by Jarica James
“And why would you specifically ask about gunshots?” he asked, turning to me with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Okay, probably shouldn’t have asked that one.
“We live in Haverden, and I live in the Lach. It’s a fair question,” I said, keeping my voice even as I blinked at him.
“Do you have enemies? Someone who would want to get back at you since it happened at a time they knew you wouldn’t be around?” he asked, his suspicion making me bristle.
“Not that I know of,” I said, lying through my fucking teeth. Buddy, I had more enemies when I was a kid than you’ll have your whole life.
“This doesn’t add up to me,” he continued on. “You sure this wasn’t to get some kind of insurance premium? You hired some kids to come smash your shop, conveniently having an alibi yet arriving just in time?”
“You mean just in time to open up the shop?” I asked. I let my annoyance show this time, crossing my arms and biting back worse comments.
“All I’m saying is this timeline is a bit too convenient,” he pressed on, completely missing the cues.
“And I’m just saying, maybe you should do your fuckin’ job and figure out who wrecked my store instead of accusing me of fuckin’ fraud. Why would that ever be your first conclusion?”
“A girl like you, from the Lach? Money’s tight, and it’s hard to run stores meant for men,” he explained, his misogyny making my head hurt. Before I could even fire back at him, Keir’s panicked voice echoed into the store, all three of my men running in barely a second later.
“Sana?!”
“I’m fine. Someone did this before we got here,” I said, giving Dani a look of warning. We’d address the shooter later because something was still unsettling me about all that.
Without protest, the cops stepped out of their way, letting them right in with a slight bow of their heads. Each of the cops seemed to look at the Adrostos before continuing, getting back to work after a quick nod of Ky’s head. The cops seemed to be on their side, and not in the way Eros had the crooked cops in his pocket. There was a mutual respect here. The cops likely looked the other way on some things, but the Adrostos weren’t working against them, but behind them, keeping worse crimes off of the streets.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Killian said, lookin darkly around the shop. “Though this place has seen better days.”
“I’ll get someone here to repair this today,” Kyrell said, stepping away and pulling out his phone.
“Deputy, talk to the captain and let him know that Killian Adrostos is requesting this be handled by him personally,” Killian ordered, the officer’s eyes going wide before he rushed outside to his car, likely relaying the order.
Keir, however, hadn’t left my side, his hand possessively gripping my waist as he watched the others take care of the wreckage.
“I have a man coming in an hour with a cleanup crew, and the new window is coming at noon,” Kyrell announced, the rest of the officers heading out of the store now that the Adrostos were taking over the entire thing. I’d known their influence in the city was fairly widespread, but this was the first time I’d seen it in action.
They were the royalty in this city, building an empire for themselves, but not at the expense of the little people. Sure, they were morally gray… fuck, morally corrupt in most cases, but weren’t we all? They dealt in drugs and illegal activity, but they controlled it closely, cutting off harmful competition like the Lachs and even keeping even more harmful substances from their city’s borders. And that was definitely something I could get behind. I hadn’t exactly joined them in their daily duties, choosing to keep to my own work, but I’d seen enough to be convinced this was somewhere I could belong.
Too bad that isn’t possible. Eros would never allow it. They were too big to use as an ally; he’d want to eradicate them. Squash them and the empire they’d built, twisting it in his claws and turning it into something much darker.
“Hey, you with us?” Keir asked, his voice far too loud to be asking for the first time. I shook my head and blinked, clearing my thoughts, and glanced up at him.
“Yeah, sorry,” I mumbled, stepping closer to finish inspecting the carnage. I’d let the crews clean up, but my merchandise needed to be moved. “Dani, can you grab some boxes from the back? I want to get my stuff out before the crews come.”
“On it,” she said, walking off as I moved into the glass, the shards crunching under my boots.
