. It almost makes me smile.
“Where the fuck is my wife?” he asks again.
“She’s safe,” I repeat, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “And she’ll stay
that way as long as you do as I ask.”
Lorenzo shrugs off his brother’s steadying hand and surges forward,
wrapping his meaty fingers around my throat and squeezing. Unflinching, I
glare at him. “How about I just start carving pieces off of you until you tell
me where she is?”
He relaxes his grip enough for me to speak. “If I don’t check in with my
contact in one hour, alive and unharmed, your wife will die.” His emotional
state shifts with such violence that the atmosphere in the room changes. His
eyes darken and his features twist, but instead of anger, all I can feel is the
soul-destroying, gut-wrenching pain pouring out of him. The corners of my
lips curl upward. It seems Mia isn’t a mere trophy after all.
He shakes me like a rag doll, and an animalistic snarl rumbles through
him. “If anything happens to her, I will hunt down every single person
you’ve ever so much as smiled at, and I will end every single one them.
Anyone who has ever meant anything to you will die a slow and agonizing
death.”
I smile wider. “That’s a very short list. Some would say nonexistent, in
fact. ”
The vein in his temple throbs. Men like him don’t handle impotence
well, which only makes this moment all the more satisfying. I hold all the
cards here and he knows it. “I will chain you in a dark, windowless
basement for the rest of your days, and I will take great fucking pleasure in
spending the remainder of mine breaking and cutting and hurting you, little
girl. Until you beg for a death that you know will never come.”
A shiver runs down my spine and he feels it too. I hate myself for
showing any weakness in his presence. But the visions evoked by what he
said—and the knowledge that he meant every word—cause my body to
react against my will. “She is the only thing in this world that keeps my
conscience in check. If any harm comes to her or our child …”
Our child? What the—she’s pregnant? Bile surges up my throat. That
changes everything.
I have no grudge against Mia Moretti. Salvatore Moretti’s children, the
people who took over his dynasty of horrors, are who I want to bring to
their knees. When I took her, I accepted that her death was collateral
damage I could live with. After all, there’s no way she unknowingly
married into the fucking Mafia. But if she dies—
No. I would never allow a child to get hurt. Would never be responsible
for the death of an innocent. Children are to be protected and nurtured and
cared for. And I can’t allow Phoenix’s soul to be tainted by that kind of evil.
If anything happens to Mia’s baby, it will mean we’re no better than these
sick fucks.
Dozens of horrifying scenarios race through my head at lightning speed.
I’ll make sure nothing happens to her or her kid, but I’ll be damned if I give
any of these pricks the satisfaction of knowing that.
I roll back my shoulders, hardening my gaze as I stare Lorenzo down.
“Then I guess you’d better do as I ask then.” His pupils eclipse the brown
of his irises. Fury and terror radiate from him, but he can’t do anything
about it. I hold all the power here. “Now take your goddamn hands off me.”
His nostrils flare, but he releases me with a shove. I resist the urge to
rub at my raw throat, unwilling to show an ounce of weakness. He paces the
floor, running a hand through his hair.
“What the fuck do you want?” Dante asks. His voice is calm and
controlled, but his stiff body language belies the anger simmering beneath
the surface.
“Some information is all I need.”
Lorenzo spins around. He’s practically frothing at the mouth now, and
under other circumstances it might be kind of funny. But I’m under no
illusion regarding the strength of the men in this room. As strong and fast as
I am, any one of them could kill me with their bare hands in seconds. A
bead of sweat trickles down my back.
I might hold the power where Lorenzo is concerned, but Dante Moretti
is the head of the Cosa Nostra, and he could decide on a whim that Mia is
dispensable. Acceptable collateral damage if it means getting rid of the five-
foot-four woman who made him and his men look like fools.
“Information?” Lorenzo growls. “What fucking information is so
important that it requires kidnapping my pregnant wife?”
“I want the name of the man who coordinated the delivery of women
and children. I know there were two of them, and I’ve already dealt with
Oscar Lang. I need the other name. And I need to know everything. Where
he lives, what he eats for breakfast. Every detail you can find.”
The room is deathly silent. They stare at me like I’ve grown an extra
head.
“What women and children? Who the fuck is Oscar Lang?” Dante
shakes his head, and if I were a more naive woman, I’d almost believe his
act of confusion.
But I’m not naive, and his little game of pretense makes me sick to my
stomach. “The women and children you and your father sold into slavery!”
I spit. “Oscar Lang was one of the coordinators. He found the buyers. But
there was one more, and you’ll tell me who he is if you ever want to see
your precious Mia again.”
Lorenzo lurches forward once more, his fist raised like he’s going to
punch me in the face. He pulls up short, likely held back by fear of what
may happen to his wife and unborn child. “We didn’t sell anyone into
slavery.”
I snort. “Yeah, right.”
Lorenzo presses his fist to his mouth and sucks air through his nostrils.
“Whatever you think you know, Keres,” he hisses my name like it’s poison
on his tongue, “you’re wrong. We had no part in our father’s sick trade. And
we killed all the men involved. Every last one.”
My gut says he’s telling the truth, and for the first time in as long as I
can remember, I question my instincts. No matter how strongly I rely on my
ability to read people, I know what I know. The facts don’t lie. “You’re a
liar.” I shake my head. “There’s another man out there. Still alive. He was
in charge of transporting your victims. Women and kids as young as ten
who were bought and sold to the highest bidder!” Venom pours from my
mouth. Over two decades of suppressed bitterness and pain and betrayal
threaten to overwhelm me.
“We know nothing about them,” Max says, speaking for the first time.
“We—” Dante shoots him a look that has his jaw clamping shut.
Lorenzo steps right in front of me. “Give me my wife back and I’ll find
this man for you.” The pleading note in his voice stirs something inside me,
but I smother it. I will not back down. These men are monsters. Lying is the
least of their sins. And it’s past time they experienced a taste of the
helplessness they’ve imposed upon their victims.
Folding my arms across my chest, I give him a bored look. “Find him
and I’ll give you your wife back.”
His jaw clenches. “Bring her back to me and I’ll do anything you want.
I give you my word.”
Unable to hold back my rage a second longer, I plant my hands on his
chest and shove him hard. He stumbles backward. “Your word means
nothing to me!”
His roar rattles the stained-glass windows behind me. Shouting
obscenities, he storms across the room and launches a chair at the wall.
Splintered pieces of wood rain to the ground, and the deafening silence that
follows is broken only by Lorenzo’s ragged breaths.
“You don’t need Mia,” Dante says, stepping toward me. “We don’t
know the name of the man you’re looking for, but if you bring her back to
us unharmed, we will find him.”
 Us. That single word threatens to drown me in envy. She belongs to all
of them while I continue to belong to no one.
Years of practice allow me to swallow down my raging emotions. I arch
an eyebrow, letting him know he doesn’t intimidate me, and bask in the
knowledge that I’m safe. None of them will do anything to risk her life.
“I’m not stupid. As soon as you have her back, you’ll slit my throat—if I’m
lucky.”
Lorenzo stalks back toward me like a panther closing in on its prey. He
looks ten years older than he did when I walked into the church. His wild
eyes and bared teeth reveal the monster lurking beneath his polished facade.
“I’m going to carve your fucking heart from your chest.”
I chuckle. “You can try. But then you’ll never see your precious Mia
again. Or meet your unborn child.”
He comes to a sudden stop, like he slammed into an invisible wall.
Dante places a hand on his shoulder and murmurs, “We’ll get her back,
brother.”
“As long as you get me the information I need,” I say with a smile.
“I need to see her. I need to know she’s safe and unharmed before I do a
single fucking thing you ask,” Lorenzo says, but the fight has left him. He’s
transformed from a terrifying Mafia Don to a broken shell in a matter of
moments.
I could refuse. I want to refuse. But I can’t let my desire to watch them
suffer get in the way of my plan. I need them to cooperate until I finish this
part of my mission. Then, once I’ve gotten what I need from them, I can
move onto phase two—destroying the Moretti empire.
I pretend to think it over for a few more seconds, then let out a reluctant
sigh. “I guess I can show a little good faith.” I pull my phone from my
pocket and type out a text to Phoenix.
A picture comes through a moment later. Mia is sitting on a bed, and the
chains around her wrists and ankles are clear to see. I hold up my phone and
show it to the three men.
Lorenzo’s face contorts. “Mia.” The word falls from his lips on a plea.
“See. Safe and sound.”
His eyes go to my face and he snarls. “She’s in fucking chains.”
“She has enough slack to get to the bathroom. She’ll be fed and
watered, which is more than I can say for the victims of your family’s sick
trade.” I click the button to lock my phone and slide it back into my pocket.
 “I want to talk to her,” Lorenzo demands.
I scoff. “No way.”
“That could be hours old. I need to know she’s …” His throat bobs as he
swallows. “I need to know she’s alive.” The last word is a harsh whisper.
“You’ll have to take my word for it.”
“You sneaky little cunt.” He steps closer, towering over me, all
trembling rage. “If you don’t let me talk to my wife, I will cut off your face
and wear it like a fucking mask to check in with whoever has her. Let me
speak to her right now or we do fuck all to help you and you will never find
the man you’re looking for.”
He’s right. I have nothing to go on without their help. Three years of
nonstop searching has brought me nothing. And so what if he speaks to her?
It’s not like she has any idea where she is.
I run my tongue along my top teeth. “I’ll let you talk to her when you
give me the name and tell me where I can find him. Once he’s dead, you’ll
get her back, completely unharmed.”
“We don’t know who this man is you’re looking for, but I will use every
single resource at my disposal to find him. Now let me fucking talk to her
or you get nothing. I will tear out your fucking heart right now and then I
will find your friend and I’ll make her pray for a death that will never
come.”
I eye him warily. Phoenix won’t survive long if I don’t walk out of this
church, and I can’t take that risk. I can’t let her lose her chance at a happy
life because of my scheming. I don’t care what happens to me after, but I
owe it to my mom and Phoenix to find the man responsible first.
“You’ll give me whatever resources I need to find him?”
“Yes.”
I suck on my lip. Dammit! “You have one minute.”
Phoenix picks up after two rings, but she doesn’t speak, as per my
instructions. “It’s me. Put her on the phone.”
“The Moretti bitch?”
“Yeah.”
“But—”
“Just do it.”
She huffs in response, but Mia’s soft tone fills my ear a few seconds
later. “H-hello.” Her tremulous fear calls to my own, and fingers of that
terror I’ve been battling every day of my life crawl up my spine. Warriors
don’t escape fear.
Guilt takes hold of my throat, but I bat it away. She’s safe. And even if
the Morettis refuse to do what they’re told, I will make sure her baby stays
safe. They just don’t need to know that. “I have someone who wants to talk
to you.”
I pass Lorenzo my phone, and he grabs onto it like it’s a lifeline.
“Tesoro.” His voice cracks, and I can hear her crying. He steps away so I
can only hear his side of the conversation. “Are you hurt? Is the baby
okay?”
A few seconds pass before he speaks again. “No one will hurt you,
sunshine. I promise I’ll have you home soon.”
I walk over to him and motion for him to pass me the phone. “That’s
enough.”
He glares at me, but he knows the rules of this game we play all too
well. “I love you, tesoro. You are everything to me.”
There are tears in his eyes when he hands me back the phone, and I pity
him for one brief moment, but the momentary lapse in judgment fades just
as quickly as it came. How much pity did he have for the countless women
and children he and his family sold into slavery?
Mia is sobbing quietly when I put the phone back to my ear. “Put my
friend back on.”
I walk far enough away to speak with Phoenix privately but keep my
eyes on the three men. “Hey,” Phoenix says a second later.
“She’s pregnant.”
“So?” she snaps back at me.
“We don’t hurt kids, Nix. That makes us no better than them. Just take
care of her. Okay?”
Silence.
“Okay?”
“Okay,” she finally agrees with a dramatic huff.
“I won’t risk coming to you until this is done. But I’ll be in touch a few
times a day.”
“Just hurry, Kee. I want to live on our Greek island and forget
everything about this shitty country.”
I close my eyes for a second. “Soon. I promise.”
 I end the call, and the haunted look in Lorenzo’s eyes sends a sick thrill
of excitement up my spine. But the pain I’m causing right now doesn’t even
scratch the surface of what he and his siblings are owed. It doesn’t even
come close to the misery I’ve endured because of them. And not even a
fraction of the anguish and suffering that she was forced to endure.
Tears burn my eyes and I squeeze them closed. Visions of tumbling dark
hair, brown almond-shaped eyes, and her beautiful smile dance behind my
eyelids. All too soon, they’re tainted by other images. Of cuts and bruises,
blood and tears, a mouth hanging open on a permanent scream. Kendra
Sideris, loving mother. The Morettis may not have been the ones to steal her
life, but they’re responsible for her death. And they will fucking pay for it.
My eyes snap open, and I’m back in the church with the three men who
will help me check the next item off my list before I destroy them too.
“When can you get me the information?” I shove my hand into the
pocket of my leather jacket and curl my fingers around the handle of my
switchblade.
“Give me everything you know about this man. I’ll have a lead for you
by tomorrow,” Lorenzo snaps.
I shouldn’t be surprised by his answer. The whole reason I moved the
Morettis down my list is because I knew their position in the human
trafficking ring gave me the best chance of success. Priorities dictated that
tipping them off to my existence was worth the risk. But a large part of me
still suspects that they already have the intel I want and they’re trying to
buy time. Even with their resources, I covered my tracks enough to earn
myself at least two days before they have any hope of finding Mia, so I can
give him until tomorrow.

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 Chapter

Sixteen

ACE

S
he walks across the parking lot—scratch that. She sashays across the
fucking parking lot, her hips and ass swaying seductively in her
skintight leathers. Fucking bitch.
I clench my fists so hard that my trimmed nails dig into my palms. She
glances at our car and fucking smirks before she climbs onto her bike.
“You think we’re supposed to follow her or something?” Romeo shifts
in his seat beside me.
“Not unless someone tells us to. We can track the bike. And she just
walked out of there without a care in the fucking world. So whatever
happened, they let her leave.”
He throws me a look, his brow furrowed and his eyes wide. “You don’t
think she …?”
“What? Took out all three of them on her own?” I scoff. “No way.”
He shrugs. “You never know. She’s not like any woman I’ve ever met
before.”
No, she’s fucking not. My eyes remain fixed on her as she sits on her
bike, the one I outfitted with a tracking device just ten minutes ago. “You
say that like you admire her or something.”
 “I’m not saying that. Just that she’s not your average woman. She
played us like a pair of puppets. I’m willing to bet if anyone could take out
those three, it would be her.”
Keres’s bike roars to life and she takes off down the freeway. I glance at
the entrance of the church, and a seed of doubt grows. Where the hell are
they? I’m seconds away from getting out of the car to go find them when
the door swings open and Dante strolls out, followed closely by Max and
Lorenzo. Romeo and I jump out of the car.
Dante reaches us first. “You put the tracker on her bike?”
I nod.
“She’s not going anywhere near Mia right now. She’s not stupid.”
Lorenzo paces the parking lot.
Max places a hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder, stopping his frantic back and
forth. “But she must have taken Mia somewhere within a few hours’ drive,
right?”
“Yeah, to have her there already,” Dante agrees.
“In fucking chains!” Lorenzo spits the last word and resumes pacing.
“You saw her?” Romeo asks.
“Yeah.” Dante sighs as he watches his older brother. Lorenzo looks like
he’s about to have a nervous breakdown right before our eyes.
A wave of relief washes over me. “And she’s okay?”
Lorenzo’s head snaps around like it’s on a spring, his teeth bared at me.
“No thanks to you two useless pieces of shit.”
Dante shoots me a warning look that stays my natural instinct to buck
up when someone talks to me like I’m nothing. This isn’t the time or the
place. And Lorenzo has every right to take his rage out on us.
Dante places his hands on his older brother’s shoulders. “We’ll get her
back, Loz. Safe and unharmed. I swear to you. Both of them.”
“Both of them?” Romeo asks.
Dante looks between Romeo and me. “Mia is ten weeks pregnant.”
Oh holy fuck.
Lorenzo buries his head in his hands and pulls at the roots of his hair. In
the twelve years I’ve worked for the Morettis, I have never seen him so
distraught. The sight of my normally reserved boss coming apart at the
seams has every hair on my body standing on end. “I never should have let
her out of my sight for a fucking second,” he groans.
 “Beating yourself up and snapping at these two”—Max nods at Romeo
and me—“isn’t going to help right now, Loz. We need to figure out how we
get this crazy bitch the information she’s looking for.”
He stands still, arms by his sides now and nods his agreement. He
cracks his neck, and a glimpse of the Lorenzo I know reappears. “Let’s start
with the Russians. The Pushkins are dead, but there must be someone with a
lead to who my father and Dominik did business with. We start there.”
“What can we do to help?” I ask. “What information is she looking
for?” I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t trust us anywhere near this after
we let that tattooed siren blind us and take Mia from right under our noses,
but I will do everything I can to fix our fuck-up and get Mia back.
Dante nods to Max. “Ride back to the mansion with Ace and Romeo
and fill them in on the way.”
I guess that means we’re not considered completely useless then.

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 Chapter

Seventeen

KERES

M
y phone rings Saturday afternoon, a little over sixteen hours after I
left the church with the assurance that Lorenzo would get me the
information I’m looking for. Taking a deep breath, I answer but
don’t speak.
“Keres?” Lorenzo’s deep voice is instantly recognizable.
I nod my thanks to the waitress who tops up my coffee. “You have a
name for me?”
“I have a name. A lead.”
“A lead?” I scoff. “I was hoping for a little more than that.”
“How long have you been looking for this guy? I get you a name in less
than a day and that’s not fucking good enough for you?”
“Yeah, but I’m not connected to the men who ply this sick trade the
same way you are, am I? I want justice for the victims, whereas you …” I
don’t finish my sentence. No use getting into an argument with him.
I guess he’s having a similar internal argument with himself because I
hear him suck in a deep breath. “This man worked with my father. He’ll be
able to give you more information that will lead you to the man you’re
looking for.”
 I growl with frustration. I’d hoped for better than this from him. “Or
he’ll be a complete dead end.”
“He won’t.”
With no other leads to follow right now, it isn’t like I have a fucking
choice. “Fine. What’s his name and where do I find him?”
“Where’s Mia?”
Does he really think I’m that stupid? “I already told you she’ll be
returned to you once I’ve found the man I’m looking for.”
He’s quiet for a few seconds.
“The name?” I snap.
“No.”
“No?” I growl. “Are you fucking kidding me? So you never want to see
your wife again, is that it?”
“I won’t give you the name, but my men will have it.”
“Your men?”
“Ace and Romeo will take you where you need to go. They’ll help you
find the man you’re looking for.”
I gasp at the absurdity of his proposal. “You seriously think I’m going to
let those two bozos slow me down?”
“You seriously think I would allow the woman who kidnapped my wife
and child take off without me knowing where she is at all fucking times? If
so, you clearly didn’t do your research, little girl, because I am not that
fucking man.”
Annoyed at him calling me a little girl, I bite down on my lip, drawing
blood.
He takes another deep breath. “And you will allow them to see and
speak to her every day so that I know she’s safe. Understand?”
I don’t reply, but he goes on talking anyway.
“And my men won’t slow you down. If anything they’ll help get this
done quicker, and that is in the best interests of everyone involved.” I can
picture him sitting behind some fancy-ass desk with steam coming from his
ears. It’s almost enough to bring a smile to my face.
“They get in my way, and I won’t hesitate to take them down.”
He ignores me. “I assume you know where I live?”
“I do.”
“Then be here in an hour. They’ll be ready to go.”
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 Chapter

Eighteen

ROMEO

“T hanks for the coffee, Sophia,” I tell the Morettis’ housekeeper, giving
her a quick peck on the cheek before I place my empty mug on the
kitchen counter.
“You’re welcome.” She brushes back her gray hair and gives me a
cheeky wink. Flirt!
Ace pops his head through the open doorway. “Boss wants to see us.”
“Which one?”
He raises his eyebrows. “Lorenzo.”
With a grimace, I say goodbye to Sophia and follow Ace to the library.
Standing in front of Lorenzo’s desk, I can’t help but think back to all
those times I was summoned to the principal’s office for fighting or
sneaking vodka in a water bottle and charging my classmates a dollar a
capful.
Lorenzo checks his watch. “Keres will be here within the hour. I want
you both to go with her and help her find this man she’s looking for.”
“What the fuck?” Ace mutters.
Lorenzo bangs a meaty fist on his desk. “I’ll tell you what the fuck. This
woman—the one you two fuckwits allowed to kidnap my wife—is
currently the only person who knows where Mia is. She is the only lead we
have.” He points a finger at Ace. “So you will go with her and you will help
her find the twisted piece of shit she’s looking for and you will protect her
while she does it. And if you—”
“But—” Ace protests.
Lorenzo snarls. “Did you just fucking interrupt me?”
Ace takes a step back and drops his head a little, sufficiently chastised.
Much like me, he’d rather be looking for Mia than babysitting the demon
spawn that is Keres.
“I need eyes on her at all fucking times,” Lorenzo continues. “You two
are lucky you still have a job right now.” He slams his fist on the desk
again. “You’re lucky you’re still fucking breathing. So go. Watch her. Make
sure she doesn’t get herself killed. You will not lay a single finger on her.
Not until I have my wife back in my arms where she belongs.”
My lips twitch in a knowing smirk. “And once you have her back,
Boss?”
Lorenzo plants both hands on his desk and leans forward. “You can do
whatever the fuck you want with her, but you keep her alive and you bring
her to me. You think you can handle that?”
Ace draws a breath through his nose as his hands ball into fists by his
sides.
“Do you fucking understand me?” Lorenzo bellows.
“Sure thing,” I reply.
Ace gives a single curt nod. “Of course.”
Lorenzo sinks into his chair and continues glaring, his eyes bouncing
between Ace and me. “Now get the fuck out of my sight.”
The anger is rolling from Ace in waves as we walk down the Moretti
mansion driveway.
“It could have been a lot worse.” I offer the platitude as we step outside
the Moretti mansion, although I know it’s probably only going to piss him
off even more.
He stops in his tracks and shoots daggers at me with his eyes. “How?
What the fuck could be worse than having to babysit that evil bitch who
used us and made us look like a pair of fucking clowns?”
I roll my eyes. He’s so fucking dramatic. “At least we’re still breathing.
We fucked up, Ace. Big time. The fact that Lorenzo didn’t slit both of our
throats when we let his wife slip through our fingers is a win.”
 His nostrils flare. “So you’re not at all bothered that we have to spend
the next”—he throws his hands into the air—“who knows the fuck how
long with her?”
I arch an eyebrow. “Just because we have to keep her safe doesn’t mean
we can’t fuck with her while we do it.”
He shakes his head. “You’re fucking insane. Besides, we need to find
the little bitch first.”
“You talking about me?” Keres’s sarcastic laugh comes up behind us.
Ace cracks his neck and flashes me a scowl before we both turn to face her.
“It’s not very gentlemanly to speak about a lady that way.”
Ace rolls his shoulders and squares up to her. “I don’t see any ladies
around here.”
Keres puts a hand over her heart and pulls a face. “So vicious,” she says
with a shudder.
“You’ll see,” he grumbles.
She presses her lips together and tilts her head. “I’m not exactly
overjoyed with the idea of spending any time with you either, asshole. But
your boss is too suspicious to give me the information I need and let me do
this thing on my own. So seems like I’m stuck with you two.”
I’m going to have so much fun fucking with her. “You need us, huh?”
She rolls her eyes and snorts. “Seems so.”
Keres’s Yellow Fireblade is parked next to my florescent green
Kawasaki. Ace snatches his helmet from the seat of his Ducati. “Yeah, well,
we’re not exactly thrilled about it either, witch.”
“Witch?” she gasps, clutching at her chest again like she’s offended.
Ace’s dark eyes narrow. “Yeah. I guess your name suits you.”
Her lip curls in a sneer. “My name doesn’t mean witch, asshole. Keres is
a fucking spirit of death.”
“Same fucking thing,” he grumbles, then climbs onto his bike and starts
the engine. He pulls on his helmet and flips the visor, gaze fixed on the
hellcat standing beside me. “You want to find these men so badly, you
better hope you can keep up with us.” Without another word, he drives out
of the gates, leaving her cursing him under her breath.
A thrilling shock of something dark and dangerous lights me up. I lick
my lips as I watch her climb onto her bike. Yep. So much fun.

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 Chapter

Nineteen

KERES

I
pull off my helmet and shake out my curls, watching Ace and Romeo
climb off their bikes. We’ve been riding down I-90 for hours and have
stopped at a diner near Fremont. I have no idea how much longer we’ll
be on the road today, and I hate being kept in the dark.
I rest my free hand on my hip and glare at the two of them. “Can you at
least tell me where we’re going?”
The two men share a knowing look, and Ace shrugs. “Harrisburg.”
“Pennsylvania?”
Ace nods before walking into the diner with Romeo close behind. They
slide into a booth, and I take a seat beside Romeo. Ace picks up two menus
and hands one to his buddy, then opens the second one for himself.
“Asshole,” I mutter, reaching over Romeo to grab one for myself. I
catch the scent of his cologne, and a memory of that night in their apartment
crashes into me, making my face heat.
“So, who’s in Pennsylvania?” I glance over the menu but decide I’m
going to have the meatball sub I spotted the waitress carrying when we
walked in.
 “Someone we need to talk to,” Ace replies without taking his eyes off
the menu.
“Someone important? Someone with information?” I fire the questions
at him, more than annoyed by his refusal to look me in the eye.
He ignores me, and I slap my menu onto the table. “You think I actually
want to be here with either of you?”
Ace goes on ignoring me, and I turn to Romeo, who’s got a shit-eating
grin on his face. “Something funny to you?”
He laughs, and the sound is so at odds with this whole fucked-up
situation. “It’s real funny seeing you getting all hot and worked up like this,
Fuck-up.”
I blink at him. “Fuck-up?”
His grin widens. “That’s what I said.”
“And how exactly am I a fuck-up? Seems to me you’re the ones being
forced to babysit the woman who made you look like a pair of fools.”
Ace snarls, but that crazy fuck Romeo only laughs harder. But then he
stops laughing, and the atmosphere changes on a dime. The air grows thick
with unspoken words and dangerous, sexually charged tension. He leans
closer and curls a lock of my hair between his fingers. I want to pull away,
but I also want to pretend like his close proximity has no effect on me
whatsoever.
His breath dusts over the skin of my cheek, and I suppress a shiver.
“You fucked up the moment you let us taste you, Keres.” He licks his lips.
“Because now we know how sweet your cunt is, and there’s no stopping
this thing that’s gonna happen between us.”
I fix him with my fiercest glare. “If you think I’d ever let either of you
touch me again, you’re very much mistaken.”
He clicks his tongue, and his metal stud knocks against his teeth,
reminding me of the pleasure he wrought with that piercing. Warmth pools
in my core, and I squeeze my thighs together beneath the table. I guess he
sees my reaction because he smirks again.
“This thing right here, Fuck-up,” he says, waving his hand between the
three of us. “It’s like a ticking time bomb. As much as you tell yourself that
you hate us both, you can’t stop thinking about how hard we made you
come.” He inches even closer, his lips pressed tantalizingly close to my ear,
and I can’t move away. Mostly because I don’t want to. I’m frozen in place,
pinned by the memory of our one night together. “I remember how you
clawed at my ass when I was inside you, Keres, needy for more of me. So
fucking desperate for me to fill your tight little cunt, weren’t you?”
“Can I take your order?” the waitress’s sweet, sing-song voice interrupts
us, saving me from having to answer. I let out a sigh of relief. When I
glance at Ace, he drops his head quickly, like he was just watching that
entire exchange but would rather die than admit it.
“I’ll take a coffee and the steak and eggs please, sweetheart,” Ace says,
flashing our blond, tiny-waisted waitress a killer smile. She responds with a
giggle and I roll my eyes.
“Same for me, please, doll,” Romeo adds, sinking his teeth into his
bottom lip as his eyes roam over her curves. Her pale cheeks flush bright
pink and I clear my throat, reminding her I’m here.
She glances at me. “And for you?”
I look at her name tag. “The meatball sub and a Coke please, Bethany.”
“Put it on a separate tab,” Ace tells her.
Her blue eyes narrow. “You’re not together?”
“Nope.” Ace shakes his head. “We picked her up in Chicago and we
can’t fucking shake her.”
I refuse to give him the satisfaction of a response, but inside, I’m
seething.
Bethany blinks in confusion, way too young and naive to understand
that she’s being used in Ace and Romeo’s fucked-up mission to push my
buttons. “I-I’ll just get your drinks.”
Romeo rests his forearms on the table and leans forward. “You think we
should ask Bethany what time she gets off? Then maybe we can get her
off?”
Ace smirks at him, and I roll my eyes. “Pretty sure Bethany is way too
young and innocent for you two deviants.”
Ace scowls at me. “You weren’t calling us deviants when you were
begging for our cocks, Trouble.”
“I didn’t beg.”
“Oh yeah you did.” Romeo snickers. “If you’d like me to refresh your
memory, I can slip my fingers inside you right here at this table and we can
let everyone hear those desperate little noises you made. What do you say?”
His crude remarks should turn me off. If any other guy spoke to me like
that, he’d end up bloody and unconscious, so why am I letting him get away
with it? Maybe because I know he’s right. Or maybe because the two of
them made me feel things that I didn’t think I was capable of feeling. I’ve
had my fair share of orgasms and sexual encounters, but nothing like the
experience I had with them. It was like some out of body event.
It was just good sex. Nothing more.
Bethany comes back with our drinks, rescuing me once again from
Romeo’s filthy mouth and the way it seems to short-circuit my otherwise
rational brain.

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 Chapter

Twenty

ACE

W
e drove all night until we reached Harrisburg and checked into a
cheap roadside motel. One room, two beds. After more than ten
hours on the road, all of us were too tired to do anything other
than sleep, and we didn’t wake up until after noon. Keres was
edgy and eager to get moving, and I was glad to get moving again too.
Being cooped up with her attitude isn’t exactly my favorite way to spend
my time.
“This is it.” I nod toward the laundromat across the street.
“The guy we’re looking for works in a laundromat?” Keres asks.
“Owns it. And he lives upstairs.” I indicate the light shining in the
upstairs apartment window.
“You’d think human trafficking would pay more.” With a shrug, she
strides across the street, and I follow.
Taking a few quick strides, I catch up. “All I was told is that he’s a lead.
We don’t know if he was even involved.”
 She sneers. “I’m not buying it. If his name turned up, he’s involved
somehow. Sick fuck.”
A sigh rolls out of me. Between her and Romeo, who tends to be knife
and gun happy at the best of times, I can see us leaving a trail of dead
bodies across the country before we find who we’re looking for. Not that
killing people particularly bothers me. It’s the cleanup I don’t like. So much
mess.
Keres walks to the store and pulls on the door, but it’s locked even
though the lights are on inside. “Dammit.”
I press the buzzer and wait a few seconds for someone to answer.
“Hello?”
I edge closer to the speaker. “Hey, I have a parcel here for Jeremiah
Boone.”
“Just leave it at the door.”
“Can’t, buddy. It needs a signature.”
He mutters a string of curses. Jackass. Romeo and Keres stand off to the
side, and the door is opened a few seconds later by a sweaty guy with a
receding hairline. His open belt smacks the doorframe like we interrupted
him taking a shit or jerking off. He pants for breath.
“Mr. Boone?” I ask.
“Yeah.” He looks down at my hands, empty except for my bike helmet,
which he gets to see a whole lot closer up when I smash it into his nose.
His hands fly to his face as he howls, blood seeping between his fingers.
I push him back into the hallway and step inside with Romeo and Keres
close behind me.
“What the fuck?” He staggers backward, stumbles on the bottom stair,
and falls flat on his ass.
“I have somebody here who’d like to speak to you.”
“About what?” he mumbles through his hands still clutched to his face.
“About your involvement with Oscar Lang and his buddies and their
very lucrative operation,” Keres snaps.
Even in the dim light of the hallway, I can see the color drain from his
face at her words. Keres steps forward, her face twisted with disgust.
I cock my head, studying her reaction. I have no idea who this man is
that she’s looking for or what connection she has to human trafficking that
led her on this path, but there’s no mistaking the pure hatred seeping from
her pores. “You recognize him?”
 She shakes her head. “No, but that means nothing. I didn’t recognize
Lang either.”
I lift Boone by his hair. “How about we continue this little chat upstairs.
You tell us what we want to know and we might even let you live.” That’s
not a complete lie, although I can tell it’s doubtful he’ll see another sunrise.
With one hand still cradling his broken nose, he tries to nod but can’t
with the tight grip I have on his hair.
I tap the side of his face and release my hold on him. “Lead the way
then.”
He turns and lurches up the narrow stairway. As we get closer to his
apartment, the sounds of screaming, moaning, and flesh slapping against
flesh get louder.
“The fuck?” Romeo mutters.
“Were you having a little fun time with yourself when we arrived,
Jeremiah?” I ask.
“I w-was just …” He tosses the cushions off his couch, probably
looking for the remote, while porn continues to play on his TV. One woman
is being fucked by at least ten masked men who all stand around with their
cocks in their hands waiting their turn while she screams at them to stop.
Romeo stuffs his hands into his pockets, his upper lip curled with
disgust. “Or is this one of those real-life action things?”
“Like snuff movies,” I suggest, like I know what the fuck I’m talking
about. But I do know that the kind of evil fucks who gang rape a woman
and film it are highly unlikely to allow her to live and tell anyone about it.
Keres glares at Boone, her eyes burning into him so fiercely that it’s a
wonder he doesn’t burst into flames. “Is it? Did you and your sick as fuck
buddies rape and kill her and film it?”
“No!” He vigorously shakes his head. “She’s alive. It’s a movie. She’s
an actress. I swear.”
Keres’s lip curls like she doesn’t believe him. Her entire body bristles
with an anger that makes me realize this is about something way deeper
than revenge. I find myself putting my hand on her shoulder and saying,
“We’ll have someone look into it. Okay?” I tell myself I’m gonna do it
because if that woman actually is being raped, the sick fucks doing it
deserve to have their dicks cut off and shoved up their asses. But I can’t
ignore that I’m equally motivated by a need to reassure her. What the fuck
is wrong with me?
 “Yeah. Okay.” Her voice contains none of her usual snark.
She shifts all her attention to Boone just as he locates the remote and
turns off the TV. The faceless woman’s screams continue to ring in my ears
in the sudden silence.
I remain by her side, unwilling to take a chance with the furniture. “He’s
all yours. Lorenzo said he might know the man you’re looking for. Take it
away.”
I catch a hint of appreciation in the look she gives me as she approaches
Boone. He staggers backward until the backs of his knees hit the couch and
he sits down.
She stands over him, only five-foot-four, but with her hands on her hips,
dressed head to toe in black leather, she looks every inch the fearless death
spirit of her namesake. “Tell me how you knew Oscar Lang.”
“I d-didn’t.”
She kicks him straight in the balls, and he doubles over, retching and
holding onto his junk with both hands. I wince myself because I fucking felt
that.
“I saw your face when his name was mentioned. If you’d like to keep
holding onto those balls of yours instead of being forced to eat them after I
slice them off, you’ll tell me how the fuck you knew Oscar Lang.”
He wheezes, and she takes a switchblade from her jacket pocket and
flicks it open. “You have two seconds, asshole.”
He looks up at her, tears running down his face and mingling with the
blood still pouring from his nose. He holds one hand up in surrender, the
other still hanging onto his dick and balls, guarding them from the avenging
angel standing before him.
“P-please,” he gasps.
She taps her foot on the floor. “One.”
He gulps another breath.
“Two.” She steps forward.
“I worked with him in Boston,” he blurts before she can get any closer
with her blade and carry out her threat.
She stills, her eyes trained on him. “What kind of work?”
“Just …” He licks away the blood and tears coating his lips. “I didn’t
have anything to do with the kids.”
Kids? What fucking kids?
 “Just the women then? You sick piece of shit.” She hisses like a
venomous snake. “You had to know some of those women were pregnant
when you took them. That they’d have to give birth to their babies in hell.
And then those kids were raised in that fucking hell.” She brings the heel of
her boot crashing down onto his kneecap. His mouth falls open on a silent
scream.
For the first time, I’m starting to understand her. I intend to get the full
story from her soon, but I don’t need to hear it to know that this is personal
for her. Was she one of those kids? That would explain a lot. Nausea churns
in my gut. Blocking all thoughts of a little girl with Keres’s big brown eyes
and long wavy hair being used by monsters, I lock my knees and focus on
the scene unfolding before me.
“Lang worked with other people. Dominik Pushkin, Salvatore Moretti.
The Santangelos. But who else?”
What? No. No fucking way the Morettis were ever involved in
something so fucking horrible. I would know if my bosses were into that
kind of sick shit. I glance at Romeo and his puzzled frown tells me he’s as
clueless as I am.
“I swear. I don’t know half of those people you just mentioned. I knew
Pushkin and Oscar. That was it.”
She kicks his other knee, and the sickening crunch of bone is followed
by the sound of him retching again. “Oscar Lang had a partner who helped
him with coordinating transport and locating buyers. Who the fuck was
he?”
He begs for mercy with eyes full of tears. “I swear. I don’t know.”
She pounces, brandishing her blade in front of his face. Squeezing his
cheeks together, she forces his mouth open. “This is your last chance to tell
me what I want to know before I cut out your fucking tongue. And then I
will cut off every other appendage you have. Your cock will be next,
followed by your balls and then your toes, and then your fucking ears,
Jeremiah. I’ll leave your thumb and forefinger until last so you can write
down the name of the man I’m looking for before you die from heart failure
or loss of blood.”
He tries to shake his head, but she holds his head tight and straddles him
on the sofa, her thighs gripping his body in place. She’s way fucking
stronger than she looks.
 “Last chance,” she says, her voice cheerful and light and so
inappropriate for the situation that it sends a chill down my spine.
He mumbles again that he doesn’t know. Sinking her fingers into his
mouth, she pulls out his tongue while screams gurgle from his throat. With
a wide smile, she slices it clean off. He chokes on his blood, shock and
panic and sheer fucking terror making his eyes wide. She climbs off him,
holds up his bloody tongue, then tosses it into his lap.
She stands beside me, her body shaking with adrenaline, but the steely
look of determination on her face almost makes me feel sorry for the guy.
Romeo comes to stand beside us, and the two of us watch in morbid
fascination while Keres makes good on every threat she made.
By the time she gets to his fingers, he’s barely conscious, and I can only
assume he truly doesn’t know the name of the man she’s looking for
because there’s no way he’s taking that kind of pain by choice.
I place a tentative hand on her shoulder, half expecting her to turn
around and cut me. “This has been quite the show, Trouble, but he clearly
doesn’t know anything and we need to leave.”
Her shoulders slump and the knife falls to the floor, and I’m struck by
the urge to comfort her. I can’t begin to comprehend what her childhood
must have been like. Mine wasn’t exactly puppies and rainbows growing up
in the foster care system, and although it doesn’t compare to what she went
through, her damage calls to mine.
Crouching down, Romeo picks up her knife and, without pausing, slits
Boone’s throat.
“What do we do now?” Her voice comes out small and fragile and
completely uncharacteristic of the woman who just tortured a man to death.
Boone’s blood covers all trace of the formerly pale-green upholstery of the
couch, but there’s barely a drop on Keres. She’s obviously done this before.
“We check in with Lorenzo and see if he has any other leads to follow.”
He still has people working on leads for Keres while he looks for Mia, and
I’m confident he’ll have something new for us. “This was just one lead,
Keres. Just one.”
She shakes her head. “But what if there aren’t any more? I’ve been
chasing dead ends forever. It’s like he’s a ghost.”
Romeo wipes the blade of her knife on a clean patch of carpet, then
snaps it closed and hands it to her. “Even ghosts leave a trail, Fuck-up.
We’ll find him.”
 She takes a step back, surveying the carnage she unleashed. “We need to
clean this up.”
I blow out a breath. This level of cleanup requires time and equipment
we don’t have. “I’ll have it taken care of.”
She turns and blinks at me. “By who?”
“We know some people,” I assure her. The Morettis have cleaners all
over the goddamn country. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” I turn my
attention to Romeo. “Grab that DVD.”
“What the fuck are we gonna do with it?”
“No harm in having someone look at it. If it’s what I suspect it is, there
might be a clue on it.”
He takes it out of the machine and slips it into the empty case on top of
the TV cabinet. “Good thinking.”
Keres wraps her arms around herself and shivers. She’s such a fucking
paradox, but at least now I understand her better. Despite how royally she’s
fucked me and Romeo over, I have to fight back the urge to wrap my arms
around her and give that little girl inside some kind of comfort. It would
likely only earn me a punch in the jaw or a kick in the nuts. “Do you want
to talk about anything, you know, the stuff you said?”
“With you?” She huffs a laugh. “Fuck no.”
And there she is, the Keres I’ve come to know. At least I know where I
stand with this one. Romeo catches my eye, a devious grin spreading across
his face. Her ice-cold exterior makes her more of a challenge to him, but it
only makes me want to get the hell away from her as soon as possible.
Keres Sideris is the most dangerous kind of woman there is, and not just
because she could skin a man alive with her eyes closed, but because she’s
already under my skin, and if she gets any deeper, I’d let her burn me up
from the inside out.

