Curtis“Angelika Giannelli, Angel of Death…is there any other identity I should know of?” I mocked.“Tell me everything about The Viper,” I demanded.She averted her gaze, dragging the long chains with her so she would walk up to me. I smirked when she stopped, her radius finally running out.“Is this necessary?” She bit back.Yes, it was. This woman killed Miles right under our noses and we didn’t think she was at fault. She played us all like a violin with that innocent smile on her face, all while taking out one Arciero after another and pitting us against each other. However, that was not why I was here.I pointed at her chains. “That will be the least of your problems. Answer me.”She shook her head. “I can’t tell you anything. You’re going to kill me anyway. Just do it.”“I knew you would say that.” I grinned. Someone with her skill could endure a lot of pain.Besides, I couldn’t bring myself to torture her. At least not physically anyway, which was odd, considering how willing
Angelica I groaned as I forced my eyes open, adjusting to the blinding light that had just been flickered on. I didn't know how long I had slept. Hell, I wasn't sure if it was day or night. There was no window in this dingy cell and the door was a solid hank of metal that didn't allow any light through it. The only source of light was the offensively bright bulb above me, which had been kept off until now. I had alternated between sleeping and pacing in the dark the whole time and it was driving me crazy. The only thing I could feel was the chains around my wrists and ankles, reminding me that I wasn't dead yet. I didn't know how long had passed since Curtis interrogated me about The Viper. It could be a day, a week, or a year. Hell, it could be ten years for all I knew. I looked down at my stomach and my lips twitched. At least there was a way to know if months had passed. My belly would bulge out. This was Curtis's idea of torture.To be fair, solitary confinement was one of the
Angelica"What is it like being a mother?"Klara paused with a spoon of chocolate ice cream halfway towards her mouth. I only realized how odd my question was when I saw how she was looking at me. I dug into my ice cream and shoveled a spoon into my mouth to calm myself down."Why would you ask?" she asked. "Are you planning to have kids?"I was glad I wasn't looking at her so she wouldn't read my mind—not that I still believed shrinks could read minds but it was awkward nonetheless."Maybe," I gave a vague answer. Considering Curtis's stance on kids, her surprise was understandable. However, I didn't want to tell her I was pregnant yet. It didn't feel right to tell anyone else before Curtis."Well," she shrugged. "That's a broad subject. But I had all these plans for my kids. Rowan and I always wanted two, close in age, and we planned everything including what parenting methods we would use, which schools they would go to, what kind of friends we would allow around them, how I would
Angelica St. Clair “Miss St. Clair?” I nodded to the man sitting across the table and pulled my chair to sit opposite him. He was my late uncle’s lawyer, Clinton, who had contacted me a week ago regarding Uncle Robert’s will. I didn’t even know there was one. My uncle had died two years ago in a car accident. He had been young, so I had assumed there was no will, especially since no one had ever mentioned the existence of one. I generally thought his belongings had been liquidated or donated. “I would say it’s nice to see you, but…” I shook my head so I wouldn’t appear rude. “I know how difficult this meeting is for you, Miss St. Clair, but I promised Robert I would make sure you were aware of everything he wanted you to know.” He had sympathy in his eyes and I knew why. For eight years, Uncle Robert was all I had. he was not just an uncle. I would say he was like a father to me but no one can replace Papa. That's not to say I didn't love him. I did, and losing him had crushed me
The first thing I did after reading the letter was grab the keys and open the jewelry box. Just like he stated, most of the things inside were jewelry that belonged to a woman. A strong feeling of familiarity washed over me as I ran my finger gently through them. If my uncle was a sour subject, then my parents were a taboo. I avoided everything that reminded me of them like the plague. I could still hear the gunshots at the back of my mind, making my body jerk in terror. The memory of my screams and cries was still so fresh that sometimes, I almost thought it happened a moment ago. It sent my heart racing out of control each time I remembered it. My heart was still racing when I finally looked down into the jewelry box. I slammed it shut, wanting nothing but to lock away the memories from ten years ago, but something stuck out, stopping the box from closing shut. I pulled it out and shut the box, locking it like my life depended on it. I picked up the offending necklace and nearl
Four Years later Curtis Arciero“The golden prince finally decided to grace us with his benevolent presence.” Miles snickered as soon as I got to the living area. I was no fucking prince. He knew that better than anyone—because his arrival had swept the red carpet right from under my feet. I wanted to knock his teeth out of his mouth more than ever but I had no time to waste. I had a business to run that did not include coming back here. I had no desire to be near the family I despised. The last thing I wanted was to be in some hate-filled family gathering, the vultures brought together by the carcasses of grandfather’s estate. Everyone wanted a piece of it. I didn’t. But that didn’t mean I was happy that he wanted these greedy fucks to have any of it. Besides, he had specifically required all his grandchildren to be present for his will to be read. Which meant I had to sit in this stifling room with my father’s and uncles’ illegitimate children, including the ones I didn’t know ex
“Honey, I’m home!” An all too familiar head poked into my office barely seconds after my ass touched my seat. I grunted under my breath. Just what I needed. I had spent the whole day shooing off my family, who had decided it was time to form an alliance with me. It was a relief to finally come to work but I was not ready to spend the whole night trying to get Siren out of my office. Swifter than I expected, she was behind my chair, using her soft hands to massage my shoulders, purring against my ear like the siren she was. “How did it go, are you tired? I can make you feel better.” “Get your hands off me, Siren!” I snapped. “And drop the stage voice.” “You liked it before.” She giggled but thankfully stopped speaking in that practiced seductive tone she used to lure patrons out of their life savings. Siren was the most sought-after dancer at Inferno, and men would give an arm just to see her dance for a few minutes. I couldn’t blame them—she was alluring with sinfully hypnotizing bl
Angelica I crept close enough to the headstone to touch it and traced the name with shaky fingers. Hyacinth St. Clair. It had taken me way too long to understand why it was here. Mama was not laid to rest here. Uncle Robert had picked me up right after their funeral in Arcron. I knew right where they were buried—in the humongous garden of my childhood home, right next to the ancient abandoned cathedral that had come as a package deal when my parents bought their house. Yet every year on the anniversary of their death, Uncle Robert brought me here. I had known for years that the grave was empty. Every time he made me buy hyacinths and place them on this empty grave, I thought he wanted to make up for the fact that I couldn’t go back to my childhood home. But now, I knew why. I tilted my head and placed my other hand on his headstone. He had asked to be laid to rest next to Hyacinth St. Clair should he ever die. It made no sense to me, since I knew he was not trying to be close to h