“Have you seen my story’s stats?” I flopped on the couch, tilting the mouth of my beer bottle towards Devin and Evan. I smirked as they pulled their phones out, scrolling with pursed lips. “Everyone loves me.”
Devin’s brows creased. “They wouldn’t even know you if not for me,” he murmured, leaning back in his seat.
“There wouldn’t even be Rylee and Klaus if not for me,” Evan added, grabbing a beer from the bucket.
Shaking my head, I chuckled. “Do you smell that?” I feigned sniffing the air. “It’s the scent of jealousy-“
“Oh, man,” they groaned in unison, looking at each other meaningfully. a mischievous glint crossed their faces. Evan peeked over Devin’s shoulder like a child as he searched for something on his phone.
“That one,” Evan pointed out.
“What one?” I asked, brows knitting together. Devin hummed, gnawing on his lip, and my phone pinged. “What the hell?!” I growled, already pulling out my gun, but the two were gone like smoke in the air. “Fuck!” I raked my fingers through my hair, staring at my butt-naked baby picture Devin posted on his account.
xx 6.27.22
~Rylee~The gentle rain of kisses on my shoulder, teasing and playful, woke me up from my slumber.“Hmm,” I purred, shifting to lie on my back without peeling my eyes open. I stretched my hands up and curled them around Klaus’ neck as he loomed above me. His lips trailed kisses on my collarbone up to my neck, meeting my lips.“You awake?” he murmured, kissing my jaw, one hand fondling my breast, the other holding his weight.“A bit.” My voice was raw, evidence of our busy night.From the couch, Klaus carried me to the bedroom, where he made love to me again until I fell limp in his arms. Worn out yet satisfied.Klaus hummed, letting my breast go, unloosing my hands from his neck and lacing our fingers together. He extended them over my head, directing my hand to hold on to the bed’s headboard.I honestly have no idea what kind of room we are in, not that I care. ‘Where’ doesn’t matter; it’s ‘who’ that matters to me.I smiled against his kiss, sinking my teeth into his lower lip as he
~Rylee~“Can we stay here forever?” I murmured, running the tip of my toes up and down Klaus’ abs, tracing every dip and slope.It’s midday; I’m not sure what time. The trees looming around the cabin made it impossible to be certain of where the sun was. Not that I’m eager to know.We made food, breakfast or lunch, I’m not sure, but we had sex before and after, that I am sure of.Water sloshed from the tub as I reached for my glass of wine. Klaus’ huge frame made the garden tub look smaller; I was practically sitting on his extended legs.“Of course, mia rosa,” he murmured, taking my foot. Sipping my wine, I sighed. He ran his thumb on the sole with the right pressure to make me moan. Klaus chuckled, “especially when you’re moaning like that.”“Hm, that feels so good, baby,” I whimpered in my flirtiest voice.Two can play his game.Klaus groaned, abruptly pulling my foot. I yelped. My wine glass fell on the water with my entire body. Gasping my way back up into the surface, I glared a
~Klaus~Our time in our little paradise was over too soon. I want more alone time with Rylee, but I also have responsibilities to her and my family. As soon as we were back in our penthouse, we both focused on what we had to do.Rylee left for Marseille, tracking her sister Kara while I am working with my team to find more information about Dominguez. Dad still hasn’t given a response to my request. I’m not sure if he’s still following Dominguez’s command or not. He’s working on his own terms to save Berenice, but his ways have been proven to be slow and unsuccessful. He’s waiting for Dominguez to slip, but me, I will make Dominguez grovel on his knees.‘How’ is the question.Working without Ghost by my side was a huge adjustment. They say you’ll never know the value of what you have until it’s gone. I already knew Ghost’s value. I was just too proud to apologize and admit my mistakes.Ghost and I work without needing to speak to each other. He catches what’s on my mind just by looki
