Page 56 of His Deadly Devotion

“I’m flattered, but not me. Knives, weapons. That’s what we should do.”

“Like, underworld weapons?”

“No,legit-world weapons.” I know we’re never going to escape our roots. We are always going to be children of the criminal underworld. We will always have blood on our hands. But if I can get her away from that shit as much as possible, then I’m going to. It’s the only way to keep her safe. “We can have a legit business together, Aurora. We can design and sell our own weapons. You name it, we can have it made.”

“Okay.” She smiles. “I like weapons. But what about Harvard? That’s your dream, Connor.”

I shrug. “I’ve got new dreams.”

“We can do both. A Harvard business degree will go a long way if we want to run our own empire.”

“We have time to hash out the plans,” I tell her.

“I’m going to go shower while you cook whatever it is you’re cooking,” Aurora says.

“Okay.” I look down at the vegetables I’m chopping. I’m only making an omelet, but the thought of joining her in the showeris way more appealing. The fact that I know if I do follow her, it will only be longer before she eats is what stops me.

After plating up two omelets, I peer down the hall.

“Food’s ready,” I call out, only to realize there’s no way she can hear me over the storm and the running water.

So I make my way down to the bedroom and push the door open. The bathroom door is closed too. Which is odd. Aurora never closes the door. Then again, I’m usually in there with her.

My stomach twists. Something isn’t right. I rush to the bathroom door and push it open. Steam fills the space. But that’s not what has my heart racing. It’s the broken window, and the fact that my wife is not in here.

“Aurora!” I run outside, right into the storm. It’s dark, but I don’t stop. Then I hear it, the sound of a chopper. A minute later, I see it in the sky before it flies right over me. “Fuck! No!”

My screams are swallowed by the thunder.

I run back inside, stopping in my tracks when I spot an envelope with my name scrawled across the front in my father’s handwriting. He was here. My father was here, and now he has her.

Fuck!My fist flies through the closest wall.

26

It’s cold. Why is it so cold? My head thumps as my eyes slowly blink open, only to be greeted by darkness. I can’t see a single thing. I move a hand up to my face. It doesn’t make it, restrained by something hard wrapped around my wrist. I try my other arm with the same result.

Shit. This isn’t good. Where the hell am I?

The last thing I remember was going into the bathroom to have a shower. Connor was making us dinner…

Connor. My heart picks up speed.Did they get him? Please, God, let him be okay. Let him be safe.

A tear slips down my cheek before I take a deep breath. I will not cry. Whoever the hell put me here will not see me break. I won’t let them.

With new resolve, I sit up straighter. I might not be able to see, but I have no doubt someone is out there, probably getting their rocks off to watching me tied up like a fucking animal. I smile. I can’t wait to show them just what kind of animal I can be.

They might think they’ve taken a hopeless little girl, some well-kept mafia princess. That might be true for most daughters in our world. But me? I’ve never been that girl. I willneverbe that girl.

My training starts to kick in.Think! Where are you? Who has you? And where are the exits?

I don’t need to speculate about who it is. It’s his family. Connor said they would never stop, so how the hell did they find us? As for where they’ve brought me, I’ve got no idea other than the fact that it’s cold. We are definitely not on my aunt’s island.

Why don’t I remember anything?

I listen to my surroundings. The only things I can hear are my own breathing and heartbeat. “Connor?” He’s not here but I whisper his name anyway. The reply is more silence. Maybe they didn’t take him. He might have gotten away.

Connor is strong. He’ll be okay. He’ll be okay without me. Although I know if he didn’t get taken, he’s already looking for me and hewillfind me. I’ve seen glimpses of his ruthlessness. He keeps it well hidden, but I’ve seen enough to know he will stop at nothing to track me down, and God help those who get in his way.