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PROLOGUE
Kai
Long dark hair tumbles from the once tightly wound bun of the woman I have pinned against the wall. Her legs dangle several inches from the ground as she works tirelessly to loosen my grip. Her nails dig into the flesh of my hand. Her black latex catsuit hugs every inch of her assets. It would be a distraction for most men, but I’m a far cry from most. The material is meant to be difficult to grasp, but it leaves her neck bare and exposed. Her face reddens as my grip tightens against her futile attempts to set herself free. Trickles of blood begin to seep over the back of my hand from her persistent clawing.
“Please let her go, Kai,” Persephone pleads. “There has to be an explanation for all of this.”
“Yeah, she was planning to fucking kill you. She tried to throw you over your balcony, for fuck’s sake.”
Persephone hugs me from behind and sobs against my back, her pleas unrelenting. Reluctantly, I let the woman I’m strangling fall to the floor, watching as she clutches her neck and gasps for air. Persephone wastes no time scrambling over to her.
“Why, Margo? It’s me, Persie. Did you have another blackout? Do you know where you are right now? I know you wouldn’t want to hurt me.”
What the shite is she going on about? Who is this woman, and what did I miss here? “She didn’t want to hurt you. She wanted you dead,” I point out incredulously. “How do you know this woman?”
“I refuse to believe she was aware of her actions. Margo is my best friend from childhood. We ran into each other a month ago, and I helped her get the apartment unit right next door to mine. You don’t understand.” Persephone sniffles. “She has these blackouts related to a terrible trauma in her past. She wasn’t herself when she tried to push me over that balcony.” Margo has yet to say a word to defend her actions.
Persephone is the daughter of a very prominent politician in Sacramento. I’ve been her bodyguard for the past couple of months after the previous one declined to move to Los Angeles, where she now attends the University of Southern California. This job was never supposed to be permanent. My brother Lennon and I thought the timing and the convenience of the location to our next mission was a no-brainer. Still, I’ve given this assignment the same dedication as any. I did my due diligence in researching the principal. I’ve never heard of or seen this Margo woman before. Persephone’s dossier didn’t contain anything about her either. I pull out my phone to make a call.
“The authorities are on the way,” I announce. “You’re too damn naive. She’s only alive because of you, so you better be prepared to make a fucking statement. She is not getting away with an attempt on your life, nutcase or not.”
I’ve killed men for less, but I’ve never had to exert such force on a woman, so I hate that I’ve been placed in this fucking situation. I have to remind myself that this is myabove boardjob, and that means playing by the rules of the law … to an extent. I will have to debrief with Persephone’s father. I’m sure he will use his reach to ensure that thisMargowoman gets all that she deserves and then some. This was a hit … premeditated. This woman suspiciously comes back into Persephone’s life, and she doesn’t question it. Margo is dressed like an assassin. She had her hair pulled back into a bun and outfitted in a fucking latex catsuit—not normal attire for a Tuesday afternoon. She didn’t want Persephone to have anything to grab onto when she attempted to throw her over that balcony. I don’t know how she managed to get this close to the principal, but I plan to find out.
“Some bodyguard,” Margo finally says once she catches her breath. “You want to know how I slipped past your defenses so easily?” she taunts as though she’s reading my mind.
“Maybe I should end you after all,” I growl, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her to her feet once again. I push her back against the wall but allow her to remain on her feet this time.
“You won’t! You’re a fucking pussy,” she spits. “Persie has you wrapped around her finger. That’s what happens when you fuck the person you’re supposed to be protecting.”
Her words land their desired mark. How in the hell could she possibly know that? And if she knows it, who else does? How long has she been watching us? What does this woman know about me? My professional reputation is at risk because she’s right. I’ve never gotten involved with the principal before, and one has never had such an influence on my actions. This woman just tried to end Persephone’s life, and I didn’t eliminate the threat because she begged me not to. Given who Persephone is, nobody would have questioned my means to end the imminent danger.
“Why are you talking like that?” Persephone questions as realization begins to dawn. “Did you play me? Were you actually trying to kill me? I don’t understand. I thought you forgave me for our past. We drank tons of fucking tequila together while I cried with you. My heart ached from all the traumatic crap you’ve endured and now running from your psycho ex. I helped you because I wanted you to be safe from him. I wanted us to have a fresh start with our friendship. I believed you were having some kind of mental breakdown and weren’t aware of your actions just now.”
The police barge through the door before Margo can respond. Time’s up. If Margo’s smirk is anything to go by, she wasn’t planning to give Persephone an explanation anyway. I hand her over to the authorities, not liking what comes next, but it’s imperative.