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 Chapter

Twenty-One

KERES

I
’m irritable and edgy and I need a long hot shower, all of which isn’t
helped by the fact that I can feel Romeo’s eyes on me even as I try to
ignore him. He leans against the wall outside the motel office, legs
crossed at the ankles and arms folded over his chest, watching me like I
might break into a million pieces.
I let my guard down today, revealed parts of my past that nobody except
Phoenix or Father Mike know about, and it only adds to that itchy feeling
beneath my flesh. I scratch the back of my neck, wishing I could peel off
this skin like a suit and wear someone else’s for a while.
Doing my best to avoid Romeo’s gaze and the weight of his concern, I
check my fingernails, which are caked with Jeremiah’s dried blood. Bile
burns my throat at the memory of his bloated body beneath mine while I
threatened to cut out his tongue. His flaccid penis hardened between my
legs while I was straddling him. Sure softened real fast when I actually did
cut out his fat tongue.
“Got us a room,” Ace’s deep voice cuts through the thick tension.
I frown at him. “A room?”
“Yeah, a fucking room.”
 Un-fucking-believable. “You seriously expect me to share a room with
you guys again?”
Ace walks past me, headed in the direction of the room blocks. “You
seriously expect us to let you out of our sight for a fucking second,
Trouble?” he calls over his shoulder.
Romeo pushes himself off the wall and smirks at me. “Besides, we’ve
already had an up-close look at the parts of you only your gynecologist is
intimately familiar with, Fuck-up. Pretty sure we can keep our hands to
ourselves if that’s what you’re worried about.” He walks after Ace, and I
reluctantly follow, if only for the promise of a hot shower.
The room smells musty, like bedding that’s been stored away for the
winter and needs airing, but at least it looks clean and there are two beds, so
that’s something. I step inside and toss my leather jacket and my backpack
onto one of them. Opening my bag, I pull out my small toiletry pouch. “I’m
gonna take a shower.”
Romeo snorts. “Such impeccable manners, Fuck-up.”
I fold my arms and glare at them. “Do either of you have that
jockstrap’s blood all over your hands?”
“Just go take a fucking shower and stop with the constant fucking
snark.” Ace gives a heavy sigh. “None of us want to be here, but here we
fucking are.” He throws his own backpack onto the other bed. “Let’s just do
what the fuck we have to do so we can all get back to our normal lives.”
Clutching my bag to my chest, I walk into the bathroom and slam the
door closed. When I turn on the shower, I’m relieved to see the steam
almost immediately. I crank up the temperature as high as it will go and
strip off my clothes, kicking them into a pile in the corner of the room. I
step beneath the scalding water and close my eyes, tip my head back, and
allow the cleansing water to run over my entire body.
It soothes my aching muscles and washes away the stench and grime of
Jeremiah Boone. There isn’t much in the world that beats this feeling. I
plant my hands on the solid tiles and drop my head forward, letting the
water cascade down my back, and for a few blissful moments, there is just
me and the hot water and nothing else.
But all too soon, the memories come flooding back. Every single thing
I’ve said and done today floods my mind, and I pick over it all at high-
speed but minute detail. Second-guessing every decision. Mentally
chastising myself for every wrong move. Even if it wasn’t wrong, I manage
to convince myself that it was. Maybe Jeremiah would’ve told me what I
needed to know if I hadn’t tortured him. What if I hadn’t cut out his tongue?
What if Ace and Romeo hadn’t found out about some of my messed-up
past? Maybe then they would stop looking at me like I’m a fragile piece of
bone china.
Ace and Romeo. Images of them swirl in my head. Romeo with his
messy brown hair and killer smile, so tall and lean and toned. Ace, so wide
and muscular, with twinkly brown eyes and arms the size of a linebacker’s
thighs—arms that I bet would make anyone feel safe. Their concern that the
woman on the tape was being raped. Their promise to look into it. It made
them seem like better men than the kind I know they must be to work for
the Morettis. Although maybe it was all an act to further their mission to get
Mia back.
Now Mia and Phoenix are in my head too. Maybe I’m asking too much
of Phoenix. What if she hurts Mia and her baby and it breaks her? Thoughts
of a pregnant woman terrified for her unborn child and wondering whether
she will ever see her children again race through my head, making cold
waves of nausea-inducing guilt wash over me.
I slam the heels of my palms over my eyes, grinding them into my
sockets to try and stop it all. Why can’t I just be left in peace? Tears sting
the backs of my eyes, but I fight them. I will never fucking cry again. It
solves nothing. A warrior doesn’t cry. A warrior conquers their fear.
I sink to the tiled floor, my knees curled up against my chest, and let my
head fall forward. Hot water continues pouring over me, but it’s simply
there, no longer soothing. I have no idea how long I sit like that, but by the
time I step out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, the sun is
low in the sky.
“About fucking time,” Romeo mutters and heads into the bathroom after
me. I sit on the bed and look at my backpack. “Did you go through my
things?” I ask Ace.
“Yeah.” A cocky grin spreads across his face. “So?”
Heat flares in my cheeks. “You had no right to do that.”
“Had to make sure you didn’t have any more surprises in there for us,
didn’t I? You think I don’t know that you drugged us that night at our
apartment?”
“It was a mild sedative,” I say, defending the inexcusable. But it was a
means to an end. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here now. Not that I’m
any closer to finding the man I’m looking for than I was a few days ago.
“It gave me a headache from fucking hell,” Ace grumbles, rubbing his
temples.
“You still had no fucking right to search my bag,” I snap. “It’s a
violation of my privacy.”
He jumps off the bed and stalks toward me. I bet he thinks he’s
intimidating with his huge, burly frame that would put a linebacker to
shame, but he doesn’t intimidate me. Not even a little. I square up to him.
He runs the pad of his thumb over my jawline, and goosebumps prickle out
along my forearms. I tell myself it’s only because I’m still wearing nothing
but a towel, but I suspect Ace knows the real reason as well as I do. “You
lost any right to privacy when you kidnapped Mia Moretti, Trouble. And
you should know that as soon as this is all over, there will be nowhere that
you can hide where I won’t come and find you and make you pay for what
you did.”
I lick my lips and harden my gaze, staring into his dark eyes. “You
know you can’t outsmart me, Ace. I think I proved that already, don’t you?”
His menacing snarl should make me back off, but instead I lean closer
and drink in his scent. He dips his head, his breath dusting over my
forehead, and I hold my breath in anticipation. “I’m going to make a call.”
Then he pushes past me and walks out of the motel room. The door
slams shut behind him, and I sink onto the bed and stare at it. A few seconds
later, the sound of singing—tone-deaf, god-awful singing—drifts out of the
bathroom. Is that— Yup. Those are the lyrics to Stayin’ Alive. Not only does
Romeo sing in the shower, but he sings the fucking Bee Gees. The utter
ridiculousness of the whole situation makes a hysterical laugh bubble out of
my lips.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Two

ACE

“Y ou have any information for me?” Lorenzo barks when he answers

my call.
“The lead was a dead end. He worked with that Oscar Lang guy,
but he didn’t know the man she’s looking for.”
“You sure?”
“She carved him up like a turkey, Boss, and he didn’t say a thing.” Not
that he had a tongue left to speak with, but as she promised she would, she
left his fingers to the end and had Romeo find him a pen and paper to write
with. I don’t tell Lorenzo about it for fear that the admiration I felt for her,
while purely professional, might seep into my voice. “Very few men could
endure that kind of pain, and Jeremiah Boone wasn’t one of them.”
“Fuck,” he grunts. “Did you leave a mess behind?”
“I called someone to clean it up. We have nothing to worry about.”
“You learn anything else of note?”
“She hasn’t given us a single clue about where Mia’s being held. I
searched her bag and her jacket. Nothing.” Nothing of note except some
birth control pills, and I have no fucking idea why her being on them
pleases me.
 The line goes silent, and I take a deep breath. I’m as prepared for this
conversation as I can be, but if my boss is about to tell me that I’ve spent
the last twelve years of my life serving a family that’s involved in
trafficking women and kids, I have no fucking idea how I’ll live with
myself. “Boone did mention a name that surprised me.”
Lorenzo sighs. “I suspected he might.”
“Is it true?”
“That my father was a sick, twisted piece of shit? You already know the
answer to that.”
“Yeah, but there’s being a twisted fuck and then there’s …” I drop my
forehead into my palm and rub my temples with the tips of my fingers.
“Selling women and children like cattle?” Lorenzo finishes for me.
“So he was involved then?” Please fucking tell me you aren’t.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
I swallow down the thick knot of dread that’s balled in my throat. “I
need to know, Boss. Have I ever done anything—”
“No,” he cuts me off before I can finish the question. “That sick trade
stopped with my father. We weren’t aware of his part in it until shortly
before he was killed. Nothing you have ever done in my family’s name has
been related to the evil he was involved in. I give you my word on that,
Ace.”
Even though he can’t see me, I nod. I’ve known him for twelve years
and have never had any reason not to trust him.
“But I’d prefer any knowledge of his involvement stayed between as
few people as possible,” he adds.
“Of course. Me and Romeo will keep it to ourselves, Boss.”
“Have you spoken to my wife today?” The tone of his voice changes,
full of a pain that makes a sharp pang of guilt slice through my abdomen.
I recall the one-minute call Keres allowed me after we left Boone’s
apartment.
“Yes. I spoke to her. She was okay, considering. She said to tell you that
she loves you and to kiss Raven and Luca for her.” My voice cracks at the
thought of those cute kids wondering where their mom is.
He’s silent and I can’t imagine the torturous thoughts going through his
head, so I fill the awkwardness with another question, perhaps the most
important one. “Have you found any leads on her location?”
 “Not yet.” His tone is clipped now, and I can’t tell if he’s angry with me
or himself. Most likely both.
“I’ll keep trying to get information from Keres, but she’s a closed
fucking book. Seeing as how Boone was a bust, what do you want us to do
next?”
“Head to New York tomorrow. Nathan James is working on something
for me. He should have a lead for you by noon. I’ll text you his office
address.”
“We’ll head there first thing.”
“Speak to Mia again in the morning and keep me posted.”
“Will do, Boss.”
I end the call and walk back into the room. The vixen is lying on top of
the covers and scrolling through her cell phone, wearing a clean oversized
T-shirt and—I glance between her thighs—sheer black panties.
A cloud of steam erupts from the bathroom and Romeo steps out, towel-
drying his hair. “Shower’s free.”
“I hope you two left me some hot water,” I grumble.
“A cold shower might be just what you need,” Keres snaps back, but I
ignore her.
When I step out of the bathroom ten minutes later, she’s under the
covers in one bed and Romeo is in the other. Pulling back the blanket, I
climb in beside him.
“You speak to Lorenzo?” he asks.
I nod. “We’re going to New York tomorrow.”
Keres sits up and blinks at me. “New York? Why?”
I shrug, annoyed that she joined in the conversation. “To meet a lawyer
who has a new lead for us.”
Romeo puts his arms behind his head. “Nathan James?”
“Who’s he?” Keres asks.
I close my eyes and suck in a breath. “You don’t get to ask the fucking
questions, Trouble. Just let us do our thing so we can find this sack of shit
you’re looking for. Okay?”
Huffing, she lies back down and mutters, “You’re so fucking touchy.”
After switching off the lamp, I turn to face Romeo and run my hand
down his smooth, toned chest. I’m so tightly wound. I need something to
take the edge off. He lets out a sexy groan, and my hand slides lower,
brushing over his constantly semihard cock.
 “You gonna fuck me, Ace?”
“We don’t have anything with us.” But I roll on top of him and pin his
hands on either side of his head, rubbing my shaft against his. God, I want
to rut into him like a fucking animal. Sometimes he likes it rough, but he
doesn’t seem to want that tonight, so I don’t suggest that I fuck him with no
lube. Instead I crash my mouth against his and slide my tongue inside,
wishing it was my cock in his ass. He arches his back, rocking into my body
and I grind against him, working our dicks together as I swallow his soft
grunts and groans. I hold his wrists with one hand and slide the other
between us, gripping both of our lengths in my palm and squeezing them
tight.
He wrenches his lips away from mine and gasps, “Fuck, Ace. You know
I love that.”
I squeeze harder, then smear the precum weeping from our crowns over
us both with the pad of my thumb. “I know you do, you filthy fucker.”
Wrapping his legs around my waist, he buries his head into my neck and
bites down on the skin at the base of my throat. I hiss out a breath, and he
offers me a wicked laugh before his tongue lashes over the bite mark,
soothing the sting with its velvety warmth.
“If you come before me, I’m gonna use it as lube to fuck your ass, pup.”
“Do it,” he pants.
Thank fuck. I release my grip on my own cock and concentrate on his,
working him over until his breathing gets heavier and faster and his abs are
clenching tightly against mine. I press my lips to his ear so she won’t hear. I
know as sure as fuck she’s listening to us and probably getting herself off to
the sounds my sexy little fuckboy is making, but that’s all she gets. She
doesn’t get to hear this part of us. “That’s it, come for me, pup.”
He grunts, spilling his seed all over my hands.
“Good boy,” I whisper. “My good fucking boy.”
Shuddering, he sucks in air as his body sags against the mattress. I coat
my cock in his release, smearing it over my length, and nudge his knees
apart with my own. “Spread your legs for me.”
He does as he’s told, his fingers twisting in my hair as I press the crown
of my cock at the entrance to his tight ass. I push inside him, forcing myself
past the tight ring of muscle.
He hisses through his teeth. “Fucker.”
 My body floods with relief at being inside him, and I have to hold back
from nailing him too hard. I’d never fucking hurt him, even though he’d let
me if that’s what I wanted. “Yeah, I am. Gonna fuck you ’til you scream.”
“So do it.” He bands his arms around my back and bears down on me,
taking me deeper and making my eyes roll in my head. I have no idea who
is fucking who now. His tight muscles are squeezing around me while my
pulse pounds in my ears. My head spins, and my balls draw up into my
stomach. And all the shit from the last few days—all the carnage and the
mistakes and feeling like a failure—melts the fuck away as I empty myself
inside him.
He moans when I pull out of him, and I press a soft kiss to the base of
his throat. “Are you okay?”
“I’m always okay with you.”
“I fucking love you,” I whisper in his ear, wrapping my arms around
him and pressing my chest against his back.
“Love you too, fucker.”

A scream pierces the air , shocking me out of my sleep, and I jump up,
reaching for my gun beneath my pillow. “No. No!” Adrenaline thunders
through my body as I quickly scan the room for the source of the noise.
“No, please, stop. No,” Keres cries, drawing my attention. Her pitiful
wail makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Romeo is up too, on the opposite side of the bed, his eyes and his hair
wild as he glances around the room. I nod to the bed beside me, where
Keres twists in the covers, whimpering and crying the same words over and
over.
“She having some kind of nightmare?” he asks, his tone laced with
concern.
I narrow my eyes and watch her, suppressing my instinct to reach out
and offer comfort. She doesn’t deserve an ounce of sympathy, and besides,
this could be a ruse to fuck us over.
Her hoarse, animalistic scream rips a hole in my chest. It’s a cry borne
of pure, primal terror. I recognize it well because it’s the same sound
Romeo used to make.
 I place my gun back under my pillow and sit on the bed beside her,
putting my hand on her shoulder. “Keres.”
Her face is twisted with agony and terror. “Please, stop. Please,” she
sobs.
I brush her damp hair back from her forehead. “Keres. You’re safe now.
It’s just a nightmare.”
Her lower lip trembles. “Is that you?”
I have no idea who you is, but I shush her, uttering soothing words of
comfort until she stops pleading and crying and shaking. Her eyes remain
closed, and when she’s finally still again, I sit and watch her for a few
moments longer than necessary. Her long dark lashes, weighed down with
tears, fan out along her cheeks. Her full pink lips are open slightly as she
breathes, and a memory of those lips on my skin makes my cock twitch.
She’s so fucking beautiful. Is that why I’m so drawn to her? No. I’ve been
with plenty of beautiful women and not a single one of them has gotten
under my skin like this one. It’s something about the raw vulnerability
beneath the thick suit of armor she wears that captivates me. The
knowledge that I could help her with those demons she’s fighting if she’d
ever let me.
I leave her and climb back into bed with Romeo. Propped up on his
elbow, he studies her. “You think she’s okay now?” he whispers.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“That was rough. You think she was reliving something? Like she was
one of those kids she spoke with Boone about.”
I murmur my agreement and glance back over at her, wondering what
horrors torment her sleep.
Romeo puts his warm hand over my chest. “Do you remember my
nightmares?”
“How could I forget?” The sound of him screaming for mercy still
haunts me to this day. He was staying with me for a few weeks while he
was between apartments, and he woke me with his screams on his second
night there. I ran into his room expecting to find someone with their hands
around his throat, but I found him alone, twisted in the covers, covered in
sweat and shaking like a leaf. So I did what any red-blooded straight single
man would do—I climbed into his bed and held him until he stopped
shaking. The next morning, when it should have been awkward, it was
anything but. And after we made out like a pair of horny teenage boys, I
jerked him off and fucked him using his own cum for lube. That was four
years ago, and I’ve fucked him every chance I could get since.
He rests his head on my chest. “I hardly ever have them anymore. Not
since you and me … I can’t remember the last time. I think maybe you’re
magic, Ace.”
I rest my lips on the top of his head and wrap one arm around him, my
heart breaking for what he—and even the siren in the opposite bed—
endured as kids. “I don’t know about that. I’m still not convinced it wasn’t
just a ploy to get me into your bed.”
He laughs. “Yeah. I just couldn’t resist those bulging muscles of yours.”
Romeo has been openly bisexual since he was a teenager, but he’s the first
man I’ve ever had any interest in. The only one I ever will have any interest
in. I also know it wasn’t a ploy. Romeo killed his own father when he was
fifteen years old. Stabbed him in the neck with a carving knife. It was self-
defense, and he fortunately never faced charges. The obvious fact that he
was recently raped when the cops got there was proof enough of his
innocence. Carlo Castelli was a piece of shit who abused his wife for years,
and when she couldn’t take it any longer and killed herself to escape him,
he started in on his stepson.
I kiss the top of his head. “I thought it was my bulging cock?”
He snickers. “That too.”

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 Chapter

Twenty-Three

KERES

R
omeo steps inside and holds up a grease-stained paper bag and a tray
of coffee like they’re trophies. “I got us coffee and donuts. Even got
some for you, Fuck-up.” He flashes me a wicked grin, and I give him
a faint smile in return. It smells delicious and my stomach growls
appreciatively.
He puts everything on the small table, and he and Ace each pull up a
chair. Reluctantly, I join them, taking a coffee and a powder-sugar-coated
jelly donut from the box. The moment I bite into it, I can’t help but moan as
the sweet sugar and soft doughy goodness hit my tongue.
“Sweet tooth, huh?” Romeo asks.
I lick the sugar from my lips before sticking my tongue out at him, and
he stuffs an entire donut into his mouth, grinning while he chews.
Ace is looking at Google Maps on his phone, his brow furrowed with
concentration.
“How long will it take us to get to New York?” I ask.
“A few hours,” he replies without looking up from his phone. “Nathan’s
expecting us at one.”
“And he’ll have some information for us, right?”
 “Wouldn’t be going there if he didn’t,” Ace mutters, and I resist the urge
to roll my eyes. We have donuts and coffee, and we’re going to meet a guy
who might be able to help us. Today is going to be a good day.
“You sleep okay?” Romeo asks me, his lips coated with sugar.
“Um, after I had to listen to you two fuck, yeah I slept well.”
Romeo cocks his head, those blue eyes twinkling. “Well, you could
have joined us. You know, if you weren’t such a bitch.”
“Like I’d want to join in,” I say, wrinkling my nose as I try to feign
disgust.
“Heard you heavy breathing the whole time, Fuck-up, like you were
getting off on listening to Ace fuck me. You remember how big his cock is?
How good he is with his hands?”
I squirm in my chair. Dammit. I touched myself the entire time they
were fucking, and I came just after Romeo did, but I had no idea they could
hear me. My cheeks burn and Romeo laughs. “You did not hear me,” I
protest.
“Nope.” He shakes his head. “I was just messing with ya, but now I
know.” He winks, and I curse my own stupidity at letting him play me so
easily.
“So?” I shrug, refusing to let him shame me. “Two hot guys fucking
turns me on. Sue me.”
Romeo nudges Ace’s arm. “She thinks we’re hot.”
Lifting his head, Ace grabs Romeo’s jaw and gives him a quick kiss.
“You are fucking hot.” He goes back to his phone.
I take my own phone out of my pocket and pull up a news article I was
reading. Staring at the screen, I pretend to read, but all I can think about is
that kiss and the two of them last night. As hot as it was to hear them
together, what happened after is what plays on my mind now. Their
intimacy. How Ace checked in with Romeo, and how they each said I love
you. A strange swell of jealousy, longing, and regret balls itself into a knot
inside my chest, and I feel heavier than I did a few minutes ago when we
were eating donuts and drinking coffee.
The sound of Ace putting his phone down on the table snaps me from
my thoughts, and when I look up again, he’s staring at me. “Lorenzo wants
me to see and talk to Mia again today, to make sure she’s still safe.”
I swallow and nod. “Of course.” Glancing at my phone, I note that it’s
not even 9:00 a.m. yet. “But Phoenix won’t get out of bed before eleven. I’ll
call her later.”
Ace eyes me suspiciously, like he thinks I have some ulterior motive for
not letting him speak to Mia right now. I don’t. “She won’t answer the call,”
I repeat.
He grunts before pushing his chair back, then starts packing up his
belongings. “We’re leaving in ten.”

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 Chapter

Twenty-Four

KERES

N
athan James’s office building is fancy as hell. I twirl around like a
ballerina in a music box as we walk through the lobby full of marble
and glass and shiny metal, trying to take in every detail. “This guy
owns the whole building?”
“His family does.” Ace shoots me a look that tells me he’s annoyed by
my curiosity, but I’ve never seen a building like this. Never been to New
York City before. I’ve seen wealth, and I’ve resented the hell out of it.
Fancy houses with pools and half a dozen cars in the driveway. But this is
next-level, control-the-world kind of affluence.
I stop spinning and focus on the bank of gold elevators. “What kind of
family is he from that they own a building like this?”
Ace pushes the button to call the elevator, then crosses his arms over his
chest as he glares at the numbers above the doors. “The billionaire kind.”
“He makes his billions being a lawyer?”
Ace doesn’t take his eyes off the numbers flashing above the elevator.
“His family has billions, but he doesn’t exactly work for his family. He set
up his own law firm with his younger brother, and they own several
buildings like this across the country.”
 I shake my head. That kind of fortune being concentrated within one
family is obscene, but one thing I do know is that money talks, and Nathan
James clearly has it by the bucketload.
We step off the elevator into a reception area, and a stern-looking
woman with jet-black hair and catlike features greets us.
“We have a meeting with Mr. James,” Ace says.
She glances down at her desk. “I don’t have you on the schedule.”
A deep, authoritative voice booms from behind us. “It was last minute,
Joan.”
I turn around to see a tall man in a finely tailored suit striding down the
corridor. He rubs a hand over his clean-shaven, incredibly defined jawline.
“I forgot to tell you.”
When I glance back at Joan, she purses her lips and shakes her head.
“How am I supposed to manage the desk if you don’t keep me in the loop,
Mr. James?” she asks, her voice taking on a softer tone.
His only response is a glare before he gives us his full attention.
“Lorenzo told me you were coming. Follow me.” His expression is
inscrutable now and it unnerves me. I hate being around people, especially
men, that I can’t get a read on. And this lawyer, with his movie-star looks
and a voice that would make even the most belligerent teenager sit up and
pay attention, is as unreadable as they come.
He strides down the hallway, and we obediently follow. Neither Ace nor
Romeo seems perturbed by this meeting we’re about to have, and Lorenzo
wouldn’t have sent us here for nothing. Nathan isn’t the enemy. Maybe
some billionaires are good people. I suppress a snort. Yeah, right.
Another woman sits outside his office. This one is slightly older, and
she smiles as soon as she sees him approach, but it’s not like the predatory
I’m undressing you with my eyes smile that Joan gave him.
“Good afternoon,” she says sweetly, and he greets her, not quite warmly,
but I figure it’s about as warm as this guy gets. She hands him a white
envelope. “Mr. and Mrs. Ryan dropped this off for you a half hour ago.”
He turns the envelope over in his hand. “Thank you, Helen.”
“You have Mrs. Thorndyke in at one fifteen.”
He winces. “Can you push her back fifteen minutes? Then call Kinross
and tell him I need the deposition by two.”
She nods. “And your three o’clock?”
He groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The club, right?”
 She smiles. “That’s what he said.”
His dark brows furrow. “Tell my father I’ll be there.” He turns to us
again. “Coffee?”
Romeo licks his lips. “I’d love some.”
Ace and I nod, and Helen excuses herself to go make a fresh pot. We
follow Nathan into his office, which is bigger than any office needs to be.
The floor-to-ceiling windows offer an incredible view of the city, and I
wander over and look out over the iconic skyline. Shelves upon shelves of
books line one side of the room, and the opposite wall is dominated by a
huge landscape painting. Probably painted by some fancy artist and cost
millions of dollars. Moving to stand in front of it, I admire the stunning
beach scene. The artist captured the waves and the motion of the sea so
perfectly that I can almost feel myself drifting along on the current.
“This is beautiful.” My voice catches me by surprise, and I guess Ace
and Romeo too because they’re staring at me like I’ve grown another arm.
And it’s only now that I realize I’m smiling.
“Yeah. It’s a one of a kind,” Nathan says, and I could swear there’s a
hint of a smile on his face as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and comes
to stand beside me, admiring the art like he’s seeing it for the first time.
“One of a kind, huh? I bet it cost you a fortune.”
“It cost me nothing. My mother painted it.” He takes a seat behind his
desk.
Wow. “Your mom?”
He nods and indicates we should sit, shutting down any further
conversation about art. Helen comes in a few seconds later and pours us
each a cup of coffee before silently slipping back out.
Ace clears his throat. “Lorenzo said you might have a lead for us to
follow.”
Nathan’s gaze drifts to the white envelope Helen gave him. “He
contacted me the day Mia disappeared. I believe what you’re looking for is
in here.” He slides the envelope across the desk.
I frown. “You found him? Already?”
“I haven’t found anyone, but fortunately for you, one of my clients
happens to be the best hacker in the country. I don’t know if they found this
man you’re looking for, but I can guarantee this will eventually lead you to
him.” Nathan’s eyes burn into mine, and I get the feeling he isn’t used to
having his word questioned. Ever.
 “But you haven’t even looked in the envelope.”
His eyes narrow, and I shrink back in my chair. This man intimidates
me, and I have no idea why. But I don’t like it.
“I don’t need to.”
Arrogant ass. I roll my shoulders back and remember who the fuck I
am. “Your hacker, he’s that good?”
His lips twitch. “She.”
“Kinda sexist of you to assume it was a man, Fuck-up,” Romeo says,
flashing me a grin.
I ignore him, annoyed with myself for the assumption. But the fact
Nathan considers a woman the best hacker in the country makes me like
him a little more. I offer him a smirk and he returns it, his dark eyes
twinkling.
Ace snarls and takes the envelope from the table. Opening it, he pulls
out a couple of photographs and a few pages of printed information.
“Is it our guy?” Romeo asks him.
Ace hands the photographs to me. I examine them, but I don’t recognize
the man climbing into the silver Buick, or the house he’s walking into.
“Seems this guy used to own a container yard in Los Angeles. He had
contracts with Oscar Lang and the Santangelos.” Ace shuffles through the
papers before handing them to me, and I read over the information Nathan’s
hacker dug up for us.
“So, we’re headed to LA?” Romeo asks. “It’s gonna take us days to get
there.”
Ace shakes his head. “He lives in Michigan now.”
Tuning them out, I read about Mason Michaelson. I thought I’d found
the transport company that Lang and his sick band of fucks used to
transport people around the country, and I made sure that the two men who
owned it suffered before I stuck a knife in their skulls. But I guess it stands
to reason that they used more than one company given the scale of their
operation.
Nathan’s hacker friend got all this in just two days? Damn, she is good.
I’d love to meet her, maybe buy her a drink sometime. “So, your source
thinks this guy could have coordinated transport of the people being
trafficked? And if he worked with Lang, he probably worked with the other
guy too?”
 “If that’s what the information suggests, yes. She wouldn’t steer you
wrong, I promise. And when she found out why you were hunting this man
down, well, she was more than happy to help.”
I hope my smile conveys at least some of my appreciation, and I suspect
Nathan has no idea that I’m behind Mia’s kidnapping. He wouldn’t be
looking at me the way he is if he knew. I wonder if his body is as chiseled
as his jawline. My gaze drops lower, roaming over the crisp white shirt that
fits snugly across his chest. Yeah, he is. Maybe in another life …
“Keres,” Ace barks, and I realize he must have been talking to me and I
didn’t hear a thing. His eyes flash and his hands are clenched into fists. Is
he pissed because I was looking at Nathan? I mean, the man is hard not to
look at, even if he isn’t my type. Too clean-cut and respectable for me.
Serves Ace right for drooling over that waitress yesterday.
“Yeah?”
He scowls at me, and for some reason, a shiver runs the length of my
spine. “I said do you recognize that guy at all?”
“No. But I already told you that I never met any of them.”
“Lorenzo mentioned you had something else for my hacker friend to
look into?” Nathan says, cutting through the growing tension.
Romeo digs into his backpack and slides the DVD he took from
Jeremiah’s apartment across Nathan’s desk.
“One of the leads we chased had that in his possession. There’s a
woman on it. A group of guys. We have no idea if it’s an amateur movie or
someone being gang raped. If it’s real, then I doubt the woman in it was left
alive.”
Nathan’s eyes narrow. “You think it could be a snuff film?”
Ace nods. “That or a bad porno. I sure hope it’s the latter.”
Nathan rubs a hand over his jaw. “I’ll have Jessie take a look at it and
get back to you.”
Ace offers his thanks while Romeo drains his coffee and places his
empty mug on the desk. “Looks like we’re headed to Michigan. After we
get some food because I’m fucking starving.”
Before we leave, I take one last look at Nathan’s exquisite painting. I
can almost hear the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and feel
the warm sun on my face. I’ve never seen a beach like this before. It’s the
kind I imagine when I think about where Phoenix and I will go once this is
all over.
 Nathan stands beside me and bumps his arm against mine. “You really
like this painting?”
“It’s … I can’t explain it. Something about it captivates me.”
He sighs. “Yeah, me too.” Pity I don’t have time to find out the story
behind that sigh.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Five

ACE

W
e finally stop for the night just outside of Cleveland. Keres pulls
off her helmet, and her dark hair falls around her shoulders in
long tumbling waves.
I can’t take my eyes off her as she saunters toward me, hips
swaying seductively in her skintight leather pants. Biting my lip so hard I
draw blood, I fist my hands by my sides so I don’t reach out and grab her.
Blood thunders in my ears. My cock strains uncomfortably against my
zipper as she sashays right past me.
“Asshole,” she mutters under her breath, and my very last shred of
patience, resistance, sanity—whatever the fuck you want to call it—snaps.
Before I know what I’m doing, my hand darts out, circling her wrist. I
squeeze hard, my grip on her slight arm so tight I’m sure it will bruise her
soft skin, but I’m way past the point of caring. I yank her toward me, and
she stumbles, bouncing off my chest. She’s all smiles and thank-yous for
that rich lawyer just because he got his hacker friend to dig up a little
information, but all I get is constant fucking sass. I saw the way she looked
at him, and even the memory of it makes jealousy burn in my veins.
“What the fuck did you just call me?”
She blinks, but then her dark brown eyes lock onto mine, burning into
my retinas with laser focus. I’m pretty sure she’s willing me to burst into
flames, but my body is burning with an entirely different kind of heat. She
offers me a saccharine smile. “I called you an asshole.”
I close my eyes and draw a breath through my nose, vaguely aware of
Romeo laughing somewhere behind me. Don’t do it, Ace. Don’t let her get
to you.
“Now let me the fuck go.” She tries to wrench her arm free, but I hold
tight. When I open my eyes again, the fire I see in hers makes something
deep inside me shatter into a million pieces.
Spinning her around, I bend her over the seat of my bike.
“What the fuck?” she screeches, trying to push herself back up. I hold
her down, pressing one hand between her shoulder blades, and despite how
tough she is, she’s no match for a man twice her size. I open the button on
her pants with a quick flex of my fingers and tug her zipper down.
She hisses curse words and kicks out at me, but I plant my feet between
her legs and pin her to the bike with my knees. Keeping her pinned with
one hand, I pull down her pants with the other, working the soft leather over
her hips and ass and exposing her sheer black panties. An unexpected growl
rolls in my throat at the sight of her perfect ass waiting for me to take it. I
run my hand over her ass cheeks and squeeze one in my palm. “Get the hell
off me,” she says, but the last three words come out on a moan. Does she
remember how good our bodies felt together? Does she touch herself to the
memory of that night after Molino’s bar as often as I do? No matter how
good an actress she is, nobody could fake the way her body responded to
mine.
“Ace!” she hisses, and I don’t know if it’s in warning or encouragement,
and I no longer care. I am going to fuck that damn attitude out of her right
now.
I glance at Romeo, secretly willing him to tell me to stop. Maybe his
disapproval will be enough to put an end to the sheer recklessness of what
I’m about to do. But he’s grinning at me, silently egging me on. I tug
Keres’s panties aside, exposing her pussy to the cool night air. She sucks in
a ragged breath and a desperate whimper falls from her lips. “You know this
is what you need, right?” Laughing darkly, I drag my pointer finger through
her center. “Because you’re already wet.”
“Fuck you. If I am, it’s not because of anything you’re doing.”
“No?” I circle her clit with the tip of my finger, and she keens, her back
bowing off the seat. “So what is it then, Trouble? Is it watching Romeo?
Knowing how much he wants to fuck your mouth while I fuck your
desperate cunt?” I sink my thumb inside her silky channel and groan with
her this time. “Admit you want this too.” I work her clit while I rub my
thumb against her inner walls, massaging her supple flesh.
“N-no,” she grits out, but she pushes her ass back against me, riding my
hand as she chases the release she needs just as much as I do. There’s only
so much emotion a person can bottle up inside before they need to do
something to let it out. Whether it be anger or hate, jealousy or love, it
doesn’t matter—it has to go somewhere.
I change the angle, pushing deeper and rubbing harder. “Seems like you
do with the way you’re creaming all over my hand.”
“It’s a physical reaction, doesn’t mean I want you.” Venom drips from
every word.
I lean over her, my mouth pressed close to her ear as her sweet juices
run into my palm. “I don’t want you either, Trouble, but I’m gonna fuck you
anyway. You got that? I’m gonna make you come so fucking hard and
you’re gonna hate me for it, but you know what?” I curl the tip of my
thumb and she whines. Needy little slut. “You’re gonna love the way my
cock makes your sweet cunt scream.”
“You’re so full of shit, Ace.” She moans my name, her walls rippling
around me as her release draws near. But I don’t want her coming on my
fingers. I want my cock buried deep inside her when I make her fall apart
around me. I want her shaking while my hips are slamming against her
perfect body.
I slide my thumb out of her and give her ass a quick slap. “Funny,
because you’re about to be full of me, Trouble.”
“I’m not on birth control,” she rasps.
Liar. “You were on it last week.”
“I stopped taking it.”
Fucking liar. I saw the pills in her bag. I unzip my fly and free my
aching cock, giving it a quick tug to offer a little relief. “I guess I’ll just
fuck your ass then. Shame we got no lube.”
 Romeo’s vicious chuckle makes her tremble. I press the head of my
cock at the seam of her ass cheeks. “I’m on birth control,” she blurts,
stopping me from going any further.
With a satisfied grunt, I line the crown of my cock at her entrance, and
she sucks in a breath. Her body quivers. Romeo’s eyes sear into me. I
should fuck her. I should drive inside her and make her feel even an ounce
of the pain that she made us feel. So why can’t I? Why can’t I just take what
I fucking want? What I fucking deserve!
Because as sick and twisted as I am, some part of me knows that I can’t
force her, knows what that would mean. Knows what it would make me.
A monster.
And I’m not a monster. Not even with her, the woman I hate more than
anyone else in the whole goddamn world. At least I want to hate her. I
should fucking despise her. But that’s beside the point. Even if I did hate
her, I wouldn’t give in to what my body calls for me to do. I need her to
want this too. I need her to want me.
I remove my hand from between her shoulder blades and slide it down
her back and over her ass cheeks. She shudders but makes no attempt to
move.
Eyeing me with curiosity, Romeo licks his lips and rocks forward on the
balls of his feet.
“What the hell are you waiting for?” Keres cuts through the quiet, her
body matching the quake in her voice.
I suck in a breath.
She breathes out my name, and it almost sounds like a plea.
I bend over her again, my lips brushing her ear. “You have five seconds
to get the hell away from me before I fuck you.” I straighten up, allowing
her the space to push me off and walk away. “Four.”
She tenses.
“Three.”
She plants her hands either side of her chest on the seat, her fingertips
digging into the leather.
“Two.”
She doesn’t move another muscle.
I wait for a few beats. Watching her. Assessing her. Wanting her. “One.”
I drive inside her tight cunt, bottoming out on the first thrust. Her arousal
soaks the full length of my shaft, and her cries pierce the surrounding
darkness.
I grab hold of her hips, holding her steady as I pull out and drive back
into her, pulling a raspy moan from her throat. “You should have run while
you had the chance, Trouble.”
She arches her back. “Just shut the hell up and fuck me.”
Fisting my hand in the hair at the nape of her neck, I pull her head back
sharply. The whimper of pain that tumbles from her lips makes my cock
throb inside her. I pull out, then thrust back inside in one short, need-filled
stroke. Her cunt spasms around me, slicking my length with her juices
while she moans and whines like the needy little whore that she is. She
hates me as much as I hate her, but the sound of her wet pussy taking my
cock is proof enough of the carnal, primitive way her body responds to
mine. Motherfucking fuck, I want to fill her cunt so badly. I want her to
know nothing but me. Never want her to be fucked again without
remembering how completely I own her. Never want her to know a
moment’s ecstasy if it’s not tainted with the memory of how wet I make her.
I thrust harder, and her hips and thighs slam against the bike,
threatening to topple the huge machine over from the force of how hard I’m
taking her. And I’m holding back. Without needing to be asked, Romeo
stands on the other side of the bike and holds it steady.
He runs his free hand over Keres’s cheek, and she tries to wrench away
from him, but I hold her in place. He laughs darkly. “You have any idea
how loud that wet pussy of yours sounds being filled by my buddy’s cock,
Fuck-up?”
She gnashes her teeth, trying to take a chunk out of his finger when he
brings it too close to her mouth. That only makes him laugh harder. “You do
that again, Fuck-up, and I will put that mouth of yours to much better use.”
Her cunt spasms around me at his words, and I chuckle. “Oh, I think she
wants you to.” I nail her harder and faster, chasing the release of endorphins
that will come from emptying myself inside her tight heat.
Romeo trails his pointer finger over her full pink lips. “Is that true,
Keres?”
She tries to bite him again, and his dark eyes flare with desire. He
unbuttons his jeans and frees his hard cock in a few fluid movements.
Keeping one hand on the bike, he squeezes his shaft and tugs until precum
beads on the slit, dripping over his piercing. He tips his head back, a deep
groan rolling in his throat.
“You gonna suck his cock while I fuck you over my bike like a greedy
little whore?”
She throws me a look over her shoulder and snarls. I roll my hips,
sweeping the engorged head of my dick over the sensitive spot deep inside
her, the one that makes her mewl like a feral alley cat.
I bite back a smile when her pretty brown eyes roll in her head. “Yeah,
you might hate me, but you like that, right?”
“Asshole,” she whimpers before returning her attention to Romeo. The
tip of his cock is inches from her face, and I slam into her, forcing her
forward. Her lips brush his flesh, and she hums and darts out her tongue to
lick his weeping crown. He taps the end of his length on her closed lips and
grins at her. “Open up for me, Fireblade.”
Her lips part and he slides inside her, muttering a curse under his breath
as she swallows him whole. His eyes meet mine, and we both glance down
at her. Damn she looks so fucking good being fucked like this. Like she was
born to serve the two of us. Born to be ours to do whatever the fuck we
want with. Romeo wipes a stray tear from her cheek, almost reverent in the
way that he touches her. My eyes lock on Romeo’s, the blue of his irises
obscured almost entirely by his pupils. I bite down on my lip and nod.
He arches an eyebrow. Yeah, we’re doing this, buddy. I release my grip
on Keres’s hair and place both hands on her waist, the best place for me to
hold while I use her for my own ends. Romeo’s hand takes my place in her
hair, and he uses the other one to prevent the bike from falling.
She moans, and the sound travels through her core and directly to the tip
of my cock. “You ready to be fucked?” Romeo asks her.
She mumbles something unintelligible, but her pussy squeezes around
me like she never wants to let go. He sinks deeper into her throat, and I
press my lips to her ear, reveling in the sound of her gagging on his cock.
But I don’t want her to freak out and bite him if this gets to be too much.
I’m way too fond of his dick to let her do that. “If you need us to stop, tap
one of us, okay?”
She murmurs what sounds like her agreement. But she doesn’t tap either
of us. I slide out of her slowly, my shaft glistening with her sweet juices,
then sink inside her again, all the way to the hilt, filling her channel
completely the way she’s filling my fucking head. I hate her, but I need her
more than I’ve ever needed anyone or anything. She doesn’t get to make me
feel this way and go unpunished. So I fuck her harder than I have ever
fucked anyone in my life, nailing her to my bike with brutal, punishing
thrusts while Romeo does the same to her pretty throat. And fuck me, but
she takes it all without breaking a fucking sweat. And she looks fucking
exquisite doing it.
And when she comes apart, squeezing my shaft in her tight cunt and
slicking me with her cum, I fall off the cliff right alongside her. As my head
spins and my heart threatens to pound out of my chest with the force of the
orgasm she wrenched from me, I have a moment of absolute clarity.
Keres Sideris is going to fucking ruin me.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Six

