A Dark Place (a Tomb of Ashen Tears Book 5)

by Kailee Reese Samuels

  “Promise me, that you’ll back off feeding those militants.”

  Sal snickers, “Careful, someone might think you’re talking about yourself. Kill Rat isn’t innocent.”

  “Get out,” I calmly threaten. “Or I am throwing your ass out.”

  She pivots in the kitchen and grabs a knife from the block. “I want it in writing.”

  “Paper burns tomes into ash,” Sal seethes as she haphazardly swings the blade around. “And blood floods the tombs.”

  “You think you’re so smart!” she yells manic. “You boys think you can have your way with everything, but you can’t. I’m going to stop you. And Iris will too!”

  “I warned you to leave,” I scorn as she swipes the blade for my gut. I dodge, but not before I push her into the fridge and force the knife from her hand. “You need to go. Leave it alone, Rowan.”

  “Fucking boys, all up in each other’s business. Someone ought to take you out for…”

  “… For what?” I erupt in a fury. “Tell me!”

  “Pandering!”

  Sal snickers behind me. “Ya, we’re pandering to one another.”

  “Get out!” I howl, backing off. “Right fucking now!”

  She barrels her body at me, which is the equivalent of a toothpick thinking it can knock down a tree. We wrestle as she tries to wrap her hands around my neck when I hear the cock of the gun.

  Munching on his bag of trail mix, Sal quips, “Hey, Bamber!”

  His Mistress

  “Get the fuck away from my man, whore!”

  “Just remember, Sal asked you nicely to leave,” Deacon remarks, grinning and shoving her away. “And I also politely warned you.”

  “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  “I need them to stop pulling Cristos away from the Allegiance deal,” Rowan begs. “They’re going to force him to back out, and Kill Rat will go belly up.”

  “If you don’t get the fuck outta here, you’re going to be face down,” I charge, shaking my head. “You had a chance to pull your head out of your ass, but you screwed over Iris, and now you’re trying to swindle the boys.”

  “Wait,” Sal asks. “How did she screw Iris?”

  “Why don’t you tell him, Tuls…”

  “I offered to take out Thomas Byrne months ago,” she confesses with a quivering lip. “But I couldn’t do it.”

  “And tell them why,” I urge. “Tell them how Byrne got to you and how you ended up in Boston, sitting across from Cesario Raniero, making deals you had no business making. You promised that you could get Sal to kill Carrick. Swore up and down how easy it would be.” I glance at the boys staring, shocked. “But you failed. You got cocky. You thought you had it in the bag, but you didn’t have anything. You lied to Cesario and forced Sanctum’s hand.”

  “Tell them how you know this!” she fumes, hysterically. “Tell them you have been catering to Cesario and Vinny for years.”

  She’s spot on, but I don’t panic because I am still holding the gun.

  “On my orders,” Sal lies, saving my ass. “You think Amber was working on her own? Please, she’s nothing but a good piece of ass.”

  Low blow.

  But a good save, Raniero.

  Well deserved.

  “You need to go,” Deacon says, buying his white lie and approaching the girl. I blink at Sal with a sorrowful expression, and his jaw grinds. Deacon gathers her things, and she relents, putting on her shirt.

  “You’re all going to pay for this,” she threatens at the door. “I will not stop until all of you are dead,” she pauses and glares at me. “Including Iris.”

  I run full speed at her and slam her into the door. “You want to issue threats to me, that is one thing, but you aren’t even going to think about Iris. And if I find out you have, I will cut your brain from your skull and watch it boil.”

  “You’re such a cunt!”

  I toss the gun and nail her in the face with my fist, forcing her into the corner. I unload all of the built-up rage in every swing.

  “Should we stop her?” Sal asks.

  Deacon replies, “Probably. I didn’t know she still had this in her.”

  “Yeah,” Sal remarks with a chuckle. “Lotta fight left in the old girl.”

  I furiously bellow as she falls to the ground, and I punch her with all I have. I never see Sal coming as he plucks me from her body. I roar like a madwoman out of control. “Leave my family alone!”

