Page 41 of Stolen Temptation (Irish Kings #3)

Kiara

Stale, dusty shop air invades my nose as I tiptoe into Midnight Books, a store I’ve frequented so many times in my life.

Mr. Tenner, the owner, is a kind, elderly man who claimed my mom reminded him of his daughter.

I think he guessed our home life wasn’t perfect, because he shared the alarm code—his daughter’s birthday—with her and said we could crash here if we ever needed a safe place to land.

Mom never took him up on the offer, but his kindness is paying off for me now.

During the day, the place is warm and inviting, tucked into a cranny between two giant Manhattan co-ops. In the middle of the night—on one of the scariest nights of my life—the place is gruesome and haunting, shadows reaching for me everywhere I step.

Clicking the lock into place behind me, I hurry down the center aisle and bank left into my favorite corner, hands brushing the cool wooden shelving to help me navigate in the pitch darkness as my eyes adjust.

The muscles in my legs still pulse from that half-mile sprint. What a rush. If I weren’t in so much actual trouble, I might laugh. Instead, I lower myself to the ground, using the bookshelves as I descend to keep my balance.

All alone in the eerie silence, I finally understand the severity of my situation.

Nowhere is safe. I’m not safe at home, with Leo running around trying to sell me off. I’m not safe with the Kings when even their fortress couldn’t keep out that man who tried to kidnap me.

And on my own? With no money, no place to go, no way out?

I’m not going to survive this.

My only hope is to sleep here overnight and beg for Mr. Tenner’s help when he shows up tomorrow.

Or…I guess I could go to the cops and beg them to put me in witness protection, but that would only work if I was willing to tell them everything I know about Leo and our family. And I don’t know that much.

Certainly not enough to interest the police.

I stack my arms over my knees and drop my head on top.

Just breathing in and out feels like a lot right now.

How the hell am I going to make it out of this horrible situation? Bitterness and regret spread through my chest, like black ink staining white paper. This is what I feared all along.

I wasn’t afraid that Leo would come after me. I always knew he would.

What really scared me was my inexperience outside the De Luca estate and a deep-seated terror that I’d fail to thrive in the real world. I worried that my own weaknesses would hold me back, and I was right.

Here I am alone and with nothing.

No one’s coming to save me.

Rory’s face glows in my mind. Realizing I’ll never see or speak to him again yanks hot tears to the rim of my eyes.

Click.

My head snaps up, eyes wide. What was that?

Another distant click, followed by a metallic crunch. The sound carries through the dark shop.

The door.

Someone’s unlocking it.

A bowling ball drops into my stomach. Heart racing, I strain my ears to listen. The door squeaks open, the bell attached to the top jingling.

This can’t be happening.

As quickly and quietly as possible, I rise to my feet, careful to keep myself behind a bookshelf tall enough to hide me.

The shop door falls shut into the frame.

One footfall, then another. The carpeted floor masks the sound, but I can still tell.

It’s a man.

Of all the nights for someone to stage a break-in…and a robbery is the best-case scenario. Maybe Leo found me and sent one of his henchmen to drag me back.

I inch along the bookshelves, careful to remain quiet.

I need a weapon. Something. Anything. If my aim wasn’t complete trash, I’d lob a thick hardback at the guy. As it stands, I’m going to need something else.

Like for a spontaneous asteroid to hit Earth.

As I inch to the edge of the aisle, the outline of a table surrounded by chairs comes into view.

There’s another set of bookshelves on the other side, shielding the intruder from me and vice versa.

If I can pick up one of those chairs and get around those shelves, I could clock that bastard hard enough to concuss him and make another break for it.

And go where?

I’ll figure that part out later.

Survival first.

I slip down the aisle, padding silently across the carpet.

My hands connect with the smooth back of the chair.

It’s one of those heavy wooden ones with four legs protruding diagonally to the floor, a wide seat, and a curved back.

I grab the chair and carefully lift it away from the table and overhead.

My foot catches on the table’s leg as I move around the side, and I nearly trip.

Though I don’t fall, the old wooden table creaks.

Loud enough for whoever broke in here to start walking this way.

Double merde.

They’re about to come around the shelves. This will be my only chance to take them out.

I raise the chair a little higher, bracing to swing?—

My grip on the chair slips as the man grabs for it.

On instinct, I scream.

