Page 38 of Stolen Temptation (Irish Kings #3)

Kiara

My mom sits at her favorite easel in the garden, painting something with details I never recall. All I remember is her dark ponytail drifting in the wind and the speck of cobalt blue gesso dotting her cheek.

She’s so pretty from up here in my favorite tree.

The whole world is beautiful from up here.

I wish I never had to climb down.

But I do. My little eight-year-old legs bend and stretch as I maneuver down the thick, twisting trunk of the tree and drop to the dirt in my sparkling sneakers.

I open my mouth to call out to my mom and raise one hand to wave when a palm clamps to the back of my skull and shoves me, face-first, into the trunk of the tree.

My forehead slams against the rough bark before I crumble to the ground, dizzy, my head throbbing in pain, blood dripping from my face.

“What are you, a bug?” It’s a teenaged Leo. His dark hair falls loose to his shoulders, and his long, lanky arms are more than enough to catch me. No matter how fast I run. “Climbing trees like the pissant you are.”

Fear animates my limbs as I scramble back from Leo into the bushes. I know my mom can’t see me. She doesn’t know this is happening.

Everything in me wants to scream and cry for help, but if Leo gets in trouble, then my mom and I get in trouble. No matter what happens, Uncle Matteo always takes Leo’s side and insists we’re wrong.

I clench my teeth, swallowing my scream as Leo saunters forward to tower over me. He kicks my foot.

“Dad’s started letting me use the gym here.” Leo’s dark eyes are wild with excitement. “You know, the one all the men use.”

I scoot back until I can’t anymore. A thick, prickly shrub presses into my back. I wrench forward from the sting of its spikey brambles.

“I wanted you to be the first person to see what I’ve learned.” Leo’s toothy grin flips my stomach.

And then he drops to his knees, hunching over me with that wicked grin on his face. He grabs at me with spindly fingers, wrapping them tight around my child-sized neck.

Tears spurt from my eyes. Leo begins to squeeze, his smile becoming more and more twisted. It only takes a second before my air flow is restricted.

I can’t breathe.

“They have these machines in the gym that make my arms stronger. Strong enough to kill little bugs like you,” Leo says with glee.

My mouth drops open, gasping, but no air comes in. I’m shaking with the tension and strain Leo’s pouring into his muscles.

Mama! I scream to her in my mind, but no sound escapes my body. Save me, someone, please!

I jolt awake, drenched in sweat, rasping for breath.

My hand flies to my aching throat.

That nightmare comes along just infrequently enough that I manage to forget about the horrible thing until it sneaks up on me again.

It’s a memory I’ve tried to bury many, many times.

That afternoon where Leo almost got his wish.

When he almost did away with me forever.

In reality, Mae appeared and hauled him off me. She got to me in time. My mother and I both cried when Mae told her what happened.

Crying was all we could do. It wasn’t the first time Leo terrorized me, and as long as his father remained in power, we knew it wouldn’t be the last.

I dab the sweat on my forehead with the t-shirt I’m wearing.

I have no idea what time it is. There’s no clock in here. I obviously don’t have a phone. And outside the bedroom window, the world is still pitch dark, with no hint of periwinkle on the horizon.

It must be the middle of the night.

I’m alone in a locked room, all my demons crowding around me. I wish Rory were here. I’d give anything to be curled up on the bed in his underground office, listening to his steady heartbeat.

The events from earlier in the evening punch me with an iron fist. I already burned that bridge with Rory. Between the lies and the ugly truth, he’ll never look at me the same way again.

Pain twists my heart. As I get lost in my regrets, a thump from the door jolts me upright.

I scurry out of my bed, flattening myself against the wall beside the bathroom door. Someone’s in the hall outside my room. It’s probably just the guard who’s always there, or maybe…

What if it’s Rory? Did he come by to see me? My stomach flops at the idea, but then again…

In the middle of the night?

Dread drenches my insides.

What if it’s Leo? What if he found me and has come to drag me back?

The noise of a scuffle wades beneath the door. And then I hear a bigger bump, like something heavy fell.

My heart pumps straight fear through my veins. There’s nothing in this room I can defend myself with. What the hell is happening out there?

In a split second, the door to my room blasts open. My heart flies up into my throat.

A masked man steps over my guard’s body in the hallway and enters my room.