I listen to Persephone tell one of the officers that she and Margo went to the same private middle school and part of high school, but she hasn’t seen Margo since eleventh grade. She ran into Margo in the nail salon a month ago while Tony was parked out front. Tony is her bodyguard during the day, and I guard at night since neither of us are contracted for a twenty-four-hour protection detail. Her father didn’t want her to have a live-in guard, and she refused to live in the university dorms. Our post is strictly to remain outside her unit door to give her a wide berth so she can maintain some semblance of normalcy. We typically walk ten paces behind her for the same reason. She invited Margo to dinner after she insisted they catch up. This led to them rekindling their friendship, and Margo letting Persephone in on her shite life up to this point. Persephone gave her money and helped her leave her abusive ex by assisting her to get the apartment next door. It’s only been two and a half weeks since she’s moved in. Margo was already inside when I arrived for my shift. Why didn’t Tony fucking hand off that Persephone had someone inside?
I don’t want to even think of how close I was to losing her on my watch. It’s because we’re fucking that I felt comfortable enough to enter her bedroom without knocking when I started my shift. It’s the reason she’s still alive. Margo had her nearly over the railing before I could intervene. I got too complacent … too laxed on how I handled the principal. I allowed her freedoms that should have been strictly avoided for her safety. The handoff from the last bodyguard before Tony and me stated she was a minimal risk. Somewhere along the way, the lines have blurred. In addition to phenomenal sex, she lights up any room she’s in, has so much optimism, and sees the good in everyone. I’m the opposite of that and knew I could never corrupt someone so beautiful inside and out, but my dick never got the memo. I can’t be selfish with her. I have to resign as her bodyguard sooner than intended. I’m no longer what she needs. I’m compromised.
CHAPTER ONE
Kai
It’s been three weeks since I hadthe talkwith my brother, Lennon—his wedding day, to be exact. His looming nuptials laid the framework for what was next for me. The trajectory for my life morphed into different expectations the moment someone ended our father’s life—duty versus desire as I like to describe it. The time was nearing for me to make my own marital contribution to our clan to further strengthen our numbers. That day in his dressing room, we solidified an oath that the clan came first before all others, including ourselves. I dared not reveal that I wish I could have a different life—one that a man like me could be with someone like Persephone. I’m not in love with her, but if any woman could make me fall, it would be her. Being around her is so easy and feels so right, but I have to let her go. I would never want to dim her light. She doesn’t belong in our world, yet I’d forsaken my own personal oath—the very oath I swear that I’d live and die by. Never get involved with the principal. I was hired to protect her… to shield her from men like me and anyone who’d wish to cause her harm. She was my cover to be among some very influential people. Now duty waits on the other side of the proverbial door, and only I can walk through. She can’t come with me. What I want and desire needs to be a distant memory. I told my brother I was all in even though I never wanted this life. My job was to gather intelligence that my clan could leverage for extortion, which allowed me to work above board and get less dirt on my hands. The underworld is the opposite of that. It’s dark and has no place for a conscience or morals. Though we have some boundaries we won’t cross, there aren’t many of them. My siblings and I were born into this life, and I need to find a way to give them a little more time before our destiny consumes them. Be that as it may, none of this is an easy feat. Why was the thought of walking away from Persephone so suffocating? That was always the plan. The answer is simple. I crossed the line that should have never been crossed, and now I will pay the penance for such treachery.
I push the buzzer at the gate in front of the Mikhailov mansion, then wait for security to identify me on the camera and let me through. I drive slowly across the cobblestone as the electric gates open, stopping in front of the valet on the circular drive. He greets me with a smile and opens my car door, inviting me to step out. I get out of my Bugatti, taking in my surroundings as my eyes adjust to the brightness of the day. It’s nearly noon, so I hope to be done here in time to meet up with Persephone after her last class. She deserves an explanation from me about why I’m no longer her bodyguard—a half truth anyway.
The sprawling estate before me is framed by tall trees and perfectly manicured shrubs along its perimeter. I can appreciate the intricacies of the architecture. The valet leads me to the mansion's entrance, where two grand marble pillars stand guard on either side of the large wooden double doors. A butler opens it for us, and we enter into an immense foyer with a modern mosaic floor, chandeliers hanging from above, and several high archways leading into different rooms. We cross through this space until we reach a grand staircase that spirals up to the second floor. The house buzzes with activity as staff members hurry past us, carrying grocery bags of food and decor pieces. The butler explains the staff is preparing for a small dinner party in the garden later tonight.
We ascend the stairs and turn down a hallway lined with elegant artwork on either side until we reach an ornate wooden door at its end. The butler knocks, and upon receiving permission from inside, he opens it for us and leads me into a grand study with rich mahogany woodwork—bookcases lining one wall, leather chairs near a roaring fireplace on another, all illuminated by soft recessed lighting coming from each corner of the room.
“That will be all, Sergei,” Vladimir Mikhailov says, dismissing the butler. He motions for me to be seated in one of the comfortable leather chairs near him. “Can I interest you in a cigar?” he asks as he lights the one in his hand.
“No, but thank you.”
He nods and takes a few initial puffs before he addresses me again. “Kai, I’m a man of few words, so I won’t entertain you with pleasantries. We can get straight to why I’ve asked you here.”
“I can appreciate that. I don’t do pleasantries either.”
