Sinful Illusions

by Morgan James

  Morgan James

  Sinful Illusions (Sinful Duet #1)

  Copyright © 2021 by Morgan James

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Morgan James asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  Morgan James has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  First edition

  This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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  Contents

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek at Sinful Sacrament

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Also by Morgan James

  About the Author

  About the Book

  Eva

  Revenge.

  It’s been the only thing driving me for the past six months since my sister was murdered—and he’s the one responsible. I want to break him the way he broke my family. But to get what I want, I’ll need to get close to him, win his trust. He stirs a dark need inside me that I never knew existed. My attraction to him is a distraction I can’t afford. I’ll give him my body… but he can never have my heart.

  Fox

  The first time I set eyes on Eva, I’m entranced. When the brazen young woman breaks into my home, I take it as a sign—she’s meant to be mine. She’s hell-bent on revenge, but the more I’m with her, the more I want to keep her.

  I’m the devil… and she’s my fallen angel.

  *Sinful Illusions is the first book in the Sinful Duet, a dark mafia romance. It ends on a cliffhanger and depicts some situations that may be uncomfortable for some readers, which includes kidnapping, spanking, humiliation, etc.

  Chapter One

  “Villainy wears many masks; none so dangerous as the mask of virtue.”

  ~Washington Irving

  Eva

  As far as stupid ideas went, this one definitely took the cake. I crouched next to the stone pillar at the corner of the estate and glanced around one last time before tossing the large stick over the metal fence. I cringed, closing my eyes to narrow slits as I waited for lights to flash, sirens to blast the air, men to come running.

  None of those things happened. I cracked open my eyes, and my eyebrows shot toward my hairline. So, maybe tonight was my lucky night. I’d watched the black car pull out of the driveway just over fifteen minutes ago, so I knew he was gone. I was fairly certain the fence surrounding the property had trips of some sort, but maybe he only activated them when he was home. I hoped to God that was the case, considering what I was about to do.

  Still, I waited another five minutes. When all remained quiet and tranquil, I rose from my place concealed behind the pillar. The fence encircled the entire five-acre estate, a small fortune in itself. But that didn’t really surprise me. A man like Fox had enough money to buy whatever he wanted—whether it was some material object or someone’s life.

  A combination of sadness and anger surged through me at the reminder of my sister’s death. It was a never-ending cycle these days. Cry, rage, cry all over again. The past four months had been exhausting, fueled intermittently by hope and despair. Tomorrow would make one hundred and thirty days since my sister disappeared. No matter how long I lived, I would never forget the sound of my ringing phone piercing the air, the shaky sound of my father’s voice telling me she was gone.

  I didn’t know if it was intuition or something else, but I knew the moment I saw Daddy’s name lighting up my screen that something had happened to my sister. Elle had been married for nearly two years, and I hadn’t gotten to see her as often as I would have liked between my schoolwork and her obligations as a senator’s wife. The last time I’d seen her was around Fourth of July, when she and Spencer stopped by my family’s annual party at the lake. They hadn’t stayed long, and I cursed myself for not going out of my way to spend more time with her.

  A little over a month later, she’d disappeared. A hiker had discovered her phone first. Thinking nothing of it, he’d pocketed it to turn it in. A few hundred yards later he’d found her. Or, rather, the place she’d died. The authorities found a significant amount of blood and trace evidence at the scene to believe with certainty that she’d been attacked and couldn’t have possibly survived.

  Authorities had spent several days scouring the woods, searching for any sign of her. Her purse containing her identity had been found more than a mile from the crime scene, and a knife covered in her DNA was found near the edge of the river just beyond that. They’d searched the riverbank for miles upstream, but her body had never been recovered. I’d held out hope for months that they were wrong; she would come back to us. We would find her. Part of me felt like she was still alive, and I couldn’t possibly let her go until I knew for sure. If she was truly gone, I wanted to find her and put her to rest. I needed the closure—we all did.

  Each day that passed without word of her return dug the knife of pain and despair a little deeper. Finally, we could wait no longer. Daddy insisted we move on with our lives—what was left of them. We had finally laid her memory to rest just a couple weeks ago, lowering an empty coffin into the ground two days after Christmas.

  I still couldn’t believe she was gone. Or maybe I just refused to accept it. Even though Elle and I had lived apart and were busy with our own lives, she was still my sister, and a part of my heart died with her. Justice needed to be served—and I was going to ensure that happened.

