SeraI woke to my bedroom door opening. My body ached so severely I barely had the strength to turn my head to see who’d come in.Tommaso gingerly stepped into the room with his hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers. “Morning.”“What time is it?” My voice cracked and scratched at my throat. I needed water.“Close to ten.” He leaned against the door to close it and settled his weight against it, watching me.I ran my hand over my face and blinked several times. “How long have I been asleep?”“Roughly a full day,” he said.I’d been asleep for an entire day? I looked down at the covers, clutching them between my fingers as a sudden sharp realization rippled over my body.“No one disturbed you,” he said, realizing my panic. His confirmation did little to calm my nerves. “But we are getting a little worried that you haven’t eaten anything… in several days.”“I don’t even know what day it is,” I replied.“It’s Monday morning,” he said after a moment.“My classroom,” I said weakly to
SeraCaged in against the door, his hands on either side of my shoulders, Kilian looked at me, taking me in with a silent question lingering behind his eyes that I couldn’t read.“It was a test, wasn’t it? The phone,” I said, my voice trembling.“Smart girl.” His voice dripped with menace. “Not smart enough, apparently. Don’t you think I know everything that happens in this house? Did you think I wouldn’t find out you made a call?”Just one call, then. But which one?I lifted my chin. “I had to try.”“You’re beyond that, Sera,” he rasped.My heart skipped a beat as his scent hit me like a freight train. I could smell his faint cologne. Something expensive and warm. But beneath it, I inhaled a fragrance that had my knees going weak and my head spinning. Sharp and heavy, like the smell of the air after a storm, like something electric. If a dark, rainy night had a smell, that would be it.“Are you going to kill me?”“Not yet,” he said pointedly.“I have nothing to offer you.”“I’m sure
SeraMy body thanked me for finally eating something and not totally giving up on myself. It spurred me into desperate action. I chipped at the seams on the windows with my fingernails until they cracked and bled. I went through every drawer in the room looking for something to pick the locks with, going as far as to pull a corner of the carpet up to search for nails. Nothing worked.Eventually I crumpled to the floor and hung my head in my hands, letting the tears fall again, sniffling pathetically as I thought of Emma and Killian’s warning about how stupid I’d been to risk her. The same could be said for Jim, I realized. Emma would tell him, no doubt about it.I could only hope that Fred would be willing to protect him. He’d always been like a father to me when my own Dad was incapable of doing so. He’d worked for my dad for a long time as a caporegime, tough and powerful and loyal to a T. He was one of the rare few that ever retired from the mafia, and even after I’d left, cut ties
KillianFred Bagnoli leaned forward in the chair in front of my desk, eyeing me behind his black-rimmed glasses.He was an old man—wise, long-lived. I didn’t know many caporegimes that made it into their sixties, especially when they ran with the Bianchis over the course of their careers.Fred wasn’t my enemy. But I knew that could change in an instant. This man could have been a boss. I didn’t take that lightly.“She’s just a kid,” he said, his expression darkening as he looked me right in the eyes. Not many people had the nerve to do that. “She left this life years ago and made a new start for herself. You have some nerve taking that from her.”The corner of my mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile. “I wasn’t the one who started this.”“Well, you have her now.”“And I will continue to have her. I am not letting her walk out of this house, Bagnoli. You knew what my answer would be before you decided to come here and face me.”“What I want to know is,” he said with the firmness onl
KillianJim.This must be the guy Sera’s friend Emma mentioned during their phone call. The same Jim that witnessed her abduction. I couldn’t tell if I was more amused by his heroic, albeit pathetic attempt at a heroic rescue, or pissed. I had more important shit that needed my attention. This clown? He should have stayed away.I shoved him on his ass into a seldom used room on the first floor of the house and slammed the door shut behind me. The blue-eyed, blond-haired, all-American poster boy looked up at me and sneered. Blood flowered from a split lip and stained his teeth.I flipped on the light and crouched in front of him. Overhead, the fluorescent bulb buzzed. I had to admire the way he kept those blue eyes fixed on me instead of looking around to get his bearings.His hands balled into fists as he pushed himself up to his knees. “Where is she? You piece of shit, I know she’s here!”My right eyebrow lifted toward my hairline. That settled it. Amusement outweighed my irritation.
SeraHeavy footsteps pounded in the hallway outside my room. Turning from the window, I barely had a chance to catch my breath or process what was happening, what I was seeing, before Jim was thrown into my room.Jim landed hard on his knees before toppling onto his side, and I registered several things at once. Bruises. Blood splatter. And Killian, standing in the doorway, knuckles bleeding, a smile curling his wicked lips.I screamed.“Shut up, Sera,” Killian growled, teeth bared.I immediately snapped my mouth shut as the tone of his voice licked up and down my spine. He was furious. I’d never seen a look like the one he gave me now. Pure death flashed behind those haunting gray-blue eyes.Jim groaned, cursing under his breath as he brought his swollen, cracked fingers to the top of his head. Blood seeped through his hair, turning the silky golden curls to crimson.“What did you do to him?” I hurried across the room and fell to my knees in front of Jim. But he moved away from me, h
Sera“Try me, Sera.”I stood on shaking legs, balling my hands into fists. He stood so casual, almost bored. He smirked, the stupid mouth of his curving into a smile that sent both heat and despair ripping down my spine.“You’re a monster,” I whispered. “Why did you make me do that?”“Do what?” He took a menacing step toward me. “Give you a chance to save that asshole’s life? Oh, I am so, so sorry.”“You didn’t have to be so mean,” I hissed. “Whatever it is you want from me is between me and you. Not my friends.”“Oh, cara mia. You involved them the second you made that phone call.”“You were baiting me on purpose.”His eyes gleamed with something I could only describe as pride, which made me even more furious with him. That initial terror I’d felt in his presence evaporated and was replaced by pure, burning fury.If I died right now by his hand, would that be so bad? Death now could spare me pain later.“Jim is just a teacher, like me. He teaches PE for God’s sake. I hate you, Killia
KillianPining over a woman’s attention didn’t fit my persona. I’d also never felt like my knees were going to give out, or that I’d gladly rip the world in half if it meant making a woman happy.Bracing myself against the wall of the hallway outside Sera’s bedroom, I forced myself to take a breath and ignore her sobs. Her pain and fear ate away at my resolve when I finally broke free of whatever trance she’d put me in and wove through the hallways until I reached the stairs leading down to the foyer.How many people had I kept up here over the years? Dozens, probably. The carpet in each room was stained with their tears and blood. Delaney remained locked up here as well, but the thought of her crumpled on the floor with her face pressed to the carpet as she screamed did nothing in comparison to the image of Sera in the same position.I placed two fingers over my lips where she’d brushed that featherlight and damning kiss. It took all of my strength not to pin her to the wall and tast