Page 1 of Soulmate of the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #8)

PAIGE

I blinked awake, and for a split second, I had no idea where I was. I noted the soft leather beneath me and that I was sitting up, hearing dozens of snores resounding off the walls—then everything snapped back into place. I was on the plane to Egypt to find out if I really could do this.

And, perhaps more importantly, I had to pee.

I smiled at my own silliness and climbed to my feet.

Tom slumbered in the seat next to me, like nearly everyone else on the plane, though I spotted a few night owls watching movies with their headphones thankfully plugged in now.

I nodded at a yawning flight attendant and let myself into the bathroom.

I definitely preferred Tom’s veritable army asleep.

It was almost peaceful, in a calm-before-the-storm kind of way.

When I returned from the bathroom, my thoughts were already on how I was going to coax myself back to sleep.

Nerves prickled over my skin. I didn’t know how many hours were left until we landed in Egypt, but I knew it wasn’t enough.

I’d spent all these months turning myself into the person I wanted to be, and I was about to find out if that person would survive.

No. Focus on sleep. Tom could sleep through most noises, but any light woke him, so I couldn’t watch a movie.

Somone grabbed my wrist and yanked me down into an empty seat.

I barely swallowed my scream when I realized it was Killian.

His dark eyes burned into mine, and a shiver ran down my spine.

No matter how many times I saw them together or heard Sera talk about him, it was still almost impossible to square the man in front of me, Mano Della Morte , with the Killian everyone else claimed to know.

Maybe I should’ve screamed anyway. In the dim light, it was difficult to believe he didn’t mean me harm.

“Having a hard time sleeping?” He released my wrist.

I snatched it back and rubbed the skin like he’d hurt me, but he hadn’t. I didn’t know if that was scarier. “Just going to the bathroom.”

Killian clenched his jaw. “You shouldn’t come with us.”

My heart skipped a beat. “I don’t—I’m already on the plane.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He shook his head and looked toward where I knew Tom slept. “I mean you shouldn’t come on the mission.”

“What?” I demanded. A little of Killian’s mystique cracked. He was just another bastard trying to keep me out, just another asshole man who didn’t think a petite woman like me could handle a little gunfire.

He didn’t seem to notice the change in my tone. “We have enough men. It’d be easier to keep you safe in the hotel with a few of them.”

My mouth fell slightly open. How did Sera put up with this? Who did Killian think he was? This was Tom’s operation, and Tom wouldn’t leave me back at the hotel like a fucking damsel in distress.

“This is ridiculous.” I started to stand.

Killian pulled me back down and let go quickly again. “The choice you’re making is dangerous.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” I asked loud enough that a few men nearby shushed me.

I glanced around, decided none of them would do anything else, and turned back to Killian. In this low light, his eyes looked like black holes, threatening to suck me in and never spit me back out. But I wasn’t scared of him anymore.

“I’ve been training,” I hissed. “Fuck, I’m the only one who’s spent any real time inside his house. I know how many enemies we’re talking about. I know what risk I’m taking.”

Killian glanced toward Tom again. “I’m not just talking about the risk to you, Paige.”

I scowled. “What?”

“Tommaso is a good leader. A good boss. But he—” Killian shook his head. “If you’re there, he’ll only be looking after you. Not the rest of the men and certainly not himself.”

My heart leapt into my throat. That would be just like Tom, to throw himself in the line of fire for me.

I knew he’d take a bullet to keep me safe.

It was the trade-off we both made every morning we woke up.

But I’d never considered that I could make the amount of bullets he’d have to take for me worse.

“I have to be there when the bastard dies,” I mumbled.

“Zahur?”

I didn’t flinch.

“Why?” Killian asked. “Don’t you trust Tommaso? If he tells you Z—the bastard is dead, won’t you believe him?”

Of course, I would. But?—

I met Killian’s gaze. “Why are you doing this? Because it’s not for me.”

“I’m doing it for my best friend,” he answered simply.

“Consider your proposal heard.” I rolled my eyes and stood.

This time, he didn’t stop me. As I strode back to my seat, my frustration mounted.

Tom had confessed a few worries that Killian would always see Tom as his second, and I’d believed him on principle, but I’d just seen it in action for the first time.

Killian thought Tom was being stupid, so he went behind Tom’s back to try to fix it.

It reminded me of when Mom and I used to decorate Dad’s birthday cake, back before we even left the mafia, and every time I didn’t do something the way she wanted, she’d come behind me and “clean it up.” That was stupid shit, like strawberries being placed evenly, and it made me feel about six inches tall.

I couldn’t imagine how Tom felt when Killian tried to run his criminal enterprise.

I dropped back into my seat gracelessly enough that Tom jumped. I froze. No time to pretend to be asleep.

He rubbed sleep out of his eyes and peered at me. “All good?” he asked.

“Just had to go to the bathroom.” I stroked a few curls out of his eyes and smiled the best I could.

He studied me for a long moment, and I thought I was caught, but then he just wound an arm around my waist and dozed off on my shoulder. I breathed a sigh of relief. He looked so sweet like this, unworried like he almost never was.

Tauntingly, Killian’s warning that I was taking Tom’s life in my hands came back to me. A small, dark part of me wondered if Tom’s safety was an out I could take without seeming cowardly.

But I’d always know the truth. Any out made me weak. I wasn’t a princess.