  Deacon opens the door to Massimiliano Vidal, pulling on his black leather gloves. “Am I killing her boss?”

  “Send her somewhere dark,” Sal commands. “And make sure she’s guarded and gagged.”

  “I’ll call you from Oscurità.”

  He nods.

  “Where did he come from?” I ask.

  “I messaged SOS when she was cutting that,” he says, pointing. “And now, you’re going to clean it up.”

  The Master

  “Keep vacuuming,” I demand, staring at Amber’s ass wrapped in purple lace. “Don’t stop until all of her shit is out of my house. You want blow, that’s okay, but my mistress doesn’t fly in cargo.”

  She stands up to glance at Cruz and me, sitting on the sofa hip to hip. “You want it washed?”

  “Will that mean you bend over some more?” Cruz asks with a crooked smirk. “Cause if so, you definitely need to scrub on your hands and knees.”

  She replaces the vacuum in the closet as I ask, “How are your hands, Stardust?”

  “I’ve been in worse fights,” she says as tendrils of her auburn hair fall from the clip. “It wasn’t like she had a chance.”

  “Present,” I command as she walks over and stands on the other side of the coffee table. “Are you always going to protect Lotus with such fervor?”

  “Yes, Master Raniero,” she declares without hesitation. “All of my intentions are purely directed to the advancement of this family, and it’s entities.”

  Hearing her unspoken apology, I nod in acceptance. I scoot away from Cruz. “Turn off the light. Take off your shirt. And give us hand jobs.”

  She licks her lips and grins. “You forgive me…for the fight?”

  I know she isn’t asking about the brawl, but being an informant in the past for Cesario and Vinny. I don’t know what she told them, and I don’t care. It had to be months, maybe even years ago, and it isn’t pertinent to who she is today. “I do.”

  The past is in the past.

  People change.

  Iris put a gun to my head, and she’s having my baby. Anything is possible.

  Still, I wouldn’t say I like the word.

  She does exactly as I request. I lean my head on the back of the sofa and stare at my lover, who is solely focused on me.

  With her slender fingers working their magic on our shafts, I lean towards Cruz, and we kiss in front of Amber. It’s a magical moment we need, finding a place of light and joy in the wreckage of where we’ve been. I dip to take her nipple in my mouth, and Cruz does the same. She gasps.

  “I’m so fucking proud of you,” I profess, blinking at her. “Take my boy in your ass. I’m christening my hit woman.” Cruz grins. “Nowala.”

  I lay down on the sofa as she slips her panties down and slides my cock inside of her slick warmth. She breathes on my lip, “Thank you.”

  “Anytime, Darlin’,” I reply, biting at her pout. “Don’t make me kill you.”

  I feel Cruz thrust into her ass, and it’s intoxicating. “I could get used to being your bitch.”

  “Stay on your knees,” I moan between her daring, sensual kisses. “And there won’t be any question.”

  “You’re a devil, Raniero.”

  “And that was the best compliment I’ve ever had.”

  81

  A Fortunate Abduction

  His Butterfly

  In my bright pink silk gown, I show up at the gala with no escort. I reflect on the last time I arrived at a party without a hunk of man meat on my arm.

 
; Ladies should have arm candy too.

  I’m an equal opportunist.

  The bold dress is a spectacle piece, and Deacon Cruz would love it. It’s a rich, hot pink, and cut at the top of my thighs with a billowing, long train. Scalloped around my breasts with a plunging neckline, the dress accentuates the diamond choker on my neck and thick diamond cuffs on my wrists.

  My choice in shoes is a bit lackluster, but I am pregnant, and there is no hiding that fact. Heels are no longer practical, so I opted for a white pair of tennis shoes with laces matching the color of the dress. The bad part of it is I’m fucking short. I miss the confidence a good pair of heels naturally brings.

  With my hair curled and piled high, the diamond teardrop earrings tease as I move through the crowd. I play up the—poor you, where is Durante?—card like a pro. I shrug and smile without a clue as to where my Baby Daddy ran off to.

