“I am.”
“Well, he fucking knows,” I bit out.
Kieran folded his arms over his chest and let loose a slow breath. “You made it clear we were done the other night, so why are you trying to warn me about Mickey?”
“We are done,” I confirmed. “But Einstein refuses to finish something that isn’t completed, which means she’s still watching Mickey’s every move. And he’s about to pin you for messing up his plans the way he was plotting to pin Aric.”
“Again, why are you—?”
“I’m warning you because it’s the only apology you’ll get from me,” I ground out. “When all this is over, I’m never letting Lily go again.”
Something so evil filled his hardened stare.
I’d seen that look paralyze men with fear before he slit their throats. For some, their hearts had even stopped beating before his blade had come in contact with them.
Just like Deadly Nightshade.
He clenched his teeth as he swore, “I will make your death slow and unbearable if you try to take her.”
I huffed a laugh, though I knew he meant every word. “She’s not yours anymore. I know you love her, so you shouldn’t want her to be forced to continue a life where she’s miserable.”
It was low . . . I knew it the second the words slipped from my mouth. But it didn’t take away from the shock of seeing Kieran look like I’d just annihilated him.
I rubbed at my jaw and let loose a sigh. “Look, stop giving Mickey a reason to have you followed, and don’t get in my way. You brought me into this, and now I’m ending it.”
There wasn’t a response from where he stood, silently seething. Not that I expected one.
“Have Beck bring Lily to my house when Mickey goes into work on Monday.”
“You’ve lost your goddamn mind if you think I’m delivering her to you.”
One of my eyebrows ticked up. “You’re not. You’re getting her somewhere safe where Mickey can’t find her. He only knows about the main house—he doesn’t know where I live. He’s going to be ready to tear the world apart when he sees what I’ve done. Think about what he’ll do to Lily when he realizes his last chance at keeping his blood in power of Holloway has turned her back on Holloway completely.” I turned to leave when Kieran’s expression fell but paused when he spoke.
“And this is coming from someone who wanted to kill her just last week.”
I didn’t try to deny or explain it, because he already knew it all. Just like he must’ve known it took me nearly this long to realize her name and those eyes would never be able to keep me from her.
“I’ll beg you to slit my throat before I hurt her.”
His mouth curled into the cruelest grin, and his eyes flashed. “You won’t have to.”
For a moment, I wondered if this was what Kieran felt like. Waiting in the shadows, watching people go about their lives, completely unaware to your presence. But then I saw him tense. Only the slightest change in the way he was holding himself, his hand slowly creeping toward his pocket as his eyes scoured the room. And then I wondered how a human being could be so damn silent.
His murderous eyes passed over me, the only indication he saw me was the pent-up breath he slowly released as he slipped the knife from his pocket, his head dipping in the slightest nod.
“Go get the men who were supposed to pick up Finn’s whore,” Mickey muttered as he sat at his desk and logged onto his computer. “They talked to someone, and I want to know who. I want to know where that girl is, and I want to make sure this colossal fuck-up won’t happen again.”
Kieran’s gaze snapped in my direction—the only warning he could give me—a second before he threw the knife at me, the blade imbedding in the wall just inches from where I stood.
I might’ve cursed if Mickey wasn’t already up and looking my way, his eyes cold and his lips twisted into a sneer.
“It won’t,” I assured him. When he reached for the gun at his hip, I raised mine higher. “I wouldn’t.”
I waited as Libby, Einstein, the twins, and a few of the older members stepped out from their places within Mickey’s office to surround him and Kieran, enjoying his growing frustration as our numbers grew.
“You have a lot of places to hide in here,” I said with a grin.
Mickey’s office building located in Raleigh seemed to fit him. It was loud, overstated, and dripped with dirty money. His office was even worse. It was like his own personal shrine for how amazing he thought he was.
But for a mob boss, it had been all too easy for his enemy to slip into the building and into his office.
“Security isn’t that great,” I added.
“You all have some pretty big balls showing up in costumes, kid,” he said with a laugh.
My grin widened. He and I both knew the bandana was a Borello tradition, just as he knew exactly who was standing in front of him.
Still, I lowered the piece of fabric so it hung around my neck. Shrugging when I did.
“Computer,” I muttered to Einstein, never taking my attention from Mickey. I took a step closer to him when she hurried to sit in the chair he’d just been occupying, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “Like I was saying . . . that colossal fuck-up won’t happen again, because your warped dream of selling and buying stolen women is over.”
Although his animalistic sneer didn’t fade, panic slowly rose in his eyes.
Einstein kicked away from the desk, rolling back in the chair and leaving the computer open for view.
I walked forward until I was standing on the opposite side of his desk, behind the computer, forcing Mickey to face the screen and giving me a clear view of his expression.
“That feed on the left? That’s your shipping container. You know, the one you bought to hold the kidnapped women until the auctions.” I leaned forward to whisper, “I don’t think you’re getting a shipment of girls anytime soon, Mickey.”