“Here,” Kyrell offered, pulling a black pair of leather gloves from his pocket and handing them over. It definitely beat getting bits of glass stuck in my skin.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, my eyes landing on a thick chunk of something resting under the pile of games. It was barely visible, and I couldn’t tell what it was. After pulling on the gloves, I shoved the games out of the way, revealing a wad of… duct tape? What the hell? “Do you see this?”
“Don’t touch it,” Keir said, Kyrell already pulling me out of the way. He glanced at the cops outside before grabbing it and holding it up like he was listening to it.
“It’s soft,” he mumbled, already walking to the back hall. He passed the closed doors and went for the kitchenette, setting it in the sink. After pulling out a switchblade, he started cutting through the mass of tape, an awful smell escaping as he hacked away at it. Once he revealed a bag, we all stepped back. The blood and flesh inside was clearly rotten, the smell so bad that Dani gasped and ran away. As I fought down the bile quickly rising in my throat, the sound of her vomiting echoed from the bathroom. What the actual fuck?!
“Fuck,” Kill said, taking out his own set of leather gloves and covering his mouth and nose before getting closer. Ky opened the bag, and they peered inside, a string of curses following.
“Nope, out of the store, now. You’re closed today, and no, you don’t even get to help with cleanup. Our men will handle it,” he bit out, already turning away. Killian and Ky both went in and cleaned up once Dani was out of the restroom, walking out with their game faces on. “We need a cleanup crew in here.”
“What was it?” Dani asked, still a bit green. Give us fresh blood and gore any day, and we could handle it, but rotting body parts were not the same.
“A hand. A hand of one of our own, to be exact. I’d know that tattoo anywhere. We all have one,” he said, turning his hand over and showing us the small tattoo on the meaty part of his palm. It was a skull with flowers around it, a mix of dark and classy. I didn’t know how I’d never noticed it before, but at the moment, I was far too pissed off and grossed out to care.
“Why would they send it to me?” I asked, this fucking day just getting odder.
“No clue, but let’s go. Family dinner tomorrow night, we need time to figure out who went missing and when. Then we can discuss this and get you a protective detail,” Keir said firmly.
“Okay, well, that’s pretty far off,” I pointed out. “For now let’s focus on the issue at hand.” Ouch, Sana… bad pun.
“I could use a meal,” Dani supplied helpfully, all four of us turning to look at her like she’d lost her mind.
“What? I’m fine, and now my stomach is even emptier,” she said, rolling her eyes at our judgmental gazes.
“She’s got a point. I can send messages from a restaurant. We have a cafe over on Manley Avenue,” Ky said, already turning and heading to the Lexus.
“We won’t all fit,” I pointed out, but they simply unlocked the doors and held them open. “What about my stuff?”
“We’ll come back once the window is fixed,” he promised. “I’ve got guys that are less than a few minutes out.” It was honestly a better option than letting them find out about the guns this way. At least my office is locked.
“Dani, you can take front,” Keir said, sliding into the back, Killian doing the same on the other side. I glanced from the small space between them, to the guys, and they sent me a sly grin as Keir patted his lap. “Come on, Princess. I know what you can do while sitting on my lap.” Letting
out a sigh and ignoring his comment, I crawled in, trying and failing to sit between them before he yanked me onto his thighs.
“Just be good, Baby Girl,” Kill warned me, hand resting on my knee as Ky pulled out onto the road. At least the cafe isn’t far.
“Wait… by family dinner, you mean?” Dani asked, trailing off at the end and leaving the rest unspoken.
“Yes, at the estate. The full Family,” Kyrell answered. “And no, since you’re both under our protection, they won’t need to know who you are. Just try not to mention your last name.”
“Oh good, walking right into the lair of the beast. Sounds like a great plan,” she deadpanned, glancing out the window and mumbling under her breath. We all rode in silence the rest of the way until we got to the cafe, getting out and bypassing the growing line.
“Cousins,” a hostess greeted from the kiosk, “the family table is open as usual.” The guys each kissed her on the cheek before heading for a door in the back. I half-expected it to be an office or kitchen, but it was another dining room, this one with a large rectangular table, big enough to seat a crowd of thirty.