KERES

T
he two of them walk into the motel room together, leaving me
standing in the parking lot with Ace’s cum dripping out of me. What
they just did was … well, it was hot. Right out in the open too. It’s
dark and the parking lot was empty, but anyone could have seen us.
My cheeks burn with heat.
What is not hot is them zipping up their jeans and walking away like it
meant nothing to them. Like I mean nothing. I don’t know why I expect
more from them, but I do. And it hurts me more than it should. Way more
than I care to admit. I fucking hate that I let them use me like that. And the
irony of the whole situation isn’t lost on me. I’m aware I used them too, and
in a much more hurtful way.
Standing in the doorway, Romeo turns and shouts. “Are you coming,
Fuck-up?”
I swallow down the ball of shame and anger. So, we had hot sex on
Ace’s bike. It was a release we all needed, and it changes absolutely
nothing.
A fter I took a shower and we all ate some late-night takeout, Ace asked
for his daily video call check-in with Mia. It’s the first time he’s spoken to
me since what happened on his bike, and as I lean against the wall and
watch him talk to her, my heart shatters at the compassion and tenderness in
his voice. The first thing she asks about is Lorenzo and their children and if
they’re all okay without her. Ace lies and tells her they’re fine, but of course
they’re not. No doubt her children have been told that she’s somewhere nice
and she’ll be home soon, but little kids miss their mom no matter what.
“Are you okay? Are you being taken care of?” Ace asks.
“Yes. Tell Lorenzo I’m fine. I have food and water and even a couple of
magazines. And I still feel nauseous twelve hours a day, so that’s all good
too.” She laughs and rests a hand on her belly.
He grimaces. “How is that good?”
“It means all’s good with the baby. Morning sickness is a sign that
pregnancy hormones are still high.”
He scrubs a hand through his short hair. “Oh. Right.”
He watches her on the screen for a few seconds, and I know I should
end the call. He’s checked in with her. He knows she’s fine. So why don’t I?
Because Ace is her lifeline, that’s why. And I know the desperation of
clinging to a lifeline. My lifeline was the man who pulled me from that
truck. I remember everything about him except his face. How safe I felt in
his arms. His deep soothing voice. The scent of fresh air on his clothes. His
words still comfort me whenever I’m close to falling into that black hole of
despair.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Mia,” Ace says, and his voice is so full of
anguish that I have to press my lips together to stop myself from telling him
that it wasn’t his fault. Mia tells him instead, and then he promises he’ll
have her home soon.
I step up behind him and hold out my hand. “Time’s up.”
He glowers at me but says a final goodbye to Mia. I check in quickly
with Phoenix, who seems to be growing increasingly impatient with having
to take care of our prisoner, then slip the phone into my pocket, ignoring the
nagging doubt that taking Mia may have been a mistake.
What’s done is done, and if it gets me to my final goal, it will have been
worth it. I sit down on the empty chair at the table. Romeo is busy cleaning
his gun while Ace watches him.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” I ask.
“We find this guy, we interrogate him, and we hope to fuck he knows
the guy you’re looking for, Fuck-up,” Romeo says without taking his eyes
off his gun.
“I’ll fucking interrogate him,” Ace says with a growl.
“The fuck you will,” I snap. “This is my—”
Ace slams his fist on the table. “And have another scene like we had
with Boone? It took three of our best guys to clean up the mess you made.”
I open my mouth, but no words come out. He didn’t seem to have any
complaints at the time.
“Sometimes cutting out a guy’s tongue isn’t the best way to get
information from them,” he says, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
I glare at him, my jaw clenched tight, annoyed that he’s right. “He
fucking deserved it.”
“But we didn’t get anything from him, did we? Nothing at all of any
fucking use.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Because he didn’t know anything. You
said the same thing yourself.”
Ace shakes his head. “Who knows what information he might have
given us if we’d given him a fucking chance. Sometimes people know shit
they don’t even know they know.”
I can feel Romeo’s eyes bouncing between the two of us, but I keep my
attention fixed on Ace, whose suppressed rage seems to have increased
exponentially in the last few hours. He’s pretty much always an angry,
stubborn asshole, but he’s doubling down tonight.
I scoff. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Yes it fucking does, Keres!” His shout rattles the thin walls, and I
flinch. “You live in this black-and-white fucking world, only ever focused
on what you want and everyone else can get fucked.”
“Says the man who just fucked me over his bike and then pretended like
I didn’t exist!” I scream back at him, white-hot rage simmering in my chest.
“That’s why you’re pissed at me, isn’t it? Because you fucked me and you
loved it, and now you hate yourself.”
He pushes his chair back. “I’m pissed because I let you get under my
fucking skin, and because of that we allowed a good woman and her
innocent baby to be kidnapped by you and your fucking psychotic friend.”
He taps his pointer finger against his temple. “And now all I want to do is
find this guy you’re looking for so we can get Mia back, and I never”—he
snarls like a rabid dog—“want to see your fucking face ever again!” He
stands, toppling his chair, and storms out of the motel room.
Doubt and fear fight to take control of me. I made a mistake. I’m not
good enough. Never good enough. Unworthy of love and kindness. Tears
sting the backs of my eyes, and I screw them closed. Just a few more days
and this will be over. At least this part of the plan. Then I get to work on the
Morettis.
“Wow, you really pissed him off, Fuck-up,” Romeo says with his
trademark psycho chuckle.
Glaring at him, I shove down all my negative thoughts and self-doubt,
my fear and the constant, bone-weary anxiety. “Fuck you, dickface.”
He only grins at me. Unable to take another second in his presence, I
stalk into the single bedroom and slam the door closed behind me.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Seven

ROMEO

I
stare at the closed bedroom door. Keres is pissed. Ace is pissed. And as
fun as it is to watch them to go at it, I’d much rather be involved in a
completely different kind of going at it. What happened before on the
bike—my dick is hard again just from thinking about it. If those two
weren’t so intent on hating each other, I’d have carried her to bed after and
cleaned Ace’s cum from her pussy before filling her with my own. Instead,
it was all tension and snark and the two of them glaring at each other like
they were mortal enemies.
Tipping my head back, I slip my hand into my boxers and squeeze the
base of my shaft, groaning at the memory of being buried in her throat
earlier. Fuck, I want to be inside her again. I’d prefer her pussy, but any part
of her will do. I glance at the door again, about ready to go inside that room
and take her, but the motel door swings open and Ace strolls back inside. I
release my grip on my shaft, annoyed at the intrusion.
“Where is she?” he grumbles.
“Went to bed.”
“Fine. I’ll take the sofa.” He nods toward the couch, and the dingy
brown canvas upholstery makes me wrinkle my nose at the thought of the
stains it’s likely hiding.
I stretch my arms above my head. I could really do with a good night’s
sleep. “Good, ’cause I’m taking the fucking bed.”
He scowls. “You’re sleeping with her?”
“You just had your dick buried so far inside her, I’m pretty sure I felt it
too, and you’re worried about sharing a bed. Dude.” I roll my eyes.
“She’s dangerous, Romeo.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I adjust my cock in my boxers. “That’s
why she makes me so fucking hard.” He shakes his head and I snort a
laugh. “Don’t think I don’t see the effect she has on you too. I’ve never seen
you lose control with anyone the way you did with her outside.”
He rubs his temples. “I didn’t lose control.”
“Yeah, okay.” I stand and give him a slap on the back that makes him
growl. “You keep telling yourself that.”
Just before I open the door, he adds, “Just don’t fuck her.”
“Don’t tell me who I can and can’t fuck, Ace.”
As I already knew it would, my comeback is the match that lights his
possessive-asshole fuse. He’s across the room in two strides, and one giant
tattooed hand wraps around my throat. “Don’t fucking play with me. Have
you forgotten who you belong to? I don’t fucking share you.”
He doesn’t share me with other guys and doesn’t often share me with
women more than once. But Keres is different and we both know it. “But
you do, Ace. You share me with her.” I wrench out of his grip and walk into
the bedroom.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” she asks with a sneer.
I start pulling off my clothes. “You seriously think I’m gonna sleep in a
chair or on the floor when there’s a perfectly good bed right here?”
Huffing, she rolls onto her side and faces away from me. “Just leave
some clothes on.”
“I always sleep naked, Fuck-up.” I tug off my sweatpants and boxers
and toss them onto the floor.
She flips over, her pretty lips set in a fierce line that makes me want to
laugh. She’s so fucking cute when she’s angry, which is kind of a good
thing seeing as how she’s permanently pissed off. What we learned about
her yesterday explains that. But we all have fucked-up pasts—some of us
more than others—and I know it isn’t easy to keep that shit from defining
us. But the alternative is to end up living a life of misery, which means
letting the assholes who hurt us win. Fuck that.
She huffs when I pull back the covers. “You can’t get in here naked.”
Grinning, I lie on my back with my arms behind my head. “Pretty sure I
can.”
She scoots to the very edge of the bed. “Don’t even think about
touching me while I’m asleep.”
“Relax, Fuck-up. You aren’t going to wake up with me inside you. I’m
not that starved for affection.” I close my eyes and wiggle my ass, making a
show of getting comfortable.
She’s quiet for a few seconds before her soft voice drifts into my ear.
“It’s called somnophilia, you know? Wanting to fuck someone while they’re
asleep.”
“I know. Ace is into it.”
I smile at her sharp inhale. “He is?”
“Yeah. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve woken up with him
inside me. Or my cock in his mouth if he’s feeling generous.” She’s quiet
again and I listen to her heavy breathing. “Are you into it?”
“No,” she retorts a little too quickly.
“Liar.”
She doesn’t correct me, but she radiates nervous energy. “I still won’t
touch you, Fuck-up. Not unless you ask nicely.”
She shifts beneath the covers, and I wonder whether she’s wearing
panties. “Well, that will never happen.”
“Good to know. Now let me get some sleep.”

S ilky fingers glide over my chest, and I open my eyes to find her
snuggled against me, her head nestled in the crook of my shoulder and her
thigh draped over mine.
“Just couldn’t keep your hands off me, huh, Fuck-up?”
She doesn’t answer, but her lips part on a soft moan. I trail my fingertips
down her back and she presses herself closer. Her pussy rubs against my
hip, and I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, stifling a groan. She’s not
wearing panties and she is so fucking wet.
 My cock jerks to attention while she murmurs sleepily. Damn, I need to
get her hot little body off me before I flip her over and fuck her while she’s
still unconscious. I mean, she did seem to be interested in somnophilia—
No, I can’t.
I close my eyes and will my cock to stop aching. But her body’s so
fucking warm and soft. Her wetness is leaking onto my skin, and the musky
scent of her arousal floods my nose. I brush my fingertips over her cheek.
What the hell is she dreaming about that’s got her all worked up and
rubbing herself against me? Is she reliving what happened earlier, when my
cock was in her throat while Ace fucked her cunt?
I want to fuck her. Remind myself of how good her tight heat felt
wrapped around my shaft.
Grumbling curse words, I gently roll her onto her back.
“Romeo?” she whispers.
Shit. “You were, uh, laying on me.”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, and her voice is filled with shame.
“Don’t be. I didn’t move you off of me because it didn’t feel good,
Fireblade. But I was about five seconds away from fucking you because of
the way you were rubbing yourself against me.”
Her breath hitches.
I slide my hand over her ribcage and down to her hipbone, sinking my
fingers into her soft flesh. “Would you have liked that? Waking up with my
cock buried inside your cunt?”
“Yeah,” she whispers. Maybe it’s because we’re in the dark and she
can’t really see me. Or maybe she’s still half asleep and not thinking clearly.
Either way, her answer surprises the hell out of me.
Rolling on top of her, I settle between her thighs. “You would, huh?”
She moans, raking her nails down my back, and I bite back a groan. I
rub my piercing over her clit and her moans grow louder and needier. But
I’m feeling kind of desperate here myself, so I stop teasing her and press the
crown of my cock at her wet entrance. “What’s got you so wet, Fuck-up?
Been dreaming about me?”
“No, I was dreaming about some hot guy with a big dick, but he’s not
here so …”
Oh, there she is. My smart-mouthed siren. “I should make you pay for
that.” I sink all the way inside her with one hard thrust.
“Holy shit,” she gasps as I stretch her wide.
 Running my nose along her throat, I drink in her scent. “Maybe I will
make you pay, huh?” I pull out slowly, then slam back inside her.
“You gonna spank me?”
“Nuh-uh, I think you’d enjoy that a little too much. Maybe I’ll just get
you all wet and worked up for me and not let you come.”
I sense her about to come back at me with snark. Before she can open
her mouth, I sink my teeth into her neck, and whatever she was about to say
is cut off by a yelp of pain. This girl likes pain and cruelty. She thrives on it.
I recognize the same fucked-up desires in her that get my own blood
pumping.
“Maybe I won’t let you come,” she says when she finds her voice again.
I bark out a laugh. “I’d sure like to see you try that, Fuck-up.” I pull out
of her, flip her over onto her stomach, and smack her pert little ass just
because I can. As I expected, she moans with pleasure. Grabbing her hips, I
pull her up onto all-fours and spread her thighs apart with my knees. “Now
you’re going to bury your head in that pillow and take everything I give you
like the filthy little slut we both know you are. And if you beg real good, I
might let you come too.”
I thrust inside her again, and her arousal slicks my cock as the carnal
sounds of us fucking fill the room.
Her cries get louder, and I can’t help but wonder if she wants Ace to
hear us. For him to know exactly what I’m doing to her so he’ll have no
choice but to remember how good she feels and join us. The stubborn
bastard won’t cave though.
I press her face into the pillow and pound into her. Relief and ecstasy
run through my veins as I sink into her tight cunt over and over again. But
instead of sating my need, each thrust inside her only stokes it further. I
could fuck this woman forever and it wouldn’t be enough. She consumes
me, both taming and provoking the beast inside me, and I revel in the chaos
she brings. I need it. I need her.
Tightening my grip in her thick hair, I pull her head back until her spine
arches.
“Please, Romeo.”
Oh, the fucking begging. Her cunt strangles my dick with hungry
squeezes, and my eyes roll back in my head. I’m going to lose myself in
her, and I don’t even want to stop it from happening. The thought of filling
her with my cum and watching it drip out of her swollen pussy has my balls
searing with the need for release. White-hot pleasure shudders down my
spine, ricocheting through my thighs as I drive harder. Rolling my hips, I
sweep the pierced tip of my cock over her sensitive inner walls, and she
comes apart, trembling and shaking as her orgasm tears a scream from her
pretty throat. And she brings me right over the edge with her.
When I can breathe again, I clean her up with tissues from the box on
the nightstand. As soon as I’m finished, she rolls away from me, and I stare
at the bare skin of her back. She shivers, and I’m about to curl up next to
her when she speaks, her tone cold and detached. “I like that we can do
this.”
“Do what?”
“Just fuck with no strings. No need to cuddle after. No emotions
involved.”
I don’t have a response for that, so I roll onto my back and stare up at
the ceiling while I wonder how the hell this woman, so full of fire and
passion when I fucked her into oblivion, reclaimed her ice queen shield in
only a matter of seconds.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Eight

ACE

I
put my helmet on the seat of my bike and glare at the two of them. I’m
still irrationally pissed at having been woken in the middle of the night
by the sound of them fucking. I’m sure the people in the rooms on either
side of us heard her screaming. My mood isn’t helped by the twenty-plus
hours I’ve spent riding the interstate over the past few days. “You two can
wait out here.”
Her dark eyes blaze with defiance as she glares right back at me. “Hell
no.” She folds her arms across her chest.
Romeo scowls. “What the fuck, Ace?”
“I don’t trust the siren of death here not to fuck this up.” I jerk my head
toward the bane of my entire fucking existence. “And I need you to keep an
eye on her.”
He huffs his annoyance while she starts bitching about how this is her
show and not mine.
I silence her with a hand wrapped around her slender throat, and fuck
me if it doesn’t make her breath stutter and her pupils blow wide. She’s a
fucking temptress, and we need to get this done so we can get the fuck
away from her while we still can. “This is my show, Trouble. You will do as
you are fucking told while I go in there and get the information we need. If
this guy was involved with Boone and his sicko friends, trust that I will
make him pay in the way I see fit. But from here on out, we do this my way
or we don’t fucking do it at all.” I squeeze her throat tighter, and her eyes
fill with tears, but she goes on glaring at me like she still has all the power.
“Now quit your constant fucking bitching and let me go do my job.”
She blinks at me and doesn’t offer any further reply when I release my
grip on her throat. I head toward the shipping container that’s been
converted into an office, hoping Michaelson is here today instead of at
home with his wife and two kids. They’re an added complication I can do
without.
I kick open the office door, and a big guy with a mustache and a
bandanna wrapped around his head jumps up from the chair beside the door.
“Who the fuck are—” I grab his head and smash his face into the metal wall
of the container. He slumps to the floor.
The guy behind the desk reaches a shaking hand toward his phone.
“You touch that and I’ll break your fingers.”
He slips his hand beneath the desk and I sit opposite him. “Are you the
owner of this place? Mason Michaelson?”
He eyes me suspiciously but nods. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I need some information is all. Give it to me and you might get home
to Nyla, little Neveah, and Mason junior later.”
His face turns a deathly shade of white, and I suppress the urge to smile.
He doesn’t need to know that I’d never go after his wife and kids. “W-what
information?”
“You used to run transport for Oscar Lang.”
His lip trembles at the mention of that name. “I d-didn’t know w-what
—”
I tilt my head to the side. “You didn’t know he was transporting
innocent women and children who’d been kidnapped to order? No?”
He shakes his head vigorously. “I swear I didn’t.”
Leaning forward, I grab hold of his tie and pull him across the desk, so
close that I smell the coffee on his breath. “I don’t fucking believe you,
Mason, because you would have to be real stupid to be involved in that kind
of shit and not know about it.” This is a big yard with a lot of trucks
outside, and he lives in a gated six-bedroom house with a pool. “And you
don’t strike me a stupid man. So, you’re a liar or you’re thicker than pig
shit. Which is it?”
Tears fill his eyes. “I swear I didn’t know, not at first.” He sniffles.
Piece of shit.
I let go of his tie, but my other hand balls into a fist at my side. “And
when you found out?”
“I couldn’t get out. These were some heavy-duty people involved. I
couldn’t just walk away. I was implicated. If this had ever gotten out …” He
leans close and whispers, “I have a family.”
“So did all the people you trafficked, fuckface!” I shout.
He flinches. “You said you wanted information.”
I already have this guy figured out. He’s a coward and a snake and will
do anything to save his own skin, which is about to make my job a whole
lot easier. As much as I’d love to tie him up and torture him for his part in
the whole twisted operation we’re uncovering, even let Keres take a crack
at him, we don’t have the time. We need to get out of here and get Mia back
as quickly as possible. “Oscar Lang had a business partner. Nobody seems
to know who the hell he is. I think you do though, Mason.”
He licks his lips. “He had a few business partners.”
“I know that. But this was the guy who coordinated the whole fucked-
up shitshow with him. I need a name.”
His Adam’s apple bobs.
“I can start breaking bones until you talk.”
“Theo Wynn,” he blurts. “He was Oscar’s business partner.”
Bingo. “You have any more information? Address? Contact number?”
“No.”
The look on my face must communicate how much I dislike that answer
because he holds up his hands and grimaces. “I swear I’d give it to you if I
did. I have no loyalty to Wynn, but he was like a ghost. I only ever met him
once. He creeped me the fuck out. I don’t even know what he looked like.
He wore a mask.”
“What kind of fucking mask?”
“A Jason one, you know like from that movie? Like the kids wear for
Halloween.”
I plant my hands on the desk, my eyes narrowed as I search his face for
a hint that he’s holding back on me. “You must have something else on this
guy. Bank account details. Anything.”
 “I don’t. They only paid in cash. I swear that’s all I know.”
My nostrils flare. A name is better than what we had five minutes ago.
Nathan’s hacker can get us something with a name. And I can always come
back and torture this piece of shit for more information if I need to.
I shove my chair back and give a satisfied smile when he cowers.
Leaning forward, I gently slap his cheek and my expression turns sober. “If
I find out you’re holding out on me, Mason, I’ll have to pay that pretty wife
of yours a visit. I’ll make you watch what I do to her before I carve out your
eyeballs.”
He balks and his eyes bug out, but he nods his understanding. I’ve
reached the door, and I’m about to walk out when something else occurs to
me. I tilt my head and watch him in my peripheral. “How’d you know his
name?”
“W-what?”
“You said he was a ghost. Creep even wore a mask. So how the fuck do
you know his full name?” I slowly turn so I’m looking straight at him.
“Oh.” The tension goes out of him and his shoulders drop. “Over the
years, Oscar came to trust me. We shared a bottle of single malt one night
after we closed a deal and he let it slip.”
“You and Oscar shared a bottle of single malt?”
He blinks as I take a step toward his desk. “Yeah.”
“To celebrate a deal that involved selling innocent women and kids to
monsters?”
All the blood drains from his face as he realizes his mistake. “I told you
I d-didn’t—”
I slam my hands on his desk, cutting off his obvious lie. “No. You said
over the years he came to trust you. So you knew by then. You knew what
you’d done, and you fucking celebrated with a bottle of Scotch?”
A series of images flash through my mind. A much younger Keres,
scared out of her fucking mind, crowded in the back of a truck with other
children. Those children, huddled together, crying. A tiny girl with tangled
dark brown hair being held down by a faceless man. Keres—the beautiful,
fearless woman I’ve come to know—viciously brutalized. That night she
woke us up with her screams, that was her reliving the nightmares she
survived. A lightning bolt of indescribable rage strikes the center of my
chest, splitting my heart in two.
 Michaelson shakes his head. “I have kids,” he snivels, tears and snot
dripping from his chin.
I vault over the desk and glare down at him. “And I’m sure they’ll be
much better off without a father like you.” He scrambles back in his chair,
but he’s too late. I pin his arms to the floor with my knees, and my fists start
flying. Every punch is in honor of one of the innocent souls whose lives he
helped to ruin. For every parent who lost a child, every child who lost a
mother. For Keres. Whatever the fuck they did to fill her with hate and
vengeance and pain. I keep punching, until his face is no longer a face at
all. Until bits of his skull are embedded in my knuckles and brain matter is
splattered all over my upper body.
When I finally stop, I close my eyes and try to catch my breath. Pain
from my throbbing knuckles finally registers, and I wince. At least we got a
name.
On my way out the door, I lift the head of the guy with the bandanna.
He’s still out cold, but I can’t afford any witnesses, so I make quick work of
slitting his throat before cleaning myself up the best I can in the small
bathroom at the back of the office.
Outside, Keres is bouncing on her toes while Romeo sits astride his bike
watching her. The look in his eyes makes me uneasy, but I shake it off. He
never catches feelings. She’s just a good fuck.
“Did you get anything?” she asks, eyes wide and curious.
“I got his name.”
Romeo whistles. “Nice work, buddy.”
Keres doesn’t say anything. She opens her mouth, then closes it, all the
while staring at me like I’m the Second Coming. She sways on her feet, and
I instinctively reach out and grab her arm. She glances down and gasps.
“Your hands, Ace. Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Just need to clean up when we get back to the motel.”
“You really got his name?” she whispers, almost like she’s afraid the
truth I just learned will be swept away on the breeze if she says those words
too loudly.
“Yeah.”
Her stoic mask lowers for a moment, giving me a glimpse at her pain
and the hope that she might finally get what she’s spent so much time
searching for. “Who is he?”
 My grip tightens on her arm and jolts her back to our reality. We’re not
friends. I’m not her fucking savior here. “Where’s Mia?”
Her brow furrows, and just before the mask slams back into place, her
eyes fill with sorrow. “When I find him, Mia will be returned unharmed.”
Dammit. For a second there, I really hoped her gratitude would make
her more agreeable. I should have known better. She might have been a
helpless child once, but that child was replaced by a stone-cold bitch long
before I met her. I toss her arm away and put my helmet on. “We better go
before anyone turns up here.”
“Who is he, Ace?”
I ignore her and start my engine. She curses me, but I pull down my
visor and rev the engine to tune her out. I’ll give the name to Nathan and
Lorenzo and wait for them to come up with something for us to chase. Until
then, Keres can go fuck herself. This is the only leverage we have left to
find Mia, and I’m not letting her out of my sight until we do.

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 Chapter

Twenty-Nine

KERES

I
’m surprised Ace doesn’t burst into flames with the furious heat I’m
directing at him. The stubborn asshole still refuses to give me the name
he got from Michaelson today, and being kept in the dark on my own
fucking mission infuriates me more than I can say.
“I could help find him. I might recognize the name,” I try again.
He shrugs and continues flicking through channels on the TV while
Romeo sits on the sofa beside him, cleaning his gun. Again. “You said you
didn’t know any of the higher ups.”
I sigh and try a different tactic. “I deserve to know.”
He turns and gives me his full attention. “You deserve to know? Says
the woman who drugged us, kidnapped our boss’s wife and unborn baby,
and made us look like a pair of fucking clowns. Not to mention put
Romeo’s and my life in jeopardy.” Jumping up from the sofa, he stalks
across the room and towers over me. “You deserve nothing from me but a
fucking bullet in your head.”
With that, he storms outside and slams the door behind him, which I’ve
come to realize is his go-to response to everything. Romeo shakes his head
like he’s disappointed in me, but I’m not the one who just stomped off like a
toddler. “He’s so fucking touchy.”
That earns me a sadistic laugh. “You have any idea how much restraint
he has to have around you, Fuck-up?”
“He’s really that desperate to kill me, huh?” I shrug, trying to feign
casual disinterest even as it hurts me to say the words.
“Kill you or fuck you. Depends on his mood.” Romeo’s eyes twinkle
with devious intent. “Either way, it takes a lot of effort for him to keep his
hands from around your throat.” He goes back to cleaning his gun.
I feel as conflicted about Ace as he does about me. I crave his comfort
and touch, and at the same time I hate myself for those cravings because of
how vulnerable they make me feel. I’ve come this far on my own, why the
hell am I allowing myself to be so affected by the opinions of two men I
shouldn’t even care about?
They are the enemy.
I pull on my jacket and go outside to find Ace leaning against the wall,
his hands stuffed in his pockets and his thick biceps straining the sleeves of
his T-shirt. Objectively, he’s one of the finest specimens of a man I’ve ever
seen in my life. And deep down, I know he’s not the enemy. I figure I’ve
seen enough of how he and Romeo operate to know that they’ve never been
involved in trafficking. Ace has every right to hate me for what I did to him
and Romeo.
I stand beside him, and even though we’re not quite touching, I feel the
heat from his body through my jacket. “Did you kill him?”
He grunts. “Who?”
“Mason Michaelson. Your hands were all cut up, and I saw the blood on
your clothes.”
Tipping his head back, he stares up at the stars for a few seconds before
he answers. “Yeah, I did.”
I know without asking that anyone who knew the name of Oscar Lang’s
partner was neck-deep in the whole operation. “Thank you.”
A deep growl rumbles in his throat. “I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know, but thank you anyway.”
He doesn’t respond, so I carry on. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry
for any trouble I’ve caused you and Romeo. I truly—”
He’s on me before I can finish the sentence, one of those huge hands
around my throat as he pins me to the wall. Does he want to kill me or fuck
me today? His free hand slides to my ass, pulling me closer, and his hard
length presses against my stomach. My lips part on a gasp at the realization
that I would let him take me right here, right now.
“No.” His abrupt tone makes me frown. “You don’t get to manipulate
me with your fake apology.”
I want to tell him it isn’t fake, but my wounded pride won’t let me.
“You don’t get to use this fucking body against me, Keres.” He grinds
his cock on me, and I press my lips together to stifle a moan. “Because it’s
not going to work anymore. Yeah, I want you. I want you so much it
fucking hurts. And fuck me, but I wish that I didn’t. I wish that my cock
didn’t get hard every single time you sass me. I wish on everything fucking
holy that I didn’t know what it felt like to be buried inside your hot cunt.”
He presses his face closer, his warm breath dusting over my cheeks and
making me shudder with anticipation. “And I sure as hell wish I’d never
tasted you.”
“Ace.” His name falls from my mouth.
“But I lost control once, Keres, and it won’t fucking happen again.” He
lets me go and walks back into the motel room, leaving me wet, needy, and
panting for breath.
Fucking asshole.

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 Chapter

Thirty

ACE

I
stare at the red numbers on the digital clock and will them to speed up.
Nights are the worst. The darkness makes me want to lie next to her soft
body and breathe in her intoxicating scent. She’s so much fucking easier
to deal with when she’s asleep. But being with her like that isn’t an option.
She kidnapped my boss’s fucking wife and unborn kid, for fuck’s sake.
She put a target on both mine and Romeo’s backs, and the worst of it is
she doesn’t seem to give a shit. I didn’t buy her fake apology for a second.
She had plenty of opportunities to apologize before now, and it’s way too
big of a coincidence that she chose today, when I had information she
wanted, to say sorry. So I refuse to find any comfort or pleasure in the feel
of her flesh or the softness of her body. Everything about her is fake. She’s
about as warm as an ice cube wrapped in shards of frosted glass.
The door opens and Romeo staggers out of the room, naked and
scratching his junk. He offers me a sleepy half smile before yawning loudly
and stumbling toward the bathroom. I can smell her on him as he passes
me. Of course he fucked her. Unlike me, he can separate sex from the
feelings. And an occasional angry fuck might be too much for me to resist,
but anything more is off-limits. Keres makes me feel way too many things
that I don’t want to feel.
My phone vibrates on the table in front of me, and Lorenzo’s name
flashes on the screen. I called him a few hours ago to give him Theo
Wynn’s name. A phone call just after 4:00 a.m. means he has something
important to tell me. I take a deep breath and hope that it’s good news.
I answer his call. “Yeah, Boss?”
“Where are you?”
“A motel just outside of Ann Arbor.”
“Are you able to talk?”
I glance at the open doorway. “Yeah.”
“We’ve found her.”
Relief floods my entire body and I slump back against the sofa.
“Where?”
“Ohio. Toledo, to be exact. We were following up a lead in Fort Wayne
and we’re on our way there now. But you’re closer, Ace.” The desperate
plea in his voice makes my hair stand on end.
This is our chance to put things right and prove that the Morettis were
right to have us on their team. “We’ll get her back, Boss. I promise we
won’t let you down again.”
“You need to leave right now. Can you do that?”
“Give us two minutes and we’ll be out the door. But what about …” I
don’t finish my sentence for fear that the sound of her name might rouse her
from sleep.
“She doesn’t have the information she needs to find this Theo guy, does
she?”
“Not yet.”
“Then leave her. She’ll come back when she needs our help.”
“And if she doesn’t? We could lose her. Should one of us stay with
her?”
“If she runs, I’ll find her when I’m ready. Right now your job is to get
to my wife and child and make sure they’re safe. Both of you.”
Romeo comes out of the bathroom, and his eyes narrow with concern
when he sees me on the phone.
“Of course. I’ll call you as soon as we have eyes on her.”
“Don’t let me down again.” The line goes dead.
Romeo frowns. “What is it?”
 “We need to leave,” I whisper, conscious that Keres might wake and
hear us at any moment.
His frown deepens, and he glances at the open bedroom door.
“Now.”
He jumps into action, yanking fresh clothes from his backpack and
throwing them on. I pull on my boots, and we stuff the rest of our meager
belongings into our packs before grabbing our coats, guns, and helmets. The
door creaks when Romeo opens it, and I take a final glance back at the
bedroom, half expecting Keres to come running out of it. She doesn’t, and I
sigh with relief.
The cold night air gives me goosebumps, and I pull on my jacket and
close the door behind us with a soft click. “We should wait until we’re out
of earshot before we start our engines,” I tell Romeo as we grab our bikes.
He simply nods before sliding on his helmet. We roll the heavy
machines through the almost-empty parking lot. “Are we going for Mia?”
Romeo asks once we’re a few yards from the motel room door.
“Yeah. Lorenzo found her. We can’t fuck this up.”
He glances back at the hotel before his eyes meet mine. “I know.”
I steal a quick look behind me too. “You think she’ll run?”
“If she has any sense.”
I arch an eyebrow at him. “So no then.”
We drive full throttle away from the motel. Away from Keres, the bitch
who’s done nothing but cause problems for me since the moment I met her.
So why the fuck do I feel weighed down by guilt and regret when I
picture her face after she wakes to find us gone?
Romeo zigzags in front of me, taking advantage of the freedom and
space of the empty freeway, and I turn the throttle, gunning my bike and
blowing right by him until I can’t go any faster. Getting to Mia and fixing
our massive fuck-up is all that matters now. What happens to Keres from
here on out is no concern of mine.

