He started rattling off curse words in Russian, and I rolled my eyes, bored with the conversation. It was his fault his man was dead. Don’t send an incompetent man if you valued his life—not that his life was worth much anyways. I'd spotted his boat floating in the dark water last night about two hundred feet away from my island. I let him have his fun for a few minutes while I visited my angel.
Thirty minutes later, I had him in my basement. Unfortunately for him, he had already made a phone call to the man currently condemning me to Russian hell.
“Are you quite done? I have a busy schedule, and listening to you waste air is not on it,” I said coolly.
“You will die for this.”
I chuckled. “Kavi, let me let you in on a little secret. Hundreds of men have said those words to me, and none of them have been able to fulfill it.”
“That changes now,” he growled. “Romano is dying. His son is dead. The Italian reign has come to an end.”
“You step foot on U.S. soil, I will have your balls spoon fed to your son while your wife watches.”
He laughed. “You are just the errand boy,” he spat. “You are nothing.”
“I’m the nothing who just finished carving your brother’s face off in my basement, Kavi. You would do well to not underestimate me.”
I hung up the phone, my jaw tense as my shoulders.
I knew it would only be a matter of time before scum would come to claim what was rightfully mine. I may not have been blood, but I was the only one Romano had left. His men’s loyalty only goes as far as the zeros stretch in their bank accounts. That dinner was a fuck up. The aftermath made national news, and now, the government was involved, all eyes on the FBI.
No matter how many senators we had in our pockets, we still didn’t have the president. So far, my ears in the White House hadn’t heard anything, but then again, I didn’t trust anyone.
I turned and opened the report from the lab, my eyes scanning the words quickly. By the time I reached the end of the letter, I was smiling.
The metal was “Chernaya Smert”, or Black Death. Chuckling darkly, I picked up the dagger once more, the sun bouncing off the black blade.
This was a Russian metal.
Well, well, well…
Present Day.
The wind changed then, causing Karina’s hair to flow in my direction, her vanilla scent hitting me like a hurricane, warning me of what was to come as I focused back on the present.
She focused on what was behind me, her eyes going wide as she realized where she was. She scanned the wall of skyscrapers behind me, and as we inched closer and closer to the shore, her body language changed.
“Chicago? This whole time?” she gasped.
I put my forearms on my knees, letting my hands hang between them as I studied her. She looked at me and then at the city. “Look at me, Angel,” I demanded, unease weighing heavy on my shoulders as images of her running away from me entered my mind.
I needed her eyes.
She obeyed, like the good girl she was.
“Who owns you?”
She licked her lips, causing my cock to twitch. “You,” she answered, her voice husky, but there was something in her voice. She answered it almost immediately, and I feared I didn’t own her completely. “You betray me, Karina and I’ll—”
She lunged at me, crawling into my lap, taking my face in her soft hands. I snaked my hands up until they settled on her hips,those blue eyes scanning my face, lingering on my lips before looking into mine.
Her lips touched mine. The act was so gentle, I didn’t—shock slammed into me, but I kissed her back, giving her everything would convince her to stay with me.
“I’m with you, Col,” she promised against my lips. The ache in my chest magnified, stronger than ever before, and I realized something.
I was her prisoner.
My angel had captured her demon.
