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The man whispers something into my ear, and I lean as far away as I can get with him holding me in place. One hand leaves me, and I hear the faint release of a zipper. My muscles tense, my body going rigid, when I feel the head of his dick prod against my skin.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep him off, and he thrusts my head into the wall, shouting something that sounds like a curse; my skull bounces against the surface, stars dancing in my vision, and I think I black out for the slightest second.
Bile rises in my throat as he pushes his hips forward, smushing me into the wall, but before he has a chance to assault me further, I hear the faintest popping sound, feel his hands strain for a moment and then go limp around me, and find myself covered in a hot, thick liquid.
His body drops, releasing me, and I spin on my heels to see what the fuck just happened.
Kieran stands less than a foot away with a pistol in hand, blood spatter covering the lower half of his face and decorating the collar of his suit. When I glance down and realize I’m also covered in fluid and brain matter, I can’t stomp down the vomit.
It pulses up and through my throat, and I double over, finishing on top of the corpse at my feet.
Chapter 15
Kieran
I’ve never wanted to believe myself an inherently violent man—that’s a brand that, no matter how far into the darkness I delve, I’ve always liked to think passed me by. A curse on Ivers men that somehow skipped my birth.
And yet, deep down, I know the truth. That there’s a very thin barrier between my sanity and the bloodlust. The thirst for another’s agony, to fold their pain into some sort of offering for the evil I sold my soul to.
As Juliet empties the contents of her stomach onto the lifeless body of a man who misdirected his energy, malice spikes inside me, pulling each muscle tight, unrelenting in its hold. My chest heaves as I struggle not to bend and disembowel the fucker right in front of her, figuring she’s already seen enough tonight.
Pulling my phone from my suit pocket, I send Finn and Boyd a quick text, letting them know what’s going on and that I need a cleanup crew, stat. I tuck the dirty gun into the holster around my waist, watching as she straightens, wiping her mouth.
Reaching out, I brush her bare shoulder, fully aware of the tremor in my hand and how I resemble my mother in this instance. It’s a startling contrast, the soft woman before me and the one at home, tainted by a background of brutality.
She recoils, fueling my irritation.
“They mentioned you. And your father. I wasn’t trying to get involved, I was looking for another bathroom, but when I tried to leave, I guess they saw me.” She sniffles, and my entire body stiffens at her words, locking in on the fact that she said they mentioned me.
“What’d they say about me?” I ask, eyes narrowing. Fear surges through me, agitating my already on-alert nerves, and I’m more suspicious of her now than ever.I knew I should’ve interrogated her at the cottage.
My father’s attackers are still out there, roaming the streets and waiting to pick the Ivers family off one-by-one—what if they were Montalto men, and she’s been in on the whole scheme?
And here, I’ve spared her.Fuck.
She straightens, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and glaring at me, stepping back out of my reach. “I don’tknow.” Her voice cracks, unraveling my resolve—but instead of going to her and sweeping her into my arms the way my heart demands, I’m reminded of the danger and it sends a jolt of angry electricity through me, renewing the vibrations rattling my bones. She glances at the body, then up at me, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “How could you…”
It’s irrational, I know, but I can’t stop the thoughts as they root inside my mind. Can’t stop them from barreling out of me, paranoia lighting a fire I’ve been keeping hidden in the shadows of my heart since Murphy’s death. I’ve always known they’d come looking, demand the flash drives, the evidence.What if the Montaltos are in on it?
My cruelty centers on her without another source to funnel it into. “How could Iwhat, Juliet? Save you? You’re welcome, you ungrateful little brat.”
Her mouth falls open, her back connecting with the wall as I advance on her. I stop a few inches away, not quite touching but still close enough that I can smell the fruity cocktail on her breath.
“Jesus, you’re drunk too? Is that what all of this was tonight, then? The show with your little friend earlier, this just now? You’re just being your regular little cocktease self?”
The memory of her dancing with her brunette friend earlier makes my dick jerk behind my slacks, but I ignore it, focusing on the issue at hand. Trying to defuse the anger inside me before I explode.
“Or maybe they hired you to make me jealous, enlisted your help because they know you make me a weak, possessive bastard. Was that it, baby girl? Did they think I’d still want to fuck you even after they’d had their turn?”
“What?” She blinks, swallowing hard. “Why are you… you think Iwantedwhat just happened? You think I asked that guy to force me up here and grope me against my will?”
I lift a shoulder, the rest of the club a mere blip on my radar as I absorb the confused sadness pooling in her baby blues. More than anything, I want to reach out and erase it from her gaze, to soak it up so she doesn’t have to feel it anymore. But I don’t. Ican’t.“You liked it whenIdid it.”
Something cracks in her features; her face falls, a misery marring the curve of her lips, the corners of her eyes. For the first time, I notice a cut on her lip where blood has dried, and a small scrape at her hairline. It feeds the hole in my heart as my pulse jumps into my throat, my stomach sinking as it capsizes from her overwhelming sadness.
“Right.” She shakes her head slightly, then ducks around me and smooths her hands down over her dress, purposely not looking at the body on the floor. His blood still stains her porcelain skin, and I can’t deny she looks like a goddamn angel with the decor. “That was the same thing, I guess. Congratulations. I’m going home, now.”
Cursing under my breath, my hand whips out and encircles her wrist, halting her departure. “You’re not going anywhere. You really think I’m gonna let you out of my sight after tonight? That I’m letting you go ever again?”