~Klaus~“What now, boss?” Kai asked. Our original plan was only to see the actual situation on the ground, be on standby for anything unusual, and we got more than what we came for.Kino is working with Dominguez. ‘How long’ ‘what they’re planning’ ‘and ‘who’s with Kino in this treachery’ are the questions I needed to answer. Does my cousin know where Dominguez is hiding my sister?I gritted my teeth, jaw ticking. I will crush Kino’s head with my bare hands for this betrayal and if he has a hand in Berenice’s disappearance, he’ll wish he was born to a different family.How could he fucking do this to dad?Fuck.Dad.Does he even have any idea of all of this? I need to have a word with him. I will force the truth out of that old scheming man. This has gone too far out of his control.Kino and his men left as quickly as they came. Dominguez was still in the area, talking to someone over his phone. Only three FBI cars remained in the vicinity, and I was itching to know who he was talking
~Rylee~It would’ve been nice if Klaus were here with me. We’d walk hand in hand along the Old Port of Marseille. We’d probably visit Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, Cathédrale La Major or even Château d’If at one point, and explore all the good places for lovers to see. Sadly, today is not that day.Alone, lost in the crowd of sightseers, I weaved my way down the footpath. It was a sunny day, a good day for a stroll, but for me, it was a good day to corner my treacherous sister.From Rain’s intel, Kara is currently employed by a local newspaper company here in Marseille. I wonder how she snatched a job here in France that quickly. But then again, if she has Dominguez backing her up, nothing is impossible.In my hand, I held the picture Markus showed me on my wedding day. I stared at it, lifting my gaze towards the shop across the street. A balcony filled with woven chairs and tables faces the port. Through the wide-open French doors, there’s a counter with stools occupied by a few
~Rylee~“That… That’s impossible…” I stuttered, raking my hair, and my fingers got tangled in my waves. In my stunned state, I’d forgotten that I put my hair up in a ponytail.Gritting my teeth, I gripped Kara’s biceps and dragged her like a rag doll to my rental car. I shoved her in the passenger side, slammed the door. Once I’m in the driver’s seat, I stepped on the gas and the wheels skidded on the street.“Fuck! Can you slow down!?” Kara whined, fumbling with her seatbelt. I’m breaking tons of traffic rules, but I don’t fucking care.My hotel is not that far. It took less than three minutes and I’m halting to a complete stop. I stepped out, opened the door for Kara, but she just glared at me.“Get out,” I spat. I fisted her hair when she just kept staring at me. She squealed. I forced her out, but her seatbelt was still on.“Rylee!” she cried, hissing in pain, scrambling to unbuckle her seatbelt. I didn’t let her hair go and plucked her up off her seat like an annoying weed. “Alri
~Rylee~ “What do they have over you?” I asked Kara. We are halfway into the drive to Montredon and she’d been huffing and fidgeting on her seat as though it was above a slow-burning fire. “What?” she asked, probably stunned that I was the first to break the silence in the car. Old port to Montredon is a short drive. Twenty-five to thirty minutes based on my navigation app, but the nerves are killing me. It felt like we’d been confined in this can for a lifetime instead of fifteen minutes. “Leandro Suarez,” I restate, “what does he have on you? You said he threatened you to pass a message to me.” Kara gnawed on her lower lip, eyes laser-focused on the road. “They have a video of me… a sex video,” she croaked silently. I can’t say I’m surprised. My expectation from her flew over the window long ago. In fact, I expect nothing from her anymore, but disappointment. “Sex video…” I parroted, acknowledging. “With whom?” She winced at my question. It was subtle, yet I caught it. “With s
~Rylee~They took my weapons, my phone, and every accessory I had on, even my jacket.‘Consider this my act of kindness, Rylee,’ Kara murmured. She did the frisking on me while Juaquin, Leandro, and his men watched her strip me of every means I had of escaping. ‘Since you’re my sister, I will let you keep your engagement and wedding rings,’ she said. Her boyfriend, Juaquin, made sure there was no tracker on them.‘Thanks,’ I spat. ‘That’s very kind of you, Karadine. Let’s consider all the sacrifices I made for you paid by this deed, shall we?’She grimaced at my sarcasm.They didn’t keep me in Montredon. When Kara finished her job, they dragged me to the beach, where a yacht sailed as soon as we were on board. They kept me in the engine room the entire cruise to our destination and blindfolded me as we docked. I followed willingly. There was no use in fighting, since our destination was unknown to me.In the darkness, I had no sense of time, no sense of direction. I could only focus o