  While I’d been staying with my family over the holidays, Elle’s husband, Spencer, stopped by. I’d overhead him speaking with Daddy late one night while I eavesdropped outside his office. Spencer believed a man by the name of Fox was responsible for Elle’s death. F
or years I’d only heard whispers of the man who lived in the shadows and ran an underground crime organization. Daddy had protected Elle and me from everything growing up, but when Elle was murdered, the rose-colored glasses had been ripped away, revealing the ugly truth of the world around me. Our family had been torn apart, and I’d sworn I would exact revenge on the man who’d done this to us.

  I glanced through the bars of the heavy-duty wrought iron fence and glared at the mansion, mentally cursing the man who owned it. A puff of air escaped my lips, curling in front of my face in the frigid evening air. A shiver worked its way down my spine, but I closed my eyes, drawing on my strength and tuning out the cold that penetrated my bones. It was a perfect night. Not too bright, and the snow that we’d gotten around Christmas had melted off several days ago and the cold front that had moved through yesterday had left the ground frozen solid—no chance of footprints.

  Spring semester had just started a week ago, and I was back in the apartment I shared with my roommate, Rose. She was headed to the club to relax and unwind with a few of our friends. Though they’d invited me along, I’d declined. My mission tonight was revenge.

  The note I’d left for Rose said that I was staying with my parents tonight. If tomorrow rolled around and I was still gone, I knew she’d reach out to my parents, who would then contact the authorities. Not that I would allow that to happen. I would be in and out before anyone was the wiser—just as soon as I found what I was looking for. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t know exactly what I was looking for until I saw it.

  What was his weakness? I needed to find whatever it was that would hurt him the worst and exploit it. So far, though, I hadn’t been able to dig up much on the mysterious man everyone called Fox—due, no doubt, to his cunning and ruthless nature. His business was never mentioned directly, though he moved in the upper echelons of society. The information on Fox was infuriatingly scarce, but I’d never been a quitter, and I wasn’t going to start now.

  My plan was to get into the house, find any information that would help me formulate a strategy, then get back out. What I really needed to do was find his office, his private domain. I assumed that he, like all men, would keep any pertinent documents safely tucked away on computers or—better yet—filing cabinets. Unfortunately, that meant I would have to search the whole damn house to find the right room before I could even start. But that was fine with me. Gauging from his recent activity, Fox wouldn’t be back for hours yet.

  I’d spent the previous three nights parked one street over, watching the house, studying his routine. Each evening, Fox had stepped out the front doors of the mansion, then climbed into the back of the black Mercedes. Though I’d continued to watch the premises, he still hadn’t returned by the time I left around one. Tonight would be the same. The car had pulled out of the garage just over twenty minutes ago now, so I was safe for several hours, at least.

  During my time watching the house, I’d seen only the same two men: the driver who never returned without Fox, and the second man who remained at the house, occasionally stepping outside for a smoke. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe those were the only guards he had, but I was confident that I could elude the others once I was inside.

  From the position of the thin crescent moon high above me, I judged it to be about ten o’clock. That meant I would have about three hours to get what I needed and get out. I’d be home right around the same time as Rose. No harm done. Now, I just needed to get inside. I didn’t know how to pick locks—not well, anyway. I’d researched it but had quickly given up. With a house like this, Fox surely had high end security, including more advanced locking mechanisms that couldn’t be easily breached. I could break a window, but I really didn’t want to leave any evidence behind of my brief foray into his home. My plan was to create some kind of diversion the next time the guard stepped outside for his break. I would slip inside undetected so I wouldn’t have to worry about the alarm system or missing my window of opportunity.

  Tonight, I’d left my car behind and instead taken the bus to Oakmont Street. From there, I’d walked the rest of the way. Though I hadn’t encountered anyone on my previous trips, I couldn’t risk anyone discovering my empty car while I was gone and calling it in. Once I’d gotten into the house and retrieved what I needed, I would walk to the gas station a mile down the road and contact an Uber to pick me up. Worst case, I could hike over to the L and ride the subway home. In the middle of the night, it wasn’t safe or smart, so I sincerely hoped a driver would be available. I’d have made arrangements earlier, but I wasn’t sure how long I would be. I needed to get moving.

  Looking around the darkened grounds again, I took a deep breath. Grasping the top rail, I braced my feet against the smooth iron and scaled the fence. Cautiously avoiding the spindles at the top, I hoisted myself up. The spiky point of one caught the back of my thigh as I swung it over, and I grimaced as my leggings ripped and the sharp metal cut into my skin. Shoving the pain away, I balanced my weight and swung my other leg over, then dropped to the ground on the other side.