  Probably the bottom of the ocean somewhere or cremated into ash. Either way, only bones remain.

  Bones they’ll never find because my husband is the pièce de résistance.

  Cruz was spot on choosing a bold color if I wanted to steal the show because everyone wanted to talk to me. I have a personal waiter, Alonso, who keeps the sparkling water flowing.

  Yay! So thrilled about that.

  I’m more thrilled about Alonso’s ass.

  I take my seat at Salomé’s table, directly beside her, and shut my lips to listen close. The best deals always happen after a few rounds of bubbly.

  We all have suites in the hotel for after the shindig, but I believe that is because Immortal is determined not to allow my access to their compound.

  I am laughing and smiling when I spot Gabriel Herrera walking in. He’s the most eligible bachelor in the Herrera cartel, and we’re running neck and neck for starting a scene.

  In his black tux, he spots me. Making his way through the adoring crowd, he arrives at the table, greets the family, and seductively whispers, “Dance with me.”

  Who, me?

  I’m the only one at the family table who isn’t his kin, and my lips twitch as I mouth, “Me?”

  “Yes, Iris.”

  “I’ll be back,” I whisper to Salomé.

  “Have fun with my baby, Iris.”

  Oh, Mama, I will.

  He’s at least six feet tall, and I feel dwarfed in his frame as he twirls and glides me around the dance floor for a half an hour. “Let me show you.”

  “… Show me?”

  It’s an open-ended question, but I am a curious kitten. For all I know, he’s going to show me his ding-a-ling again. Not that it was terrible the first time. But I may need to inspect it closely.

  We leave the party unannounced and head to the elevators where we ride up to the top of the ritzy hotel.

  “Can you climb a flight of stairs?”

  “Of course,” I reply, holding his hand. We exit the door at the top of the stairs to a massive helicopter waiting on the landing pad. “Where are we going?”

  “The lights at night are beautiful in and around Mexico City,” he states as I notice my luggage tucked safely in the bird. “Trust me.”

  “… You packed all of my things?”

  “Yes,” he says with a smile. “Well, I had Elouisa do it.”

  I feel a bit nervous, having a fear of heights, but it’s not too bad. Gabe’s commanding presence is not what I typically see in Sal and offers an endearing comfort I have yet to locate in my husband.

  Cruz—yes. Sal—no.

  And it catches me off guard.

  I know Sal in joggers and sexhat, who dips everything in bleu cheese, likes his food spicy, and his women even hotter. I don’t usually see the man who arrived at the palace or in tactical gear at the beach house. I have a relationship with the guy hidden underneath his many coats of armor.

  “Where are we going?” I ask as the helicopter takes off. We’re soaring over the landscape as the skyscraper’s lights sparkle in my eyes.

  “I’m showing you around,” he says, pointing out the El Ángel. “You should experience this. The shift in perspective is enlightening.”

  I cling to his side as we near the outskirts of town where the lights fade into the darkness. “Where are we going?”

  “Il compuesto inmortal.” I squeeze his hand as he reassures, “I am not a good person, but I will be for you, Lotus.”

  “They do not want me to see the compound.” He mischievously shrugs, and I smile. “You rebel!”

  He winks with a devilish smirk. “We’ll be landing soon.”

  With few lights on the ground, the helicopter gently touches down. He grabs my bags, and we walk along a darkened path. “It’s creepy here, Gabe.”

  “It’s supposed to be,” he mutters. “No need to call attention to ourselves.” We arrive at an adobe house, and he opens the door. “This is my parent’s house.”

  “… Are we alone?”

  “Yes, all the servants are sleeping or in Mexico City.”

  “You have no security?”

  He opens his jacket to reveal the piece strapped to his side. “I am the security,” he says with a nefarious tone. “Are you hungry?”

  “I’m in a ball gown.”

  He tosses his jacket on a table in the entryway, and with a smirk, he suggests, “You want to take it off?”

  His brows lift, and I blush. “You’re rather bold, Gabe.”