“Easy, woman! It’s me!” An unmistakably velvet voice cuts through my panic. Relief and shock slam into me like a semi.

My pulse pounds a percussive beat in my ears. “ Rory ?”

I can’t believe it. He actually found me?

My eyes moisten with tears.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He sets the chair down, and his shadowed form inches closer. “Did you really think I wouldn’t come after you?”

“How did you find me?” Voice wobbling, I hug myself tight to resist my urge to throw myself at him. Even though every cell in my body aches to do so. For all I know, he’s here to shout at me.

Rory grabs my naked wrist with his big hand, frowning at the fresh scratches that show in the light the streetlamp casts through the window.

“I tracked your bracelet to a convenience store and asked the owner if he’d seen someone matching your description.

He said yes and to tell you that the next time you use one of his tools, you’re buying it. ”

He slides his free hand into his pocket and produces the mangled bracelet.

“Oops.”

His jaw tics. “Oops? Is that all you have to say for yourself? I heard you jumped out of a moving car.” Despite his obvious exhaustion, sharp urgency laces his voice. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

The fact that he actually sounds like he gives a shit makes this so much harder. My eyes are full of tears. “Would you even care if I were?”

His jaw twitches. “What kind of question is that? Of course I’d care.”

I snatch my arm back from him, tears dripping down my cheeks. “There’s no ‘of course.’ I saw how you looked at me in the library.”

“Kiara—”

“No! I’m not going back with you, so don’t bother. I’m not your captive anymore.”

I need to shut this down. If he thinks a bit of sweet talk will convince me to trust him or the Kings again, he’s wrong.

I don’t know if I can survive on my own, but I’m better off by myself than with people who loathe me for my bloodline.

Rory goes quiet for a few moments, his soft exhales the only break in the silence. “I know you’re not.”

Why does he sound so sad? My arms itch to wrap around him and hug the sorrow away.

“Rory…” Suddenly, it hits me. Worse than us not seeing each other anymore is the fact that this might actually be our final goodbye.

All kinds of things are happening inside me that shouldn’t be. I can’t breathe. Can’t think.

Rory pulls something out from under his shirt.

He closes my hand over the object, leaving his palms wrapped around mine.

“Here’s ten thousand dollars. I can drive you to the hotel the twins were taking you to.

That’ll give you a safe place to wait until we get you a fake ID and another fifty grand.

Riley has contacts through a women’s shelter that can probably help you figure out your next steps. ”

An anvil crashes onto my heart. “You’re sending me away?”

Just as I suspected, he can’t stand to be around me anymore.

“No.”

Confusion muddles my head. “Then what are you doing?”

He stares at me for a long moment. “I’m setting you free.”

“You…what?”

“I’m giving you the freedom you’ve always deserved. You can go anywhere, do anything. Get a fresh start somewhere.”

I swallow a lump in my throat. “So you…you don’t want me to go away?”

“I want you to decide for yourself.”

Rory inches closer. The heat of his body touches my skin. His scent invades my nose like a heady earthen incense. His warm hand, still folded around mine, is gentle but firm.

“But before you decide, I just want to be with you, one more time.” His free hand comes up to brush against my neck, cupping the back of my head. “If I’m letting you go, let’s end with a bang. Create a memory we can look back on and smile about years from now.”

Resentment and regret stab me through the heart.

“If… Do you think if things had been different…” I give a little hopeless shrug. “If we were just two people anywhere who showed up at the same bar one night, do you think we would have met? Would you have even talked to me?”

In the narrow space between us, I sense that this moment is as hard on him as it is on me.

“Kiara De Luca, there is no universe where I could have resisted you.” He rests his forehead against mine, warming me from the inside out. The urgency in his voice heightens, and the hand behind my head knots in my hair. “Even now, I can’t help myself.”

Rory’s mouth comes for mine with all the force and intensity of a car crash. The press of his body against mine eats up all my awareness. I drop the envelope, wrap my arms around him, and moan his name as his hand races up the back of my shirt. When his hot palm settles on my cold skin, I shiver.

“I don’t want to let you go.” His other hand lands on my ass as he growls against my lips. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d kill to make you mine.”

My face is damp with tears. “I don’t want to leave you.”

The hard, bitter expression on his face grounds me. At least I’m not alone in commiserating over the tragedy of our impending separation.

Rory’s eyes almost glow in the light from the street. “ Come here , sweetheart.”