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 Chapter

Thirty-One

KERES

M
y phone’s incessant vibrating rouses me from a fitful sleep. The bed
next to me is empty, and I shake the remnants of a bad dream from
my head as I frown at the flashing screen. Despite our close
relationship, Father Mike rarely calls me. My gut tells me this can’t be
good.
“Hey, Father.”
“Keres!” He says my name like I’m a stubborn thirteen-year-old due a
scolding. “What the hell have you done? That woman—” His rant is cut off
by a sharp inhale. He must have visited Phoenix and discovered her little
houseguest.
“I know it looks bad, Father, but she’s safe.”
“That is Lorenzo Moretti’s wife,” he whisper-shouts, the way he does
when I’ve really pissed him off.
“Yes, I know.” But how does he?
He sighs. “But you don’t know who he is, Keres.”
I almost snort a laugh, but I would never be so disrespectful to the man
who all but saved me. He has no idea of my connection to the Morettis, and
I intend to keep it that way. “I know exactly who he is. Don’t worry—”
 “No, you don’t, Keres.” He releases another heavy sigh, and I picture
him pushing his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I know you
think they were involved with the people who took you, but Lorenzo and
his brother and Maximo … they’re not the kind of men you think they are.”
“They’re exactly who I think they are. Salvatore Moretti was—”
“Salvatore Moretti was an animal, but that doesn’t mean his sons are
too.”
I scoff. “Are you forgetting they’re the fucking Mafia, Father?”
“Everything isn’t always as it seems. You have no idea what those men
have done for you. The men who got you out—”
“You … you got us out.” I grit the words through clenched teeth. My
free hand balls into a fist, and white-hot rage sears through me.
“No. Your memory of that time is so hazy. We’ve talked about this
before. You’d been through so much. The trauma, it …” His voice breaks.
“It wasn’t me. You know this in your heart.”
My legs almost buckle, and the air leaves my body in a rush. My head
spins. No. Logic tells me that the faceless man who pulled me from the van
wasn’t Father Mike, with his lean frame and his smooth, calm voice. The
voice that soothes my nightmares was deep and rough. “I-I don’t
understand. The Morettis are evil. All of them.”
“No, you silly girl. Salvatore’s sons were never a part of it! And now,
thanks to your misguided desire for vengeance, you’ve dragged poor
Phoenix into something that neither of you can just walk away from. You
know how that girl looks up to you. Do you have any idea of the danger
you’ve put her in? What the hell were you thinking taking that innocent
woman and her child?”
The fear in his voice makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on
end. I glance around the room again. “What the hell have you done?” I
screech, my heart racing.
“Lorenzo Moretti doesn’t deserve to spend a second longer not knowing
if he’ll ever see his wife and child again, Keres.”
I yank open the bedroom door and rush into the main room but only my
things remain. There’s no trace anyone was ever here with me. “What have
you done?” Panic threatens to overwhelm me.
“I did what was right. I warned Phoenix so she could leave before he
gets there.”
 I suck in raspy breaths as the room spins around me. “You spoke to
Lorenzo Moretti? You told him where she is?”
“I had to.”
“You put her in danger, Father. Phoenix won’t just run. She hates the
Morettis. She’s …” I sink to the floor and put my head between my knees.
“Keres!” Father Mike calls down the phone.
“She’s sick,” I sob. Phoenix will kill Mia before she ever lets her go. I
was the only one who could get through to her. And now she knows that
Lorenzo Moretti is coming for them both.
I suck in deep, gulping breaths. A warrior doesn’t escape fear, they
conquer it. I need to move. I need to get to them before he does. It’s the
only way to save them both.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Two

ACE

I
t takes us just over half an hour to get to Toledo. When we get to the city
limits, I pull over and take my phone from my pocket, pulling up maps
to check directions to the address Lorenzo gave me.
Romeo rolls to a stop beside me. “How far now?”
I peer at the map. “About a mile and half.”
“Did Lorenzo say anything about where we’re headed? If Keres and her
crazy ass friend have anyone else helping them?”
“It’s a small house. As far as he knows, it’s just Phoenix holding Mia
captive, but we need to be careful anyway.”
“So we’re up against one woman?” Romeo scoffs.
“Yes. But might I remind you that Keres is one woman.”
He throws his head back and laughs. “She’s no woman. She’s a fucking
psychopath.” The admiration in his voice makes me roll my eyes. She’s not
a psychopath by any stretch. Smart and calculated, sure. Damaged? Oh
yeah, so fucking damaged. But she feels. Maybe even feels too much.
I stuff my phone back into my jacket pocket, confident I know where
we’re headed. “Let’s go.”
 A few minutes later, we pull up in front of a sweet-looking little house.
Not the kind of place you’d expect someone to be held captive in. It seems
like a quiet part of town, but right now, a little before sunrise, it’s eerily
quiet. Still, I don’t want to risk causing mayhem on this peaceful street
unless I absolutely have to. I roll to a stop and kill my bike’s engine as
Romeo pulls up alongside me.
“She in there?” he murmurs.
I nod and pull off my helmet.
Romeo does the same, and his blue eyes narrow on the house across the
street. “You got a plan?”
“Yeah. We go in quietly, assess the situation, and get Mia out without
causing any more carnage than we need to. We have no idea who else might
be in there.”
“Got it.” He cocks his head, a devious glint in his eyes. “But if shit goes
down, we handle it, right?”
I give him a curt nod, but I fervently hope no shit goes down. Best case
scenario, we get in and out, quick and clean, and I have Mia sitting on the
back of my bike within the half hour.
We dismount our bikes and cautiously approach the house. The coming
dawn casts long shadows, but I keep my gaze trained on the windows of the
house, watching for any sign of movement.
We walk up the three stairs leading to the porch, and the last one groans
loudly underfoot. My muscles tense at the sound, which seems amplified in
the otherwise quiet street. I jerk my head at Romeo, signaling he should
take the back entrance, and he nods his understanding before edging around
the perimeter of the property. I turn the door handle, expecting to meet
resistance, but it opens with ease. My heart sinks through my stomach. The
only reasons the door would be unlocked are if the house is empty or we’re
walking into a trap.
Taking a deep breath, I remove my gun from its holster and push the
door farther open so I can peer inside. The entryway is full of shadows,
barely illuminated by the lightening sky peeking through the windows. I
strain to hear, listening for any signs of life within these walls, my senses
hyperalert. When I hear nothing, I creep inside and edge toward the
stairway. From my vantage point, I can see three doorways leading to
rooms on the ground floor.
 Romeo’s shadow is silhouetted against the back door window as he
picks the lock. A few seconds later, he’s inside the kitchen and our eyes
meet. I signal that I’m going to check the rooms on this floor, but a muffled
scream stops us both in our tracks.
She’s here. Adrenaline races through my veins, heightening my senses.
We both look at the closed door between us and silently communicate
our plan. We’ll stay together until we find Mia. I wrap my fingers around
the handle and open it slowly, wincing at the shrill sound made by unoiled
hinges.
A shrill voice travels up the rough, uneven stairs in front of me. “I’ll kill
her before you get anywhere near me.”
That must be Phoenix. Gripping my gun in two hands, I flip off the
safety, unsure what to expect. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’re only here
for Mia.” The light is on downstairs, but I can’t see her or Mia. She can
obviously see me though.
“So why you got a gun, asshole?”
Mia’s soft whimpers drift up the stairs now, and my gut churns. At least
she’s here and she’s alive.
“It’s just a precaution. I don’t know what I’m walking into, do I? But I
give you my word I won’t use it as long as no harm comes to Mia. Just let
her go and we’ll walk out of here right now and leave you alone.” I take a
tentative step down the stairs.
“You take one more step with that gun in your hand and I’ll slice her
throat wide open.” Her tone is so vicious, so full of poison, that I have no
choice but to believe her.
I glance back at Romeo, and he nods at the gun, then shakes his head.
“Okay. What if I put the gun down.” I place it on the step beside me and
stand, my hands raised. “I just want Mia.”
Her wild laugh sends a tendril of fear down my spine. But when I take
another step down, she doesn’t try to stop me. “How many of you are there?
I hear someone else up there with you.”
“Just me and my buddy. Promise.”
“Let me see his gun too. Put it on the step with yours.”
Romeo bites his lip, worry lining his brow. Mia’s safety is paramount,
and I still can’t see what the hell is going on down there. One of us can
make a grab for a weapon if we need to. I nod, indicating that he should
comply, and he places his prized revolver on the stair next to my gun.
 I continue moving down the stairs and finally get my first glimpse of
Mia. She’s still wearing her yellow dress from the day of the gala, although
it’s more gray than yellow now. A thick chain is wrapped around her ankles
and her wrists. She’s standing, her legs trembling, with a gag stuffed into
her mouth. A woman with wild pink hair, dirty feet, and the scrawniest arms
I’ve ever seen stands behind her, one arm around Mia’s neck and the other
holding a knife to her slender throat.
I train my eyes on Mia. “You’re safe, Mia. We’re here to bring you
home.”
Phoenix releases a zealous laugh. “The fuck you are.”
Yes, the fuck I am, you fucking bitch. I can feel Romeo edging closer
too, and I stretch my neck to relieve some of the tension solidifying my
muscles. “We found the man you and Keres have been looking for. Let Mia
go and we’ll give you his name and never have to see each other again.”
She bares her teeth like a rabid cat and presses the blade deeper into
Mia’s skin, causing a thin trickle of crimson to trail down her neck and onto
her dress. “You think I’m stupid. Keres might buy your nice-guy routine,
but she’s always been a slut for a pretty smile. I know I won’t be leaving
this room alive, but at least I can take this bitch with me.” She yanks Mia’s
head to the side, and Mia flinches but keeps her eyes locked on mine. I give
her a subtle nod, hopefully letting her know that I would die myself before I
let anything happen to her. Phoenix licks her lips. “And if I get to take one
of Keres’s new playthings with me too, all the better.” She lets out another
freakish laugh. The woman has lost all touch with reality.
Romeo glances at me like he has no fucking idea what to do next, and
neither do I. I need a plan to keep Mia safe because as soon as I start
advancing toward Phoenix, she’s gonna slip that blade into her throat.
“I see you looking at him. Come any closer and her blood is going to
paint these walls.” Phoenix cackles.
Think, Ace.
“Phoenix!” The new voice twists my stomach into knots. I’m still
watching the two women in front of me, and her friend’s arrival only earns
an eye roll from Phoenix.
“Nix, are you down here?” Keres’s footsteps echo on the wooden stairs
and are followed by the distinctive sound of metal scraping against wood.
Fuck. She has the guns.
 “Wondered when you’d get here, Kee,” Phoenix says, a cruel grin
twisting her face.
“You set us up, Fuck-up?” Romeo asks.
I glance back at Keres, whose eyes are wide and full of … If I didn’t
know better, I’d say she looked terrified. But that can’t be right. What the
fuck does she have to be afraid of when she has one gun trained on Romeo
and the other on me?

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 Chapter

Thirty-Three

KERES

I
aim the guns at Ace and Romeo, if only to buy myself time with
Phoenix. The blade is so dangerously close to Mia’s throat and the life-
giving vein that runs the length of it.
I can see Ace and Romeo in my peripheral vision, and I’m acutely
aware of the disdain pouring from them, but all I can focus on right now is
saving Mia. And saving Phoenix from herself.
“Let her go, Nix. Ace has the name of the man we’ve been looking for.
Lorenzo did what we asked him to, so nobody needs to get hurt.”
“The name of the man you were looking for. I want the Morettis, Kee.
Salvatore Moretti sold me to that”—her hauntingly beautiful face twists at
the memory—“fucking monster.” She spits out the last word like it leaves a
bitter taste in her mouth.
“I know he did. But his sons didn’t help him. Father Mike told me, and I
believe him.” In reality, I haven’t decided whether I believe him yet, but the
lie falls easily off my tongue.
“No!” she screeches, squeezing her eyes shut like that will shield her
from my words. Edging closer, I keep the guns trained on Romeo and Ace
for my own safety. I need to get Nix and myself out of here before they
hand us over to their boss to kill us.
“Nix, please honey. Let her go. No one will hurt you, I swear.”
“Let her fucking go!” I spin around and flinch at the sight of Lorenzo
Moretti descending the stairs to the basement. Goddamn motherfucking
shit. There goes our chance of escape. He has his gun trained on Phoenix,
but she’s much smaller than Mia and most of her body is shielded. I doubt
he’ll take a shot unless he thinks he has no other choice.
Keeping the guns trained on Ace and Romeo, I turn back around.
Phoenix’s hand trembles as she opens her eyes, and the blade sinks deeper
into Mia’s neck.
“Look at me, sunshine,” Lorenzo commands his wife. Tears swim in her
eyes as she gazes up at him. “Let her go and you can walk out of here,” he
adds to Phoenix.
“Screw you!” Phoenix shrieks. “I should take everything from you.”
She splays her free hand across Mia’s belly and squeezes, making her
captive flinch. “This too.”
In my mind’s eye I can see Lorenzo’s fingers twitching on the handle of
his gun. He takes another loud step down the staircase, and Phoenix pulls
Mia closer. The blade sinks deeper still, causing a fresh trickle of blood to
run down her slender throat.
Think, Keres! I only have one shot to save Phoenix and Mia. It might
cost me everything, but what do I have left to lose? Lorenzo isn’t going to
let either of us live, and I can’t condemn my poor broken Nix to eternal hell
if she kills Mia and her baby.
Saving Mia might not save me or Nix, but it will save my sweet girl’s
soul, and I figure that’s the only play I have left. I place both guns on the
floor and kick them into the corner, then I hold up my hands, glance over
my shoulder, and motion for Lorenzo to stop. To my surprise, he does.
I take a cautious step toward Phoenix. “Lorenzo and his brothers had
nothing to do with their father’s trafficking business, Phoenix. Father Mike
told me. You know he doesn’t lie. Ace has the name of the man we’re
looking for. You and I can go find him and then we’ll go to our little island.
Just you and me. Sisters forever, Nix. Remember? Please, just let her go.”
“No! You’re trying to mess with my head, Kee. Like you always do.
Forcing me to take those pills.” She shakes her head and I inch closer.
 “I love you, Nix. You know I’d never hurt you. I would die to make you
happy, honey, but Mia is innocent in all this. Her baby too. Just like we
were. Let her go.”
Phoenix yanks Mia’s head back by her hair. Mia’s lip trembles, and
Lorenzo says something soft and soothing in Italian.
“Stop talking to her!” Phoenix yells. “And stop pretending you care,
Kee. You’ve only ever cared about yourself.”
That twists like a barb in my heart. “I care about you, Nix. I love you.
You know that.”
“Let’s see if you’ll still love me after I do this.” She lifts the hand
holding the knife and brings it down toward Mia’s stomach.
Time slows. Lorenzo runs down the remaining stairs. Romeo and Ace
lurch toward the women.
Diving forward, I reach them first. My left arm comes up between the
blade and Mia’s body, and I grip Phoenix’s wrist with my right hand,
squeezing tight until the knife clatters to the ground. But I’m too late. Blood
soaks the front of Mia’s dress, turning the dusty yellow fabric a muddied
crimson.
“Mia!” Lorenzo’s pained cry fills the room.
A gunshot rings in my ears.
My head spins and I drop to my knees.
Mia shrieks.
Someone falls to the floor beside me.
My eyelids flicker open, and I stare at the bullet hole between Phoenix’s
lifeless eyes. “No!” The wail bounces off the walls of the basement, and I
dimly register that it came from me.
My head spins. Black spots dance in my vision. My eyelids flutter, but I
can see Mia weeping in Lorenzo’s arms. I hear him tell her how much he
loves her and how he would die without her. She clings to him, and he holds
onto her like he’ll never let her go again. A wave of bone-crushing guilt and
soul-destroying grief washes over me.
I try to say Phoenix’s name, as if saying it aloud might bring her back to
me, but the word dies on my lips. My heart shatters into a million tiny
fragments, bursting out of my chest with an explosion of visceral,
excruciating pain. Except the pain travels from my chest and burns along
my right arm.
 If Mia’s okay, whose blood soaked through her dress? I look down.
Blood pours from a wide gash in my wrist, a river of red forming a thick
channel down my forearm, pooling on the cold ground. I sway on my
knees.
“She’s bleeding,” Ace shouts, but I know I’m dreaming now because it
sounds like he cares. It sounds like he might not leave me to bleed out in
this dirty, windowless room. But it’s only fitting for me to die quietly next
to Phoenix where I belong. The only place I’ve ever belonged. The hard
truth is that we both died in that wooden trunk twelve years ago. My eyes
close and I’m falling. And I know my journey is finally over when I feel a
strong pair of arms catch me before I hit the ground.
I never believed in God until now, but he must be real. Because he holds
onto me so tightly that I feel safer than I ever have before, and he smells of
engine oil and leather.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Four

KERES

A
soft humming noise, persistent and annoying, drags me out of the
dark.
There’s something tight around my wrist, something sticking in
my arm. My head throbs as I open my eyes. I’m alive. And I’m in a sterile
room that reminds me of a hospital, but something tells me it isn’t.
“She wakes,” a deep, grumbling voice says.
Ace?
“About fucking time,” a second voice adds.
Romeo?
Tears blur my vision as I twist my head and find them sitting on either
side of my bed. They’re here? For me?
“You’d better go tell the boss,” Ace adds.
My heart sinks. Of course that’s why they’re here. My bodyguards. The
only reason Lorenzo didn’t let me die was so he could make good on his
promise to torture me.
Phoenix is dead. We didn’t get the name. I fucked everything up. A sob
wells in my throat, and I can’t force it down. It tumbles out of me before I
can stop it.
 “I’ll go in a minute,” Romeo snaps, and then he’s sitting on my bed,
brushing my hair back from my forehead. “How you feeling, Fuck-up?”
I blink at him. Like he even cares. I swallow my emotions and sniff.
“Where am I?”
“The Moretti mansion.”
My heart rate spikes. I have to get out of here.
“You lost a lot of blood. Kat had to give you some meds to help you
sleep for a while. You’ve been out for twelve hours.” Kat? The name rings a
bell. Dante Moretti’s wife. She used to be a nurse.
He holds up his arm, revealing a small strip of gauze and tape near the
crook of his elbow. “She gave you some blood too.”
“She gave me your blood?”
He leans close, his lips grazing my ear. “Not just mine. Lorenzo donated
a pint too.” He grazes his fingertips over my chest. “But you feel that blood
pumping in your heart right now? That’s mine, Fireblade.”
“Lorenzo … and you …” I blink in confusion. My head hurts. “Why
didn’t you just let me bleed out on that floor?” I know the answer though. A
quick, relatively painless death would have been too easy.
Romeo frowns, and Ace squeezes his shoulder before he can reply. “Go
tell the boss she’s awake.”
Romeo hesitates for a second, like he wants to say something, but he
climbs off the bed and walks out of the room.
Ace shoves his hands into his pockets. “You look like shit, Trouble.”
I roll my eyes. “Gee. Thanks.”
He rubs a hand over his jaw and it rasps against his thick beard. “Your
friend didn’t make it. You know that, right?”
A fresh wave of despair rolls in my stomach and tears stream down my
cheeks. “I remember.”
“Father Mike said a few words for her. We buried her in the cemetery at
his church.”
Unlike me, she believed in God, and I’m glad that someone who cared
for her said something as she was laid to rest. Hopefully she’ll find peace
now. “Was it you who carried me out of there?”
“Yeah. You passed out. You were bleeding out so fast. I thought we
were going to lose you, Trouble.”
I scoff. “Lose me? Hard to be lost when you don’t belong anywhere.”
 Something that looks like hurt flashes over his face. The thick vein in
his neck pulses, and I want to tell him how sorry I am that I dragged him
and Romeo into this. I’m pretty sure Lorenzo Moretti will deal with them
once he’s done with me. But the words won’t come.
The sound of the door snatches both our attention. My breath hitches,
and a thick ball of anxiety settles in my stomach as Lorenzo Moretti strolls
into the room, his eyes fixed on mine like he sees nothing but me. A dark-
haired woman with a kind face follows him. I assume this is Kat. No doubt
checking to ensure I’m fit and well before Lorenzo takes me to a cell to be
tortured.
He pulls up a chair and takes a seat beside the bed while the woman
moves to stand on my other side. “Keres, I’m Kat. I’m going to change your
drip now, okay?” Her voice is soft and soothing. I bet she’s a good mom.
Memories of my own mother threaten to overwhelm me. My mouth too dry
to speak, I blink away a tear and nod.
“Keres.” Lorenzo says my name like a command, and I turn and focus
on him while Kat does what she needs to.
“H-how is Mia?” I blurt.
“She’s fine,” he replies curtly.
“The baby too?”
He twists his neck. “Yes, the baby too.”
I sink back against the pillow, relieved despite the circumstances.
“Tell me why you came here, Keres.”
I swallow again. Is it hot in here? “To get the name I asked you for. I
knew Salvatore Moretti worked with him. I thought you did too.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “It was more than that. You took my wife out
from under the noses of two of my best men. I suspect you were going after
my sister, but I also suspect you’ve been planning this for years. You’ve
been watching my family. Why?”
I scrunch my eyes closed, wanting to avoid his questions. Kat places a
fresh bandage on my arm and Lorenzo remains silent, waiting for my reply.
“Because I hate Salvatore Moretti.”
“But why?” he presses.
I stare at him. His eyes are like mine. So dark that the pupils are almost
obscured by the irises. I always thought I looked like my mom until I met
Lorenzo and Dante. “Because he sold my mom into slavery.”
“When she was pregnant with you?”
 My heart hurts. I lick my lips. “Yes.”
“Who was your father?”
Was, not is. Lorenzo Moretti is a man of few words, and he chooses
each one carefully. He’s already figured it out, I’m sure. I harden my gaze.
“Salvatore Moretti.”
He nods like my answer doesn’t surprise him. “And you assumed that
Dante and I, along with Max, were fully aware and involved in his crimes?”
“Well, you’re his sons. It made sense.”
He rubs a hand over his dark beard but doesn’t say anything.
“Did you kill him?” I ask, feeling emboldened by whatever the hell Kat
just put in that new drip.
“Dante did,” he replies without missing a beat. “Although I wish I had.”
“Remind me to thank him.”
Lorenzo eyes Kat.
“I gave her some codeine,” she explains.
He rolls his eyes, then sobers and clears his throat. “You sacrificed
yourself to save Mia and our baby.”
I frown. I also put her in harm’s way, but I’m not going to remind him
of that. “It was the least I could do.”
“But you made a decision. You had two guns. You could have shot Ace
and Romeo, or me, but you put them down and saved Mia. Why?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
His nostrils flare. “Yes you do. Why?”
A tear rolls down my cheek. “Because she was innocent. Your baby is
innocent. Phoenix would have killed them both, and then … well she
would’ve had innocent blood on her hands too, and I couldn’t—” The
words are swallowed by a sob, and Lorenzo waits while I find my
composure. “And I couldn’t condemn her to hell like that. Now at least she
has a chance at peace.”
He leans forward, his eyes locked on my face. “You believe in heaven?”
“No. But she did.”
“Mia said I should let you go.”
A spark of hope flares in my chest, but I know better than to give into it.
“She did?”
“She says you were only doing what you thought was right. You
believed us to be monsters and acted on that assumption.”
“Maybe I was wrong,” I say, my voice quiet.
 “But I am a monster. And if it wasn’t for my wife, I would toss you in
my basement and make good on the promise I once made you. I don’t give
a fuck if you are my half sister.”
My insides twist in a knot, but the drugs Kat gave me make me feel
invincible. “I don’t believe you.”
“You really don’t want to test me on it,” he growls.
“No, I mean you’re not a monster. Father Mike told me you weren’t
involved in your father’s trafficking business. He also said you had
something to do with the men who rescued us. And I have no reason not to
believe him,” I admit. “He’s always been honest with me, brutally so. My
memory of that time is so hazy.” I shake my head. The therapist they forced
me to see when I was a teenager told me it was a trauma response. All I
recall are warm hands lifting me from the truck and a deep soothing voice.
Over the years, I must have inserted Father Mike into that memory,
probably because he was the only man I could ever remember making me
feel safe.
Lorenzo clears his throat. “Well, that’s not surprising. I’m sure it was a
difficult day.”
“You say that like you know what happened. Tell me,” I plead.
He shakes his head. “There’s no sense in reliving that now, Keres. It’s
done.”
I scowl at him. “But I want to know.”
He cocks his head to the side, eyeing me curiously. “Did you ever think
that you can’t remember for a reason? That maybe it’s your mind’s way of
protecting you from what happened?”
I shake my head. “I deserve to know the truth, Lorenzo. And if you
know, don’t you think you owe me—”
His menacing growl cuts me off midsentence. “I owe you nothing, little
girl.” The vein in his neck pulses, and he pushes himself to his feet. “I’ve
given you more hospitality than you deserve. You can stay here until you’re
well enough to leave and then I want you gone.”
He walks toward the door. I press my lips together, knowing that I
should remain quiet. He’s right that he doesn’t owe me a thing. I was so
very wrong about him and his brother, but that doesn’t mean my other
purpose in life is any less important now. So for Phoenix, and for all the
other victims, I find my voice. “But I still haven’t found him. I know Ace
has his name.”
 Without acknowledging me, he walks out the door and doesn’t look
back.
Tears threaten to fall again, but I close my eyes and the drugs Kat gave
me really take hold. Memories of a deep voice and warm, strong hands
swirl through my brain, and still it’s Father Mike’s face that I see. Except it
morphs, changes shape, and becomes the face of Lorenzo Moretti. I wish I
knew. I wish I could remember. I drift off to sleep with images of the two
men swimming in my head, and when I go all the way under, I find
nightmares waiting for me. Nightmares that feature Phoenix with a bullet
between her lifeless eyes.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Five

KERES

I
must have been knocked out for hours because it’s light outside when I
wake. Ace is sleeping on a chair in the corner, his head resting against
the wall.
There’s a soft blanket covering me, and I have no idea who put it there.
Ace? I clear those wishful thoughts from my mind. Ace doesn’t care about
me. Nobody does. Pulling back the covers, I slip out of bed and tiptoe to the
door. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to leave this room, but I need to pee.
Walking down the opulent hallway, I can’t help but wonder what it must
have been like to grow up in a house like this. I bet it was amazing to have
all this security and money and safety. Phoenix and I had a good, if simple,
life in our foster home. It was better than a lot of foster kids I hear about,
but we were never made to feel like part of the family. Never really made to
feel like we belonged. I suspect only Father Mike’s influence in the local
community kept us with the same family, somewhere close by where he
could keep an eye on us. He was the only person to ever show us any true
affection. The Morettis don’t know how lucky they were to go to sleep each
night and not wonder what fresh hell the next day would bring.
 A pang of acute sadness gnaws at my gut as I think about my incredible
mom. Despite everything, she always made the best of things. Always tried
to make life as kind and as fun as possible, protecting me from as much as
she could. At least until … Despair and terror almost knock me on my ass. I
haven’t thought about her in such a long time, and that’s because all the
happy memories are stuck behind my last memory of her. No matter how
hard I try not to think about it, that fucker always makes an unwelcome
appearance.
I plant my hand on the wall next to me to keep myself upright, but the
sound of a child screaming sends my already racing heart galloping even
faster. Sucking in a steadying breath, I twist my head to locate the source of
the sound. A quieter shriek leads me to the open doorway of a library.
Lorenzo is crouched in front of a little girl who looks to be about two.
The little girl’s cries turn to sniffles when Lorenzo cups her face in his
hands. “It was just a spider, Raven.”
She sniffs. “Scary hairy legs.”
A smile flickers across his face. “Come show me and I’ll teach you how
to catch it and put it outside.”
“But I scared, Daddy,” she whines, looking into his face with her huge
doe eyes, so full of trust and innocence. What must it be like to have a
father you can look at like that?
He takes her tiny hand in his and brushes her dark curls back from her
face. “It’s okay to be scared. But you, little one, are a warrior. And warriors
don’t escape fear, they conquer it.”
Those words. My knees buckle, and my vision goes blurry with tears. I
clap my hand over my mouth, and I once again have to lean against the
doorframe for fear I’ll fall down.
“Who’s that, Daddy?” Raven asks, her nose scrunched up as she
watches me.
Lorenzo scoops her into his arms and hugs her tightly to his chest,
growling like a protective lion guarding his cubs, as though I might be a
danger to his innocent little girl. And I can’t blame him. I did take her mom
and unborn sibling. So much shame and guilt wash over me. Sweat beads
on my forehead. I try to suck in air, but there’s none in the room. I can’t
breathe. I grasp at my throat.
“Is she okay?” the little girl’s voice breaks through the fog whirling in
my brain.
 “Kat!” Lorenzo shouts.
I’m not sure how much time has passed when another voice drifts into
my ear. Kat’s. “There you are. I only popped out to get a little something to
eat.”
“Something’s wrong with her,” Lorenzo says calmly.
Then Kat’s soft hands are on my shoulders, guiding me into the library.
“Let’s get you seated, sweetheart. You’ve been through a lot.”
Lorenzo snorts, and I hear him having a whispered conversation with
his daughter. I’m vaguely aware of her skipping from the room, all thoughts
of the hairy-legged spider seemingly forgotten now that a strange woman
almost blacked out right in front of her.
Kat leads me to the sofa and urges me to sit down, an offer I gladly
accept. “Take deep breaths, sweetheart.” She rests a cool hand on my
forehead.
I suck in deep gulps of air as my eyes dart between her and Lorenzo. It
was him. That deep voice. Those strong hands. Those words. He pulled me
from that van.
“You’re okay. We got you.” Kat strokes my hair back from my damp
forehead. Slowly my heart rate returns to a regular pattern and my breathing
evens out. But tears roll down my cheeks, and I feel like such a fucking
fool.
“Give us a few moments, would you, Kat?” Lorenzo asks, taking a seat
in the armchair opposite me.
She shoots him a warning look. “Only if you promise to play nice.”
He holds up his hands in surrender. “Promise.”
She glances at me again. “You feeling okay?”
I scrub the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand and nod.
“Thank you.”
She stands and gives Lorenzo’s shoulder a squeeze. “Holler if you need
me.”
She closes the door as she leaves, giving us privacy.
“I remember,” I blurt before he has a chance to speak.
He frowns at me. “Remember what?”
“Well, I remember some of it. I …” I swat away the tears streaming
down my cheeks.
“What do you remember, Keres?”
 “I remember being in a box, like a trunk. Phoenix and me. I remember
being in pain. I was bleeding … My underwear were soaked in it.”
His eyes darken and his brow furrows in a scowl, like he’s reliving that
day too.
“The man who b-bought us, he …” I dry heave, and it takes me a
moment to continue. “I thought he was going to drive us out into the woods
and kill us. I wanted him to kill us, but I knew that he wouldn’t. He didn’t
buy us for that. I knew there would be more, that what he’d already done
was only the start of it.”
Lorenzo scrubs a hand through his beard, his dark eyes fixed on my
face, and the fact that he doesn’t look away from my pain makes me feel
valued. Important even. Like I mean something. Like my story means
something.
“I wanted to die though. I prayed for it. I wanted to be with my mom.”
Tears run freely down my cheeks now, and I don’t bother to wipe them
away. “And then the truck stopped and there was shouting and yelling. Then
the light …” I blink at the memory of the box being ripped open and a
flashlight being shone on Phoenix and me. “Then that deep voice.
Promising us we were safe and nobody would hurt us. Your voice.” I search
his face but he remains unreadable.
“I told you I was scared and you said … I’ve lived by those words for
the past twelve years. Warriors don’t escape fear …” I choke on a sob.
“They conquer it,” Lorenzo finishes for me.
“It was you,” I sob. “All this time.” I shake my head as the jumble of
intense emotions and the whole fucked-up fate—or whatever the fuck you’d
call it—of the universe sinks in.
He leans back in his chair. “I used to think of that day often. I checked
in with Father Mike a few months after to see how you were both doing …”
“Just that one time?”
He shrugs. “You were both settling in well from what he told me. Doing
well in school and making some friends at the church. I thought we’d done
our part. But then when Raven was born …” His eyes fill with pain. “I
found myself thinking of it again. Thinking of those two broken little girls
we found locked in a box in the back of a van simply because we showed
up at the right time. But how many more did we miss? How many little
girls went through—”
“So many,” I tell him.
 He takes a deep breath and nods. “When you told me who you were
looking for, I thought about that day and wondered if your paths had ever
crossed, but I had no fucking idea it was you.” He pauses and studies my
face. “I can’t believe that the girl from all those years ago is my half sister.”
Logically I knew that I was their half sister, but thinking of them that
way always bothered me. It’s weird to hear him say it now.
“If we’d known, that day when we found you … If we’d known …”
“You’d have what?” I scoff. “Brought us here to your mansion and let
me and Phoenix be a part of your family?”
“If I’d known I had a sister who was suffering, I would have saved you
a whole lot sooner, Keres.”
“Well, everyone is someone’s something, you know. Someone’s
daughter, sister, cousin, mother.”
“What my father did … the things he was involved in—” He sighs and
seems to sink into the cushions of his chair. “They’re a stain on this family
that won’t be erased for generations.”
“Then help me erase it. Help me find the last man responsible, Lorenzo.
Please. Let me deliver the justice he deserves.”
“And what would that look like?” He shakes his head. “You can’t undo
the things they’ve done. You can’t bring any of the people you lost back.”
I lean forward, emboldened by the crack in his armor. Of all people, he
must understand the need for vengeance. For justice. “But we can stop men
like him from hurting anyone else. We can make him feel a fraction of the
pain and fear he caused. Doesn’t he deserve that at least?”
He nods solemnly. “At least.”
I lick my dry lips. “What happened to the man who bought Nix and
me?”
His dark eyes narrow. “You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
He blows out a breath. “After we saw the state you and your friend were
in, we knew just putting a bullet in his head was too good for him. I went to
school with Father Mike’s kid sister, and I knew he had a parish in Toledo.
So I called him. Once he’d taken you somewhere safe, Max, Dante, and I
took that piece of shit into the woods.” He goes silent for a long moment.
“And?”
“Max had a …” He scrubs a hand over his beard. “He fashioned an
implement. A two-by-four he hammered half a dozen rusty nails into the
end and wrapped razor wire around it.”
I lean forward, needing to hear about the vengeance they exacted on that
evil piece of shit more than I need my next breath.
“Then Max did to him what we suspected he’d done to you both. His
screams filled the woods. He cried and begged, but Max was merciless. He
made him suffer.”
Thinking of Phoenix—my beautiful, tortured friend who was never able
to forget what he did to us long enough to experience any lasting sense of
peace or happiness—I nod my approval.
“What happens after you get your revenge, Keres?” Lorenzo’s voice is
gentle, and I have a horrifying realization that my guilt over the anguish I
caused him will always eat away at my insides.
I shake my head to clear that unwelcome thought. “I don’t know.
Phoenix always wanted to get as far away from the US as possible. And
once she learned about my Greek heritage, she became obsessed with the
idea of us living on a tiny Greek island, just the two of us. It was her
dream.”
“And what about your dream?”
“What?” I ask, blindsided.
He lets out a soft sigh. “I said what about your dream?”
“I …” Confusion clogs my throat, threatening to steal my voice.
“Nobody has ever asked me that before.”
“I’m asking you now. The Greek island was Phoenix’s deal. What’s
yours?”
There is something I’ve always wanted to do. Something worthwhile.
Something more purposeful than revenge. It’s going to sound crazy, but
isn’t that why they’re called dreams and not plans? I clear my throat. “I’d
love to build a place.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Build a place?”
“Yeah. A safe place for kids like me and Phoenix. Women like my mom.
A place they can go and not be afraid every second of every day.”
“Like a shelter?”
“Kind of, but also more than a shelter. A place they can get the help they
need. But most importantly, somewhere they can call home.” I swallow
harshly and force myself to maintain eye contact. “You think that’s crazy?”
His eyes soften, crinkling at the corners like he’s going to smile even
though he doesn’t. “Not at all. It’s something my wife would no doubt be
very interested in.”
Sensing the perfect opportunity to lighten the conversation and chase
away the dark shadows of the painful memories that still linger between us,
I arch an eyebrow at him. “So she can get away from you, right?”
His deep brown eyes twinkle with amusement even if I don’t get the
smile I’d hoped for. He shakes his head. “Why am I cursed with sisters with
such smart mouths?”
A laugh escapes me, and an unfamiliar feeling of belonging worms its
way into my heart, sowing a seed of contentment—something I hadn’t
believed existed for someone like me.
I tell myself that later, after I’ve left this place, I will dig into my chest
and pull it out at the root before it takes hold because I will never truly be
one of them. They would never allow it. But it’s nice to feel a part of it right
now, if only for a fleeting moment.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Six

ACE

L
orenzo is standing and looking out the window with his hands stuffed
into his pockets when I walk into the library. I clear my throat to let
him know I’m here and he spins around.
“You asked to see me, Boss?”
He grunts and takes a seat in the leather chair behind his desk. “Keres is
leaving in a few hours.”
“Yeah.” I swallow down the unexpected knot of something—something
I don’t want to think about—that sticks in my throat at the mention of her
name. She’s been in the Moretti mansion for two days now, recovering from
her near-fatal knife wound, and I’ve spent most of that time watching her
sleep.
He clasps his hands together and rests them on his desk. “She still needs
to find Theo.”
I have a hunch where this is going. “I know.”
He studies me intently. “I want you and Romeo to go with her.”
I have no idea what his end game is here, and the experience is both
unfamiliar and unwelcome. I don’t generally ask Lorenzo Moretti too many
questions about the things he asks me to do. I’m a loyal soldier, and I’ve
worked hard to become one of his trusted men, but I ordinarily have the
inside track on why we’re doing what we’re doing. Not that it should
matter. Whatever his reasoning for wanting me and Romeo to keep an eye
on her, it shouldn’t make a difference. But it does. “And what happens
when we’re done, Boss? After she finds Theo, then what do we do with
her?”
He sighs heavily and indicates that I should take a seat. After grabbing a
scrap of paper from his desk drawer, he scrawls something onto it and
hands it to me. “You should take her there before you do anything else.” He
nods toward the piece of paper in my hand that shows an address in
Jackson, Michigan, and I frown, curious about the significance of this place.
I don’t dare ask right now, and even if I wanted to, Lorenzo continues
before I can open my mouth. “What my father did, Ace—and not just to
Keres, but to all the women and kids we don’t even know about and will
never be able to help …” His throat contracts, and I read an emotion I’ve
never seen from Lorenzo Moretti before. Regret? Guilt? Shame? I don’t
know, but whatever it is makes me feel slightly more hopeful about Keres’s
fate. Not to mention mine and Romeo’s. “It’s a stain on my family’s name
that I want erased. Keres took Mia from me, and for that I will never
forgive her, but …” He scrubs a hand through his hair. “My family owes her
a debt. That address is a house that belongs to some old friends of ours. In
their field out back, you’ll find a lone headstone. It’s where her mother is
buried.”
This makes no fucking sense at all. “Her mom? How do you know
where she’s buried?”
His features darken. “Because I was one of the men who buried her.” He
rubs a hand over his jaw, and the sound of his thick beard scratching his
skin is the only sound in the room for several tense seconds.
“What the fuck happened to her mom, Boss?”
He shakes his head. “That’s her story to tell you, not mine. But once
you’ve helped her find that sick fuck and put an end to his miserable life,
she’s free to go.”
I lick my dry lips and stare at him, not quite able to believe what he just
said. “And Romeo and me?”
“You two will get your asses back here as soon as you’re done.”
Or maybe we’ll just follow Keres wherever she goes. The thought
catches me off guard. I have no fucking desire to spend any more time in
that vixen’s company than absolutely necessary—do I? She didn’t kill us
when she had the chance, and she saved Mia’s life. But so what? That
changes nothing.
Regardless, I slip the scrap of paper into my pocket and nod my
agreement, because whatever Romeo and I do next, I don’t want to do it on
the run from the Morettis. No matter what, we’re coming back here. Even if
it’s only to make things right before we move on.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Seven