  “You never get anywhere in life without putting yourself out there.”

  “We could be friends,” I admit with a shy giggle. “Does your mother know I am in her house?”

  “She does,” he says, extending his hand as I glance around the enormous spread. All of the furniture is massive, built for kings. “She is the one who requested I bring you here.”

  “Why?”

  “To keep you safe,” he replies. “We cannot have anything happening to Sal Raniero’s wife.”

  His words send a fiery blaze through my veins, and I rebuke with an icy spike, “You know I am more than his wife.”

  “Not tonight, you aren’t.”

  “For the next three days, until we board a plane to Brazil, you are my captive.”

  “… Captive?”

  “Yes,” he alleges. “Come.”

  “I am the Lotus Queen!” I protest. “You cannot capture me!”

  “I already did, sweetheart.” There is no point in fighting; I will not win in my condition. Besides, he has repeatedly claimed that he will not harm me. And at some point, I have to trust someone. Reluctantly, I take his hand as he leads me through the house. “Tomorrow morning, we will return to Tulum.”

  “And will I still be your captive?”

  “My father is being abducted tonight.”

  “What!” I shout as he opens the refrigerator and begins preparing food. “By whom?”

  “Professionals.”

  “And your mother knows?” I cry out. “How?”

  “You must understand something, Iris. My mother has been under Juarez’s thumb for years. She is the victim of kidnapping, rape, and forced conception. She has stood by his side with a fake smile on her face for years. You may not condone my acts, but I have built my reputation to eliminate my father.”

  “How will Máximo be any different?”

  “He won’t,” he replies, tossing the thin strips of bloody, raw beef into a sizzling frying pan. “But those women aren’t my mother.”

  “They’re someone else’s mother, though,” I argue, letting my feelings run rampant. “And what you do is wrong.”

  “Selling human stock filled the gap when the drug trade became so prolific. Do you not know history?”

  “I am well aware of the history,” I furiously reply. “But now, you’ve insulted me.”

  “Pity,” he says, searing the meat. “I hope you do not bite when I feed you.”

  “Does my husband know the kind of carrion you are?”

  “Sal and I are very close friends,” he says. “And he understands the supply and demand issue
s we have south of the border.”

  “Even your mother knows?”

  “We keep the slaves here, Iris.”

  My eyes widen in fear. “Please…”

  “I’m not going to harm you,” he reassures. “I promised you that I would be good to you. Specifically, you. And I also told you I was a bad, bad man.” He pulls the meat, which smells amazing, from the pan. “Sit.”

  “You seemed so…nice,” I observe as he opens a soda and pours it into a glass. “Decent.”

  “To you,” he contends. “Not the girls I brand with our insignia. You are getting a rare look behind the scenes of a monster.”

  “How do I know you aren’t going to hurt me?”

  “I tell you I am not,” he insists, sitting next to me. He picks up the knife and meticulously cuts small bites of the beef to feed me. “I have no desire to hurt the Lotus Queen, only to make you happy.”

  “What about the funeral? Brazil? The birthday party?”

  He shakes his head with a slight smile. “It will all happen. My father’s body will show up in the desert while we are in Brazil for the party. It will be called an unfortunate abduction and will trigger a landslide of events.”

  “Who is going to Dubai?”

  “My brothers,” he informs, smirking. “I will be hiding out in Peru with you at Navarro’s place.”

  Falling prey to his charm, I take the bite he offers me. “You’re in with Navarro?”

  “I am in with many of the lesser families,” he says. “My goal is to unite us into one central, unstoppable force.”

  “You’re aiming to take down Immortal.”

  “In time, I am hoping to rebuild it,” he confides, taking a bite and giving another to me. “These things cannot happen overnight. I have spent years fighting the will of the family.”

  I am starting to comprehend the underhanded lesson Sal is giving me. Raze Kola willingly works with his family as a proud member of Servet. Gabriel Herrera longs to defect from his family and reform. And Sal Raniero abandoned his post. He’s teaching the multiple sides of the beast. Not everyone is the same, and they must all be treated as independents.