Page 31 of Fractured Memories

I didn’t know you could get lost in someone’s home. I might have no memory of where I lived before, but I saw plenty on the way up the mountain, and I know one this size isn’t the norm.

I half expected Mika to walk me back to my room when she had to leave. To lock me back up like the prisoner that I thought I was.

But she didn’t.

She hugged me, told me that she was a short walk away if I needed anything, and that she’d be back tomorrow. Then she’d left me standing in the foyer, completely unattended.

I didn’t know what to do with that.

At first, I thought it was beneficial for me. I could look around more, try to determine if Kieran really was as evil as Parker told me or if there were secrets about what he wanted with me hidden in his home.

I’ve found nothing. Furnished rooms, a handful of staff, and a ridiculous amount of whiskey. But there are no torture rooms. No prisoners. No one screaming or bloody marks or underground fighting or whatever I thought would be up here. It’s clear Kieran is filthy rich, but his house is gorgeous and spotless.

The sun is already setting—making that ache pull in my chest again—and I’m starving. The only problem is, I can’t seem to find my way back to my room, where I can rest and sort through this day. If their goal in sending Mika was to make me feel more at ease, it’s working, but that doesn’t mean I trust any of the mafia bastards.

I bite back a frustrated groan. First, I couldn’t get out of the damn room, and now, I can’t find my way back?

Turning a corner, I pause. Something feels vaguely familiar, and I wonder if my room is this way. Moving down the hallway, I swear I’ve been here before, even though I can tell this isn’t the direction of where I’ve been staying. Mostly because at the end of the hall is a clear, glass door that must lead outside.

I hesitate at the door, glancing back. I’m half-expecting someone to jump out and stop me, but Mika must have made it clear to everyone that I’m not a prisoner. How she has any pull over Kieran—the leader of the fucking mafia—I have no clue. I’d wonder if she was sleeping with him, but she told me about her husband—Jude, the guard I met. She joked that he was a possessive man, and she looked so in love that I have no doubt she’s loyal to him.

Which makes me wonder if I’ve been completely misinformed when it comes to the dynamics at the mountaintop.

I’m too eager to pull open the door—my hand moving on instinct—to overthink it. I have all night to do that, after all.

As I step outside, though, my stomach swoops. I edge farther forward, the view so stunning my mouth drops open.

The sun is already behind the mountain peak across from me, the glow soft as it paints the patio in a golden light. To the side is a fireplace and large dining table, but in front of me is a pool. One that spills to the cliff’s edge of the mountain, giving me a glimpse of the city below, lights dotting the buildings down there.

It’s beautiful.

A pang echoes through me, and I don’t know how to decipher the feeling. But this… This is familiar enough that it makes me think that maybe it isn’t a lie that I once lived here. A small doubt that I plan to keep to myself. Even if confiding in Mika doesn’t sound so bad.

“Eden?”

Instead of tensing, a rush of something—excitement, maybe—runs through me. It’s unexpected, given I haven’t had the reaction to Kieran’s voice before.

Slowly turning, I find him standing in the doorway. His green eyes look wary, but his posture is casual. His black button-down is rolled up to the elbows, his hands tucked in his pockets, and his shoulder is leaning against the frame. He looks… Fuck, he looks hot. Especially with the warm light spilling across his dark hair and the thick scruff on his jaw.

Even though there’s a part of me that wants to antagonize him—which I probably shouldn’t be doing but the urge always takes over—I try not to piss him off instantly. I wouldn’t put it past him to drag me back inside. I’m surprised he hasn’t already.

I suppose that I haven’t exactly gone into any of our interactions giving him much of a chance. Something I started to realize as I talked with Mika today, who never brought up Kieran. But I felt the topic weighing on me as she showed me around and told me about the other people who lived up on the mountain. Like she was trying to help me understand the small family isn’t made up of cruel villains.

Maybe I didn’t have to attack Kieran every opportunity that was given to me. Even if that felt like it was in my nature.

“Hey.” I glance back behind me, trying not to look so damn awkward. “This view is incredible.”

A soft chuckle has me glancing back at him. His lips have tipped up at one side, and it’s the most open I’ve seen him be so far. “The best view in the city?”

I don’t understand the spark of amusement in his eyes. “It has to be.”

He nods, pushing off the door and taking a few steps forward. “It’s the best place to watch the sunset.”

“I can see that.” I glance down at the pool, sensing his eyes still on me. “Is this heated?”

“It is,” he murmurs, and the tension between us is starting to feel less awkward than I originally thought.

“Are you hiding any other secrets up here?” My tone is lightly teasing even if I don’t look up at him. His gaze is burning my skin, and I’m afraid of what I’ll see in it if I lift my face. “Any game rooms? Perfectly curated gardens?”