KERES

I
take one last look at the sweeping marble staircase and swallow down
the huge rush of sadness and regret that washes over me. Tears sting the
backs of my eyes, but I refuse to cry, not again. Before yesterday, I
hadn’t cried in twelve long years, and I refuse to start again now. Especially
not because of some silly imagined memories of what it would have been
like to grow up in a house like this, with people who care about each other
as much as the Morettis do.
I need to get out of here and away from them all as fast as I can.
“You’re all set to go?” the deep, soothing voice that I’d now recognize
anywhere comes from behind me.
I spin on my heel and come face-to-face with Lorenzo. I give him a firm
nod, still fighting back the urge to cry. “I am.”
“Ace and Romeo will accompany you until you find Theo and do what
needs to be done.”
I shake my head. I expected no less than this, but that doesn’t mean I
have to accept their company. “Theo? That’s his name?”
He nods. “Theo Wynn.”
“Then I don’t need their help.”
 He shrugs and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I never said that you
did.”
“They can stay here. I’ll be fine on my own.”
He leans against the wall, his eyes boring into mine. “They’re no use to
me right now. I still haven’t forgiven them for failing me, and they’ll be
safer with you than here in Chicago. Consider this you doing them a favor.”
I snort a laugh. I doubt either of them would see it that way.
“Considering they saved your life and all.” He arches one thick eyebrow
at me.
Dammit. I scuff the toe of my shoe against the marble floor.
“Besides, it will be hard to ride with your wrist still busted up.”
Glancing down at my bandaged arm, I grunt with frustration. He’s right.
But I could wait until I’m fully healed. That would be better than spending
even more time with two men who hate me. Two men I can’t be around
because I don’t trust myself with them. I have never in my life been
controlled by my emotions before, but Ace and Romeo bring out my
vulnerability in a way that I can’t begin to wrap my head around.
“They’ll be accompanying you, Keres. Deal with it.”
I run my tongue over my bottom lip. “Fine.”
He rolls his eyes. “If I had any doubt you were a Moretti woman, your
stubbornness and refusal to accept my help would convince me otherwise.”
“You don’t have any doubt though. I wanted to ask you before I left.
How did you find out?”
He steps forward until he’s standing a few inches from me, towering
over my much-shorter frame, but I’m not intimidated by him. Not anymore.
Not now that I know who he truly is. “You know we have another half
sister, Toni?”
I nod. “The MMA fighter? Yeah I knew that. She was home for your
wedding a few weeks ago, but she doesn’t come around much.”
“You must have been watching us for a long time. She left for Europe
three months ago.”
“A few months, yeah.” I’m worried the truth will renew his fury, but if
Lorenzo is surprised by my admission, he doesn’t show it.
“When you took Mia, I had Nathan James and his hacker friend look
into your mom’s past for me. Kendra Sideris was born right here in
Chicago. She disappeared twenty-four years ago, after getting a job in a
local Italian restaurant—one my family used to own. You were born nine
months after her disappearance. Your birth mom’s name was recorded as
Jane Smith, but the nurse who looked after you both described a woman
who looked just like Kendra. A woman who was terrified for her life. She
reported the situation to the authorities but was told in no uncertain terms to
back off.”
My eyes widen with surprise. “She got all that in a few days? Nathan’s
hacker is something else.”
“Nathan James is a good man to know.”
I pick at a stray piece of cotton on the seam of my jeans, avoiding
Lorenzo’s gaze. His knowledge of my past makes me feel way too exposed.
“It seems like everything is about who you know in this life. But that still
doesn’t answer my question. How were you so sure I was a Moretti?”
“Probably for the same reasons you are. How old were you when you
learned who your father was?”
The memory almost knocks me off my feet, and I suck in a deep breath
and steady myself, planting my hand on the wall beside me. “Eleven. It was
a few weeks before … before my mom was killed. I guess she knew they
were planning on doing something bad … Planning to sell me. That’s when
she told me my father was a powerful man. One of the most powerful there
was. And that if ever I was in trouble, I should use his name and that would
save me.” Tears sting my eyes again, but I bite down on the inside of my
cheek and remember who the fuck I am. Remember that I’m a warrior. I
look up, hardening my gaze as I stare into the face of my older brother. “But
you know what, his name didn’t save me at all. It got her killed. And right
then and there I vowed that one day I would make him suffer the way that
she suffered. That I would make his children suffer the way that hers did.”
I watch his face for his reaction, but he remains annoyingly impassive
and unreadable. “So after you killed Theo. You planned to come after us
too?”
I ball my hands into fists and my nails dig into my palms. “Yes.”
His dark eyes narrow and the muscles in his jaw twitch. “Just Dante,
Joey, and me? Or our children too?”
His question feels like an accusation, and the assumption that I would
have hurt innocent children hurts more than a punch to the face. “Just the
three of you. I would never hurt a child.”
He snarls. “But you’d hurt my sister. Someone who has never done
anything to you?”
 And I don’t know what the hell happens to me, but I sway on my feet.
The jealousy and longing that rips through my soul is visceral and primal
and raw, and it hurts so much that I gasp for breath. His loyalty to Joey and
how fiercely he protects her—why didn’t I get to have any of that? “I-I
thought all of you were involved.” I suck in a deep breath. “But now I know
that I was wrong.”
“So, you’re no longer looking for vengeance against your half siblings,
Keres?”
I shake my head. “No. Once I’ve found Theo, I’m done.”
He inches even closer, and I stare down at the floor. But he cups my
chin and tilts my head until I’m looking into his eyes again, the same way
he did with his daughter in the library. “You want to know how I knew for
certain you were my sister?”
“How?”
“Your hatred for our father was about much more than his involvement
in what happened to you and your mother. It was borne of a betrayal so
profound that it leaves its fingerprints on your soul for eternity. That kind of
betrayal, from a father against his child, is one that can’t be imagined by
anyone other than those who have felt the same anguish.”
He releases my jaw and takes a step back, as though allowing me room
to process everything he just said. “Ace and Romeo have something to
show you that I hope will help bring you some closure.”
Before I can ask what he means, approaching footsteps from the other
end of the hallway interrupt the moment. Ace and Romeo don’t look
particularly happy with having to babysit me for the foreseeable future,
which only serves to make me feel worse than I already do. Will I ever feel
like I belong anywhere? Phoenix was the only person who ever felt like real
family to me, even if we did have a difficult relationship. Her loss hits me
afresh, tearing another gaping wound into my soul.
“I guess we’d better get going, Fuck-up.” Romeo slings his huge
backpack over his shoulder.
My eyes dart between the three men, and I clench my mouth shut before
I say something snarky. It seems like this is happening whether I want it to
or not, so I might as well do what Lorenzo told me to do—deal with it.
And as I exit the mansion on the heels of Ace and Romeo, I push down
the thought that keeps invading my mind like a persistent pop-up ad:
Despite everything I just thought, I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.
OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter

Thirty-Eight

ACE

S
he glares at me and then at my bike before looking longingly at her
yellow Honda.
“You can’t fucking ride with your wrist busted like that. So just get
the fuck on.” I glance over my shoulder to the space on the seat behind me.
Why the fuck can’t anything to do with this woman ever be easy? And why
the hell do I love the fact it isn’t easy so damn much?
She rolls her eyes, and a picture of her bent over my bike with her ass
red from a spanking flashes through my mind. It makes me smile in spite of
myself. “You want to find this sick fuck or not, Trouble? Because the
sooner you get on this fucking bike, the sooner we can get moving.”
She huffs dramatically and pulls on her helmet. “This doesn’t mean you
get to call me your backpack.”
“Fine.” As soon as she’s on the seat, I rev the ignition so that she lurches
forward and has no choice but to wrap her arms around my waist.
“Asshole.”
I bite back a laugh. “That’s my good little backpack.” I take off before
she can cuss me out, and the roar of the engine cuts off whatever she was
about to say.
R omeo and I checked out the address Lorenzo gave me before we left
Chicago. According to Google maps, it’s a house in Jackson, and I have no
idea how open the owners are going to be about having strangers poking
around their land looking for a grave. But we’re headed there anyway, and I
haven’t had a chance to tell Keres yet.
I roll the bike to a stop outside a sprawling ranch-style house that stands
alone on a long road. A porch swing rocks in the gentle breeze, creaking
softly. There’s an apple tree in the front yard with a tire swing and two
small bikes on the path.
Keres shuffles back. “Why are we here? Who lives here?” I hear the
uneasiness in her voice. This is a family home. Probably not the kind of
house where she expects to find the type of people she wants to hurt.
I pull off my helmet and tap her leg. She takes the signal to climb off
the back of the bike and stares at me expectantly as Romeo rolls to a stop
beside us.
“Lorenzo said we should come here before we go any further. He
thought it might help you,” I say.
“He said you had something to show me. This is it? A house?” She turns
and studies the light-blue house.
“Not exactly. There’s something on their land.”
The screen door of the house swings open, and an auburn-haired woman
who looks to be in her thirties steps out, her hand over her eyes blocking the
glare of the afternoon sun. “Are you Keres?” she shouts.
Keres spins around but doesn’t answer. Her legs are trembling.
I lace my fingers through hers, and for once she doesn’t pull away. “You
want us to come with you?”
She glances at me, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “To see what?
What’s she going to show me, Ace?”
“Your mom’s grave.”
Her mouth opens, but she doesn’t speak. Instead she shakes her head.
“Lorenzo and, I assume, Max and Dante, buried your mom here
somewhere.”
“B-but … my mom? She never—she was never …”
I squeeze her hand tighter. Despite everything we’ve been through, I
can’t stand to see this pain on her face. It comes from a place of pure love.
Her need for revenge and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get it is
dark and ugly, but this part of her is so far removed from any of that. I want
nothing more than to wrap her in my arms and tell her it will be okay, but
I’m acutely aware that any such display of affection would likely earn me a
knee in the nuts. “That’s what he told me. That he buried your mom here.”
She turns back to the house and to the woman now walking down the
steps toward us. “Hi. I’m Sabine. Dante called and told me you’d be
coming.”
Keres blinks at her. “But wh-who are you?”
Sabine smiles. “My wife and I are old friends of the Moretti family.”
Keres tips her chin at the other woman, displaying no outward sign of
the anxiety that I know she’s feeling. “Lorenzo told these guys my mom is
buried on your land.”
Sabine nods. “Yeah. Beneath a beautiful red maple tree down at the
back of the field. Would you like to come see her?”
Keres takes a step forward, her hand still gripping mine. I take that as
my signal she wants us with her and ignore the tiny embers of hope that
ignite in my hardened heart.
The four of us walk up the path and around the back of the house. “Why
did they bury her here though?” Keres asks.
“Nicole and I had just moved here. Dante and Lorenzo bought us this
land—”
Keres shakes her head. “They bought you this land? Why?”
Sabine sighs. “Nicole was in a really bad situation. Her father and
brothers …” She glances at Romeo and me, as though asking for permission
to keep talking. I shrug, not having a clue what the hell is going on. “They
were key players in the human trafficking business, and Dante, Lorenzo,
and Max … well, they dealt with them. During the course of putting an end
to the whole mess, they found your mom’s body. I know they’re …” She
taps her lips with her fingers. “Let’s not sugarcoat it. They’re Mafia, right?
But they’re also good men. They couldn’t leave a mess behind, and they
didn’t want to leave her body alone in an unmarked grave where nobody
could find her if they wanted to. So they brought her here and asked if they
could bury her in the field, a place where she could rest peacefully. I
wonder if they knew you’d come looking for her one day.”
“And you agreed to have some woman you didn’t know buried in your
yard?” Keres asks.
 Sabine laughs softly. “It’s more like a field, but also, yes. That could
have been my Nicole left for dead somewhere like that. It could have been
any of us. I’d like to think someone would offer me the same courtesy.”
Sabine stops walking and points out the maple tree up ahead. “You’ll
find what you’re looking for right up there. You can stop in for some iced
tea when you’re done, or just go on your way if that’s what you’d prefer.”
Keres nods, but her eyes are fixed on the tree a hundred yards in the
distance. Sabine slips away, leaving Romeo and me standing on either side
of Keres, who only now removes her hand from mine. She starts to walk
toward the spot Sabine just pointed out, and after a few strides she breaks
into a jog. Romeo and I stay rooted to the spot, unsure if we’re supposed to
share this moment with her. She drops to her knees under the tree and falls
forward, like someone just took her out with a bullet to the head.
Romeo scrunches his nose. “You think we should go be with her?”
I look between her and him. The truth is I have no fucking clue what she
wants from us right now, but I do know what I want for her. I jerk my head
and walk toward her. Our feet crunch against the dry grass, signaling our
approach, but she doesn’t turn her head. She’s kneeling upright now, her
focus centered on the small gray headstone engraved with the words Here
lies a true warrior.
I sink to my knees beside her, but she still doesn’t acknowledge my
presence or Romeo’s when he does the same on her other side. Silent and
unmoving, she stares at the grave. One fat, solitary tear runs down her
cheek. I watch it roll down her jawline and drip onto her jacket.
“She was here all this time,” she finally says, her voice calmer and more
composed than I expected. She sniffs once and sits cross-legged on the
ground. Her eyes are now dry, like that one tear was all she could afford to
shed. “I thought she was all alone, left in that horrible house or tossed in
some ditch somewhere, with no one to …” She wipes her nose with the
back of her hand. “But she was here, with that nice lady and her wife.”
“Yeah,” Romeo says.
“She was the best, you know? No matter how bad things got, she always
made the most of it. She told me stories of the old Greek gods and the
spirits, and how the Keres would take the souls of dying warriors and carry
them to their victorious afterlife.”
Romeo slips an arm around her shoulder and she leans into him.
 “She sounds like the best kind of mom,” I say, wishing I could
remember my own, but she died before I took my first breath. She was in a
car wreck, and they pulled me from her womb as she lay dying. I was alone
in this world from the moment I entered it.
“She really was. She died trying to protect me, you know?”
I lace my fingers through hers. “All good moms would die to protect
their kids, Kee.”
“Yeah, but fortunately most of them don’t have to. She died in so much
pain. Her final screams will haunt my memory forever. But what hurts me
the most is that she died thinking that I would never be free. She died
believing she failed me.”
Romeo and I stay quiet, aware there’s nothing we can say to ease her
suffering. All we can do is be here.
“I made it out, Mom,” she whispers. “And all the men who hurt you are
dead. I know you said my father’s name would save me. You thought me
being a Moretti would protect me.”
Did she just say she’s a fucking Moretti? Romeo mouths what the fuck.
I stare back at him, equally confused.
“And it did, Mom. Not the way you meant though. Being Salvatore’s
daughter didn’t offer me any protection, but Lorenzo Moretti—my brother
—he rescued me and set me free.”
She wipes her nose again and sits in silence. The only sound in the field
is the gentle hum of the wind through the grass and the birds singing
somewhere nearby.
“It’s real peaceful here, isn’t it?” Keres asks, a soft smile on her face.
“It’s good to know she’s here surrounded by peace when her life was so full
of chaos and pain.”
“Yeah, it’s real nice, Fuck-up.” Romeo presses a kiss on the top of her
head.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Trouble,” I mutter, and she turns her attention to
me. “You’re a Moretti? You couldn’t have told us this sooner?”
She shrugs. “I never felt like a Moretti. I didn’t think you needed to
know.”
Romeo pulls her closer, and she shuffles until she’s leaning against his
chest. He wraps an arm around her, and I feel an acute pang of jealousy at
their easy relationship. “Do they know?” he asks her.
“I guess so. Lorenzo figured it out.”
 I wait for further explanation, but she doesn’t offer any. “You said he
rescued you?”
She licks her lips and nods. “Yeah.”
Although I have no right to probe further, I can’t help myself. The need
to know everything about her burns inside me. Maybe it’s the only way I’ll
ever understand her. “From where?”
She presses her lips together, and I figure she’s about to tell me to go to
hell, but instead she takes a deep breath. “My mom was sold to a man
named Hank Sizemore when she was pregnant with me. Sold as a slave
when she was nineteen. She was kidnapped to order. Hank wanted himself a
young bride with olive skin and dark hair and a tight cunt—those were the
exact words he used. And I know that because he told me the story often,
like it was some fucking fairytale.
“Anyway, what nobody realized until my mom had been with him for a
few months was that she was pregnant with me. The man who’d arranged
her kidnap, Salvatore Moretti, raped her while she was waiting to be
transported.”
A strand of her hair gets caught in the breeze, and she tucks it behind
her ear. “So old Hank thought he’d hit the jackpot. Two for the price of one,
right? Once my mom was too old and worn-out for him, he’d have her
virgin daughter to take her place. He used to tell me that too.”
Bile burns my esophagus and I swallow it down. I can feel Romeo’s
eyes burning into me from over Keres’s head, but I keep my gaze fixed on
her face while she bares her soul. In my peripheral vision, I see his fingers
tighten on her shoulder, and I get it. I want to fucking hold her tight and
never let anyone hurt her again.
“But the men who sold my mom, well, they wouldn’t stand for that.
Hank didn’t get to keep me. I was their property, not his. So when I was
eleven, they found a buyer for me. He wanted two little girls with dark hair
who hadn’t started their periods yet. Sick fuck.”
I shove my fist into my mouth and bite down on my knuckles so hard
that I draw blood. Rage and adrenaline pump through my veins, making me
feel like I’ll explode if I don’t let it out soon.
“My mom tried to stop them, of course. She offered herself in my place,
which made Hank livid. He was already losing one of his toys and now she
was trying to leave him too. When the two men came for me, she screamed
and begged them to let her keep me, and I begged too. Even a life with
Hank at that point was better than what the future held. But they laughed at
her, and when she fought them, they beat her. Hank fought them and they
slit his throat. Mom somehow found the strength to keep fighting, but she
couldn’t win. They tortured her right in front of me. And the last thing she
said to them was that I was Salvatore Moretti’s daughter. You know what
they did?”
I shake my head but she’s staring off into the distance, and I don’t think
she even sees me.
“They laughed at her and told her Salvatore had fucked so many women
and had kids all over the place, but he only cared about the kids he gave his
name to. Then they slit her throat too.”
“Jesus Christ, Keres,” I rasp.
That seems to snap her from her daze, and she blinks at me.
I shake my head. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
She shrugs. “You didn’t do any of that. You have nothing to be sorry
for.”
Romeo’s frowning at her. “How did Lorenzo rescue you?”
Her slender throat thickens as she swallows, and I realize with a horrible
sinking feeling that this story isn’t over. “The men who took me, they
delivered me to the buyer. He already had Phoenix. I was the last package.
He said … he said we had a long journey. Told us we needed to be quiet. I
guess he didn’t think we would be unless he … in order to make sure we
were quiet, he—” Her voice cracks, and the agony written all over her face
shatters my heart. The suffering her eleven-year-old self endured makes me
wish I could go back in time and save her.
She clears her throat and continues in a clinical tone. “He raped us both.
He locked us in a box in the back of his van. I wanted to die.” Her harsh
laugh scrapes over my skin like sandpaper. “Hell, I don’t believe in any
kind of god, but I prayed to die. The van stopped. I planned to run, hoping
the man would shoot me. But I was scared. Scared my mom would be mad
at me after she died trying to keep me safe.
“I remember there being more than one man. I could never remember
much else. But I’ve never forgotten the voice of the one who pulled me out
of that box. A few days ago, I learned that voice belonged to Lorenzo. He
took Nix and me to Father Mike. He saved us.”
“Holy fucking shit, baby,” Romeo says on a breath.
 She wrenches herself from his grip and jumps up, brushing the grass
from her jeans. “It’s getting dark. We need to get some food and check in to
a motel if we’re going to get to Theo tomorrow. As soon as we deal with
him, I can get out of your hair and we never need to see each other again.”
She looks out over the field rather than at either of the men she just
bared her deepest, darkest secrets to. And while I understand her closing
herself off after laying herself bare, it still hurts like a motherfucker. Every
single time we break through any kind of wall with her, she builds another
even stronger one in its place.
But what she doesn’t realize is that her walls won’t keep me out for
long. I want to break her down piece by piece before I put her back together
again. I want her fractured soul and her broken heart, and I want her to give
them to me of her own free will. Then I can watch her rise like the goddamn
warrior she is and stand by her side until the end of my fucking days. But
all she understands is cruelty and pain. They’re the only things she’ll accept
from me, so what choice do I have but to give her what she craves? Because
if she’s the spirit of violent death, I will spend the rest of my fucking life
dying for her.

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 Chapter

Thirty-Nine

KERES

H
olding onto Ace’s waist as he drives us away from the pale blue
house in Jackson, I feel a familiar, if annoying, comfort in the
warmth of his solid body against mine.
I still feel numb after learning about and seeing my mom’s grave. I have
so many questions, so many emotions to process, but I can’t afford to give
any of that space in my brain right now. I have to focus on finding Theo,
then maybe I can take time to process everything else. Right now it feels
like Pandora’s box, and I know that once I open the lid I’m likely to unleash
my own personal hell and I might never escape it.
Ace taps my thigh to signal he’s about to speed up, and I grip him
tighter. We reach the freeway, and he kicks the bike up a few gears until
we’re racing down the open road at full throttle. I lean into him and focus
on the sensation of wind whipping my clothes against my body, relishing
the thrill of adrenaline as he takes the bike to its top speed. I try to forget
that I just showed Ace and Romeo the ugliest, most secret pieces of myself.
 They’ll never look at me the same again now that they know I’m
damaged. Broken. No longer a woman, only a victim. And I hate that more
than I should. Why do I care what they think of me? In a few days this will
all be over, and we’ll never see each other again. That thought slices a fresh
welt across my heart. I try in vain to convince myself that this new grief has
nothing to do with how much I care for them and everything to do with how
vulnerable I feel right now.

R omeo checked us into a motel and went to get dinner, leaving Ace and
me alone in the room. A room with only one bed. I’ve given up complaining
about the fact that there only ever seem to be rooms with one bed available
and accept that it’s one of the ways they can continue to annoy me.
Sitting on the lone bed, I flex my hand and wince at the burning pain
that lances up my forearm. With a sigh, Ace plops down beside me and
grabs my arm, his fingers gripping my skin above my bandage. I try to yank
free, but he holds me tighter. “Just let me take a look, will you?”
He tugs me closer until my knee is resting on his thigh. The close
proximity of his body makes heat pool in my core. I swallow hard. “Fine.”
Carefully, he unwraps the bandage around my wrist and inspects the
wound before running the pad of his index finger over my stitches. Warmth
snakes beneath my skin where his touch lingers. “It looks okay.”
“I know,” I huff.
He lifts his head, and his dark eyes meet mine. “I only want to make
sure it’s not infected, Trouble. Don’t want your arm turning green and
falling off before we find Theo, now do we?” He glides two fingers up my
forearm, making goosebumps prickle out all over my skin. His lips twitch
in a smirk. “Doesn’t mean I care.”
“I already know how much you don’t care,” I blurt and feel annoyed
with myself for showing any emotion.
He gives me a snarky laugh in return and starts wrapping a fresh
bandage around my wrist.
“What?” I snap.
He doesn’t meet my eyes again while he finishes wrapping the fresh
bandage. “Nothing.”
 I wrench my wrist from his grip. “What, Ace?”
He inhales a deep breath through his nose that seems to vibrate through
his entire body. When he lifts his head, the fiery look in his eyes makes my
toes curl in my shoes, and not in an unpleasant way. “You think you have
this perfect mask in place, Keres. That nobody sees the real you, but I see
you.” His eyes narrow. “I see what you are. What you want. What you
need.”
I snort a laugh. “You think?”
“I know.” He trails his fingertips along my cheekbone, making me
shiver. “As tough as you are, you’re looking for the same as the rest of us.
Someone to love you. Someone to care.”
Tears blind me, and my top lip curls into a sneer. “You think I want you
to care for me, Ace? Love me?” My tone drips with disdain as I try to
wriggle away, but I’m pinned in place by his gaze. His words seep into my
soul, carving out the deep-rooted truths I’ve tried to hide most of my life.
His eyes flash with something else. Desire, longing, animal attraction?
He licks his lips, and I swear I feel his tongue snaking its way up my thighs.
Before I can take another breath, I’m pinned between his hard body and the
thin mattress. He runs his nose along my jawline, inhaling my scent like an
animal sniffs its prey before devouring them. “No. But you want me to fuck
you though, right?” He grinds his hips against mine, letting me feel every
inch of his solid length against that aching spot between my thighs. “I
remember how wet you get for me, Trouble. If I slid my fingers into your
cunt right now, she’d be dripping for me.” He laughs darkly.
I snarl. “I’d rather fuck my toothbrush before I fucked you.” Liar.
He glares at me, his jaw ticking and the vein in his temple throbbing.
His warm breath dusts over my cheek, and I shiver at the memories his
mouth evokes. “So why are you spreading your pretty legs for me like a
whore?” he asks with a low growl.
Dammit. He’s right. As soon as he pinned me, my legs parted to
accommodate him, like they were no longer connected to my brain but
instead taking orders directly from my neglected lady parts. The parts of me
that no man apart from him and Romeo have ever made feel quite so good.
It makes me hate him even more.
“And why is this spot on your neck”—he runs his tongue over the pulse
on my throat where my blood hammers against my skin and I moan
—“fluttering like a butterfly’s wings if it’s not because you want me inside
you just as much as I want to be there?”
Sweet Aphrodite. I take a deep breath. “You do?”
He arches an eyebrow. “You think my cock is this hard because I don’t
want you?”
I stare into his eyes and try to figure out what I see there. The physical
attraction between us has never been in question, but he was right before; I
do want him to care. I don’t know what I hate more—how badly I want it or
that I can’t have it. “I think any warm body would make you hard, Ace.”
A growl tumbles from his lips.
Romeo bounds into the room and laughs when he sees us.
Ace presses his lips against my ear. “And there’s my favorite warm
body right now.” He jumps off the bed before I can blink. Like a damn fool,
I miss his warmth and want to cry at the loss of his touch.
Pushing Romeo back against the wall, he seals their lips together and
takes him with a bruising, hungry kiss. Ace’s hands fist in the collar of
Romeo’s jacket and roughly yank it down his arms. “On your fucking
knees.”
Romeo grins wickedly and does as he’s told. “You joining us, Fuck-
up?”
“Nah. She’s too good for us, isn’t that right?” Ace throws me a look of
disdain over his shoulder. Goddamn fucking asshole.
“Shame.” Romeo unzips Ace’s jeans and frees his thick cock. I can’t see
what happens next, but from the sounds they make, I can picture his sinful
lips wrapped around Ace’s shaft.
I curse under my breath. If I wasn’t so goddamn stubborn, I could be
joining them right now, or at least watching with a front-row seat instead of
only being able to see Ace’s back.
“Motherfucker,” Ace grunts as his hips rock forward. “Stop.” Romeo’s
hands grip Ace’s ass. “I said stop!”
The next sound I hear from Romeo is a devious chuckle, so I figure he
must have done as he was asked. “I want to fuck you.” Ace jerks his head
toward the bathroom. “Shower.”
Romeo stands and shoots me a quick look of concern, or maybe it’s pity,
but Ace is already crowding him toward the bathroom. A few moments
later, the shower’s running and I’m forced to endure the sound of them
fucking. I throw the pillow over my head and wait for them to finish, heat
and desire snaking through my core with each second spent listening to
their grunts and groans.
The shower cuts off. I close my eyes and feign sleep as they climb into
bed beside me.
“You take my cock so fucking well, pup,” Ace says quietly.
Romeo chuckles. “That’s because I love your cock.”
“I love you.” They kiss, and I can feel the heat from their bodies
although they don’t touch me. Only after their soft murmurs cut off and I’m
sure they’re both asleep do I turn over and look at them. Romeo is facing
me, his mouth open and his snores barely audible. The soft sound in the
otherwise quiet room comforts me. Ace has one thick arm banded around
Romeo’s torso and his usually tense brow is relaxed and unlined for once.
Jealousy gnaws at me. I hate that I want what they have. And I want to
have it with them. To be cocooned between their hard bodies, and not just
because fucking me makes them feel good for a while. I want them to want
me not only for the sex, but because they can’t imagine a life without me in
it.
Turning over to face the wall, I swipe away my tears. There’s no future
like that for me. Especially not with them.

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 Chapter

Forty

ROMEO

I
find Keres sitting against the brick wall outside the motel room, staring
into space. “Hey Fuck-up, where’s Ace?”
“Gone for breakfast,” she says without looking at me.
I sit down beside her and nudge her knee with mine. “Wanna talk about
it?”
A tear runs down her cheek and she swats it away. “She was a good
person, you know?”
“Your mom?”
She sniffs. “Phoenix.”
I pick up a stray leaf and tear it into pieces.
“She was just messed up. She couldn’t get past what he … what those
monsters did to her.”
I stay silent, my thoughts drifting to my own demons and how hard they
were to conquer. I never really let them go until I found Ace. Never had a
single problem getting pussy or ass whenever I wanted it, but I was never
good enough to keep around for a relationship. People couldn’t handle me
for more than a few hours at a time. Until Ace. I’ve never felt so free to be
myself as I am with him. And I’ll kneel at his feet for the rest of my fucking
days if he asked me to.
“Now she’s dead and it’s all my fault.”
“You wish you would’ve killed me and Ace and gotten the hell out of
there instead?”
Her head snaps around and she frowns at me. “No. I didn’t mean that.”
I shrug, feigning disinterest. I have no idea why this woman gets under
my skin the way she does. Maybe I see some of myself in her. I also see
how Ace could settle her too, if she’d just let him.
“I mean it was my idea to kidnap Mia. I dragged her into this. And now
she’s gone. I never should have convinced her to go along with my stupid-
ass plan.”
I shake my head, hating that she blames herself after everything she’s
been through. “She was an adult, Keres. Capable of making her own
decisions. She chose to try and stick that knife in Mia’s belly. She was
going to kill Mia and her baby. That is not on you.”
“But she wasn’t well. She was so broken …” Tears fill her eyes and I
wrap an arm around her shoulder.
“Lots of people hurt, Keres. Lots of us know how it feels to be violated
and made to feel like we’re worth less than dirt, but it doesn’t absolve any
of us from taking responsibility for our own actions.”
Her eyes flash with hurt. “I’m sorry.”
“About what.”
“About whatever happened to you.”
I shake my head and turn away from her, slipping my arm from her
shoulder. I don’t want to share this part of myself with her because then
she’ll have every piece of me. And only Ace has all of me.
She laces her fingers through mine, reestablishing our connection, and I
hate that her doing that makes me feel so good. “I miss her so much,
Romeo, but I also feel kind of relieved that she’s gone, and that makes me
feel guilty as hell.”
“Why are you relieved?”
“Because she was in so much pain, and no matter what we tried to do to
make it better, she just kept getting worse. I couldn’t stand to see her
hurting anymore. You know?”
I nod. I know better than she can even imagine. “My mom killed herself
because she couldn’t take the pain anymore. And I get that. I almost did the
same a few months later, but …”
She blinks at me, her eyes wide and imploring, and my heart breaks
open. “What did you do instead?”
I suck on my lip and tilt my head to the sky, aware I’m about to give her
a piece of myself that I can never take back. But after everything she told us
yesterday, I feel I can trust her to never use it against me. “I killed the
fucker who hurt us both.”
She nods her understanding. Of course she understands. It’s exactly
what she did too. It’s why I’ve seen so much of myself in her from the
moment we met. “Who was he?”
Bile burns the back of my throat at the memory of his hands on me.
“My stepfather.”
She squeezes my hand tighter in hers, not bothering to offer me any
empty words of apology now because she knows they’re meaningless to
people like us. I rest my chin on the top of her head.
“Do you ever get mad at her for leaving you?” she asks softly.
“I did at first. I wondered how she could leave me with him. But as I got
older, I realized that for her there was no other choice. Just like your friend,
Phoenix. She dealt the best way she knew how. People deal with their hurts
in different ways. None of them are any harder or easier than the other.
Some people turn inward. Some look for comfort in others or in the bottom
of a bottle or the point of a needle.”
She lifts her head and blinks at me, tears glistening in her eyes, and I
want her to stop hurting, if only for a while. I nudge her in the ribs. “And
some turn into a wild she-devil intent on vengeance.” I flash her a grin,
trying to lighten the mood.
It has the desired effect because she smirks. “Yeah, I guess you’re
right.”
“I’m always right, Fuck-up.”
She leans her head on my shoulder, and we sit in silence waiting for our
knight in shining armor to get back.

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 Chapter

Forty-One

ACE

“Y ou both ready to do this?” I ask, glancing between the two of them.

Keres pats the pocket on the outer thigh of her leather pants, the
one she slipped her blade into before we left. I offered her a gun but
she refused. I guess she wants this to be up close and personal so she can
see the light go out of his eyes when he takes his last breath.
I glance at the single-story six-bedroom house with the electric entry
gates and ten-foot-high walls.
Nathan James’s hacker friend got us a full layout of the house in Fort
Wayne, along with a list of Wynn’s staff, their shift patterns, and the details
of the custody schedule for his three kids. Fortunately for us, the kids are
with their mom today. She also hacked into his security feed for us, and
we’ve been watching the place all morning. Romeo pulls it up now, and like
he has been for the past few hours, Wynn is in his office. His bodyguard has
spent most of that time in the kitchen, chatting and flirting with the maid,
while periodically checking on his boss. They’re the only two other people
in the house today.
“Let’s go over the plan again,” I say, eyeing the gilded gates. Flashy
prick. He should have spent more money on fortifying the back of the
property, where a blind spot on his security feed and a row of white oaks
are going to provide us the perfect opportunity to slip inside undetected.
“You and I will take care of the bodyguard and the maid.” Romeo
places his hand over the chest pocket of his leather jacket where he has a
syringe full of medical-grade narcotics that will knock a person out for at
least two hours. I have one too. “And then we’ll join Keres and watch while
she deals with Theo.”
Keres nods, her eyes darting around as she checks up and down the
street. It’s quiet. One lady jogged by us after we parked our bikes up the
street and gave Romeo an approving once-over, but we haven’t seen
another soul since.
Keres jerks her head in the direction of the house. “So let’s go.” She
confidently crosses the road and we follow, slipping around to the back of
the house. I give her a boost, and she scales the tree like a ten-year-old kid.
Romeo stares after her, a wide grin on his face. “That is a fine ass,
right?”
I nudge him in the arm. “Focus, asshole.”
With a devious laugh, he scrambles up the tree after her. A few moments
later, all three of us are making our way around the edge of the yard to the
house and the large french doors which open into the pool area and lead to
the large kitchen. A trickle of sweat runs down my back, and I unzip my
jacket to let in some air, not that there’s much to be had in the afternoon
heat of the sun.
The kitchen is empty, and Romeo pulls up the security feed on his
phone. “Looks like the maid and guard are out in the hallway.”
Keres nods to the open doors. “Then let’s get in there while we can.”
We head into the kitchen but stop when Romeo hisses, “Shit! They’re
going to the front door. Visitors?”
“I didn’t hear the doorbell,” Keres whispers.
“Because they didn’t ring it,” Romeo says as the sounds of shrieking
kids fill the house.
“Fuck!” I groan.
Keres closes her eyes and sighs. “The kids.”
“Your mom will be here in ten minutes,” a deep voice calls out. “So get
all your shit together. Now!”
I glance at the doorway on the other side of the kitchen. There are three
bedrooms on the east side of the house and three on the west. I’m certain I
recall the master suite being on the east. “Let’s go.” I herd the two of them
to the last bedroom along the hallway.
“What do we do now?” Romeo says, running a hand through his mop of
dark hair.
“We wait the kids out. He said their mom would be here in ten minutes,
right? According to the files Nathan sent us, they hate each other, so he’s
not likely to be going with her. Once the kids leave, we go back to the
original plan.”
“And meanwhile we hang around in this sick fuck’s bedroom?” Keres
wrinkles her nose in disgust as she looks around the room. A huge painting
of a tied-up woman being fucked hangs on a wall opposite a black leather
couch, and the center of the room features a four-poster bed with black silk
sheets. She runs a hand over the fabric and makes a fake vomiting noise.
“What a fucking cliché.”
Before I can agree with her, footsteps thunder down the hall toward the
room.
“Hide. Now.” Romeo ducks and rolls under the bed.
Keres blinks at me, and I grab her arm and drag her inside the closet just
before the door to the bedroom bursts open. “Dad, have you seen my
football jersey?” The deep voice tells me it’s his oldest son, Tyson.
A shouted “No” sounds from somewhere else in the house.
“Your girlfriend had it on the other day,” the kid calls back, his voice
full of disgust. He stomps around the room while I run through the dozen
different scenarios that could unfold, especially if this kid opens the closet.
Keres sucks in a deep breath, no doubt thinking the same. She’s been
waiting for this moment almost her whole life, but I know she’d never hurt
a kid to get it.
“Your shirt’s in my room, Ty,” a girl’s voice shouts. Ty stomps out of
the room a few seconds later, and I heave a sigh of relief. He doesn’t close
the door after himself, so we’re forced to remain in our hiding spots for
now, with Keres’s body pushed up close against mine. And now all I can
think about is … I close my eyes and bite down on my lip, fighting to think
of anything other than how good she feels, but it’s no fucking use.
“Will you get that thing out of my ass crack,” she angry-whispers.
I dip my chin and press my lips against the shell of her ear. “You think I
want to be this fucking close to you?”
 “Given the size of that thing, I’d say you’re pretty fucking stoked to be
this close to me. I cannot believe you’re hard at a time like this.” The
disdain dripping from her tone grates on my already frayed nerves, and I
have to physically stop myself from wrapping my hand around her throat
and squeezing until she begs me to stop. Of course I’m fucking hard with
your perky little ass pressed against my dick, you fucking siren. That’s what
I want to say, but I clench my jaw shut.
She shifts from one foot to the other, rubbing her ass against me. Her
breathing grows heavier. I tip my head back and stifle the groan that wants
to roll out of me. She’s gotta be doing this on fucking purpose.
I grab hold of her upper arms. “Stop fucking moving.”
“I can’t. I hate enclosed spaces.” I don’t miss the slight tremor in her
voice now, and I recall what she told us yesterday at her mom’s graveside.
Of course she fucking hates small spaces. Her breaths come in heavy pants,
and if she doesn’t calm down soon, someone will hear us.
I slide my hand onto her chest just beneath her collarbone and pull her
back against me, and when she offers no resistance I take slow and
deliberate breaths. “Breathe with me.”
She nods, her breaths stuttering as she tries to match my steady pace. I
splay my fingers wide, settling them over her hammering heart, and dust
my lips over her ear. “You’re okay. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
“Promise?” she asks quietly, and I hear the voice of an eleven-year-old
Keres, still locked in that trunk.
“I promise, sweetheart.”
She tips her head back and rests it on my shoulder. Her chest stops
heaving and her breathing slows until it matches the cadence of mine. Her
heartbeat is a steady thump against my hand. I slide my free arm around her
waist and press my lips against the top of her head, and we stay like this,
listening to the kids run around the house, probably packing their things for
their mom’s house. I breathe in her scent, letting her fill my senses. Despite
the number of times I’ve had a part of my body inside hers, this has to be
the most intimate thing we’ve ever done. As she relaxes in my arms, I feel a
section of her soul split open and allow a piece of mine inside.

