Sinful Empire (The Anti-Heroes Collection Book 3)

by Meghan March

  I no longer accept that when it comes to her. She’s mine. She’s staying mine. Even my black heart couldn’t handle losing her. I will keep her safe with my very last breath, if necessary.

  I’ve avoided weakness like other men avoid the devil . . . or me. But I didn’t care about weakness in the moments when I thought I might lose her. That’s when something else became clear—losing Keira Kilgore would mean losing my strength.

  This fiery redhead, with sparks flaring in her green eyes, shifted the foundation of my whole world.

  “I thought I lost you,” she says, her gaze filling with anguish. “I never want to feel like that again.”

  “Never. The devil won’t even take me.”

  “Promise me.”

  Nothing is permanent, my inner voice reminds me. But I’m Lachlan fucking Mount, and I make the rules and can change them anytime I want.

  “I promise.”

  She squeezes my hand tighter. “Good.”

  “I should make you go. Send you somewhere safe, as far away from me as I can get you, but—”

  “I dare you to try.” Keira lifts her stubborn chin.

  “If I were a better man, that’s exactly what I would do.”

  Her expression turns mulish, her jaw clenching. “Then it’s a good thing you’re not.”

  The door opens, and one of the docs whose name I can’t remember comes in. “Mr. Mount, how are you feeling?”

  My first reaction should be to drop Keira’s hand, to make sure he doesn’t see how fucking gone I am for her, because it would be an admission of weakness. But that’s not at all what I do.

  Instead, I thread my fingers through hers, and we present a united front to him.

  “Like I’ve been fucking shot and sewn up.”

  “I can have the nurse increase your pain meds. You won’t feel anything then.”

  He backs away toward the door, and I stop him.

  “No. You already gave me too much. I don’t want anything else. I want to feel it. Every single fucking bit of it. I’m not letting you knock me out again.”

  “Lachlan—” Keira’s voice is low, and her squeeze of my hand is tight. When I squeeze back, she goes silent.

  “Make sure Ms. Kilgore has all the pain meds and everything else she needs, but leave my shit alone. Tell V to get in here when you leave.”

  The doctor nods and turns to retreat, his stare sweeping across our joined hands.

  “Breathe a word of what happened tonight, and—”

  “I wouldn’t dare, sir. Hit the call button if either of you need anything at all. We’re at your service for as long as you need.”

  As soon as he leaves the room, Keira jerks her hand out of mine. I want to snatch it back, but she’s too busy wagging a finger in my face.

  “Don’t you try to tough out the pain like a stubborn ass. Take the drugs.”

  I turn toward her, my body protesting against the movement, but I need to see her face so she understands exactly why I refused them.

  “If I’m under, I can’t protect you, and that’s not an option. You’re tied to me. Your safety—your life—is in my hands, and that’s not something I’m willing to risk just to save myself a few hours of pain.”

  “A few hours?” She scoffs. “You were shot. It’s not like it was a freaking paper cut.”

  “It wasn’t the first time. Probably won’t be the last.”

  Keira growls, and it’s clear that any fear she used to have of me, even well-masked fear, is gone completely. “Don’t you dare get shot again.”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  “Then lie to me. Give me something.”

  A rough laugh rumbles up from deep inside me. One of a kind. I knew it before, and she’s proven it every day since.

  Lies. They’ve always fallen so easily from my lips. Second nature. First choice. But in this instance, I can’t do it.

  “No more lies. Not between us. Not anymore.”

  Keira’s head jerks back, shock flashing across her features. “Does that mean you’re going to tell me all your secrets if I ask?”

  I glance toward the ceiling. Of course she would go there. She wouldn’t be the partner I never knew I wanted—never knew I needed—if she didn’t.

  I release a long breath, a large part of me not believing what I’m about to do. But like I realized earlier, everything has changed.

  “What do you want to know?”

  Keira

  No. Freaking. Way.

  He’s not giving me carte blanche to ask him any question and be told the truth, is he? But the sincerity in his dark gaze can’t be denied. Then again, neither can the fatigue lining his features.

  Before, I would have jumped at the chance to give this man the third degree and get the answers to all the questions I’ve been storing up, but right now, I can’t do it. Instead, I focus on him, and getting him well.

  Because Lachlan’s health and safety shot to the top of my priority list the moment I watched them drag him away from me in the street.

  “You need to sleep. Rest. Because you have hell to rain down on this city so everyone knows that no one fucks with Lachlan Mount or his woman.”

  Again, shock flashes over his face, and he stares at me like he’s never seen me before. Maybe he’s right. Because I’ve never felt like this before.

  “My woman?”

  I narrow my eyes on him. “You’re the one who wanted me to admit that I’m yours. Turns out, life-and-death experiences have a way of clarifying things pretty damn quickly.”

  His gaze shutters before he speaks. “It’s the drugs talking. By the time you’re out of that bed, you’ll be railing against me again, demanding I let you go.”

  I purse my lips and cross my arms over my chest, hiding the wince of pain that breaks through the pain meds they’ve pumped into my body.

