Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
I hide the listening devices throughout the house, moving quickly and soundlessly from one room to the other. If anyone finds the devices, they won't trace them back to us. They'll assume it's the FBI, or the DEA, or the ATF, or Chicago PD, or any number of other law enforcement agencies who make life difficult for men like us.
Once the devices are planted, I unlock the front door and then circle back to the kitchen. I grab the mask I found on the table there, stuffing it into my pocket. And then I slip back upstairs.
Within minutes, I'm back in Cillian's niece's bedroom, and no one in the house has a fucking clue I'm even there. The prick deserves to lose her if this is how well he guards her. There's a monster roaming his halls, preparing to snatch his niece from her goddamn bed, and he's asleep down the hall, oblivious.
Would he stop me if he knew? I don't know, and I want to kill him for that realization alone. My hands ache to reach for my knives to slit his miserable throat. But I ignore the desire for now and don the mask I stole from him, pulling it down over my face.
I grab a bag from the closet and pack a few things into it for her so she'll have clothes. I won't leave her to run around in her little nightshirt and panties. At least not while we're on the move.
Once I have a few things, I drape the bag over my arm and make my way back to the bed. I scoop her up, blanket and all. She stirs in my arms, snuggling up against my chest with a little puff of sound that goes straight to my cock.
Does she even realize what's happening to her right now?
No, of course she doesn't. She'd be screaming in terror if she did, not cuddling up against me like she's safe as houses. She is, though. She might not know it or believe it. When she wakes, I doubt she'll trust a fucking word I have to say. But one thing she'll always be with me is safe.
I don't want to hurt her. I'll kill anyone who tries. I just want to fuck my way into her soul and conquer every single inch of it. It will be mine. No matter how long it takes, I'll lay claim to her body and soul.
I wait until I'm out of the city before I call Mattia on a secure line.
"Domani," he says, not asking questions. He rarely does. We know enough not to trust even the most secure lines we've got. The fucking feds are always listening, always watching. Especially since Athena White left the fold and married Diego a few months ago.
Losing one of their own agents to the mafia? It was a bitter pill to swallow for them, I'm sure. I hope they're choking on it.
"I'm heading out for a few days," I say casually. "But I dropped off the mail on my way out." In other words, the devices are where they need to be, and I'm getting the fuck out of Dodge.
"Good to know," he says. "I'll look through it." He pauses. "Did you see our new friend on your way out?"
"I didn't see anyone," I lie, glancing toward the woman sleeping in the passenger seat beside me. She still hasn't stirred. Did Cillian drug her? Possibly.
I don't know how to explain her presence or what I did. Mattia knows how I amuse myself, but it's not something we've ever discussed openly. There's never been a need. The men I've killed deserved to die. That's all Mattia ever needed to know.
Tonight is an anomaly. I didn't kill Cillian. I kidnapped the niece he hurt. And that's not a conversation to be had over the phone.
It's not one I'm willing to have while she's in the city, either.
If I wasn't careful enough, it'll be a matter of hours before Cillian knows that I'm the one who took her from right underneath his nose. He knows who I am and who I work for. He'll know exactly where to go looking for her. And Mattia will have to choose between turning us over or going to war. I'm fully aware of the risk I took.
But if I'm not in the city, it'll buy us a little time. I'm going to need it because I'm not giving her back to her uncle. Not for Mattia. Not for Rafe. Not for anyone. She has rope burns on her wrists. If I have to kill everyone in her family to keep her out of their hands, so be it.
And if I have to fight my own? It's not something I relish doing. I've always been ten toes down for my family. I've always kept my vows, even when doing so turned friend to foe and drew lines in the sand that not even time erased. But I'm not giving her back.