“We have a big family,” Ky explained as we settled at one end. I felt a bit extra sitting with so many empty spots, but the guys acted like it was normal.
“So, who do you think sent it?” I finally asked, but Keir held up a hand. The door opened a few seconds later as the cooks came in with a few platters of food, setting them in front of us before plates and utensils were added. Dani and I exchanged a look, half-amused but also half-annoyed we couldn’t just order our own food. It all looked so good I couldn’t complain, and once the coffee was out here, Dani was in her happy place.
“What can I get you to drink, Bosses?” the younger kid asked, barely old enough to work but grinning at the guys like he was in front of a celebrity.
“Coffee for four, hot chocolate for one,” Keir answered, the kid nodding and rushing off immediately. Keir continued to wait until the drinks were brought in and we were finally left in silence.
“It was likely the Lachs,” Killian explained softly, “but don’t speak much of it here. We don’t want anyone panicking until we figure out who’s missing.”
“Fair,” I said with a sigh. “But I still don’t get why my shop. Well, I guess we haven’t been a secret,” I reasoned on my own, letting out a huff of annoyance.
“Exactly. Anyone who was trailing us likely saw you,” Keir agreed.
“That explains the shooter,” Dani said, and all three guys promptly dropped their forks, turning to her.
“Excuse me?” Kyrell asked evenly, the tic in his jaw giving away the truth beneath his calm exterior.
“Someone shot at us this morning. I didn’t want to mention it in front of the cops, plus, it’s not unusual for me. At first, I assumed Eros had sent them, but this one was different than the others,” I said quickly, shoving a ridiculously big bite of French toast into my mouth to buy myself time.
“Hold on. Your grandfather has been sending people into our city to try and kill you?” Keir clarified, his icy tone sending a shiver down my spine that nearly cracked my facade. “And you didn’t think to mention it?”
“Keir… I’m from a Family of my own. It wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary or a big deal. I kill them, and he sends cleanup; if he didn’t, you’d know about them already,” I explained, bracing for their reaction. There is no amount of French toast in the world that can get me out of this one.
“We’re coming back to that, Baby Girl. Let me just assure you that you aren’t off the hook about that little detail. But back to the current issue- whoever followed you today. How do you know they weren’t his?” Kyrell asked.
“Eros lives for power, right? He tends to attract the kind of followers who want the same. Each month, his lackeys taunt me. I’ve been threatened with rape, torture, you name it. They always talk, always taunt, always make themselves known. I know they’re there before they fire the warning shot, and this time it wasn’t like that. They were stealthier. Dani noticed them first, and they gave up the chase pretty quickly. And it was just before the police arrived, so I’m guessing they were working with whoever did the store’s damage. They probably heard the alarm, so they fled before they got us,” I explained. The vein in Keir’s neck was bulging so badly at this point, I half-expected it to explode.
“When I find out which one sent them, I’ll score the flesh from their bones.” His warning was issued through gritted teeth, his hand gripping his glass so hard it shattered, re-creating the incident from their apartment. This time, someone rushed in, cleaning it up and tending to his hand without a word. When the mess was taken care of, he was handed a new glass, and the waiter ran out.
“This city is ours,” Killian said finally, breaking the silence. “How dare he.”
“I’ve told you a bit about me, but not much. You don’t even know the half of what Eros is capable of,” I explained, the words just slipping out. “Hell, you don’t know half of what he’s put me through.”
“I can attest to that,” Dani added angrily, smashing her fork into her food.
“Does this explain those scars?” Killian asked, and I flinched. He was the only one who’d seen me fully naked so far. Most of my encounters with the triplets hadn’t required me to get fully undressed; they were far too impatient for that. It was generally a quick fuck bent over a table, held against the wall, or being ordered to my knees. We hadn’t found the time yet to spend the night together. Either I refused to stay the night with them, needing my own space, or they were pulled away for Family business.