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 Chapter

Forty-Two

KERES

A
fter what feels like an eternity, the general carnage and noise that
come with having three teenagers in the same house stop altogether,
and the distant sound of a door closing signals that they’ve left. I
breathe out a heavy sigh, but Ace and I stay here like this for a few more
seconds. Despite his rigid length digging into my back, our embrace doesn’t
feel motivated by sex or anything remotely like it.
Ace clears his throat, and the spell is broken all too soon. We untangle
ourselves and he pushes open the closet door as Romeo shuffles out from
underneath the bed.
“Kids are gone,” Romeo says, raising his brows as he stands and
brushes dust from his jeans. He takes out his cell phone. “Theo is back in
his office and looks like the other two are headed back to the kitchen.”
Ace nods, his jaw set and his eyes fixed on the door. “Back to the plan
then. Let’s go.” There’s no trace of the tenderness that was in his voice a
few moments ago. Perhaps I imagined it. Or most likely he was simply
stopping me from having a panic attack so I didn’t draw unnecessary
attention and screw up the plan. Ace grips the door handle while a pair of
voices drift away from us.
 Romeo takes the syringe full of sedative from his pocket and nods at
Ace, signaling he’s ready to go. I reach for the knife in my pocket and take
a deep breath. This is it.
The door opens quietly and we step out into the hallway. “You
remember where his office is, Trouble?” Ace asks in a whisper. I nod my
response. Having memorized the layout of the entire house, I’m pretty sure
I could find my way with my eyes closed. We creep down the hallway until
it splits in two—one direction leads to the kitchen and the other to the west
wing where Theo’s office is situated.
I turn to head in that direction, but Ace’s hand on my arm stops me in
my tracks. “We’ll be there in a few minutes, but anything goes down, just
holler. One of us will come straight for you, okay?”
“I can take care of myself,” I say, but even I can hear the crack in my
voice. Being so close to the end is making me feel untethered and antsy.
Gate fever is what Father Mike used to call it. He used to teach history class
last period on Friday afternoons at our high school, and all the kids would
be fidgeting and chatting as they watched the clock, ready for school to let
out for the weekend. He would roll his eyes and tell us to rein in the gate
fever. I guess this is kind of like that, although instead of the excitement of
school finishing, there’s only the fear of what lies beyond this for me. I
have no idea what will happen when Theo is gone. When I finally have my
vengeance and have nothing left to live for.
I swallow the lump in my throat and force out the words. “I’ll see you
both soon.” Without another look at their faces, I make my way down the
hallway until I reach Theo’s office.
His door is closed, but I can hear the tapping of fingers on a keyboard
when I press my ear against it. I wonder if he senses his impending doom. If
he has that strange tingle at the base of his spine right before something
terrible happens.
I turn the handle as quietly as I can and push open the surprisingly
heavy door. It closes behind me with a soft click, but he’s too focused on his
computer to hear me. The large windowless room is mostly empty but for a
massive stainless-steel refrigerator and the huge steel desk with three
computer monitors. I imagine Theo thinks he looks like some antihero from
a cheesy action movie. My heart rate kicks up and goosebumps break out
all over my body. Shit. What kind of home office has no windows, and why
does he have a refrigerator in here?
 This isn’t an office. Double shit! I rush forward, knife in hand ready to
strike, but he must see my reflection on the screens because he spins his
chair around and reaches behind him. After a quick fumble with something
beneath his desk, he lunges forward and barrels into me. He’s at least six-
two and must have over a hundred pounds on me. We crash to the ground,
but even over his grunting and cursing, I hear the mechanical clicking of
bolts and locks shifting into place and the heavy steel door sliding out of the
panel in the wall and sealing us in here.
This wasn’t on the copy of the house plans we reviewed. There was
absolutely no indication at all that this was a panic room. I’m such an idiot.
Of course a man with as many enemies as this one would have a panic
room, and he wouldn’t be stupid enough to include it on the blueprints.
We’re trapped together, and nobody is getting in here unless one of us
lets them in.
He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head, squeezing hard.
Searing pain shoots up my right forearm, and I press my lips together to
stifle a scream. He bangs the same arm against the solid concrete floor and
my knife clatters from my grip.
He pins me to the ground, one knee digging into my ribs while he keeps
me in place with the weight of his giant frame. “Who fucking sent you?”
“I fucking sent me.”
His face twists in a cruel sneer. “And who the fuck are you, because you
look”—he dips his head and runs his nose along my jawline, making a
show of inhaling loudly—“and smell like a fucking whore.”
I spit in his face, and he sinks his knee deeper into my ribcage until I
feel like I’m going to vomit.
Spittle drips from the sides of his mouth, and the foul stench of his
breath makes me retch. “Who the fuck are you and why are you here?”
“My name is Keres Sideris. My mother was Kendra Sideris,” I growl
through clenched teeth.
His lips curl up in a mocking grin. “Should I know either of you? I fuck
a lot of whores.”
I shift my hips and my back slides against the cold concrete as my heart
splinters into a million tiny pieces. He doesn’t even remember her name. Of
course he doesn’t. “I hear you like to sell women and kids too. Do your own
kids know what a sick, twisted fuck their father is?”
 His face turns purple, and the cocky smirk is replaced with a rabid,
bared-teeth grimace. “I sell whores!”
I hiss at him. “You’re a sick fuck!” I bring up my right knee, aiming it at
his side, but he dodges me easily and laughs at my futile efforts.
“Keres!” The sound of Ace and Romeo calling my name precedes them
banging on the door.
“You brought some friends, Keres?” He says my name slowly, rolling
the sounds around his mouth and drawing out the final letter on a hiss.
“Yeah, and you can do whatever the hell you want to me in here, but as
soon as you leave this room, they will tear you apart with their bare hands.”
That makes him laugh, and the sound is cruel and mocking. “I’m not
sure you understand the concept of a panic room, whore. All I have to do is
push a button and I’ll have a dozen men here with all manner of weapons to
deal with your friends outside. I won’t be leaving this room until they’re
both dead.”
I jerk my arms and try to wrench from his grip. I’ll kill him before he
can call anyone. He brings his face close to mine, the sour stench of his
breath making me gag again, and licks a path from my neck all the way to
my temple. I shiver with revulsion. “But first, little whore, you’re going to
learn exactly how much of a sick fuck I can be, and they’re going to listen
to every single one of your screams.”
I clamp my lips together. He will never hear me scream. Never.
“They’re going to listen to you cry and beg me to stop. And know this,
whore,” he spits the last word. “The more you bleed, the harder I’ll get.”
I turn my head, watching the door as the shouting and banging
continues, and I hope with everything I have that Ace and Romeo find a
way through. But even if they get through the wooden facade, they’ll never
make it past the reinforced steel.
“It’s a panic room. You won’t get in here,” I shout, and Theo smacks me
across the face with the flat of his meaty palm. I run my tongue over my
teeth, tasting blood. “Get out of here while you can,” I shout again, earning
me another smack.
The banging and shouting stops.
“You think they’ve gone and left you?” Theo sniggers in my ear. “Left
their little whore because she’s worthless now?”
My nostrils flare as rage thunders through my veins like it’s my
lifeblood. Whether Ace and Romeo are out there or not, I’m in this alone
now.

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 Chapter

Forty-Three

ACE

T
he sound of the blood rushing in my ears is so loud that I can barely
hear Romeo talking despite him standing right next to me.
“Ace!” he hisses, pushing against my shoulder. “What the fuck are
we gonna do?”
I screw my eyes closed and take deep breaths. We can fix this. We can’t
leave her in there all alone with that fucking animal. How the fuck did we
not know the asshole had a panic room?
“I dunno yet,” I whisper. I run my hands over the wooden panels.
They’re solid, but we could get through them. Except that would only lead
us to another door, probably made of steel. Panic rooms don’t have wooden
doors.
“What about that hacker Nathan knows? What if she knows how to get
inside this thing?”
I shake my head. “We don’t have that kind of time.”
“So what the fuck else do we do? Could we blow the doors off?”
I shrug. “I have no fucking idea, but where the hell are we gonna get a
shitload of explosives in the next half hour?”
 His eyes light up. “We can make some. As long as they have what we
need in the pantry. We’ll need some bleach and some sort of accelerant …”
He screws his eyes closed. “I’ll need to google the rest.”
I shake my head, feeling completely fucking useless, and then I
remember that the Morettis have two panic rooms, and Max had the second
one installed in the new wing for him and Joey a couple of years ago. “You
go check the pantry for whatever shit you think you can use. I’m gonna call
Max.”
He runs off toward the kitchen where the maid and the bodyguard lie
unconscious, no doubt happy to do something more gratifying than stare at
a door.
Max answers after a few rings, and I pay close attention while he
explains how the electrical system of a panic room works, while doing my
best to tune out the banging and shuffling sounds coming from the room in
front of me. Apparently panic rooms aren’t susceptible to power outages
because they’re designed to be self-sufficient.
“But there will be a fail-safe somewhere, Ace. Some kind of mechanism
so the room can be opened in an emergency. Someone will know where or
what that is. You just have to find that someone.”
The bodyguard! The unconscious bodyguard. I stifle a groan of
frustration, thank Max, and end the call. In the kitchen, I call Romeo’s
name. He comes out of the utility room with his arms stuffed full of
cleaning supplies. “That stuff’s gonna make a bomb?”
He shakes his head, his eyes as wild as his hair. “No fucking idea, but
maybe if we mix enough shit together, something will go boom,” he says,
his tone desperate and shaky.
“Or we wake this guy the fuck up and find out what the fail-safe is.” I
hoist the bodyguard up and drag him to a chair.
Romeo drops everything in his arms onto the floor with a clatter. “Then
fuck yeah, let’s do that.”

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 Chapter

Forty-Four

KERES

T
heo pulls off my jacket and tosses it behind him, then goes for my
jeans, tugging the button open before he tries to wrench them over my
hips. I’ve given up struggling. Instead I lie still with my eyes closed
while I plan out my next move. He goes on spewing his disgusting filth
about what he’s going to do to me, but I mostly tune him out and focus on
the fear snaking its way through my veins.
Warriors don’t escape fear, they conquer it. Fear isn’t the enemy; it’s the
body’s way of preparing us for battle. And I know all there is to know about
violent battles.
I no longer hear Ace or Romeo outside, and that makes my heart heavy
even as I’m filled with relief that they’ll be safe, but I can’t think about
them right now either. I can only think about me and Theo, locked in this
room. Only one of us will make it out alive, and it sure as fuck isn’t going
to be him.
My lack of fight disarms him, and he keeps less pressure on my wrists
now as he pins them with one hand. He releases the knee from my ribcage
to try and get my jeans off and makes the mistake of not applying that
pressure anywhere else. Using all my weight, I rock my hips and swing my
legs into the air, high enough to wrap them around his thick neck.
He blinks at me, caught completely off guard for a second, before he
realizes what’s happened. But a split second is all I need. I lock my ankles
in place and squeeze my thighs around his throat. At first he laughs,
probably at what he considers my pathetic attempt to overpower him—a
man twice my size—until he realizes I’m not pathetic at all. I might be
small, but I’m way stronger than I look, and my thigh muscles have been
honed through years of martial arts and riding motorcycles at top speed.
His face turns purple as the pressure builds on his windpipe, and he
releases my wrists and tries to pry my thighs from his neck. That’s his
second mistake. Before he can even blink, I sink the pads of my thumbs
into the corner of his eye sockets and press against them, pushing and
gouging with all the strength I can muster.
He howls in pain as my nails dig deeper, tearing through sinew as I
scoop my thumbs into his sockets and burrow behind his eyeballs. I keep
the pressure on his throat the whole time, making him wheeze. He claws at
my hands as well as my thighs, unsure which to focus on, which means he
focuses on neither. His fingers grasp wildly at my flesh without taking a
firm hold. His left eyeball pops out of its socket first, with a sickening yet
satisfying squelch.
His mouth opens on a silent scream, and I twist my ankles together,
squeeze my thighs together, and crush his windpipe. His head drops
forward as his right eye joins the left, both bloody orbs dangling from
empty holes. His dead weight falls to the floor, and I release my legs from
around his neck so his lifeless body lies splayed beside me. Spotting my
knife, I instinctively reach for it.
He lies on his side, bleeding from eye sockets that blankly gape at me.
But it’s not enough. This pent-up rage inside me is clamoring to get out, like
a wild animal that’s been caged for too long and finally scents its freedom. I
roll him onto his back and dive on top of him with a roar. I plunge my knife
into one empty socket, causing blood to spurt high into the air and splatter
my face. But it doesn’t stop me. I pull out my knife and jam it inside him
again. Then again and again. His face. His neck. His chest. Every stab is for
the women and the children he stole. For the babies whose mothers he stole,
the parents whose children never came home. For the rivers of tears and
oceans of blood he’s responsible for. Everything, all of them. For my mom.
For Phoenix. For me.
And only when I can no longer lift my arm and I’m covered head to toe
in his filthy blood do I roll off his mutilated body. Scrambling under his
desk, I locate and press the small black button he must have pressed when I
came in. The sound of steel groaning into place dimly registers, and I curl
into a ball, hug my knees to my chest, and cry.

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 Chapter

Forty-Five

ROMEO

“T his isn’t fucking working,” Ace growls after he dumps a second bowl
of ice water over the unconscious bodyguard’s face. He remains
slumped on the chair, head hanging over the back of it.
I slap him and his head snaps to the side, but he doesn’t come to. “How
else can we wake him up?”
Ace frowns. “Did you hear that?”
I cock my head and listen but hear nothing. “What?”
“It sounded like a door.” He takes off out of the kitchen.
I let the guard fall to the floor and follow on his heels. Theo’s office
door comes into view, and I almost trip over my own feet when I see that
it’s open. I draw my gun, ready for anything, but Theo’s lying in a pool of
blood and guts. My girl is curled into a ball a few feet away. Ace studies her
too, his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched so tight that a vein pulses in his
throat.
A keening wail, strangled by anguish, pierces my eardrums, and it takes
me a few beats to realize it’s coming from the woman on the floor and not
some rabid animal outside the house. Violent tremors wrack her body, and
rivers of tears cascade down her pale cheeks. Keres Sideris cries with a
ferocity I’ve never witnessed, each sob so explosively guttural that the
walls seem to rattle. And I’ve never felt so helpless in all my life.
My feet remain rooted to the spot as I watch her fall apart, and the
twisted part of me finds something inherently beautiful in her brokenness.
Keres’s walls have crumbled around her, and it’s both spectacular and
heartbreaking to watch. I have no idea how long Ace and I watch her,
neither of us moving or even daring to breathe, all three of us suspended in
the moment.
Ace finally breaks the spell. Striding forward, he lifts her still trembling
body into his arms and holds her to his chest. She doesn’t offer even a
squeak of protest as he walks out of the room.
“You see a bathroom in this place, buddy? Somewhere other than that
fucker’s room?” he calls over his shoulder.
“Yeah. Down the hall on the left.”
I follow him into a spacious bathroom with gilded mirrors, marble
floors, and a giant roll top bath. Ace jerks his head toward the tub. “We
should help her get cleaned up.”
With a nod, I head across the room and turn on the taps.
“Keres,” Ace says softly, still cradling her to his chest. “We’re going to
help you clean up, okay?”
She doesn’t reply, but Ace continues talking to her, his deep voice calm
and soothing. He sets her down on the floor and peels off her blood-soaked
clothes, letting her know exactly what he’s about to do before he does it.
She remains silent, tears dripping down her beautiful face and cutting
pink tracks through the thick crimson gore painting her face. When she’s
naked, he lifts her and carefully places her in the steaming water. She brings
her legs back up to her chest and rests her forehead on the tops of her knees.
Weak sobs wrack her body.
I sit back on my heels and throw Ace a concerned look. “She gonna be
okay?”
“She’s gonna be just fine. She’s a fucking warrior. Ain’t that right,
sweetheart?”
She makes no reply, but Ace doesn’t wait for one. Grabbing a bottle
from a shelf, he kneels beside the bath and squeezes a glob of gel into his
palms. “Can you find me a jug or something?” He directs the question
toward me while gently washing her arms.
 Grateful for something practical to do, I scour the bathroom and find a
ceramic jug. He takes it from me and dips it into the water. “Gonna wash
your hair now, okay?”
Wordlessly, she tips her head back, tears still leaking from the corners of
her closed eyes. Ace pours water over her thick hair before lathering it with
shampoo. It takes three passes before the water streaming from her dark
locks runs clear. The whole time she keeps her eyes closed and remains
silent.
Once she’s clean, we get her dry and help her into her jeans and my
clean T-shirt. She continues crying the entire time. When we’re finished,
she speaks for the first time and asks for a moment alone.
After five minutes, I shoot a worried glance at the door. “You think
she’s okay in there?”
Ace leans against the wall, his thick arms folded across his chest, and
nods. “Putting her armor back on, I’m sure.”
No doubt she is. She was raw and vulnerable with us, and I know how
much she hates to show that side of herself, even though I love seeing that
part of her because I suspect it’s something few people have the privilege of
glimpsing.
The plaster cools my forehead as I lean against the wall. “We need to
get out of here soon.”
I’m not sure if she hears me, but she steps out of the bathroom a few
seconds later and glances between the two of us. Other than her eyes being
red, no other traces of her tears remain. She jerks her head in the direction
of the back door we came through earlier. “Let’s go.” Looks like her armor
and mask are firmly back in place.

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 Chapter

Forty-Six

KERES

M
y entire body bristles with anxiety. I hate that they saw me like that.
Again. Weak and vulnerable. Even more, I hate how killing that
piece of shit tore down my defenses so completely. I’m a fucking
warrior. I should have celebrated his death like it was the fucking Second
Coming—if I believed in any of that shit. So why the hell did I turn into a
trembling mess instead?
Romeo left to pick up food ten minutes ago, so now it’s just Ace and me
sitting in this too-small motel room, neither of us speaking. He drums his
fingers on the arm of the couch. His jaw ticks as he glares at me, and I
studiously avoid his gaze because every time I look at him all I can think
about is how gently he washed the blood from my body and hair. How he
took care of me. Like I meant something. Meant something to him.
I pace the floor, chewing on my fingernails, hoping that Romeo gets
back soon because then at least we can eat and there will be something to
do other than endure this unbearable tension.
Ace jumps up from his seat and mutters, “I need some air.”
“Yeah, your whole angry-guy routine is wearing kinda thin.”
 He stops in his tracks, and before I can even take a breath, he wraps a
hand around my throat and slams me into the wall. “Enough!”
I blink at him, confusion clouding my thoughts. Enough of what,
exactly?
He presses his forehead against mine. “Just stop, Keres. It’s
exhausting.”
He thinks I’m exhausting? Tears prick at my eyes. Do not cry, Keres!
You taught yourself better than this. I drive my hands into his solid chest
and struggle to get out of his grip.
He slams me back against the wall again. “I said enough.”
A tear leaks from the corner of my right eye. Dammit! “And I heard
you. So let me go.”
“I will never let you go, Keres. Never.”
My breath catches and my pulse races. He’s playing with my head. “I
don’t u-understand. You said enough …”
“Enough pretending that you hate me. Enough closing the door in my
damn face every single fucking time I get anywhere near close to you.”
“I d-don’t,” I gasp. The way he’s looking at me is making me feel all
kinds of things I don’t want to feel. My skin blooms with heat where he has
his hand on me. The ever-present dull ache between my thighs has grown
into an intense throbbing. But I can’t give in.
His dark eyes narrow. “No?”
“No,” I whisper.
Tilting his head, he stares into my eyes like he’s trying to peer into the
depths of my soul. “So you actually do hate me?”
No. “Yes.”
He slams me into the wall again, his teeth bared. “Liar!”
There’s no time for me to reply because his mouth crashes over mine.
He claims my lips with a bruising kiss full of dominance and possession.
My brain and every defense I’ve spent the last twelve years building scream
at me to push him away. This is over. We’re done. I’m free. But my body
overrides it all. Because I want this—want him and Romeo—more than
I’ve ever wanted anything in my entire life.
So instead of running, instead of pushing, I melt into him, surrendering
myself to his fire. My tongue dances against his. I rock my hips, chasing the
friction of something against my aching center and finding it in his rock-
hard length.
 He grunts into my mouth, and it’s a sound full of arrogance and
triumph, but I don’t care. I can regret this tomorrow and still live for it right
now. He lifts me with ease, wrapping my legs around his waist and carrying
me to the bed without breaking a sweat or the kiss. We tumble onto the
mattress together, our limbs entwined as we take what we need from each
other. And when his kiss is no longer enough to satisfy the need coursing
through my veins, I tug on his belt, freeing the buckle from its leather
confines, and unbutton his jeans. He responds in kind and seconds later
we’re tearing at each other’s clothes until they lie scattered on the floor.
As though he’s only just realized that we’re naked, Ace pushes himself
up onto his forearms. His hungry gaze rakes over my body. “You’re sexy as
fuck, Trouble, you know that?”
A grin tugs at my lips. “Shut up and kiss me again.”
Gripping my wrists in one of his giant hands, he pins them above my
head. “Oh, I’m gonna do so much more than kiss you, sweetheart.”
Did he call me— The thought is cut off by Ace driving his dick into me
so hard that my teeth rattle. But damn, it feels so good. Intense relief
courses through my body.
“Motherfuck,” he says with a deep growl. “This pussy.”
He thrusts hard and fast, driving deeper into me each time. Even when
I’m sure there’s nowhere left for him to go, he proves me wrong with every
piston of his hips. I wrap my legs around his waist, digging my heels into
the firm muscles of his ass and pulling him closer. Wanting more. Needing
everything he can give me. Pleasure surges through my veins, and I arch my
back, moaning his name as he buries his face in my neck and continues his
brutal pace. It’s like he’s punishing me for something, but I don’t know
what.
“You’re mine, Keres. Mine.” He slams into me, and my pussy slicks his
cock with my arousal. “Cunt. Ass. Mouth.” He thrusts on each word, and
my eyes roll back in my head. “Mine!”
“Oh. God!” My climax builds to a crescendo, and Ace slows his pace
enough to keep me dangling on the precipice of ecstasy.
“Is it god making your hot little cunt soaking wet, Trouble? Or is it
me?”
“Y-you.”
He slows his pace even more, and I whimper. “Who do you belong to?”
he growls.
 I press my lips together and close my eyes. I will never belong to
anyone. Never again.
He sinks his teeth into my neck and rolls his hips, rubbing the crown of
his cock over my G-spot. “Who fucking owns you?”
I shake my head. Tears run down my cheeks as he keeps me on the edge
of oblivion.
“Who?” He pulls out slowly, and my body convulses in protest at the
loss of him, but he only drives back in harder than ever. “Tell me.”
“I can’t,” I gasp.
Running his nose along my throat, he sucks in a deep breath, like he’s
drinking in my scent. “Yeah, you can. Who do you fucking belong to,
sweetheart?”
The orgasm that tears through my body makes me lose all sense of
rational thought, which can be the only explanation for the word that I
scream so loudly I’m sure the entire floor of this cheap motel hears me.
“You!”
“That’s right, Trouble.” He says it softly, almost reverently, and trails
kisses along the column of my throat. He releases my wrists, and I wrap my
arms around him, my body shaking with the aftermath of my climax.
“There’s my good fucking girl,” he whispers.

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 Chapter

Forty-Seven

ROMEO

A
ce is lying between her thighs with his face buried in her neck and her
legs wrapped around his waist. The sound of our burgers hitting the
floor makes them both turn and look at me.
I can’t help the shit-eating grin that spreads across my face. “Well, this
is about fucking time.”
Ace winks at me. “What can I say, I’m irresistible.”
Keres rolls her eyes and snorts a laugh.
I pull off my jacket and start undressing. There’s no way I’m missing
out on any of this. “Well, you do have a huge cock,” I admit. “And that is
pretty fucking irresistible, right?”
Keres presses her lips together like she’s deep in thought. “Not as big as
yours,” she says, her voice practically a purr.
Ace flips her over and spanks her so hard she squeals. “Oh, she’s such a
fucking brat.”
“But she’s our brat, buddy.” I pull off the last of my clothes and dive
onto the bed beside them.
He murmurs his agreement before leaning down and sinking his teeth
into one of her ass cheeks.
 “Ace,” she whimpers, and my dick aches to be inside her.
I push him off her, and he lies back on the bed with a sigh, allowing me
to roll her over. “Did Ace come inside your hot pussy, baby?”
She flutters her eyelashes. “He did.”
“You know I’ve been dying to taste the two of you together, don’t you?”
Her breath catches, and I bite back a grin as I roam my lips over her
perfect, juicy tits, flicking each hardened bud with my tongue before giving
it a sharp bite that makes her gasp. I move lower, trailing my tongue and
teeth over her silky skin, biting and soothing her as her scent floods my
senses. And not just her scent, but his too. Individually, each of them makes
my cock hard and my heart pound. But together … Together, the two of
them turn me feral. It’s like every single wet dream I’ve ever had has come
true.
She threads her fingers through my hair, tugging as her moans grow
more desperate the closer I get to the spot she’s doing her best to guide me
toward. “Romeo!”
“Aw, did Ace not make you come hard enough, Fuck-up?”
Ace gives me a warning growl. “Watch it, pup.”
“He did, but I need more,” she whines.
I rub my nose down her abdomen and over her shaved mound. The
scent of their cum has me fucking salivating. “More? Such a greedy little
whore for us, huh?”
“Yes! Please, Romeo.”
Oh, that is music to my ears. I had no idea how much I’d love hearing
our girl beg for me like that. My tongue darts out and I flick it over her
swollen clit, causing her back to bow and a deep groan to roll out of her
throat.
Ace positions one arm behind his head and strokes his thick cock while
he watches us. “Clean her up so I can fuck her again.”
She gives him the side-eye, and quick as a flash he has her jaw gripped
between his thumb and forefinger. I suppress a dark laugh. She’s about to
learn just how possessive and ferocious Ace can be. It’s a side of him I can’t
get enough of. I thrive on his depravity even though he rarely lets it out to
play. “Do you have any fucking idea how many times I’ve had to lie next to
you, or close to you, while wanting to fuck that juicy cunt, Trouble?”
She shakes her head, her eyes wide and her tits heaving with every rapid
inhale. The skin at the base of her neck turns a sweet shade of pink.
 “So make no mistake, I will be fucking you all night long, and you will
scream my name all over this goddamn motel and still beg me for more.
Okay?”
I nuzzle her soft folds with my nose, inhaling her like a fine wine before
I taste. “Okay,” she moans.
Ace releases his grip on her jaw. “Good girl.”
With that established, I redirect all my attention to my needy girl and
her dripping pussy. “You look so good dripping with Ace’s cum, baby.”
He grunts. “Of course she fucking does.”
Licking the length of her wet center, I let their combined taste invade
my mouth, and it coats my tongue and floods my senses. “Taste so fucking
good together too.” The words leave my mouth on a groan. The salty
sweetness, the different textures, and the knowledge that it’s the release of
the two people in the world whose happiness I would fucking die for … all
of it combined turns me into a rabid animal. I feast on her, collecting their
release with my tongue. She needs to taste this too. They both should.
I scoot up the bed and seal my lips over hers. She parts them willingly,
allowing our tongues to slide in an erotic dance as saliva and cum swirl
between our mouths.
It drips from her lips, and Ace leans close and licks it from her chin.
“Mmhmm. We do taste good together.”
I pull back from her, leaving her gasping, and swallow what’s left in my
mouth. Before she can do the same, Ace kisses her, and I watch the two of
them as their eager moans fill the room. While they’re still kissing, I move
back down her body and suck her pulsing clit into my mouth, grazing it
with my teeth and rimming it with my tongue. Her legs start to shake. Her
thighs press flat to my head, which only makes me suck harder as blood
rushes in my ears. I want her to soak my fucking face. I would drown in her
if I could.
Sliding my thumb inside her, I massage her sensitive walls with the pad
while I eat, and the tremors rippling through her body grow more violent
and persistent.
“Oh, fuck!” she screams, and her juices drip into my palm as I work her
through her climax. When I lift my head, Ace is grinning at me and our girl
has her head back against the pillow, her mouth hanging open as she pants
for breath. I push up onto my forearms, not giving her any time to recover
before I position the crown of my cock at her entrance. I rub the piercing
over her soft flesh, and she mewls like my sexy little vixen.
I sink balls-deep into her tight warmth, and her slick arousal coats every
inch of my shaft. “This cunt is perfect, baby. Fucking perfect.”
“Holy sh—” The curse is cut off by a sharp intake of breath as I pull out
and drive back inside her.
“And it’s fucking mine. All. Fucking. Mine.” I slam into her with each
word, causing the cheap headboard to ricochet against the wall. The noise,
coupled with the sound of her wetness as I nail her to the bed, makes me
feel fucking invincible. Nothing I ever do in my life will come close to
beating this. Being with her and Ace is all I’ll ever need.
Her dark brown eyes lock onto mine. She wraps her arms around my
neck and her legs around my hips. “Yours,” she breathes.
Holy. Fuck. “And I’m yours too, baby. Only yours.”
A sharp pain in my scalp makes me wince, even as the pain intensifies
the electric pleasure searing its way up my spine. Ace jerks my head toward
him. I try to wrench away, but he holds me tighter and licks along my jaw
to my ear. Resting his lips there, he growls, “Think you’ll find you’re both
fucking mine.”
I flash him a grin. God, I love his jealous ass. “Whatever you say,
buddy.”
He grunts and turns his attention to Keres. She bites down on her
pillowy bottom lip, looking like she’s about to lead me into oblivion at any
second. “That goes for you too, Trouble.”
She nods.
“Use your fucking words.”
“Y-yours,” she screams, and her pussy ripples around my cock,
squeezing tight and milking me dry. My own climax shudders through me,
rocketing through every cell in my body as I empty my load into her. Spent,
I collapse on top of her with Ace’s fingers still tangled in my hair and her
legs wrapped around my waist. I’ve never in my life felt more alive than I
do in this moment.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter

Forty-Eight

KERES

R
omeo trails his fingertips up and down my spine while Ace dusts his
knuckles over my cheeks, his dark eyes narrowed on my face.
I blink at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He sucks on his top lip like he’s deep in thought. “I want to fuck you
again.”
Romeo’s groan is full of appreciation and longing. Looks like he wants
in on the action too.
A smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “Okay.”
“No. I want to fuck you with Romeo.”
I suck in a sharp breath. “At the same time?”
He runs his nose along my throat while Romeo trails his soft lips over
my shoulder. “Only if you want to, sweetheart.”
Romeo’s lips dust over my ear. “I’d sell my soul to take your virgin ass,
baby.”
Ace rocks his hard length against my stomach. “We’ll be gentle, Keres.
And we’ll stop whenever you want. You just have to say the word.”
My thighs tremble. I do want this. I want this with them. I’ve never
allowed anyone to dominate my body the way these men do, but something
about giving them control allows me to get out of my own head and let go,
if only for a little while. And if this is going to be the last time we’re
together like this, I want them to have this part of me. A part I’m giving
willingly when so many of the choices about my body were taken from me.
“Yes. I want to.”
Romeo grunts his approval. Ace’s eyes crinkle at the corners, and he
rolls onto his back, pulling me with him. His dark eyes stare into mine,
searching my soul like he needs me to let him inside. Maybe I will. Just for
tonight.
Romeo jumps off the bed while Ace wraps his giant hands around my
waist and maneuvers me into position. “Remind me how good you ride,
Keres.”
I grip the base of his shaft and slide onto him. His fingers dig into my
flesh, and he lets out a loud groan that sounds full of satisfaction and
longing. They might enjoy being in control, but there’s something primal
and carnal about the way their bodies respond to mine. The knowledge that
I could make him and Romeo beg for me if I chose to makes me feel
powerful in a way I never have before.
I inch down and he grunts. “All the way, sweetheart.” But he doesn’t
make any attempt to hurry me along despite his firm grip on my waist.
“You like that, Ace?”
His eyes narrow and his lips twitch in a smirk. “I fucking love it, and
you know I do.”
I love you. And Romeo. Those words want to pour from my mouth, but I
will never say them. Instead I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and slide all
the way down, easily taking his thick shaft inside me as a rush of my
arousal slicks his length.
“Motherfucking fuck.” Ace moves me, rolling my hips and hitting that
sweet spot deep inside that makes me whimper. “So fucking good,
sweetheart.”
Romeo crawls onto the bed behind me and runs his warm hands down
my back. The tip of his cock, slick with lube, nudges my ass. I hiss out a
breath, and he presses his mouth against my ear. “I won’t hurt you, baby.”
“I know.”
His warm breath dusts over my neck, making me shiver. “I’ll take it
nice and slow.”
 I nod, my lips pressed together in anticipation as he breaches the tight
ring of muscle. It isn’t painful, but the unfamiliar sensation makes me gasp.
“We got you, sweetheart.” Ace relaxes his grip on my hips while still
holding me in place.
“Being the first man to fuck this fine ass is a fucking honor, Fireblade,”
Romeo says with a deep groan as he edges in a little further. He’s being so
gentle, and a flood of happiness and contentment overwhelms me. A tear
squeezes from the corner of my eye and a sob catches in my throat.
Swallowing it down, I stare into Ace’s eyes as they narrow with concern.
“You okay?” Ace asks.
“I’m good. Just feels like a lot,” I whisper, feeling foolish for getting so
emotional.
Ace brushes the tear from my cheek. “You’re doing so fucking well,
sweetheart.”
Romeo’s lips dance over my neck. “Can you take a little more, baby?”
I squeeze my eyes closed as pleasure snakes through my body. “Yes.”
He inches deeper, and it burns but feels so good. The fullness of having
them both inside me makes warmth and euphoria shuttle through every part
of me. “That’s my girl.”
Ace’s eyes roll in his head as Romeo thrusts deeper. “Jesus, Keres. I can
feel Romeo’s cock in your ass and it’s fucking incredible.”
“You both feel so good.” I pant out each word, close to the brink of a
life-altering orgasm.
“Can we fuck you now, baby?” Romeo asks.
“Y-yes. Please,” I whimper.
They move in unison, gently thrusting in and out of me like they’re part
of the same body and they know exactly what the other is thinking. I’m held
in place by their powerful hands and arms, unable to move or do anything
but take what they’re giving me. Yet I have never in my life felt more in
control of anything. A single word from my lips and they’d stop. No matter
how close to the edge they were, no matter how desperate to come, I know
they would stop. And that knowledge blows my mind.
What they’re doing to my body should feel so wrong, but it’s exquisite
and so fucking beautiful. It makes me want to cry and laugh at the same
time. I want to live in this moment for the rest of my life.
“So fucking good, sweetheart,” Ace moans.
“Yeah. Your ass is perfect, baby.”
 I tip my head back and Romeo kisses my neck, not his usual feral
biting, but tender kisses that make electric euphoria sizzle beneath my skin.
Ace slips one hand between my thighs and rubs my clit with the pad of his
thumb. White-hot pleasure sears my core, threatening to overwhelm me at
any second. Stars pepper my vision and my body trembles as my orgasm
washes over me in a slow-rolling wave. And these two powerfully
dangerous men hold me through every second of it, gently coaxing every
last drop of ecstasy from me as they chase their own climax.
Lying breathless and sated between their hard bodies, I drift into
unconsciousness. My mind conjures visions of a life no longer fueled by
vengeance or anger but of loving and being loved by these two men.

W hen I wake the next morning, I’m sandwiched between Ace and Romeo,
their hard bodies flush against mine. We’re all sticky with cum, and every
muscle in my body aches with the most exquisite kind of pain. I’ve never
experienced this kind of happiness before in my life.
I feel warm. And safe.
I should go.
Gingerly, I push myself up, but I’ve barely moved an inch when Ace’s
arm shoots out and snakes around my waist. He pulls me back until my ass
is pressed against his hard cock. “Where exactly do you think you’re going,
Trouble?” he asks sleepily.
“I thought I should go get us some breakfast.”
He slips his hand between my thighs, palming my pussy, and chuckles.
“My breakfast is right here.” He presses a sweet kiss on my shoulder blade.
“But it’s still early. We can all grab something to eat later.”
“Hmm. Such a good fucking way to wake up, hey, buddy?” Romeo
says, opening one eye.
“Sure is,” Ace agrees.
“Why’s that?” I ask.
Romeo grins. “Having your sexy fuckable body between us and the
sweet smell of your pussy in the air. Nothing better.”
“Typical,” I mutter, but a smile tugs at my lips.
 Ace sighs and shuffles closer, nestling his cock between my ass cheeks.
His huge hand is splayed across my abdomen, keeping me in place. “And
it’s also nice to wake up touching you, Trouble.”
I choke back the swell of regret that balls in my throat. Ever since
yesterday, I’ve felt like a torrent of tears is only ever a breath away. There’s
a part of me, the part that’s always wanted what it can’t have, that wonders
what it would be like to wake up this way every morning. How good it
would feel to truly belong to them and them to me. But I don’t dwell in that
place for too long because happiness like that was never meant for someone
like me.

T he diner on the side of the road comes into view, and for a few seconds I
actually consider slowing down and grabbing us all some breakfast, taking
coffee and waffles back to the motel and seeing where the day takes us. But
only for a few seconds.
I gun the engine of Romeo’s Kawasaki and blow by it. There’s no life
for me here. Not anymore. I have no purpose beyond my revenge—and
now that’s done. I should feel some sense of closure, but all I feel is a deep,
bone-aching weariness.
There’s no point dwelling on the what-ifs. I have one final stop to make,
one more mistake I have to make right, and then I’ll head to that tiny island
in the Mediterranean and live out the life Phoenix and I once dreamed up
for ourselves.

T he imposing iron gates outside the Moretti mansion swing open for me,
and I park Romeo’s bike and pull off my helmet to see Maximo waiting for
me at the door.
His eyebrow quirks in amusement. “Lorenzo said you’d be back.”
“Yeah, well, I need to speak with him.”
He tilts his head and eyes me. “You got balls of steel, Keres.” Scoffing,
I brush past him and step inside the house. “Runs in the family, kid,” he
says so quietly I wonder if I heard him correctly.
 I glance around the opulent hallway, once again overwhelmed by
wondering what it must have been like growing up here. “Where is he?”
“In the library. Follow me.” Max makes off in the direction of the
library and I follow after him. My mouth is dry and I need some water, but
I’m not sure I trust Max DiMarco not to poison me if I ask him for a drink.
I’m not sure I trust anyone in this house. I may have just walked myself
straight into the lion’s den, but if I don’t do this I will spend the rest of my
life wondering if I could have made a difference in whatever fate lies in
store for the two men I left behind.
Max shows me into the library and closes the door behind me. Lorenzo
sits behind a huge desk, his hands steepled beneath his chin and the light
from his screen illuminating his dark features.
“You took care of Wynn?” he asks without taking his eyes off his
monitor.
“Yes.”
“Ace and Romeo too?”
I swallow hard. He thinks I’d hurt them? “I left them at the motel. I
expect they’ll be on their way back here now though.”
He looks at me now, his dark eyes narrowed. “If they have any sense
they’ll travel slowly.”
“They’re incredibly loyal to you. I expect they’ll be back here before
nightfall.”
He runs a hand over his thick beard, and I’m sure the corner of his
mouth ticks up. “And why did you come back here, Keres? For a claim on
your birthright?”
“I want nothing from Salvatore Moretti.” I spit his name from my
mouth. It has no place there.
“We’ll see,” he murmurs, but before I can ask him what the hell that
means, he gestures to the chair in front of his desk. “Take a seat.”
My knees tremble, and I glance at the corner that’s set up with
beanbags, toys, and children’s books. He’s not going to kill me in this
beautiful library, is he? Nah. If he wanted me dead, he could have had Ace
or Romeo slit my throat while I was sleeping. But maybe he still plans to
make good on his promise to chain me in his basement for the rest of my
life.
A shudder runs the length of my spine, but I roll my shoulders back and
hold his gaze. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for my mom. That
was a very kind thing to do for somebody you didn’t even know. I didn’t
expect that from you or your brothers,” I say, knowing he considers Max a
brother too.
His dark eyes twinkle. “You’re surprised that we’d show kindness?”
“I guess I’m just not used to people showing kindness in general. Father
Mike was really the only person who ever showed me any.”
He studies my face intently. I always feel like he’s assessing me, and I
usually feel like I come up short. “It’s hard to show kindness to people who
refuse to accept it, Keres.”
He might have a point, but I’m not here to talk about me. “Well, I
wanted to thank you.”
He nods once. “It was a small courtesy for a woman who fought so
valiantly.”
“How do you know she fought?”
Sorrow clouds his handsome features. “We could tell.”
“I love what you had engraved on her headstone. Here lies a true
warrior.”
“We didn’t know her name at the time, and it seemed fitting. Perhaps we
were remiss in not telling you when you were a child, but we weren’t
certain she was your mother although we knew you’d been taken from the
same house. And Nicole and Sabine have been in hiding for a long time. We
didn’t want to draw any attention to them and … well, we didn’t want to
remind you of your past. Which I now understand was a grave mistake.
We’re all the sum of our pasts, aren’t we?”
What would my life have been like if I’d grown up with a brother like
him? I close my eyes and take a breath. A warrior doesn’t escape fear, they
conquer it. When I open them again, Lorenzo is staring at me, and I fill the
awkward silence that now hangs in the room. “I also came back to talk to
you about Ace and Romeo.”
He smirks. “Has the warrior with a heart of ice fallen in love with two
of my men?”
I bristle at his words. “No.” God, my throat is so dry. “But …”
“But?”
“What happened to … to Mia … It wasn’t their fault.”
He scowls. “They were her bodyguards. Pretty sure it was.”
I shake my head, tears pricking at my eyes. “It was all on me. They did
their jobs. But I …” I what? I gained their trust and then used them for my
fucked-up plan for revenge. “If you’re going to hold anyone responsible,
punish anyone for what happened, then it should be me.”
His dark eyes narrow further. “So, you’re saying you’d take their place?
Because as it stands, you’re free to walk out of this house and no one will
come after you.”
I should walk out. Go to our tiny island in the Med and never look back.
But I can’t.
I take a deep breath, preparing to kiss my future, and quite possibly my
life, goodbye. “If that’s what it takes to keep them from harm, yes.”
Lorenzo sits back in his chair and the chuckle that tumbles from his lips
twists my stomach into a knot. Is he laughing because he’s imagining all the
ways he’s about to make me pay for what I did? He drums his fingertips on
his desk. “Would you believe my wife is a pacifist?”
The woman I kidnapped convinced him to let me go, so … “Yeah, I can
see that.”
He sighs heavily. “Makes my job very difficult.”
My legs are trembling. Why do I feel like a mouse caught in the paws of
a lion? “How’s that?”
“If I were to hurt Ace and Romeo, she’d be so fucking pissed at me.” He
runs a hand through his hair. “Joey too. Seems she’s quite attached to that
pair of fuckwits.”
“So you’re not going to hurt them?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not sure the satisfaction of seeing them suffer
for their incompetence is worth the grief.” His lips curl into an
unmistakable grin. Planting his hands on his desk, he leans forward and
stares into my eyes. “But it is admirable that you came back here and tried
to bargain yourself so I’d spare them.”
His words are like a shard of glass, piercing the carefully constructed
armor around my heart. Unexpected and unwelcome tears sting my
eyeballs, and I force myself not to cry. “Max told me you knew I’d be
back.”
He nods, his gaze not leaving mine. “I did.”
“But you thought I’d come back to make a claim on your money?” I
spit, finding it so much easier to hate him than feel anything resembling
affection.
“I knew exactly why you’d come back here,” he says cryptically. “But I
do have something for you.” He pulls a wad of papers from his desk drawer
and slides them across the desk.
I glance at the top page. It looks like the deed to a property. “What is
this?”
“It’s a convent.”
“A convent?”
“Well, it used to be. It closed about eighteen months ago, and we
acquired the building. Eighty thousand square feet of real estate.”
I frown. Why the hell is he telling me this? “And?”
He sucks air through his teeth. “I told Mia about our conversation, about
your dream of a safe place for people who have nowhere else to go. It’s a
cause close to my wife’s heart. So when she saw this place, she had a crazy
idea about donating it to charity.”
“Which charity?”
He shrugs. “Well, you can call it whatever you want.”
“Huh?” He’s talking in riddles, and I need to get out of here before
Romeo and Ace get back.
His chest heaves with a sigh, and he leans forward, his dark eyes
searching mine like he’s looking for my deep-rooted truths. If he could see
my truths, he would see pain, and I know he’s had plenty of experience with
that lately. I’m hit with another wave of bone-crushing guilt over what I put
him through when I took his wife and child. I terrorized the man who saved
me from a life of pain and terror. “You can have your dream. This building
is yours if you want it. Turn it into the place you spoke of.”
Confusion clouds my brain, and I blink at him for a few seconds before
I find my voice again. “But I know nothing about running a charity.”
“Then learn.” He shrugs as if it’s that simple. “You were smart enough
to get by two of my best men, I’m sure this isn’t beyond your abilities. We
donate to plenty of charities in the city and we’ll support this one too if
you’d like, but it’s yours. You’ll be responsible for everything.”
“And forever be in your debt?”
He laughs darkly. “Always so suspicious, little girl.”
I bristle. True, but I have good reason to be. “Wouldn’t you be wary if
some billionaire Mafia Don gave you a property worth millions of dollars?”
“Not if that Mafia Don was my half brother who’s acutely aware of the
debt our father owes you.”
“You can’t pay off your father’s debt like that. What he did. What he
took …” My voice shakes with the anger surging through my chest. I know
Lorenzo doesn’t deserve my rage but directing it at him is a hard habit to
break. “It can never be replaced.”
“I know that. There are things which, once taken, parts of you that once
damaged, can never be replaced or repaired. But that doesn’t mean we stop
moving forward. If you turn this down only because of your hatred for our
father—if you deny helping all these people who have a chance at a better
future out of spite—he truly has won, hasn’t he?”
I sit back in my seat, hating that he’s right.
“Of course, you can turn it down if this isn’t what you want. There’s a
jet at Chicago International, fueled and ready to take you to your Greek
island if you choose that instead. Either of those choices can lead you to a
good life. But only if you can let go of your past.”
I stare at the papers on his desk. I have $80,000 in my bank account.
That could provide a few good years of simple living on that little island.
Maybe I’d work in a little beachside bar, serving cocktails to tourists and
spending my free time swimming in the sea. It’s what I’ve always dreamed
of. Isn’t it?
“So what’s it gonna be?” Lorenzo’s deep voice cuts through my internal
chatter.
I glance between him and the papers. There’s only one right choice. I
owe it to Phoenix. I owe it to myself.