That can only mean…this masked man is here to liberate me, or…or…

“Get over here.” The unfamiliar voice sends icy tendrils down my spine.

When he lunges toward me, I scream at the top of my lungs and kick one of my legs at him. I nail him in the side, but he just slams the flat of his palm over my mouth.

“Shut the fuck up!” His hand is so big, he’s covering my mouth and my nose. “If you don’t want me to drag you out of here by your hair, you’re going to walk your ass wherever I tell you. Now .”

With his other massive hand, his thick, lethal fingers dig into my forearm, wrenching it up behind my back and forcing me toward the door.

If he doesn’t ease up on my face, I’m going to pass out from oxygen loss. I can’t breathe. When we get to the doorway, I finally manage to suck in a breath while stumbling over the body on the floor, which causes my kidnapper to loosen his grip.

As soon as we’re in the hallway, a female voice rings out. “ Get down !”

Either instinct or visceral fear pushes me to obey. My legs turn to gelatin, and I melt to the ground as a whizzing bullet slices through the air, nailing my attacker square in the shoulder.

He grunts in pain, releasing me and stumbling away as he grabs his shoulder.

I can’t hear any gun, but I know someone’s still shooting because my attacker cries out a second time, hunching over his right thigh.

I watch from the ground, trembling. The man quickly limps down the corridor and, with his good shoulder, muscles through a door and disappears.

As soon as he’s gone, soft, small hands pull me to my feet. A kind, clear voice asks, “Are you all right?”

Disoriented and still reeling from the shock of what just happened, I turn to see who’s helping me.

Crystal blue eyes so bright I can see them in the darkness. Blond hair that falls to her shoulders. I recognize her as one of the twins I saw when Rory brought me inside for the first time.

Concern brightens her face. She’s blinking at me like she’s not sure I’m alive.

I’m not sure either, to tell the truth.

“Did he hurt you?” She rubs my shoulders reassuringly, then addresses someone behind her—her twin, I realize, who’s holding a gun with a silencer at the end and a phone to her ear with the other hand.

“It’s me. There’s been a breach.” She cautiously tucks her weapon into her waistband, the way I’ve seen mafiosos do a million times.

I must be tumbling through a parallel universe or something. Are there actually mafia daughters like this? Women who rescue other women from attacks and fire weapons of their own?

That certainly wouldn’t be allowed in the De Luca clan.

I’ve never even heard of such a thing.

“We’re fine. But someone tried to kidnap the girl.

” The twin on the phone shifts her weight.

“I don’t know if it was Dax. Could’ve been.

The guy was wearing a mask, but if you work fast, you should be able to catch him.

Shot the bastard twice. Once in the shoulder, once in the leg.

Can’t have gotten far. He went down the emergency stairwell in the south tower. ”

The one on the phone motions for us to follow her. The other twin braids her fingers with mine as we walk. I think she’s trying to calm me down, and somehow, it’s working. Mae and my mother used to do the same thing, and the familiarity is a comfort.

“Send the medical unit for the guard. He was unconscious when we arrived.” The talking one holds up a fist to stop us.

We’ve come to an intersection in the hallway. She checks around both corners, presumably hunting for any more uninvited guests.

“I think he disabled the motion sensor lights in this wing of the building too.” She motions for us to go ahead.

We shuffle through two more dark hallways before re-emerging in the main entry of this palatial mansion, the giant chandelier hanging above and twinkling with bright light.

Once we’re out of the dark, the woman on the phone catches my eye. “Don’t worry about the girl. She’s not hurt. We’ll take it from here.” She smiles. “Love you. Bye.”

The twin holding my hand rolls her eyes and smirks. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Her sister gives her a pointed look then returns her gaze to me. “I’m Riley. This is Harper. You’re Kiara, right?”

“Y-yes,” I stutter, impressed that I even have it in me after the chaos that just transpired.

Fear and amazement grip me as I glance between the women standing before me. They just saved my life, and by the sound of things, they’re not done with me yet.

Within a few minutes, we’re downstairs in a space akin to a private dealership showroom. The twins call it the garage. It’s probably three stories tall and lined wall-to-wall with luxury cars and SUVs.

They usher me into a nondescript black sedan—I think it’s an Audi, but I’m terrible with cars—and Riley starts the engine as Harper slides into the front passenger seat.

As we speed down the center drive of the estate, I find myself alone in the backseat, spiraling through my own thoughts.