  Is it the meds? I refuse to believe it. The possessiveness I felt, and the willingness to claw through glass to get to him as he was taken away from me, was no function of drugs. Adrenaline, maybe. But it was the absolute truth.

  “I guess we’ll see who’s right about that. Because I already know exactly how this is going to play out.”

  “And how’s that?” he asks, but the door opens before I can answer.

  Mount

  As soon as V walks in, I can read everything I need to know in the expression on his face. Shit is bad. Really bad.

  I learned long ago that if he’s not texting me, the only way to get answers is yes-and-no questions. And because my phone is nowhere to be found, yes-and-no questions are my only choice.

  “Have they found the shooter?” I didn’t have to give that order. J would already be searching as soon as the report came in about what happened.

  V shakes his head.

  “Did they take care of the cops?” Someone would have called in the accident, and I need the cops who might have made it to the scene before it was cleaned up to forget anything they saw. No one can know about what happened. It would upset the power balance if word got around that someone had the balls to try to take me out. Luckily, a solid chunk of the cops in this city answer to me rather than the other way around.

  V nods.

  “Was the car towed to the garage and the scene swept?”

  Another nod.

  “Bullet retrieved?”

  He holds up a hand with two fingers about an inch apart. I know that means not yet, but they’re close.

  “Tear that car apart. The bullet’s gotta be in there. I didn’t see an exit hole. Find out where the fuck it came from and trace the shooter. We need to know who the hell was stupid enough to attempt this.”

  Another nod. V turns to leave, but I stop him.

  “You did good. Her safety is always your first priority—no matter what. You always see to her first, just like you did.”

  Keira pipes up, interrupting the conversation. “Uh, no. I disagree with that.”

  I shoot a look at her. “You don’t get a say in this
. It’s not something I’ll ever compromise on.”

  “Not at the expense of your own safety. Don’t make me bear that burden. The price is too steep.”

  V swings his gaze between us, no doubt shocked at the new subject of our argument.

  “Who do your orders come from, V?” I snap, bringing his attention back to me. When he obediently points at me, I look at Keira. “Doesn’t matter what you say, I overrule.”

  “I’m calling bullshit.”

  “Too damn bad.”

  V meets my gaze once more, and I speak my next words to him.

  “Stand guard. No one gets in unless there’s a medical emergency, and then only approved staff. I’m told I need to rest so I can rain hell down on this city and whoever did this.” I glance at Keira with a crooked smile.

  V nods and heads for the door.

  Once it closes behind him, fatigue weighs down my limbs, but I still reach out my hand to clasp Keira’s, and she squeezes it.

  This whole experience—her not fighting me, not trying to escape—is surreal. And so is me following her orders.

  “I won’t let you—”

  I cut her off with a glance. “I thought you wanted me to rest so I can be ready to exact vengeance.”

  Her eyebrows wing up in the direction of her hairline. “You’re actually going to listen to me?”

  “On one condition.”

  “Name it,” she says without hesitation.

  “You rest too.”

  Her mouth screws up into a defiant expression, but for a completely different reason this time. “I’ll keep watch. You rest.”

  “V is outside on guard. No one’s getting through him. So, please, fucking rest. I need you whole and healthy. I have a lot of plans for you, woman.”

  Keira studies me for long moments before she finally responds. “And you will if I will?”

  “Yes.”

  “Deal.”

  She reaches out her hand and I shake it, sealing the bargain.

  Somehow, in the midst of chaos, our positions changed. No longer am I the one forcing her to bend to my wishes because she has no other options. Now, we’re equals. Partners.

  It’s a new and different feeling, one that should scare the shit out of me, but it feels nothing like weakness. Actually, I’ve never felt stronger.

  I drift off, my fingers still tangled with hers.

  Keira

  Even drugged by the pain meds, I wake up first. I think I forced my body to allow me to regain consciousness because I needed to reassure myself that Lachlan was still breathing.

  I couldn’t care less about my injuries now. I’m much more concerned about him. The strain is visible on his face, even in sleep.

  I swore I’d hate him until my dying breath. That I’d never give him what he wanted. That I’d build impenetrable walls around my heart, even if he messed with my head and forced my body to betray me.

  Lachlan Mount destroyed those walls. When he turned his back, using himself as a shield, it became pretty damned clear where I stood with him, and that was before I knew he’d already been shot.

  But if I’m completely honest, that’s not when my walls started to crumble. No, that mortar began to break down the moment I realized he was taking me to Dublin, fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine, even though there was nothing in it for him.

  I may not have had the chance to ask my questions yet, but I’m willing to bet everything I own on the fact that selfless actions are new for Lachlan Mount.

  The door to the room opens again, and V steps inside. Another shift, because I’m no longer thinking of him as Scar. He’s not the man who aids and abets my captivity, but someone who was also willing to lay down his life for mine.

  “Is everything okay?” I whisper.

  I know he won’t answer me, and even though Magnolia said it’s because Lachlan cut out his tongue, I’m one hundred percent certain that she’s wrong. Loyalty like V shows to his boss isn’t born of fear and intimidation. It’s a product of respect.