Every one of the men Mickey hired to find and kidnap women was rotting in that container.
Johnny, Kieran, and I had been slowly picking them off over the last six months—made easy because Mickey only kept in contact with them over texts. And we had all their phones. The men tasked with taking Teagan had been the last hired and the last to go.
“That still on the right? It’s a few of the men leaving the police station after spilling about your little plan since you tried to blackmail them into going in on it with you. At least, that’s what they said . . . and I destroyed all copies of their contracts.”
“I will end you,” he seethed. “I will murder everyone you’ve ever loved while you’re forced to watch, and then I will tear your heart from your chest and shove it down your throat.”
I waited a few seconds then muttered, “That was dramatic. Did you get that?”
Einstein nodded as she lowered her phone. “Yep.”
“Christ, Mickey. Now I have you on video threatening my life. And I bet the computer hid my gun. Funny how that works.”
“Police in eight,” Maverick called out from where he stood behind Einstein.
I tilted my head and sucked in a breath. “Funny.”
“What do you want?” Mickey demanded, wrath burning in his eyes.
“A few things. For starters, don’t be a sick fuck. I’ve visited every person who signed a contract with you for this trafficking ring. Not one of them will go to bat for you. Every contract, bill, and statement has been wiped from your servers, and the physical copies are now in my possession. If I hear you’re trying to start this up again, I’ll take you down with a smile on my face.”
He ground his teeth, the muscles in his jaw flexing. “And?”
“Our feud is over. If you ever come after a Borello member or a Borello, I will kill you, and it won’t be quick. That includes anyone you hire or any Holloway.”
“What else?” he spat.
“Do you agree?”
“Yes, I agree, you piece of shit.”
“Then you’re ab
out to be arrested,” I said with a shrug. “You’re smart, and you have a lot of money that was supposed to go toward your psychotic plan. I’m not dumb enough to think you don’t still have people in your pocket that can get you out on bail and sweep all this under the rug as a bad case of envy and false accusations. But that doesn’t change what’s happening right now.”
“I underestimated you.”
With my gun still aimed at his chest, I stuck out my hand. “We have a deal?”
Mickey grit his teeth and forced himself to stand tall, straightening his suit as he did. With a hard nod, he muttered, “Deal.”
I released his hand and nodded toward his office door. Once my crew started that way, I turned to head toward the door, smirking at Kieran. He was barely concealing his rage.
“We’re even. He’s your problem now,” I whispered as I passed by him.
His breaths grew more pronounced, his chest heaving, but I didn’t care.
He’d fucked me over, and this was my last retaliation.
The plan for six years had always been to stop Mickey. Four years ago the plan had changed to end his life as well.
The only apology Kieran would ever get from me for taking Lily was the warning on Mickey, and for taking all the blame—or credit, depending on how you looked at it—in stopping the trafficking ring. Now Mickey’s suspicions of Kieran would end, and Kieran’s life wasn’t in danger.
But unless Kieran planned to kill Mickey before the cops showed up, he was stuck with him—stuck being Mickey’s assassin. And that was the worst kind of retribution because Kieran didn’t know how to stop working.
I’d trapped him the way they’d all trapped Lily.
With my back pressed to the door, I grabbed the bandana and looked at the only two men left in the room. “Lily Borello . . . it fits her, don’t you think?”
I lifted the bandana over my face and slipped out the door, my smirk widening into an uncontrollable smile as chaos erupted behind me.
I reached for the back of my neck, trailing my fingers over the tingling that began at the top of my spine. My mind so lost in my heartache and memories as I stared out the window of the foreign house Beck had left me in that I didn’t notice the familiarity in that buzz or the way the air seemed to shift around me until he spoke.
“Truth or dare.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and turned, sure I was dreaming when I saw Dare in front of me. “What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
“You what?” My eyes darted around the room, surprise filling me.
His voice was gruff, his stare grave when he repeated, “Truth or dare.”
I opened my mouth to respond with dare but after everything we’d been through . . . all the lies . . . I wanted the opportunity to give him every truth I had.
“Truth.”
“Did we meet by chance?”
“Yes,” I responded, my shoulders sagging. “Teagan found out I was alive and came looking for me. She asked me to meet her the next day at Brooks Street. She didn’t know who you were either. She was furious when she realized I was falling for you simply because you weren’t Kieran.”
He took a few steps closer, his face remaining impassive. “And when you found out who I was, what did you do?”
“Tried to run,” I admitted. “It was after our first night together. I woke up and freaked because I knew someone would notice I was gone soon if they hadn’t already, and then I saw your back. But then I decided that it didn’t matter . . . and then Einstein found me, and I realized you were Demitri instead of just Dare. Before I could make it out of the house, she stopped me and made me think. And I knew our names and our families didn’t change what I felt.”
“She knew who you were.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
“Makes sense. She was the only person other than Johnny who knew I was coming for you last week. I needed her there to cut the power because she would’ve done it a hell of a lot faster than I did. She lost it, tried to get us not to go.”