  Crouched low, I took a moment to inspect my leg. I couldn’t see it in the near-dark, but it didn’t appear to be too bad. I pressed against the wound, rubbing away the slight stinging sensation as I climbed to my feet and gazed around. Still nothing. Moving quickly, I ran to the copse of trees on the east side of the yard, taking care to stay low. Blending from shadow to shadow, I crept closer to the house. From my spot concealed behind a thick tree trunk, I eyed the well-manicured landscaping surrounding the house. There were plenty of places to hide within the bushes and topiary trees spaced around the mammoth brick home. To get there, though, I’d have to cut across the open lawn, up the slight knoll at an angle away from the front door.

  Glancing up through the mostly bare limbs, I glanced at the sky. Wispy clouds dotted the navy expanse, and I prayed one would cover the moon, temporarily blotting out the light. Turning my attention back to the house, I withdrew further into the trees. A twig snapped quietly beneath my feet, and I froze, the hairs on the back of my neck lifting as a second sound reached my ears.

  My breath caught in my chest as I spun around, and my gaze collided with the form of the hulking man standing only a few feet away. I had no idea how he’d crept up on me, but suddenly he was there, his dark pupils standing out against the whites of his eyes. A chill raced over my skin, and my heart slammed against my ribcage, stealing my breath.

  Oh, God. It was him.

  Fox.

  Chapter Two

  Fox

  I stared at the screen, unable to believe my eyes.

  “Boss?” Rodrigo glanced at me over his shoulder. “Want me to take this one?”

  “No.” I gave a brief shake of my head as I watched the kid scale the fence and drop to his feet, sweeping the lawn with his gaze as he crouched there for a minute. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Still dressed all in black, the dried blood in the fibers of my sweater making it stiff, my lips settled into a thin line. I’d just fucking walked in the door, and all I wanted was a whiskey and a hot shower to relax my sore muscles from my altercation with Malikov earlier this evening. Instead, I had to deal with another asshole tonight who thought he could take something of mine. Sometimes a man had to take care of his castle, demonstrate his strength and power to his enemies. Now was one of those times.

  I spun on a heel and left the security office. A combination of adrenaline and anger coursed through my veins, and my pace quickened as I stormed down the hall and headed toward the den. Keeping the lights off, I moved across the room to the doors that exited onto the rear patio. I slipped outside, closing the door softly behind me. Sliding along the brick façade of the house, I paused at the corner, leaning against the wall and allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

  A hundred yards away, I watched the kid slip between the trees, drawing closer and closer to the house. The moon was a narrow sliver in the sky, barely enough to light the way, but I knew every inch of my estat
e like the back of my hand. Cutting to the left, I gradually worked my way around the copse of trees until I was directly behind him. He froze as his foot landed on a twig, and it snapped under his weight. That’s when I made my move.

  I stepped forward, and a dry leaf crunched under my shoe. Fuck. The kid whirled toward me, eyes huge in his pale face as they landed on me. Half a second later, he was spinning away again, darting toward the east side of the property where he’d scaled the fence. Lunging forward, I snagged the back of his thick hooded sweatshirt and dragged him back. One arm around his waist, I slapped the other hand over his nose and mouth and yanked him against my chest, lifting him right off his feet. Surprised at the lack of weight dangling from my arms, it took me a moment to recover. The kid kicked and squirmed wildly as he thought to get free, and I grimaced as the heel of one booted foot connected with my shin.

  Taking two steps forward, I pinned the kid to a tree, pressing all of my weight against his back to keep him in place. “Who the hell are you, and why are you sneaking around my house?”

  I slowly lifted my hand so he could talk. Instead, a set of sharp teeth sank into my hand, and I hissed in breath as pain shot up my arm. “Motherfucker!”

  I yanked against his hold, and the kid released me. Wrapping one arm around his bicep, I jerked him backward, throwing him to the ground. He clambered to his feet, but I kicked out with my right foot, sending him rolling into the dirt with a cry of pain. I dropped to my knees, straddling his waist, and wrapped one hand around his throat. A pair of light-colored irises stared up at me in the moonlight, filled with fear. He writhed and twisted, trying to throw me off, but I fisted one hand in his black shirt, halting his progress. As the fabric bunched beneath my fingers, it immediately became obvious that I’d severely miscalculated. He was actually a she—and a grown one at that.