OceanofPDF.com
 Chapter

Forty-Nine

ACE

R
omeo paces up and down the motel room, almost wearing a hole in
the cheap orange carpet. He scrubs a hand through his dark hair,
pushing it out of his eyes, and mutters unintelligibly.
“Will you sit the fuck down?” I snap.
He stops pacing and scowls at me. “She should be back by now, Ace.
That diner is like a mile away.”
I close my eyes and take a deep, calming breath, pushing down the
wave of anger that rolls in my gut and threatens to spill out of me. She was
gone before we woke up and left a note saying she took Romeo’s bike to get
waffles.
His voice cuts through my calm. “You think something happened to
her?” He’s staring at me, his blue eyes dark and full of confusion. I fucking
hate that she’s done this to him. To us.
“No, pup. She’s gone.”
He shakes his head. “Nah. She wouldn’t. Not after …” His eyes narrow.
“Not after last night.”
I jump up and start throwing my things into my bag. “You honestly
think last night was anything but a good fuck for her?” My tone drips with
anger and betrayal.
He crosses his arms over his broad chest and runs his tongue over his
lower lip. “Sure fucking felt like something more.”
That’s because it was so much more, but she was never going to let us
in. Not completely. “She’s a heartless bitch who doesn’t give a fuck about
anyone but herself, and the sooner you come to terms with that, the better
off we both will be.”
He kicks the coffee table with such force that it breaks in half, and I roll
my eyes. “That make you feel better?”
Snarling, he takes a step toward me. “She took my fucking bike!” His
hands ball into fists, but as much as he loves that bike, I know that its loss
isn’t what’s breaking his heart right now. “We fucking meant something to
her, Ace.”
I see red. A blinding flash of fury sparks behind my eyes, and before I
can think it through I have a hand wrapped around his throat. I squeeze
hard, pulling his body close to mine as I stare into his deep blue eyes.
“Keres is gone. She doesn’t care about you or me. She doesn’t give a single
fuck if Lorenzo Moretti puts a bullet in our fucking heads when we get back
home. All you have is me.” I squeeze tighter, and a single tear leaks from
the corner of his eye, but he doesn’t try to fight back. He knows I speak the
truth. “Aren’t I enough for you?”
He blinks at me, his throat working under my palm as he swallows, and
I relax my grip enough for him to answer me. “Am I enough for you, Ace?”
How do I answer that? He used to be. He used to be everything, and I
guess he still is. But she snaked her way into my fucking heart, and now I
have no idea how to let her go. I press my forehead against his. “You are all
I fucking need.”

W e took the long way back to Chicago, stopping for burgers and fries that
we ate in uncomfortable silence with tension in the air. Now we’re sitting
on my parked bike in the Moretti driveway. I’m sure he’s as eager to go
inside as I am, but we both know this is the only way forward. I’m ninety
percent confident that Lorenzo isn’t going to kill us both, but I have no idea
what the future holds after we fucked up so badly. A lifetime in purgatory?
Fifty years of cleaning up blood, shit, and guts, if we’re lucky?
I glance at Romeo. “You ready?”
He licks his lips and nods. “As I’ll ever be.”
“Then let’s get this the fuck over with.”
Less than five minutes later, Romeo and I are standing opposite Lorenzo
Moretti, who’s seated behind the mahogany desk in the library. He glares at
us, his jaw ticking, and my entire body bristles with pent-up rage and
annoyance—the latter aimed only at myself. I can’t believe I made such a
monumental mistake that I’ve found myself on the receiving end of this
man’s contempt. I respect the fuck out of him, and I know that he respected
me too, and to have lost that is even worse than the fact that I’m damn sure
I’m about to lose my position in his workforce.
“You two do what you needed to do?” he asks gruffly.
I reply first. “We did.”
“Any loose ends to tie up?”
I shake my head. “Everything was clean, Boss. Keres is gone.”
His response is little more than a snort. Then silence. Soul-crushing,
god-awful silence.
Romeo speaks first, never able to tolerate this kind of tension for long.
“So what now, Boss? What do you need us to do?”
“What do I need you to do?” The words drip with disdain and tear a
fucking welt across my chest.
I can practically feel the anger radiating from Romeo, and I pray he
doesn’t say anything that will result in me having to do something
dangerous. Like jump over this desk and stop Lorenzo Moretti from killing
him. Because I fucking would. I have no fucking idea how we’d get out of
this mansion alive afterward, but I’d risk everything for him in a fucking
heartbeat.
“I sure as fuck don’t need you clowns looking after my wife or my sister
anymore now, do I?”
“What happened to Mia is on us, but it would never happen again,” I
assure him.
“Damn fucking right it wouldn’t. I wouldn’t trust you two with their
safety if you were the last men on earth.”
Jesus, that hurts way more than I thought it would. But I guess it hurts a
damn sight less than a bullet in my head, which is no less than we deserve. I
want to ask what that means for the two of us, but I can’t find the right
words, so I stay quiet and let Lorenzo fill the silence.
His eyes lock on mine, and he stretches his thick neck. “You’re both
relieved of your responsibilities to this family.”
Motherfucker.
“You’ll be given six months’ pay, but as of now you no longer work for
me or anyone in this house.”
Is this some sick joke? Six months’ pay? I glance at Romeo who looks
as puzzled as I am. Severance pay in the Moretti world is usually a broken
bone or two. Letting someone leave with all their bones intact is the most
generous severance package I’ve ever known them to give anyone.
My palms grow sweaty as my eyes dart around the room. Something
isn’t adding up, and I find myself waiting for someone to charge through
the door behind us and throw a bag over each of our heads.
When that doesn’t happen, I fix my gaze back on Lorenzo, and his eyes
narrow as he scrubs a hand over his beard.
Romeo clears his throat. “So we can leave?”
Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here.
Lorenzo cocks his head and eyes us both with curiosity. “Before you go,
I have two pieces of information that might be of interest to you.”
My interest piqued, I stay rooted to the spot while Romeo rocks back
and forth on the balls of his feet. “Yeah?”
A smirk tugs at the corner of our former boss’s mouth. “She thought I
was going to kill you two for failing me.”
That thought crossed my mind too.
His eyes twinkle with amusement. “She asked me not to hurt either of
you. And then she offered herself up in your place.”
I glance at Romeo, and he offers me a faint shrug. Keres was so
desperate to get out of here and go to her little Greek island. She didn’t even
say goodbye, so why the hell would she sacrifice her freedom? It doesn’t
make sense. Not unless … No, I can’t think about that. Her loss is too deep,
too visceral. It hurts like a hole in my chest, a hole that nothing but her
presence in my life can fill. “And the second piece of information?” I ask.
He doesn’t even attempt to hide his smirk now. “She didn’t go to
Greece.”

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 Chapter

Fifty

KERES

H
eavy footfalls echo down the hallway. At least two people. My heart
rate spikes. I should have locked the door.
I step out of the room. “This is private …” The remaining words
hang in the air between us. I stop breathing.
Ace’s lips curl into a grin. “Hey, Trouble.”
Swallowing hard, I regain my ability to speak. “How did you— What
are you both doing here?”
They stop a few feet in front of me. Ace folds his arms over his chest.
“Lorenzo told us you were here. And well, we kind of have a lot of time on
our hands.”
“Yeah, now that we don’t have a job,” Romeo adds with a chuckle.
Blood whooshes in my ears and I can barely hear myself think. “I’m,
uh, sorry about that.”
Ace cocks his head, his dark brown eyes burning into mine. “Sorry
enough to remedy our current unemployment status?”
“You want to work for me?”
 They both step forward, crowding me and forcing me to step back
through the doorway of the office. “We can iron out the details later,” Ace
says with the hint of a smirk.
Romeo arches an eyebrow. “Yeah, we got more pressing things to
discuss first.”
My stomach twists into a knot. “Such as?” My eyes dart between the
two of them.
Ace glances around the room. “This will be your office?”
“I guess. It was the priest’s office, I think.”
“Hmm.” Ace runs a hand over his jaw, and his eyes drift to the only
piece of furniture left behind, a huge mahogany desk that sits in the center
of the room. Then he flashes a look at Romeo that makes heat bloom in my
center. “You think he ever fucked anyone on that desk?” Before I can
answer, he brushes past me and plants his hands on the solid wood, pressing
down as though he’s assessing it’s sturdiness. “Because it kind of seems like
that’s what it was made for.”
Spinning to face him, I lick my lips and will my voice not to tremble
when I speak. “I’m pretty sure it was made for working on, and also that
priests don’t fuck.”
Romeo steps closer, and the heat from his body at my back makes me
shiver. So close that his breath ruffles my hair. “Everyone fucks, Kee. Alone
here with all those nuns …” He lets out a throaty laugh.
Oh, god. I take a deep breath and roll back my shoulders. “Would you
like to see the rest of the place?”
Ace glances at the desk again, a slow, sexy-as-hell smile creeping over
his face. “Sure.”
“Why not?” Romeo agrees.
I let out a small sigh of relief, or maybe it’s frustration. I can’t stop
myself from picturing myself pinned to that desk with the two of them
taking turns to fuck me. Shaking my head, I try to clear the thoughts, but
my cheeks burn and my panties are getting wetter at the mere memory of
the things these two men can do to my body.
Before the room grows more charged with sexual tension, I slip past
Romeo and out of the office, beckoning them to follow. My boots make a
soft squeaking sound on the old parquet flooring as we head down the
hallway toward the south wing of the building.
 Romeo glances into every room we pass. “So, what are you planning to
do with this place, Fuck-up?” When we reach the south wing, he looks up
and down the corridor and whistles. “It’s pretty fucking huge.”
“It has forty-six bedrooms on the second and third floors. And all of the
rooms down here are so spacious. A lot of them used to be communal when
the nuns were here.”
“What do you need all this space for?” Ace asks.
“I’m going to convert the rooms into self-contained apartments.
Transform the spaces down here into comfortable areas for people to gather
if they want. Some small therapy rooms and a couple offices for surgeries.”
I talk fast, excitement fueling me as I envision the changes I’m going to
make.
Romeo stops in front of a large door at the end of the hallway. “For
what purpose?”
My cheeks blaze with heat. They’ll think I have delusions of grandeur
for wanting to pull this off. “It will be a refuge.”
Ace cocks an eyebrow. “A refuge?”
“Yes. For women and kids who are in need or at risk and need a safe
place to stay. But it will be so much more than that. They’ll be able to get
advice and help here too.” I swallow as they both stare at me in silence for a
long beat.
Romeo’s eyes meet mine and sorrow flickers across his face. I wonder if
he’s wishing there had been a place like this for him and his mom.
“If you want them to have a safe place to stay, you’re going to need top-
notch security,” Ace says, and I tear my gaze from Romeo’s.
He doesn’t think my idea is too ambitious? “Yes, of course. I have a
plan.”
Romeo leans against the doorframe. “Well, you do know two of the
toughest motherfuckers in Chicago.”
“And as we mentioned, we’re kind of out of work right now,” Ace adds.
“But I don’t— I can’t afford to pay you. At least not for a while. I need
to register the charity and start fundraising, and the top priority will be
getting the place up to code.”
Ace shrugs. “We can afford to wait a while. Our former employer gave
us a very generous severance package.”
What? Why the hell would Lorenzo do that? The mob isn’t exactly
renowned for treating their employees well, especially the ones they fire.
“He did?”
“Sure did.” Romeo grins. “Almost like he knew we might not be getting
paid for a while.”
“Yeah, almost like he thought our new boss would be busy fundraising,”
Ace says.
“We could help renovate the place too. Knock down a few walls, put up
some drywall. Paint. Smash shit up. Whatever.” Romeo picks at a splinter
of wood on the crumbling doorframe.
“So you’d both be happy with me being your boss?”
Ace takes a step closer and curls a strand of my hair between his thumb
and forefinger. “Only when it comes to work, sweetheart, but yeah, of
course we would.”
What does that mean for the three of us though? I draw in a deep breath.
I can’t deny that the idea of doing this with them makes the whole thing
seem less daunting, but I don’t know if I can work with them and maintain
any kind of personal boundaries. “But what if—”
Ace crashes his lips against mine and lifts me, wrapping my legs around
his waist. I offer no resistance. Being in his arms feels too good and too
right.
He carries me back down the hallway, only breaking our kiss to growl,
“Time to test out that desk if I’m gonna be fucking you on it every day,
sweetheart.”

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 Chapter

Fifty-One

ROMEO

W
e leave Keres’s bike at the old convent building, and we must
have fucked her thoroughly because she offered zero snark or
resistance before climbing on the back of my bike so we could go
home. Now my little backpack has her arms around my waist and
her sweet body pressed up tight against me, and all I can think about is how
hard I’m gonna fuck her when we get her home. Because this girl right here
is fucking mine, and she’s never gonna forget it for a single fucking second.
By the time we get to the apartment my cock is already leaking in my
boxers and I’m beyond feral for my little fuck-up. The quick blowjob she
gave me in her office while Ace fucked her on her desk wasn’t nearly
enough to satisfy the ever-present need being around her stokes in me. This
morning I thought she’d gone to Greece and left us for good. But she’s here,
and I need to remind her how good we all are together. When I climb off
my bike, I pick her up bridal-style and quiet her protest with a kiss. Ace is
already inside, shirtless and waiting for us with his arms folded across his
broad chest. He looks good enough to lick from head to toe.
 “You two took your time,” he says with a cocky grin.
Like fuck we did. We got home less than a minute after he did. “Well, I
had precious cargo on board.”
I set said precious cargo on her feet, and the expression on her face is
murderous. “I am not cargo, Romeo.”
Ace grabs her by the waist. “You’re whatever the fuck we say you are
within these four walls, sweetheart. Better get used to that now.”
She opens her mouth, but he doesn’t give her a chance to argue. He
kisses her and peels off her jacket while I get to work on her boots and
jeans. Less than a minute later, she’s completely naked and panting when he
breaks their kiss.
Keres looks down. “How did I … You can’t just …”
Ace grins. “Pretty sure we can do whatever the fuck we want, Trouble.
Because you’re so fucking desperate for our cocks, you’d do anything for
us, wouldn’t you?”
Her mouth opens, but his eyes are twinkling with devious intent. I guess
she sees it too because she doesn’t disagree. Instead she wraps one arm
around his neck and snakes the other behind her, pulling me closer. “I guess
you’ll have to wait and see exactly what it is I’ll do, won’t you?”
Ace shakes his head. “I think we’re gonna find out pretty soon,
sweetheart. You see, room and board here aren’t free.”
“Oh, I’m not living here when I have eighty thousand square feet of real
estate I can call home.”
A scowl furrows his brow and the playfulness that was just in his eyes
disappears without a trace, making me dip my head to hide my smirk. He
can give it but he can’t take it. “That has no electricity or security. I don’t
fucking think so, sweetheart.”
She folds her arms across her chest, pushing those insanely beautiful tits
close together, and I peer over her shoulder, my mind racing with thoughts
of fucking them. “Yes I fucking think so, Ace. You don’t get to tell me
where I can live and what I can do.”
“Oh yes I do, Trouble. Especially when it concerns your wellbeing.
You’re staying here and it’s not up for debate.”
“As long as I pay for my room and board?” she snaps.
I watch Ace grow more frustrated by the second. That vein in his throat
pulses and his jaw ticks as he glares at her. It’s gonna be so much fun
having her live with us.
 He snarls. “I was … God, you drive me fucking crazy.”
She stomps her little foot. “You were already crazy.”
“I think you’ll find I’m the crazy one, baby,” I remind her.
She throws me a sweet smile over her shoulder. “No, you’re the nice
one.”
That’s obviously the last straw for Ace. He throws her over his shoulder
and smacks her ass before he carries her to the bedroom.
Her halfhearted protests make me laugh. Truth is, she quite obviously
loves it when he manhandles her, even as I suspect her inner warrior
feminist tells her she shouldn’t. He tosses her onto the bed and unfastens his
belt. The whoosh of the soft leather being pulled through the loops is music
to my ears, but it makes Keres flinch. He drops the belt onto the floor.
Guess he isn’t gonna spank her with it today. Shame.
He continues undressing and I join him. “I think Romeo and I need to
remind you who you belong to, sweetheart. Because you know who owns
you, don’t you?”
She scoots back on the bed, her eyes darting between us as she chews
on the inside of her cheek. Ace grabs the lube from the dresser and looks at
me. “You want to take her ass or her pussy?”
I suck on my top lip and stare at the ceiling like I’m struggling with my
decision, but there’s only one answer right now. “Pussy.”
With an approving nod, he squirts a generous amount of lube onto his
palm and works it over his hard length.
“Don’t I get a say in this?” she asks.
“You have any objections to me fucking your ass while Romeo is inside
your sweet cunt?” Ace stalks toward the bed.
She presses her lips together and shakes her head.
“Thought not.” Lying down beside her, he grabs her waist and picks her
up like she’s a rag doll. “Come here, sweetheart.” With her back to his
chest, he runs his hands all over her body, squeezing her tits and palming
her pussy. “You’re fucking perfect, Kee. I need you to know that.”
Her lips part when he slips his hand between her thighs and starts to toy
with her there.
“Say it, sweetheart. Tell me you’re perfect.”
“But … I’m not,” she gasps.
Taking his shaft in his hand, he places the crown at her ass. “You are.
Now say the words. Tell me you’re perfect.” His tone is deep and
commanding, but she shakes her head. I crawl on the bed between their
spread thighs and look at her sweet cunt dripping with his cum from earlier.
There’s something about being inside her when she’s still full of him that
makes me hard as fuck.
My hand joins his between her thighs, and together we work her over,
sliding our fingers over her sensitive clit and inside her until she’s trembling
in his arms and staring into my eyes. “Say it or you don’t get fucked, baby.
Because you are fucking perfect. Perfect for us.”
The column of her slender throat works as she swallows, and the
moment she finally gives in is sweet and gratifying.
“I’m p-perfect.”
“That’s my good fucking girl,” Ace tells her, finally giving her what she
wants and driving his cock into her ass at the same time I sink deep into her
pussy. We bottom out inside her, and desperate whimpers fall from her lips,
her body shaking and her breaths shuddering as she adjusts to the two of us.
Leaning over her, I sandwich her body between Ace and me and brush
her hair back from her face. “You like being full of us, baby?”
We slide out and drive back in. “Y-yes!” Her back bows, but Ace wraps
two arms around her waist and holds her in place while we fuck her. And
we fuck her hard. Hard enough that she’ll feel us inside her forever and then
some.
Because she is ours, forever and then some.

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Fifty-Two

KERES

S
nuggled between Ace and Romeo, I stare at the ceiling and
contemplate their proposal from earlier. They want me to live with
them. Here in their apartment. Full time. “I can’t just stay here. I have
money. I can rent my own place.”
“What would be the point of getting your own place when I’m just
gonna kidnap you every day and bring you here anyway,” Romeo says
without even a hint of humor. He’s entirely serious, and I have zero doubt
that his outrageous ass would actually do that.
“Don’t you see this is where you belong, sweetheart?”
Screwing my eyes closed, I shake my head. This hurts too much. “I
don’t belong anywhere. Or to anyone.”
“Fucking hell. Do we really have to go over this again?” Ace says with
a low growl. “Look at me.”
I keep my eyes closed.
“Look at me, Keres,” he commands, and the deep rolling timbre of his
voice seems to short-circuit my brain. I open my eyes and focus on his face.
His fingertips flex on my hip as he pulls me closer. “You fit right here.”
 “Yeah, Fuck-up,” Romeo says softly, pushing his body against mine
until I’m sandwiched tightly between them. He takes my hand and places it
on Ace’s chest, directly over his heart. “And here too. For both of us.”
My own heart is hammering. I can’t do this. It will hurt too much
when …
Ace dusts his lips over my cheek. “I understand your instinct to run. I
get that you’re scared and you’ve never been able to trust anyone before
now. But you’re ours, Keres, and you know it. You belong right here, safer
and happier than you ever thought was possible, covered in our sweat and
cum …” A tear drips down my cheek, and Ace catches it with the pad of his
thumb. “And your tears if that’s what you need.”
“Whatever you need, whenever you need it, baby,” Romeo adds.
Ace cups my jaw between his thumb and pointer finger and angles my
head so I’m forced to hold his intense gaze. His eyes, dark and fiery, burn
into mine like he’s trying to see the pain I keep hidden from the world.
“You can stop fighting, sweetheart, because we’ve got you.”
A sob shudders through my chest. Romeo presses a tender kiss on my
shoulder blade. “You must know by now that we’ll never let you go. Stop
trying to run, baby.”
“I-I don’t want to run,” I admit on a shaky breath, and the relief of
saying it aloud has my eyes filling with tears. A deep, bone-weary sigh
leaves my body in a rush.
Ace brushes back my hair, a soft smile on his face. “Then don’t.”

A fter quietly slipping out of bed, I glance back at Ace and Romeo, then
pull on Romeo’s discarded T-shirt from last night and pad out of the room.
I tiptoe down the hallway, not wanting to wake them and, for the first
time since I got here, look around their apartment and actually take in my
surroundings, absorbing the details now that I have the time and space to
breathe.
Our jackets hang on a rack by the door, and the comforting scent of
leather and engine oil hangs in the air. Romeo’s boots lie in a heap next to
Ace’s, which are lined up neatly. The single photograph hanging in a frame
on the wall shows Ace and Romeo, wearing nothing but low-slung jeans,
boots, and wide smiles, standing next to their bikes with the sun behind
them.
We left my bike at the convent, but my helmet sits beside theirs on the
cabinet near the front door. A lump bubbles in my throat. It looks so right
sitting there, as though it belongs. I wander into the living room and switch
on the lamp, bathing the room in a soft amber glow. The room is sparsely
furnished, with only two sofas, a TV, and a few bike magazines on a coffee
table, but it feels like home.
Could this be my home? That’s what Ace and Romeo were suggesting
last night—that I could live here with them. Can I give up my independence
so easily? Become theirs after fighting so hard to belong only to myself?
A kaleidoscope of butterflies take flight in my stomach, swirling up into
my chest and throat, and the sensation makes me realize that there is only
one answer to that question. And that answer nearly knocks me on my ass.

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 Chapter

Fifty-Three

ACE

W
hen I wake up, I don’t even have to move an inch to know that
she isn’t here. A swell of anger and disappointment swirls in my
chest.
“Motherfucker,” I mutter, flipping onto my back and
throwing an arm over my face.
“It’s too fucking early,” Romeo grumbles, rolling onto his side and
burying his face in the pillow.
I swallow down the thick knot of betrayal that works its way from my
chest and into my throat, silently cursing myself for being stupid enough to
think that she’d stay. She’s fucking incapable of committing to anyone. I
guess given her history I should accept that, but I can’t. Because she’s so
fucking right for us. She belongs with us. To us.
I roll out of bed with a groan and pull on a pair of sweats before heading
to the kitchen. I need some fucking coffee. Maybe even more than I thought
because I’m sure I can smell the rich chocolatey aroma drifting down the
hallway. I follow it like a bloodhound scenting its prey.
 I walk into the living room, and there she is, sitting cross-legged on the
floor with a dozen pieces of paper scattered around her, all of them covered
in lines and lines of dark ink. Her eyebrows pinch together as she furiously
scribbles on the notebook in her lap.
She didn’t run. A sigh full of relief and something damn near close to
euphoria leaves my chest. She continues writing but looks up at me when I
clear my throat, her eyes bright and shining like a kid’s on Christmas
morning. “Hey,” she says softly, her lush bottom lip caught between her
teeth.
I sink to the floor beside her and pick up a piece of paper, giving it only
a cursory glance before my eyes are drawn back to her beautiful face.
“What are you doing?”
She sets the notebook on the floor beside her. “Making plans.” She
presses her lips together and blinks at me. My little vixen is nervous.
“For?”
Her slender throat works as she swallows. “The shelter. My future.”
“Your future, Trouble?” I tilt my head to one side, unable to stop my
eyes from wandering over her sinfully delicious body. “Or ours?”
She sucks in a stuttered breath, her eyelashes fluttering over her cheeks.
“What if it is ours, Ace?”
I smile at her, my heart doubling in size as she waits for my reply,
because I know for sure that I’m one of the few lucky people in this world
who gets to see her like this—vulnerable and unsure. Real and raw. “It
better fucking be ours, sweetheart.”
Her lips widen in a smile. “It is.”
Without giving her time to overthink this, I pick her up and pull her
onto my lap. Her squawk of protest dies on her lips as soon as I wrap her in
my arms and bury my face in her hair. “I fucking love you, Keres. It’s only
ever ours from now on. You know that, don’t you? You, me, and Romeo.”
She sinks against my chest, burrowing into me like she finally realizes
this is exactly where she belongs. “You love me?”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t already know
that, sweetheart.”
“I didn’t.”
I pull back her hair and press my face against the sweet-smelling skin of
her neck. Fuck, I want her. “Well, now you know. And don’t ever fucking
forget it.”
 “You’re it for us, Fuck-up,” Romeo says sleepily as he drops to his
knees beside us and runs a hand through his hair. He laces his fingers with
hers, then lifts her hand to his mouth and sinks his teeth into her knuckles,
making our girl moan. Then he mouths the words love you, and she
practically purrs in my arms.
“I …” She takes a deep breath. “I love you both too.”
Romeo flashes her a dopey grin and winks at her. “Yeah, we know.”
I slip my hand between her thighs and trail my fingertips over her
warm, silky skin. “Still good to hear you say it though.”
Her dark brown eyes flicker between mine and Romeo’s. “It’s kind of
amazing to hear you both say it too.”
Pressing my lips against her ear, I bite her earlobe, tugging gently
before releasing. “Yeah?” My fingers skate higher. Our little vixen isn’t
wearing panties. “You know I came in here looking for coffee, but …” I
drag my pointer finger along her wet center. “Now I’m thinking I should
have you instead.”
She snakes one arm around my neck. “I need to finish my planning
first.”
Romeo’s hand joins mine at the apex of Keres’s thighs. A groan that
sounds full of longing and appreciation rolls out of his throat before his
finger connects with mine, and together we each slide one inside her.
“Shouldn’t go wandering around with no panties on then, Fuck-up.”
“I—” She gasps as we inch deeper. “I needed a drink and then I saw the
notepad and I had so many—oh, fuck.”
“Had so many oh fucks?” Romeo teases.
“Ideas.” The word is accompanied by a moan, and she fixes me with a
fierce glare full of that defiance I love so much. “Coffee and plans, and then
you can both do whatever the hell you want to me.”
Romeo arches one eyebrow. “Whatever the hell we want, huh, Ace?”
I smirk at him. “That’s definitely what she said.” I drag my teeth over
her jawline and press my mouth to her ear again. “You might just regret
making that statement later.”
She raises an eyebrow, and a grin tugs at the corners of her luscious lips.
“I’m pretty sure I won’t.” Her voice is low and sultry, and the words bypass
my brain, heading straight for my dick. But I figure I can acquiesce to her
right now if it means getting to do whatever the fuck I want to her sexy-as-
hell body later. So I give her ass a sharp smack. “Then go put on some
fucking panties and we’ll have coffee and make plans.”
She rolls her eyes, and I make a mental note to remind her of that later
when she’s pinned down and at my mercy. But she jumps up and bends to
give Romeo a quick kiss before she walks out of the room, giving that
beautiful ass an exaggerated sway as she does.
Romeo sinks his teeth into his bottom lip as he watches her too. He
palms his cock through his boxers. “How long you think this planning will
take?”
“As long as she needs. But we got all day, pup. Then all night. And
every day after that too.”
His gaze locks on mine. “She’s ours now, right? We never let her leave.”
I nod my agreement. “I’ll put her on a fucking leash if I need to.”
A devilish grin spreads across his face. “Now that I would love to see.”

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 Chapter

Fifty-Four

KERES

A
wakened by the gentle rocking of the bed, I roll onto my side and see
Ace on top of Romeo, who lies face down, his head toward me and
his eyes closed as he lets out a soft groan.
Ace brushes his lips over Romeo’s ear. “Shh, it’s okay.”
Romeo murmurs contentedly, a smile spreading across his face as Ace
fucks him. “I need you, pup. Let me fuck you back to sleep.” The soothing,
steady cadence of Ace’s voice rolls through my bones, and a pang of
jealousy shoots through me. I shift again and Ace turns to face me. “You
okay?”
Wordlessly, I roll onto my back, take his hand, and slip it between my
thighs, eliciting a throaty chuckle from him. He slides two fingers through
my wet center. “You feeling left out, were you, sweetheart?” He sinks them
inside me, and I groan, arching my back and rocking into the pleasure.
“Yeah,” I moan.
“You weren’t fucked enough earlier?” He circles the pads of his fingers
over the sweet spot inside that he’s able to find so easily, and a rush of
arousal takes my breath away, stopping me from answering. “I guess I’ll
fuck both of you back to sleep then.” He drives his fingers in and out of me
at the same pace he uses to fuck Romeo, who seems to be awake now given
the grunted curses coming from him.
I wrap my hands around Ace’s wrist as he works me over, feeling the
powerful muscles in his forearm flex while he brings me to the edge of
climax.
“Help me out, sweetheart. Touch yourself for me,” he says with a harsh
grunt. “Me and our boy are about to come, and I want you falling over the
edge right along with us.”
I rub my swollen clit while his skilled fingers sink deeper inside me
with every thrust. My thighs tremble and my core contracts. Hot waves of
pleasure roll through my core, snaking their way through my limbs until my
body shakes with the need for release.
“You two are—motherfuck,” Ace grunts as Romeo shouts something
unintelligible into his pillow. I grip Ace’s wrist tighter and chase my own
release, riding his fingers as he keeps sliding them in and out of me. A few
moments later stars flicker in my vision and my orgasm crashes over my
body.
Ace slips his fingers out of me and sucks them clean. “So fucking
perfect. The two of you,” he murmurs. He directs his attention to Romeo.
“You want me to clean you up?”
“No,” Romeo groans sleepily. “I’m too tired, and I like being covered in
your cum.”
Ace groans and gives Romeo a kiss on the forehead, then rolls off him,
climbing over me until I’m sandwiched between the two of them. I lie on
my side, my back against Ace’s chest and Romeo’s fingers laced through
mine. I have so many things to say but don’t know how to say them so I
remain quiet. It’s not long before Romeo’s sweet snores fill the room, and
that’s when Ace speaks, his lips close to my ear and his warm breath
dusting over my cheek. “Tell me what’s bothering you, sweetheart.”
I swallow the knot of dread that sticks in my throat. “What? Nothing,” I
insist, but there’s an unmistakable tremor in my voice.
He brushes my hair back from my face. “You don’t need to hide from
me or lie to me. This thing between us relies on us all being honest with
each other. So talk to me.”
“I … I—” I suck in a deep breath. “I felt kind of …” I struggle to say
the word aloud, but he waits patiently for me to finish. “Kind of jealous
when I woke up and you and Romeo were …”
 “Okay,” he says, and I can hear the weariness in his tone.
“Not that you and he were together. Not about that, I swear. But
because …” How do I explain this? I have no idea where these feelings are
coming from.
“Because?” he prompts.
“Well, I heard you say you needed him, and I guess I …” I take another
breath. “I want to be what you need too.”
“Keres.” My name leaves his mouth on a sigh, and he rolls me onto my
back. “You are what I need, sweetheart. Both of you.”
Tears leak from the corners of my eyes. “I know that. I do.” I scrub at
my eyes with my knuckles, but he stops me by taking hold of both my
hands in one of his. “I don’t know why I’m feeling all these things, Ace.
I’ve never been this person before, and I don’t know how to stop.”
“Because you’ve never let anyone care for you or love you before,
Keres. You’ve never allowed yourself to feel any of this, and now that you
are, it’s normal to be a little overwhelmed by it all. But you have to feel it
all and you have to talk to us about it, okay?”
I sniff. “Okay.”
“And I gotta admit, you being jealous of me fucking Romeo instead of
you is kind of hot.”
I stifle a laugh. “I wasn’t jealous of that. I just want to be whatever you
need me to be.”
“You are. But I’m not gonna fuck you while you’re sleeping,
sweetheart. Not unless we’ve discussed it first. I know Romeo is okay with
it because we established that dynamic a long time ago.”
“I’d be okay with it too.”
His dark eyes search my face. “After everything that’s happened to you,
you think you’d be okay waking up with someone inside you? It could be a
huge fucking trigger.”
“Not someone, Ace. You.”
A soft smile spreads across his handsome face. “We’ll see, Trouble.”
I lift my chin. “I’m giving you my blanket consent to fuck me while I’m
asleep whenever you want.”
Chuckling, he lies back down and pulls me against him. “You really
take life by the balls, sweetheart.”
I snuggle against his chest, feeling so much better for having told him
what I was thinking. “No point in living it half-assed, is there?”
 “No.” His breath tickles my skin. “It’s one of the many reasons I love
you.”
“I love you too.”
He kisses my forehead. “I know. Now get some sleep.”