“How is she?” I asked, my heart aching for the crazy, wild-eyed girl.
Dare shrugged but didn’t answer.
“And you?”
He stared at me for so long that I started to wonder if he would respond. “I’m empty,” he finally said. “I keep waiting for you to show up, or expecting to step into a room and find you there. When Gia died, I threw myself into work—pulling the family out of illegal stuff where I could, and helping Kieran where he needed it. But I don’t know how to get through any of this without you. I never wanted to see you again, but I don’t know how to let you go when all I want is to be able to reach out and feel you, or turn and see you smile.”
The way he let the last word hang in the air let me know he wasn’t done, and I dreaded what came next because I had a feeling I knew.
But when seconds came and went without him continuing, I shrugged helplessly. “But I’m not the girl you want there,” I whispered. “Dare, I’m sorry for all the pain I caused you. It ate at me knowing how it was going to destroy you when you found out, but I couldn’t give up that time with you when I knew we had so little of it. Who we are to each other . . . I would spend the rest of my life trying to find a way to change that, but nothing can. The girl you fell in love with is me, but I can never be Elle. She’s a horrible excuse for a disguise and a mystery you couldn’t solve. Now that it has been . . . she’s just Lily. She’s only me with contacts and glasses. She’s a girl you hate.”
His head shook subtly. “I love you in a way I never knew was possible.”
A shuddering breath forced from my lungs and my heart began pounding so rapidly at his admission that it was nearly painful.
And I cherished every painful beat because they let me know this was real.
I was sure the first time he’d said those words it was the beginning of the end . . . and hearing them now, they felt like the beginning of forever.
And I’d thought I’d lost him.
Dare closed the distance between us, each step slow and calculated, each step creating a frenzy inside me. When he reached me, he slid an arm around my waist and cradled my face with his hand in a move so natural and without hesitation I wanted to cry.
“I love you in a way that shouldn’t be possible,” he breathed, his knowing eyes searching my own. “Tell me you lied.”
I blinked quickly, trying to understand his urgent plea. “What?”
“Tell me you lied. Tell me there’s still a spark or an ember, and I’ll find a way to keep it alive until the day I die.”
“You got my note.”
“Lily,” he said on a groan, dropping his forehead against mine.
My breath caught at the sound of my name on his lips. It was a moment I hadn’t realized I’d spent years longing for—needing. And in that instant, I felt the peace and comfort I’d been searching for.
Dare was my home. He was where I would always belong.
I tentatively reached up to press my mouth to his, my soul rejoicing in having this connection with him again when I was so sure I never would.
“I was wrong,” I whispered against the kiss. “If you’re here we still have everything.”
“You’re done lying, and you’re done disappearing,” he said, his voice nothing more than a rumble. “I’ll follow you across the world but no more chasing. I want you to be mine.”
A rush of air tumbled from my lips when I searched his eyes. Worry and unrestrained need swirled in their depths. “Can’t you see I’ve been yours?”
“Then give me your days and nights. Give me your forever.”
“They’re yours if you’ll wait for me to light up the after.”
Our next kiss was all-consuming.
Match lit.
Fire burning beyond control.
I was lost.
In him. In this kiss. In us.
And I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be found.
Six Months Later
His dark eyes flashed to mine, humor and love dancing in them before he fixed his adoring stare on the small bump growing between my hips. His fingers gently traced over my bare stomach, the touch so light I might not have noticed if I hadn’t been watching him.
“Open it,” he murmured.
Tearing my eyes from him, I opened the folded paper, my smile widening when I read it.
“Hmm . . . truth.”
“Boy or girl,” he said immediately. “What do you want the baby to be?”
I didn’t have to think long. I’d been going back and forth ever since we’d found out, and I had come to the same conclusion every time. “I don’t care. As long as the life we both grew up in never touches the baby, I don’t care.”
When he looked at me again, his expression was grave. “It won’t,” he promised.
I knew Dare would do everything to make sure of that.
Ever since Dare stopped Mickey’s human trafficking ring, we hadn’t heard from Mickey . . . or Kieran, for that matter. And no Borello member had been involved in any illegal activity.
Well, except for Einstein and her impulsive hacking.
Some of the older members who weren’t happy about the changes had left town, looking for mobs that were still thriving. The others were happy to have the gang put to rest.
Einstein had taken over Dare’s bookkeeping so he’d have more time to help the businesses in town and with me. And when the twins weren’t helping Dare, they were working at The Jack. We saw them every few days because they were as much Dare’s family as Libby, but everyone seemed to be settling into their own routines of normal living.
As were we.
It had taken a while to get used to going where I wanted, when I wanted, but the freedom never stopped feeling exhilarating. We took care of my faked death—again, Einstein and her hacking. Dare took me on spontaneous trips, just so I could breathe air that wasn’t tainted by memories of Holloway. He taught me to drive, and I got my license. And I was now managing Brooks Street for Sophia, where Beck came to see me every other week.
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