Page 18 of Taken by the Mafia King (Kings of Philly #1)

SERA

C aged in against the door, his hands on either side of my shoulders, Kilian looked at me, taking me in with a silent question lingering behind his eyes that I couldn’t read.

“It was a test, wasn’t it? The phone,” I said, my voice trembling.

“Smart girl.” His voice dripped with menace. “Not smart enough, apparently. Don’t you think I know everything that happens in this house? Did you think I wouldn’t find out you made a call?”

Just one call, then. But which one?

I lifted my chin. “I had to try.”

“You’re beyond that, Sera,” he rasped.

My heart skipped a beat as his scent hit me like a freight train.

I could smell his faint cologne. Something expensive and warm.

But beneath it, I inhaled a fragrance that had my knees going weak and my head spinning.

Sharp and heavy, like the smell of the air after a storm, like something electric.

If a dark, rainy night had a smell, that would be it.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Not yet,” he said pointedly.

“I have nothing to offer you.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” His words were laced with a silent proposal that I, weirdly, wasn’t afraid of.

My body acted against my will at his close proximity.

Heat began to twist in my lower belly. I shifted my position, squeezing my thighs together.

This man—this killer—shouldn’t have been this intoxicating.

They said the Hand of Death had many gifts. Maybe this was one of them?

Being pressed against the wall with him hovering above me had me thinking that if I was forced to sleep with this man to save my life, I just might like it. What did that say about me? If he was an animal and I wanted him, was I an animal, too?

I bit back the thought, trying to find focus again as his voice filled the space between us.

“Your father is my enemy.” He leaned in a little closer so the words whispered over my cheek. “But did it surprise you how unfazed he seemed that you were taken from him?”

“I haven’t seen my father for several years,” I said. “I cut ties with this life as soon as I could.”

“You can’t ever do that,” he argued. “Not fully. We’re born into it, and it’ll kill us. That’s just the way it is.”

“That’s not true.”

He looked me in the eyes, those blue and silver swirls of color, of life, a total contrast to his darkness.

“Do you know why I killed Gabriele de Luca?” he asked. When I didn’t respond, he continued, “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, Seraphina. So that in the future, if you’re given an opportunity to turn to someone for help, you think twice about it.”

I swallowed hard, and his eyes darted to the column of my throat.

“Gabriele died at my hands because I found his weakness. His love for someone greater than his desire to survive. That was his downfall. Not a debt, not being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not his greed. Love.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You love Emma,” he purred. I went rigid, fear crippling my senses as tears began to well in my eyes. “Don’t you? You sounded so broken on that call, Sera. She is your weakness. Had anyone wanted to truly break you, it wouldn’t have been by taking what’s between your thighs, would it?”

I bit back a sob. How dare he?

“Never,” he rasped, “let anyone know how to hurt you so badly it will leave you broken and scared and weak.” He moved closer, his elbows now resting against the door he pinned me to.

“Love is the greatest weakness of the strongest man. Don’t forget that.

You’re fortunate it was just me listening in on the call. ”

My jaw ached from clenching my teeth. “Don’t hurt her.”

“I have no interest in your friends as long as they stay out of my way. If not?” He paused, smiling wickedly. “You know what’ll happen. You’ll watch, Sera, as it happens.”

“You’re fucking evil,” I managed to say through gritted teeth.

He reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb, his touch sending a rush of heat down my spine.

“Such pretty tears,” he rasped against my cheek, his breath tickling my neck and sending shivers of desire rippling over my skin. “Don’t waste them, bella .”

“Don’t call me that,” I said breathlessly, my voice suddenly so small and weak and broken. His mouth hovered over mine and I felt, at least for a moment, that he might kiss me. I’d welcome it, if only to feel a touch that wasn’t laced with violence.

But he pulled away, looking down at me with a flash of concern as I cowered away from him. His height, his build, his body shadowing me, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking of the way Gabriele had touched me, had risen over me and dominated me.

Did he see that fear? Maybe.

“Boss,” came a voice from the doorway that I recognized as Tommaso.

I couldn’t see him over Killian. I didn’t even try to peek around him, not with his gaze fixed firmly on mine and his expression suddenly caring, even if just for a split second before the icy darkness changed his features to something far more familiar.

“What?”

“He’s here. Already.”

Killian kept his eyes on me as he took a deep breath, his chest rising sharply with the action.

He turned on his heel and walked away, not looking back as he slipped through the door.

Tommaso followed him, glancing in my direction and giving me a small, reassuring smile as he closed the door and locked it behind him.

I sank onto the floor and hugged my knees to my chest, forcing myself to breathe.

A few moments later, I looked up at the window over the desk and noticed the tray of food there. He’d brought it with him. Killian had brought me breakfast.

I sat there for several minutes just trying to wrap my head around what he’d said to me. Then I rose and walked toward the desk, looking down at the eggs, pastries, and fruit. He’d also brought a pitcher of coffee, fresh cream, and a bowl of sugar.

For the first time in days, I sat down and ate my fill.