“Yes,” I said, Dani meeting my eyes with a knowing look of her own. She’d had many of the same experiences, though it always seemed the worst and most challenging tests had always been saved for me.
“Looks like we need to discuss a few things tonight. You guys can stay with us,” Killian said, giving me a warning look. I nodded, knowing it would be useless to argue over this.
“What about my shop?”
“We can have a car take you there tomorrow,” Keir said, “along with a detail.”
“Will they be discreet? I won’t have them scaring off what few customers I’ll have after this,” I challenged. If their security detail meant I’d lose the ability to run my shop, things were going to get difficult between us. I was not sacrificing any part of the life I’d built unless it was absolutely necessary, and I wasn't convinced we were at that level yet.
“Maybe,” Keir said, giving nothing else and effectively shutting down the conversation at the same time. “Eat.”
“Yes, sir,” I mumbled, his eyes flashing to mine with a hint of heat, but I wasn’t about to poke the beast right now. Keir didn’t handle tension well, and either someone would die today, or my pussy would be wrecked. Or both.
“We need to do a sweep of the city for that shooter,” Kyrell mumbled, already typing away on his phone. It was going to be an interesting day, one I definitely hadn’t prepared for when leaving the house.
Welcome back to the mafia.
Killian
“Is she asleep?” Ky asked as I walked back into the room. It had been a long day of getting our teams assembled and our men on the streets keeping an eye out for the Lachs. We had finally called it quits for the night over a late dinner. After a long shower, Sana had settled in Ky’s bed for the night and fell asleep before I could even put on my own sweats. I couldn’t even blame her after the bullshit day she had.
“Yeah, out like a light,” I said, dropping onto the couch and taking the glass Keir held out.
“I’m fed up with all these attempts on her life; we have to fucking do something,” he said. “But I don’t fucking know what. She’s too damn independent.”
“So don’t tell her,” Ky suggested, looking pained. “We can put up cameras.”
“Done,” Keir agreed, typing away on his phone. “I’ll get them set up around the building and inside.”
“I swear, no other person has ever fu
cked me up quite like her,” Ky growled, shaking his head and downing his own glass of whiskey. “I love her, but I want to punish and break her at the same time. Tame that wild, insane streak inside of her but also stoke the flames of her blood thirst.”
“Well said,” I snorted. He had always been way more poetic than I did. “But she’s always been in here.” I tapped my head, and Keir saluted that with a dark chuckle.
“But why? We’ve had plenty of other options. What is it about her?”
“But did we? Have other options, I mean,” I said, giving him a knowing look. “We’ve tried to replace her for eleven fucking years. It’s just her, and it’s always been her.”
“She’s irreplaceable. That unique mix of bloody and brilliant, psycho yet smart,” Ky said, the smile on his face warm and soft, quite unlike him. He might wax poetic more than Keir or I ever did, but that look on his face right now? That was 100% only for Sana.
“She’s our queen,” Keir agreed, “but has anyone else caught these hints? She’s lying about something.”
“You mean the way she always seems to be hedging around staying or anything to do with long-term plans?” I asked. It was something that’d been bothering me as well. She would cut herself off or say something that sounded like she was going to tell us something, then change the subject.
“Exactly,” Keir said, tipping his head to the side as he studied us. “Something to do with her Family?”
“Likely. They wouldn’t have just let her go without a fight,” Ky said.
“But can you call sending men to kill her not a fight?” I argued.
“He’s notorious. There’s no fucking way she’d be alive if he truly wanted her head,” Keir pointed out, shaking his head. “That’s not it.”
“Well, we can guess until we all fucking die of old age, but it won’t make a damn bit of difference,” I said with another long pull of alcohol. “But it doesn’t matter.”
“How would it not matter?” Ky asked, raising an eyebrow.
“We’d figure it out and move on,” I supplied with a shrug. “She’s ours. End of story.”