  V nods, but holds something out to me.

  My purse. And in his other hand? My phone.

  He lays both on the bed beside me, nodding down at the phone insistently.

  I glance at the screen and see several missed calls from my father and text messages from Temperance.

  Shit. It’s one o’clock in the afternoon, and a day later than I realized.

  I slept a lot longer than I thought.

  It doesn’t help that I’ve lost track of time, what with the time change from our flight, the drugs, and the lack of a clock in this room.

  I unlock the screen and read the texts first.

  Temperance: Our phones are ringing off the hook. Your dad. The press. The tourism board. Distributors. Everyone wants to know about the award from the GWSC. I know it was a last-minute plan to go, but I gotta tell them something, boss. Help me out here.

  Temperance: Are you okay? Where are you?

  Temperance: Keira, please freaking answer me. Your dad said he’s getting on a plane tomorrow morning and heading here.

  The time stamp on the last text message is an hour ago.

  Shit. I don’t want my dad anywhere near New Orleans right now. Not with the situation I’ve landed myself in. Lachlan swore to me he’d keep my family safe, and I believe him, but I still don’t want them here.

  Checking the bars of service, I find that I have none.

  I glance back up at V. “I need to make calls. Text people. You’ve gotta help me. I have to stop my dad from coming.”

  V glances at Lachlan’s sleeping form in the bed, and then back to me. His loyalties are clearly torn.

  “I only need a few minutes. Please. This is important. Believe me when I tell you I wouldn’t be asking to leave his side if it wasn’t.”

  Something gets through to him, either in my words or my tone, and he nods before holding up a finger. Basically, the universal gesture for hold on a second. He leaves the room and returns moments later with the nurse who told me not to rip the IV from my hand.

  “Do you need something? What’s wrong?” The nurse looks from me to Lachlan.

  “I need you to unhook me. I have to make some calls. It’s incredibly important.”

  She narrows her eyes. “Did Mount approve this?”

  “Do you want to be the one to explain to him why you won’t follow a simple order? Because at this point, I promise you that he’ll consider denying my request to be tantamount to denying his.” My tone invites no argument, and each word is backed with confident authority.

  My statement knocks her back on her heels, and she deliberates for less than a minute. “Give me a moment to unhook you, ma’am.”

  The respect in her voice is undeniable. Her movements are quick and efficient as she removes the leads from my chest and unhooks my IV.

  “You don’t need this anymore, but you better tell him you made me take it out, or I’ll have hell to pay.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I can handle him.” I glance at V as he silently waits for me. “Go handpick someone to take your place outside the room. Someone you trust with his life.” I jerk my head at Lachlan’s sleeping form.

  V nods at this command, once again holding up a finger before disappearing.

  I’m on my feet, more unsteady than I want to admit, when he returns and leads me out of the room. I don’t recognize the two men outside the door at first, but I know I’ve seen them before.

  They’re the ones who caught Lachlan when he fell.

  “Leave him unattended for even a second, and I’ll kill you both myself. Do you understand me?” I make the threat without hesitation, and the shock on both men’s faces is nearly comical.

  Somehow, I’m less surprised that I gave the order than how good it feels to give it. At this point, I’m willing to follow through on a lot of things I never expected to consider. I sold my body to keep my family and friends safe. Now, I’d sell my soul to keep Lachlan from harm.

  “Yes, ma’am. No one wil
l get through us,” one of the men replies.

  I give them both a nod, and they return the gesture with deferential respect.

  The shifts just keep coming.

  I’m no longer a prisoner. I’m the consort to the king.

  “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for freaking ever,” Temperance says in lieu of a greeting.

  My head aches as I hold the phone to my ear, but I push the pain away. “There was an unforeseen delay in my return from Dublin. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get in touch before now.” I’m proud of how professional my bullshit excuse sounds, and the fact that my voice is steady.

  “Unforeseen delay?” Her tone is skeptical, at best.

  “Fill me in on what’s happening first so we can triage, and then I have things I need to tell you. Things that you can’t repeat to anyone. And I mean anyone.”

  My assistant goes quiet. “Keira, does this have to do with the chauffeur you suddenly acquired a couple weeks ago?”

  It doesn’t surprise me that she noticed V driving me, but I am surprised she hasn’t brought it up until now.

  “Yes, but first, business. Then I tell you the rest.”

  Temperance launches into the list of things that require my attention, all stemming from the announcement of the Spirit of New Orleans taking home a prestigious award. An award that I now think might have saved me by taking the brunt of the bullet after it left Lachlan’s body. It would make the most sense given the laceration they glued shut on my right side, which was where the glass bottle was sitting in my lap and is probably still in the shot-up car. None of which I’m going to tell Temperance.

  “So, the press wants a statement and a release date for sale to the general public. The tourism board wants to know how quickly we can start tours because of the press interest. Your dad wants to know how the hell you found the money to go to the GWSC. Oh, and every distributor we have wants to know when they’re going to be able to get their hands on it.”

  I take a slow, shallow breath, cognizant of my weakened state, and give myself two seconds to absorb all the information and center myself back in CEO mode.