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 Chapter

Fifty-Five

ACE
Five months later

I drain the milk from my cereal bowl and place it back on the countertop as
I watch her fidget. She twists the fabric of her dress over her hips as though
it isn’t sitting correctly even though the simple charcoal-gray fitted dress
she chose especially for today fits her like a glove. She’s fucking stunning.
But her nerves are starting to make me antsy, and we still have two
hours before we need to leave for the opening.
I step up behind her. “You look beautiful. Stop fidgeting.”
“I want to look professional, not beautiful,” she snaps.
Fortunately for her, I know exactly what she needs to get out of her head
for a while. I spin her around to face me. Fisting one hand in the hair at the
nape of her neck, I slide down the long zipper at the back of her dress with
the other.
“What are you doing?” she asks before she hisses out a breath.
I dust my lips over the shell of her ear. “Whatever the fuck I want.”
 Her dress pools at her feet, and she narrows her eyes like she’s about to
tear me a new one, but I don’t give her the chance. Tightening my grip in
her hair, I yank her head back, exposing the creamy skin of her neck, and
drag my teeth over the pulse in her throat. “Out there you might be the CEO
who has the mayor, big city bankers, and anyone else you flutter those
pretty eyelashes at eating out of the palm of your hand. But behind these
walls, you’re nothing more than my greedy little whore. You have no
control here. No power.” Lies. She has all the power. “And I will do
whatever the hell I want to you whenever the fuck I want.”
Before she can argue with me, I hoist her over my shoulder and give her
ass a hard slap. She yelps, and I march her down the hallway to our
bedroom where Romeo is drying his hair with a towel. His eyebrows shoot
up when he sees me carrying our vixen.
I wink at him. “I think Trouble here needs a reminder of who’s in
charge, pup.”
“I do not,” she huffs.
I throw her onto the bed as Romeo tosses his towel onto the floor, his
hungry eyes raking over her body. He licks his lips and cracks his knuckles,
and the expression on his face turns feral.
“Romeo,” Keres warns. “Do not tear my new panties. I really like
these.”
Romeo glances at me, and I give him a subtle shake of my head to
indicate he can’t rip them off her, no matter how much he wants to. “I’ll
play nice, baby.”
I unbutton my shirt. “Get her naked. And do it fast.”
Romeo straddles her, his knees bracketing her hips. Her chest rises and
falls with the effort of her breathing, and those juicy tits beg to have my
mouth on them. He palms them, squeezing tightly and pulling a sharp gasp
from her perfect mouth. A mouth that I intend to fuck very soon. But damn,
I want to fuck all of her. Every inch of every hole belongs to me. I want her
dripping with our cum when we’re done with her. The memories of all the
times she’s lay on this bed, the floor, the kitchen counter, her desk at work
—or any-fucking-where we can take her—and been covered with us makes
my balls tighten and my cock ache.
After discarding her bra, Romeo catches his bottom lip between his
teeth and lets out a devious chuckle. “I really wanna rip these panties off
you, Fuck-up. If I’m a good boy and don’t do that, what will I get in
return?”
“What do you want?” she asks, her voice sinful and sultry.
“Oh you know what I want, baby. Your complete fucking submission.”
He trails his fingers over her breasts, and she writhes beneath his expert
touch. “Let me tie you up.”
Her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks. We’ve talked about tying her
up plenty of times, but she hasn’t been ready to try it yet. Her past doesn’t
make it easy for her to give up that much control, and as much as I know
she trusts Romeo and me, this is a major boundary for her.
She glances at me, eyes wet with unshed tears, before turning back to
Romeo. “Okay.”
I guess we’re doing this thing.
Romeo jumps off the bed, excitement radiating from him as he
practically skips to the dresser and pulls out two ties and two belts.
He tosses one of each to me, and together we go to the bed. We’ve all
discussed this before, what our first time tying her up would look like.
Hands tied to the bed frame with our ties, and belts fastened around her
ankles so her feet aren’t restrained but we can manipulate her legs by
pulling on the leather any time we want.
She places her hands above her head and we set to work tying them in
place. “Not too tight, we don’t want there to be marks at the event. Her
dress has short sleeves,” I remind Romeo, and our girl rewards me with a
killer smile.
I pull the knot tight against the metal frame. “If you want to be untied,
just ask, okay?”
“I know. I trust you both.”
Groaning, I press my mouth to hers and give her a quick kiss. “I know
you do, and it makes me hard as fucking hell, sweetheart.”
As soon as she’s tied the way we want her, I slip off her black lace
panties. Holding them to my nose, I inhale her intoxicating scent. “These
are already damp, Kee.”
Romeo shakes his head and makes a tutting noise. “Now why are your
panties wet, Fuck-up? What the hell have you been doing?”
“Nothing,” she says sweetly, fluttering her long dark eyelashes. I grab
hold of the belt and lift her leg to the side, and with a deviant grin in my
direction, Romeo does the same, spreading her wide open for us both.
 Romeo tilts his head and stares at the space between her thighs. “Such a
pretty pussy, huh?”
“Prettiest I ever saw. How do you feel about fucking it while I fuck
you?”
Keres gasps and Romeo’s eyes go wide with arousal. “Yes fucking
please.”
“Get our girl started while I grab the lube.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t need lube.”
Fucking psychopath. “Yes you fucking do, Romeo.”
He shakes his head again, more vigorously this time. “No. Just spit. I
want to feel it.”
I thread my fingers in his hair and yank his head back. “You’re going to
feel it, buddy. Trust me.”
He jerks out of my grip. “I know. But I want it to hurt, Ace. Just do it.”
Keres watches us intently, her tits rising and falling with each deep
breath.
“If that’s what you want.” I hold my palm in front of Keres’ mouth.
“Spit for him, sweetheart.”
She spits into my palm. It’s a pathetic amount, and his ass is gonna hurt
like hell, but sometimes he needs that. I guess this is one of those days.
I hold out my hand for him to see. “That gonna be enough for you?”
“Yeah.”
I roll my eyes. “Fuck our girl, Romeo.”
“With fucking pleasure.” We hold onto the belts, keeping her legs
spread, and I watch his thick cock stretch her wide as he pushes into her.
She’s already so wet that he’s slick with her juices when he pulls out an
inch.
“Oh, fuck,” she whimpers.
I kneel behind him and, despite what he said, spit into my hand. He’s
too intent on fucking her to hear me, or if he does, he doesn’t protest. I’m
desperate to fuck him, and I would hate myself if I hurt him for real. I coat
my shaft with our saliva and spread his ass cheeks apart, nudging the crown
of my cock at his hole.
“Do it, Ace,” he grunts.
“Dammit, you fucking masochist.” I sink my teeth into his neck as I
sink my cock into his ass.
 He grits unintelligible words while Keres moans, and their mingled
sounds create the most amazing melody. I take the belt from his hand so I’m
holding both, and then I use them to pull her down the bed while I rut into
him.
“Oh, holy fuck, Ace,” she groans.
“Yeah. You feel me fucking you both, sweetheart?”
Her eyes roll back in her pretty head. I sweep my tongue over the bite
mark on Romeo’s shoulder and rest my lips against his ear. “You okay?”
“So fucking good.” He falls forward onto his forearms, and I wrap the
belts around my wrists, using them as leverage to fuck the pair of them into
oblivion. She comes apart first, slicking his cock with so much cum I can
see it trickling down her thighs, and he follows a few moments later,
cursing my name. He stays inside her while I chase my own release,
relishing in the sight of the two of them, shaking, spent, and satisfied
beneath me.

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 Chapter

Fifty-Six

KERES

L
ying in bed, I scratch the back of my neck and mentally count down
the minutes until we have to leave for the Phoenix Center opening
ceremony. My stomach is churning, and a whole nest of butterflies has
taken up residence in the pit of my stomach.
Ace dusts the back of his knuckles across my cheek. “I know you’re
nervous, sweetheart, but everything will be perfect. You’ve planned this
thing down to the finest detail. You’ve worked your ass off to open the
center so quickly. You’re a fucking rock star. And we’ll be with you every
single step of the way.”
“You will?” Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that I have the love
and unwavering support of these two amazing men.
Romeo kisses my shoulder. “You know we will. Holding your hand.
Kneeling at your feet. Whatever you need.”
That makes me laugh. But although I’m anxious about the center
opening, that isn’t what I’m most worried about. No, something else is
making me feel like I might throw up at any second.
“It will be fine,” Ace promises. “We’re in this together.”
 Despite how much my old self wants to doubt it, in my heart I know the
inherent truth of his words. He and Romeo belong to me as much as I do to
them, and they never let me forget that for a second. With these two men by
my side, I can conquer the world.

M en in suits and women in smart dresses, all of them dripping with wealth
and privilege, mill around the large hall, drinking wine and coffee. The old
me would have balked at sharing a room with this kind of company, but
now I see that they’re not all bad people. Some of them actually want to
help for real.
“This is quite the crowd you’ve gathered here, Ms. Sideris,” a familiar
voice, deep and smooth like rich velvet says behind me, and I spin on my
heel to see Nathan James dressed in one of his exquisitely tailored suits and
a crisp white shirt open at the collar.
“Mr. James.” I offer him a genuine smile rather than one of the well-
practiced ones I’ve had plastered on my face for the past hour. “Thank you
for coming.”
“Well, Lorenzo told me this was kind of a big deal you’d set up here, so
I had to come see for myself. It’s a cause close to my heart.”
I scan his face for a clue as to why that might be but find nothing. He’s
cool and calm, exactly the same as when I met him in New York. He’s
clearly adept at masking his emotions. Game recognizes game, right? But
the mention of Lorenzo’s name causes a fresh wave of anxiety to roll in my
gut. I scratch the back of my neck. The Morettis haven’t arrived yet, and my
nausea grows with every minute that passes. I lick a bead of perspiration
from my top lip.
“Are you okay?” Nathan asks, his eyes full of concern, and I realize I’m
picking at my fingernails.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just a big day,” I reply with a confidence I don’t
currently feel.
Our attention is diverted to a commotion at the entrance, and a few
seconds later the entire Moretti family walks through the crowd, which
parts like the Red Sea. They beeline toward Nathan and me, and Kat
reaches us first.
 “Keres, this place looks fantastic.” She offers me a wide smile before
wrapping her arms around me. I awkwardly hug her back, unused to such
overt displays of affection. But of all the Morettis, she’s the one I’ve seen
the most of over the past five months. She’s been the go-between between
my half siblings and me while we figured out my place in Chicago—and in
their lives. And we’re slowly getting there. I guess it isn’t easy to welcome
someone who was once intent on killing you into your family.
I’ve met with Dante, Joey, and Max a handful of times, and even
Lorenzo once, but this is the first time I’ll see Mia since that awful day in
the basement in Toledo. My stomach twists into a knot when I see her
honey blond head bobbing toward me.
Dante greets me and strikes up a conversation with Nathan, then Joey
and Max offer polite greetings before slipping off to find the restroom,
leaving me alone to face Lorenzo and Mia. Part of me wishes Ace and
Romeo were beside me, but I know they’re not far away and that they’ll be
watching—they always are. I need to face this demon alone. Atone for my
sins without my protectors by my side.
Lorenzo has one arm draped protectively around Mia’s waist, his grip
firm and his jaw tight. She rests a hand on the swell of her heavily pregnant
belly, which is tastefully encased in a bright yellow dress.
“Thank you both for coming.” My cheeks flush with heat at the futility
of such a platitude. I owe this woman my life, and I have no idea how I’ll
ever repay that debt or make amends for what I put her through.
“We wouldn’t have missed it,” Mia says with a sweet smile that makes
her hazel eyes sparkle.
Lorenzo grunts, and she turns to him. That smile nearly lights up his
face along with hers. “Could you give us a moment, my love?” she asks
sweetly.
He frowns.
“Please? Go talk to Dante, Kat, and Nathan. I’ll be right here.”
Lorenzo looks at me with a downright murderous expression on his
face.
Mia directs her attention to me “We’ll be fine, right?”
“I almost died to protect her.” I hold up my right arm, revealing the
thick white scar on my wrist as proof. “You think I’d do that and then ever
let anything bad happen to her?”
Mia’s lips curve, and Lorenzo’s eye twitches. I suppress a snigger.
 “I’ll be fucking watching you,” he warns, but his expression is soft, and
his tone is all bark and no bite. With a gentle kiss on Mia’s cheek, he slips
his arm from her waist and moves a few feet away to join the others, casting
a warning glance over his shoulder at me as he does.
“I really do appreciate you coming today,” I say, painfully aware of the
debt I owe the woman standing before me.
Mia links her arm through mine. “Do you mind if we sit? Swollen
ankles are a killer.” She nods toward the seating area a few feet away.
“Of course.” Lorenzo continues to watch the two of us as we make our
way to an empty sofa and sit down.
Mia glances around, her eyes wide and shining. “I love what you’ve
done with this place, Keres. When Lorenzo first bought it, we came to take
a look around, and I knew even then that it could be used for something
incredible. Something like this.”
She places her hand on my knee and squeezes.
I feel my brow furrowing and wish I was more adept at hiding my
emotions, but these days I can’t seem to stop wearing my heart on my
fucking sleeve. I blame Ace and Romeo and whatever the hell they’ve done
to me to make me this way. Sometimes I miss my ice-cold heart.
“Keres?” Mia’s soft voice cuts through my thoughts.
I swallow a thick knot of dread. I can’t sit here and make small talk with
her like this. Not when … I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Mia.”
She stares at me, a serene expression warming her beautiful features.
Compassion radiates from her, and in this moment she reminds me so much
of my mom.
“I don’t know that I will ever be able to make up for what I did to you,
for the pain I caused you, but please know that I will do whatever it takes. If
you ever need anything from me, I’ll be there. I know that might not seem
like much, and I’m probably the last person you’d want by your side, but
I’ll do anything …” I suck in another breath, acutely aware that I’m
rambling, and force myself to stop.
“I’m not going to lie and tell you that what you did wasn’t one of the
worst things that’s ever happened to me.”
One of them? What the hell else has happened to her? I open my mouth
to speak but realize she isn’t done.
“But Lorenzo told me what happened to you when you were a child.
The state he found you and your friend in, and how you believed he was
one of the men responsible.”
My cheeks burn with shame. I hate that she’s aware of such intimate
details of my past, even as I recognize that the knowledge is probably what
saved my life.
“I know what it is to be hurt by men who use their power and strength
to intimidate and violate. Like they have a right to do so simply because
they can.” Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears. “I know how it feels to
wake up every day and stare into that blank void, wondering if today will be
the day it’s finally over. I know what it’s like to not fear death because it
would offer an end to the pain.”
I had no idea she was ever anything but who I thought she was—a rich
Mafia wife with more money and privilege than any one person has a right
to. “And then I met my Lorenzo and learned how a man with more blood on
his hands than anyone should ever have can also possess the most tender
heart. The world isn’t so black and white, Keres. There are evil deeds
committed with noble intentions, and I believe that your heart is good,
despite some of the choices you made.”
I moisten my dry lips with the tip of my tongue. “You’re more forgiving
than I deserve.”
“Perhaps. And perhaps one day you’ll see why forgiveness is one of the
hardest yet kindest gifts we can give ourselves.”
Unexpected tears burn behind my eyes, and I blink them away. “I have
nobody left to forgive. Everyone who hurt me is dead.”
A shadow falls across Mia’s body, and I glance up to see Lorenzo
towering over us. She smiles at him, and his entire demeanor yields to her.
In that moment, he’s no longer the powerful Mafia Don who makes people
cower in fear. I was so utterly wrong about him. How differently the
haunting shadows of our past make us see the world.
He holds out his hand. “Come get some food with me, sunshine. You
need to keep your strength up.”
She rolls her eyes and turns to me. “So protective,” she whispers.
Lorenzo grunts, and she laughs before her face turns serious again. Her
bright hazel eyes narrow on mine and she squeezes my hand. “You said
there’s nobody left to forgive, but you left out the most important person of
all.”
I frown. I definitely killed them all, and those that I didn’t, the Morettis
took care of for me a long time ago. “Who?”
 She leans close, and her breath dusts over my cheek as she squeezes my
hand tighter. “Yourself.”

“I’ d say this has been a raging success, Fuck-up, wouldn’t you?” Romeo
says, his lips pressed against my ear so that his hot breath dusts over my
skin.
I shiver, and his arms slip around my waist, warming me from the
inside. My eyes scan the sea of happy faces, all of them supporters and
donors of Phoenix Rising, the incredible charity we created.
Ace and Romeo have been as much a part of this as I have. By my side
every step of the way. Every decision, every obstacle, every victory is theirs
as much as mine. But that they stand back and allow me the space to shine
in this arena means everything to me. Because while I love their whole
possessive Neanderthal act, I know that’s all it is. They are the most
supportive and empowering partners any woman could have, in life and in
business.
“Keres?” The voice behind us makes Romeo and I spin around.
I recognize one of the social workers I’ve gotten to know over the past
few months, and there’s no mistaking the look of worry on her face. “Jade.
Is everything okay?”
“We have a family of four, with three kids under eight. They have
nowhere, and …” She scans the room. “I wouldn’t ask today if it wasn’t
pressing. Are you equipped to take them?”
Romeo’s arms slip from around my waist, and he rolls his shoulders
back like he’s ready to spring into action.
I nod furiously. “Yes. We can take them. We’re ready to go today.”
She offers me a faint smile, then chews her lip. “They’re only a half
hour away. The officer I spoke with said they’re traumatized. I’m not
sure … with all these people …”
“They’ll be gone within fifteen minutes,” I assure her. Without any
further communication, Romeo understands what to do next. He offers me a
reassuring nod before disappearing into the crowd.
Less than five minutes later, after Ace and Romeo explained that our
first residents were arriving a little earlier than planned, most of the crowd
has dispersed and the remaining stragglers are on their way out the door.
Everyone was totally understanding. All except one donor who clearly
hasn’t had his fill of the free food and wine yet. I can’t recall his name, but
he’s some rich banker type whose daddy is a billionaire, and he obviously
believes that gives him the right to act like he’s better than everyone else.
“The invitation clearly stated this thing ended at seven.” He checks his
watch. “That’s over two hours away, sweet cheeks.”
Sweet cheeks?
Ace and Romeo are by my side within seconds, and I can feel the anger
bristling through them. But we can’t afford any kind of scene. Not here, not
now. The guy’s attention bounces between the three of us, and he sneers.
“So why don’t you call off your attack dogs and let me finish my drink in
peace.”
A low growl rumbles from Ace, and I suppress a smile. Meanwhile,
Romeo snorts a laugh. I arch one eyebrow, keeping my gaze trained on the
steely gray eyes of the man directly in front of me. “My attack dogs?”
“That’s what I said.”
Ace inches forward, but I hold up a hand and he stills.
“Yeah. Stay, boy,” Gray Eyes says with a snort.
Who the fuck does this guy think he is?
Romeo laughs openly now, and I glance over my shoulder at Ace to
gauge exactly how pissed he is, but he’s smiling too. His eyes bore into the
other man’s as he says, “My girl could rip out your throat and leave you a
bloody mess at her feet without breaking a sweat, fuckface. She doesn’t
need attack dogs. But make no mistake, she gives me the word and I will
remove you from this facility by your balls, and I’ll make you squeal like a
fucking pig while I do it.”
His mouth drops open and the blood drains from his face. I guess Gray
Eyes isn’t used to people speaking to him that way. And one look at Ace is
all anyone needs to know that he is more than capable of carrying out his
threat.
Romeo plucks the glass from the asshole’s hand. “So leave nicely, or all
of these good people are going to watch you piss your pants.”
Without another word, the jackass storms out.
I spin around to face them. “Thank you both for that.”
“For what? Letting him keep his tongue?” Romeo arches an eyebrow at
me. “I’ll be remedying that before the week is out, baby.”
I have no doubt Romeo means every word of his threat, but I’m not
going to try and stop him and neither will Ace. We both adore our mildly
unhinged yet completely lovable guy way too much to curb his fun.
 I shake my head. “No. Thanks for letting me handle it. Well, at least
until you threatened to throw him out by his balls.” I link my arms through
theirs and we head toward the door to say goodbye to the last of our guests.
“I mean, what would that even look like?”
Ace laughs. “Should I go drag him back in here so I can show you?”
I laugh too. “That won’t be necessary. It’s just a hell of a visual. You
carrying some guy out by his balls.”
“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of opportunities to flex your muscles
working here, buddy,” Romeo says, and although he’s joking, the reality of
the world we’re about to become a part of hits home. We have four
traumatized people on their way here, and we have no idea how they’re
going to react to everything. To me. To this place. To Ace and Romeo who,
even with a smile on their faces, appear menacing as hell.
As if reading my mind, Ace speaks up. “Romeo and I can stay out of the
way until you’ve spoken with them and see how they’re doing. And if they
don’t want to see us, we’ll just keep out of their way until they do.”
I don’t want them to stay out of the way. I want them here to help build
the place that’s become the dream and future for all three of us. I want the
women and kids who come here to see examples of men who are good and
just. I take in the two of them. Muscular and fierce. I know how
intimidating they appear on the surface, Ace with his thick tattoos and
Romeo with his pierced tongue and wild hair, but they are the best men I’ve
ever known, and it doesn’t take anyone who gives them a chance long to
see that.
“We’ll still be here, baby,” Romeo assures me. “Just hidden.”
“I don’t want you to hide,” I admit. “But maybe you shouldn’t be the
first ones people see when they first get here. Still, this isn’t going to work
if you have to hide away all the time.”
Ace stops walking, causing Romeo and me to stop too. He takes my
face in his hands. “Listen to me, Trouble. Whatever the fuck happens from
here on out, we’re gonna make it work, okay? However it looks and
whatever we have to do, because this place is fucking amazing and we’re
honored to be a part of it. Even more honored that we get to be a part of
you. So stop worrying and second-guessing and just chill the fuck out.
Okay?”
Romeo murmurs his agreement.
 “Okay,” I relent, finding comfort in giving in to him in a way that I
never would have thought possible.
He gives me a gentle kiss on my forehead that damn near turns my legs
to jelly. “Good girl.”

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 Chapter

Fifty-Seven

KERES

“I ’m gonna leave you with Keres now. You’ll be safe here, okay?” the
social worker says to Ellie, a young girl with black and purple hair and
matching purple and black eyes. Yeah, she’s a girl. Barely eighteen
years old. The family who just got here is a group of four siblings. They
were finally removed from their father’s care after Ellie told him no and
fought back for the first time in her life. The three kids, two girls and a boy,
cling to their older sister’s legs and waist as they eye the social worker and
me with suspicion. They haven’t moved since they got here twenty minutes
ago and have remained silent while the social worker and I filled out some
paperwork. The kids can stay with their big sister for now, but there’s no
telling how it will all turn out for them. All I know is that I will do every
single thing in my power to keep them safe and together.
After the social worker leaves, I suck in a deep breath. Showtime, I
guess. “Ellie.” She looks up. “Shall I show you all to your apartment?”
Her dark eyes dart around the room. The remnants of the opening
ceremony are still scattered around because we didn’t have time to clear it
all. “Is there anyone else here? Or is it just us?”
 “You’re our first residents, but we have another two families arriving
tomorrow.” I was surprised when I received two more referrals just before
Ellie and her siblings got here, but I’m more than happy to accommodate as
many people as we can.
“Is it safe?”
“We have a state-of-the-art security system, and my partners are also
here. They’ll make sure nothing happens to you, I promise.”
Her brow creases in a frown. “Partners?”
“They’re my business partners, but also my boyfriends,” I explain. I’m
not going to hide who we are.
“Who owns the bikes?” The oldest of the three little kids, who I know is
seven and is named Jayden, nods at the helmets near the entrance.
“They’re ours. You like bikes?”
He nods. “My uncle had one.”
I glance at Ellie, wondering if the uncle can possibly help them. “He
died a few years back,” she says, as though reading my mind. “We have no
one else. Our mom …” A tear runs down her cheek.
“You don’t have to explain right now. It’s late and you all must be
hungry. There’s a fridge full of snacks in your room, and the kitchen is fully
stocked. Help yourselves to anything at all. This is your home now.”
Ellie blinks at me. “But your partners. Where are they?”
“In my office down the hall. You want to meet them?”
She hesitates, then straightens her shoulders. Her tone has grown
steadily more assertive each time she’s spoken, and I can’t help but admire
her grit. “I guess we should if they’re gonna be around here. Then the kids
won’t get scared if they see them.”
Iris and Melody, ages three and four, blink up at me through mops of
blond curls.
“My office is on the way to your apartment. We can stop in on the way.”
I knock on the closed door before opening it to find Ace seated behind
the desk and Romeo perched on the edge. “I have some people here who’d
like to meet you.”
They both smile widely as Jayden saunters into the room, followed by
his three sisters.
“Hey. So you’re our first guests, huh?” Romeo asks.
“Is this like a hotel? Can I get room service?” Jayden asks.
“Jayden, no,” Ellie scolds.
 “This is better than a hotel, buddy.” Romeo gets off the desk and
crouches down. “You don’t need room service when there’s a kitchen
stocked with the best candy you can ever imagine. And you can go there
any time you like,” he whispers the last words like they’re a secret, and
Jayden laughs.
“Candy?” one of the girls squeals.
Jayden looks up at his big sister. “Can we go check it out?”
“Maybe later. Once we’re settled.”
“You need anything at all while you’re here, Ellie, just give one of us a
call. Anything at all. If anyone calls you or bothers you in any way, you let
us know and we’ll handle it,” Ace says, and Ellie nods softly.
I smile at my handsome, strong men, my partners in every sense of the
word, and mouth a silent thank you before I turn back to Ellie. “Shall I take
you to your apartment?”
“That would be great. Thank you.”

A fter making sure Ellie and her siblings are settled, I leave them to make
themselves at home. During the planning phase, Ace, Romeo, and I agreed
it would be a good idea to stay here a few nights a week or more while the
place is getting up to full capacity, especially until we have a full security
team in place, and we converted the room next to the office into a studio
apartment for ourselves.
It’s small though, and there’s barely enough room to brush our teeth
without stepping on each other. I leave the guys in the bathroom and head
back into the bedroom to change. A few moments later, they come out. Ace
jumps straight onto the bed, but Romeo comes to stand in front of me. With
a frown on his handsome face, he yanks on my T-shirt and peers down my
neckline. “What the hell are these, Fuck-up?”
I roll my eyes. “Pajamas.”
Ace lies back on the bed, his arms behind his head as his gaze travels
hungrily over my body. “I think a more appropriate question would be what
the hell are they doing on your body?”
“What if there’s an emergency? I can’t go running around the building
naked.”
Romeo runs his hands down my back and rests them on my ass. “If
there’s an emergency, Ace and I will handle it.”
 “Yeah, that’s not going to fly with me. I’m not cowering in here while
one of our residents could be in trouble. Or what if there’s an earthquake?
Or a fire?”
“Jeez, baby.” He shakes his head and grins. “Catastrophize much?”
I purse my lips, trying not to mirror his grin that’s wicked and sinful and
makes my knees weak. “We have no idea who the people here are running
from. There’s every chance someone could turn up looking for them.”
He brushes his lips over mine and makes goosebumps prickle along my
forearms. “And if they do, Ace and I will handle it.”
“I said—”
Ace’s deep, commanding voice cuts off my protest. “Stop fucking
arguing and come here.” Romeo chuckles but removes his hands from my
ass and crawls onto the bed to lie beside Ace. “You too, Trouble.”
I resist the urge to argue further. It’s been a hell of a day, and I want
nothing more than to curl up in bed with my guys and fall asleep between
their warm, hard bodies. And if we fool around a little first, even better.
Romeo pats the space between him and Ace. “Get your ass right here, Fuck-
up.”
I mumble the most feeble of protests and get between them. My ass has
barely hit the mattress before Ace is tugging at my pajama top.
“What are you doing? What if—”
“I’ll make you a deal, sweetheart. Romeo and I will sleep in shorts.” His
voice is smooth and comforting, pouring over me like melted chocolate, and
I offer no more resistance as he pulls my top off over my head. “He’ll keep
your shirt on his side of the bed.” He tosses it to him before he begins
sliding off my shorts. “And I’ll keep these on my side.”
“But …” The protest dies on my lips as his knuckles brush the bare skin
between my thighs.
“And if there is any kind of emergency, we will have you dressed and
presentable within twenty seconds. How does that sound?”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to let me sleep in pajamas?”
Ace’s eyes rake up and down my body. “No fucking way, Trouble.”
Romeo slips his hand between my legs. “Nuh-uh. Ace’s plan is way
better.”
Ace’s lips trail over my neck and collarbone, gently nipping at my skin
and making me squirm while Romeo toys with my clit. “What if I wake up
in the middle of the night and need to slide into your sweet cunt,
sweetheart? Pajamas would really get in my way.”
“Is everything about sex with you two?” The irony of my argument isn’t
lost on me as I arch into the pleasure they’re giving me.
Ace’s gentle nips turn into aggressive bites. “No,” he says with a throaty
growl. “But sleeping next to your naked body is one of my favorite
pleasures in life. There’s something about your skin on mine that makes the
entire fucking world a better place.”
“Yeah,” Romeo agrees, pressing a soft kiss on my lips before he goes
on. “No matter how shitty of a day it’s been, being close to you like this
makes it all melt away. Whether we’re having sex or just lying here, baby.”
Ace lifts his head and stares into my eyes, offering me a warm smile.
“So, don’t take that away from us.”
I grin back. “Well, since you put it like that, how can a girl refuse?”
Romeo chuckles, lips dancing over my neck now. “No more pajama
nonsense?”
“No more pajamas,” I agree.

W arm breath ruffles my hair and I groan, half asleep but aware of my
thighs being spread apart.
“Shh, sweetheart, you don’t have to wake up. I’ve got you,” Ace
murmurs.
I moan my agreement and wrap my arms around his neck, remaining in
that blissful state between sleep and wakefulness. I’m aware of him sliding
his thick length inside me, filling me so completely that it feels like he was
made for me, but not fully awake. The remnants of my dream hang around
the edges of my consciousness while I drift between that world and the
exquisite relief of Ace inside me. The first few times he did this, I woke up,
but now I’m able to remain in a semiconscious state because I trust him so
completely.
“You’re such a good girl letting me fuck you like this. So wet and open
for me whenever I want you.”
Warm waves of pleasure roll through me. Soothed by his words and the
gentle rhythm of him rocking into me, I drift into a peaceful state of
euphoria. I’d be anything and everything for this man. Romeo too. They
take such good care of me, and I’ve learned how to let them.
Ace’s lips brush over my neck, his tongue dancing over my skin, and
whimpers roll out of my mouth as he whispers soothing words of comfort in
my ear and rocks us both to a slow-rolling orgasm. And when he pulls out
of me, he rolls me onto my side again, nestling me between him and
Romeo.
“Love you, baby,” Romeo whispers, pulling me close and nuzzling his
nose in my hair. I think I say it back, but I can’t be sure the words actually
come out of my mouth. Not that it matters because he knows. They both
know how much I love them and that if anything ever happened to them,
the fire of my rage and grief would burn this world to ash.

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 Chapter

Fifty-Eight

KERES
Four months later

I hand a squirming baby Angelo back to his mom.

“Are you hungry again, my little milk demon?” Mia takes a seat on the
sofa, and Lorenzo sits beside her, partially obscuring her from view while
she feeds their son.
“He’s probably just scared of his aunty Keres,” Max says, then laughs
darkly as he sits beside his pregnant wife. Joey playfully swats him on the
arm.
I fake a scowl at Max, who simply laughs harder at my effort to pretend
like I’m mad at him. But his teasing makes me feel like one of the family,
and it’s taken us all a long time to accept that I truly am one of them. I’m
proud to call them my family. I guess that Moretti blood runs deeper in my
veins than I thought.
Lunch at the Moretti house every Sunday afternoon has become
something of a routine for us, and I’d be lying if I said it isn’t one of my
favorite parts of the week. I know Ace and Romeo enjoy being here too. It
means a lot to all of us given our history with everyone in this room. I
treasure the friendship I’ve developed with my half sisters, Joey and Toni,
not to mention Kat, who is one of the kindest souls I’ve ever met. But
mostly, I’m grateful for the special friendship I’ve built with Mia, a woman
who had every right to hate me but has become one of the most important
people in my life.
I catch Lorenzo’s eye, and he offers me a smile as I take a seat on the
sofa beside Ace.
Everyone is involved in their own conversations, and I sit quietly with
my head on Ace’s shoulder and watch Mia feed her son.
Ace squeezes my thigh. “You want one of those?”
I turn and stare at him. “One of what?”
“Um. A baby,” he replies, like it’s the most logical thing for him to say.
“God. No.” I shake my head. Where would we even find the time to
have a baby with the shelter and all the fundraising and everything else it
takes to keep that place running? Not to mention our newest undertaking,
the one that excites and terrifies me more than anything else in the world.
He runs a hand over the stubble on his square jaw. “You looked pretty
comfortable holding Angelo.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I like babies. Doesn’t mean I want one.”
Romeo flops onto the sofa on the other side of me and drapes his arm
over my shoulder. “What are we talking about?”
“Babies,” Ace says with a casual shrug.
Romeo’s face lights up. “Babies? Are we having some?”
“What? No.” I frown at him. “Why would you—” I shake my head.
“You’re not serious, right?”
He shrugs now too. “I dunno. Could be fun.”
“Babies are not fun! They’re a major commitment and a lot of hard
work and … Don’t we have enough on our plates? We only just started—”
“Relax, Trouble.” Ace chuckles. “We don’t have to have babies if you
don’t want to.”
“But if you do …” Romeo adds with a wink.
I glance between the two of them. “But do you want to? Both of you?”
Ace brushes my hair behind my ear. “I want you, and I will give you
whatever you want to make you happy.”
Romeo places his hand on the back of my neck. “Ditto, Fuck-up.”
 “But babies?” I gasp the words. Where the hell is this even coming
from?
“You’d be an incredible mom, baby,” Romeo says quietly. “And just
think of all the fun we’d have trying to knock you up.”
“I’ve never really thought about having a baby of my own,” I admit.
“There are so many kids out there who need loving homes. But maybe one
day …” I chew on the inside of my cheek. Being a mom, foster, adoptive, or
otherwise, is not something I ever thought was in the realm of possibilities
for me. But then I look around the room at the many faces of the people
I’ve grown to love over the past year, and I realize that anything is possible.
Ace lifts my hand to his lips and dusts his lips over my knuckles, and I
somehow feel the heat from his mouth at the apex of my thighs. “Just know
that it’s an option, sweetheart. If you ever want to try.”
I lean back against the sofa between the solid, reassuring heat of Ace
and Romeo. I genuinely have no idea if I want to carry a child of my own,
but knowing that our future isn’t set in stone fills me with contentment.
There’s an endless world of possibilities out there for the three of us, and
although I have no idea what our future holds, I know without a doubt that
I’ll have Ace and Romeo by my side every step of the way.

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 Epilogue

KERES
Four years later

“Higher, Daddy,” Iris squeals as Romeo pushes her on the swing in our
huge backyard. “Higher.”
“She’s such a fucking daredevil,” Ace says about our youngest as he
wraps his arm around my waist. “I wonder who she gets it from.”
I give him a playful nudge in the ribs. “Probably her fathers.”
He laughs.
“Mommy, Dad, can you see how high I’m going?” Iris shouts to us.
“She’s such a show-off.” Jayden rolls his eyes and puts in his earbuds.
At eleven years old, he considers his little sisters to be the height of
everything that is uncool.
“Don’t talk about your sister like that, buddy,” Ace says in the
commanding fatherly tone that he does so damn well. Jayden’s lips twitch,
but he tries to hide it as he focuses on his video game.
I swear, Ace and Romeo are the best dads ever. Our family was instant,
big and explosive, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
 “Mom, have you seen my green sparkly shoes?” Melody wanders out of
the house with our new puppy, Milo, nipping at her heels. This girl is eight
going on eighteen. She’s obsessed with makeup and clothes and all things
sparkly. I have no idea how to handle her. Fortunately Ace does.
“Under the stuffed animal mountain in the den, pumpkin. You left them
there last night, remember?”
She dramatically slaps her hand to her forehead. “Oh yeah.” She
wanders back into the house, and I check my watch, my stomach churning
as I wait for our guest of honor.
Ace gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “She’ll be here soon.”
I lean against him. “I’m so excited to see her.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
“Hey, family.” A loud, cheery voice calls from the back door of the
house.
“Ellie!” Iris screeches at the top of her lungs. She jumps off the swing,
darts across the yard, and throws herself into her big sister’s arms. Even
Jayden, no matter how hard he tries to play it cool, has an obvious spring in
his step as he approaches his sister.
“OMG, Ellie!” Melody runs out of the house and also launches herself
at her big sister. Milo jumps on everyone he can reach and barks, his tail
whipping back and forth.
Romeo walks up beside us and wraps an arm around my shoulder,
sandwiching me between him and Ace. “You ever seen four happier kids?”
he asks, his eyes glistening.
After giving him a quick kiss on the lips, we join Ellie and the kids. She
untangles herself from the squealing embraces and gives us the widest smile
I’ve ever seen. A whole world away from the traumatized and damaged girl
who walked into the Phoenix Center four and a half years ago.
“There’s my super smart, top-of-her-fucking-class college graduate,”
Ace says, wrapping her in a hug.
She laughs. “Thanks, Ace.”
“I told you you’d fucking kill it in college, kid.” Romeo pulls them both
into his arms for a long embrace. When he steps back, he clears his throat.
“Come on, you little monsters, let’s go make sure we have enough cake.
Your cousins will be here soon.”
Ace and Romeo lead the kids into the house, and Ellie rolls her eyes at
me. “The whole Moretti clan’s coming?”
 I shrug. “And Father Mike. They’re all super proud of you.”
Blushing, she looks down and chews on her lip. “Not even half as proud
as I am though, honey.” She falls into my open arms, and I give her the
biggest hug I can muster, squeezing like I’ll never let go. I don’t know
when I’ll get to do this again. She has big plans to see the world and do
great things, and I want that for her more than anything. But I’m still going
to miss her like crazy. College was different because she was only a few
hours away.
She buries her face in my neck, and her hot tears fall on my skin.
“Thank you for everything, Kee.”
“You did it all yourself, baby girl. You’re a goddamn warrior. Don’t you
ever forget that.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Ace, and Romeo. Not just because
of everything you’ve done for me. College, therapy. But for giving my little
brother and sisters a safe, loving family. I can never repay you for that.”
I take her face in my hands. “There’s nothing to repay, Ellie. We’re
family and we always will be. I couldn’t love you any more, not even if you
were my own flesh and blood. And this is what real family does for each
other.”
She swats the tears from her cheeks. “I love you.”
I kiss her forehead, overwhelmed with love for this beautiful young
woman and her siblings—my children. For Ace and Romeo. And for my
other family, Toni, Dante and Kat, Lorenzo and Mia, Joey and Max, and my
many nieces and nephews. For so many years it was just Phoenix and me.
Having a family like this was an out-of-reach dream that was too painful to
contemplate. A pang of guilt stabs my heart as I think about my Nix, but I
close my eyes and send her my love, hoping that she found the peace in
death that eluded her in life.
Ace pops his head through the back door and winks at me. “Our guests
are arriving.”
I turn to Ellie. “Showtime, baby girl.”
She beams at me, her smile full of joy and confidence and just the right
amount of badassery that lets everyone know she’s not to be messed with.
Our girl is going to conquer the whole fucking world. Romeo walks up
behind Ace and wraps an arm around his neck, flashing me a devious grin
before the kids run screaming out of the house again, and I blink back tears.
 This warrior already conquered the world because it’s right here with
me.

A re you interested in finding out more about the enigmatic Nathan James
and his brothers, you can preorder his story now. Out July 30th
Broken

I f you haven ’ t read the rest of the Chicago series yet, you can find them
all on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited. Following the lives of the notoriously
ruthless Moretti siblings - this series will take you on a rollercoaster of
emotions. Packed with angst, action and plenty of steam — Order yours
today
Dante
Joey
Lorenzo

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 Also by Sadie Kincaid
If you enjoyed the MM action in Keres and like reading polyamorous relationships, then don’t miss
Sadie’s standalone MMMF billionaire romance
The Perfect Fit

If you haven’t read the New York the series yet, you can find them on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited
Ryan Rule
Ryan Redemption
Ryan Retribution
Ryan Reign
Ryan Renewed

New York Ruthless short stories can be found here

A Ryan Reckoning
A Ryan Rewind
A Ryan Restraint
A Ryan Halloween
A Ryan Christmas
A Ryan New Year

Want to know more about the king and queen of LA, Alejandro and Alana, as well as Jackson and
Lucia? Find out all about them in Sadie’s internationally bestselling LA Ruthless series. Available on
Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited.
Fierce King
Fierce Queen
Fierce Betrayal
Fierce Obsession

If you’d like to read about London’s hottest couple. Gabriel and Samantha, then check out Sadie’s
London Ruthless series on Amazon. FREE in Kindle Unlimited.
Dark Angel
Fallen Angel
Dark/ Fallen Angel Duet

If you enjoy super spicy short stories, Sadie also writes the Bound series feat Mack and Jenna, Books
1, 2, 3 and 4 are available now.
Bound and Tamed
 Bound and Shared
Bound and Dominated
Bound and Deceived

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 Acknowledgments

As always I would love to thank all of my incredible readers, and especially

the members of Sadie’s Ladies and Sizzling Alphas. My beloved belt
whores! You are all superstars. To my amazing ARC and street teams, the
love you have for these books continues to amaze and inspire me. I am so
grateful for all of you.
But to all of the readers who have bought any of my books, everything I
write is for you and you all make my dreams come true.
To all of my author friends who help make this journey all that more
special.
Super special mention to my lovely PA’s, Kate, Kate and Andrea, for
their support and honesty and everything they do to make my life easier.
To the silent ninja, Bobby Kim. Thank you for continuing to push me to
be better. And to my amazing editor, Jaime, who puts up with my insane
writing process and helps me make each book better than the last.
To my incredible boys who inspire me to be better every single day. And
last, but no means least, a huge thank you to Mr. Kincaid—all my book
boyfriends rolled into one. I couldn’t do this without you!

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 About the Author

Sadie Kincaid is a dark romance author who loves to read and write about hot alpha males and
strong, feisty females.

Sadie loves to connect with readers so why not get in touch via social media?

Join Sadie’s reader group for the latest news, book recommendations and plenty of fun. Sadie’s ladies
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