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I left the party behind and headed for my own building, closer to the crash of the waves. Dad had wanted me to come here. Probably more because he thought here they could protect me—like they'd protected that asshole Baldeon.
The poor fucker hadn’t even made it to the island without getting shot. I strode along the path and lifted my gaze to the bright lights of the buildings in the distance. Twice I'd come to this damn island and both times I'd fucking hated it. I hated their games and their goddamn alliances. I was a target more because of my name than anything else. They didn’t know me, not the real me.
Not many people did.
My mind drifted to Taken…then to Iggy. Fuck me,. I still missed that dog. Missed him so much I wouldn’t get another. No fucking way. I’d never be vulnerable like that again. For a damn mutt…or for anyone.
But as I made my way into the foyer of my own building and hit the button for the elevator, my thoughts returned to Kat VanHalen. “Freddy.”
“Yeah?”
“I want to know everything you can find about her.”
There was a groan and a shake of his head. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
Turned my head, I met the flare of concern in his eyes with a steely glare. “Every fucking thing, leave nothing out.”
I wanted everything…where that fiery redhead was concerned.
12
Kat
“Goodnight,” Anna muttered, and yawned. She still had that haunted look from the events of tonight.
I lifted my gaze from the bed and gave her a smile. “Night.”
I need your help.
Her words still rang in my head as she shuffled away from the doorway and disappeared into her room. How many times had I been desperate to say the exact same thing?I need your help…someone save me.But there’d been no white knight coming to my rescue, and no dad who raged, thinking I was in trouble. But Anna did. She had what I’d pay anything for. Someone who actually cared about her.
I'd found her after she’d run from Finley tonight, found her shaking, her eyes wide. She was breathless, with a look of utter shock in her eyes. She gave me enough to go on and as Finley charged from the building after her, incensed with desperation and lust, I guessed the rest for myself.
Anna Eden wasn’t just running from Finley.
She was also running from herself.
The sheets in her room rustled, and a low sigh escaped.
I waited until she was quiet and soft snores came out of her bedroom, then I slipped from my bed and strode toward my closet. The dress I had planned to wear tonight was thin…really thin.I slipped off my bra and pulled the sheer black material over my head before I turned. Helping Anna didn’t help me. I swallowed a flare of jealousy, which was stupid coming from someone with my last name. Sometimes being rich and powerful was a danger.
No one wanted to help you when you stood out. No one wanted to keep you safe. You were watched by everyone else as they sat on the sidelines while the beast ripped you apart.
I bent, picked up my heels, and carried them as I tiptoed toward the elevator. I knew about this place they called the Cosa Nostra Institute, and it wasn’t the classes that had me intrigued. It was the deals made when the sun went down, the alliances and lies earned and bargained. It was the games they played in selected buildings. The games where they didn’t barter for money…but for power.
I was desperate enough to try.
I stepped into the elevator and rode down to the foyer before slipping my heels back on. Anna would be fast asleep and after the night she'd had, I doubted if she’d wake up. She’d never know I was gone. That was the plan, anyway.
I grabbed my phone and found Xael’s number, typing out a message:
What building are the cards at?
Then I hit send.
I walked and waited, checking my screen before thebeep.
Xael: Building six, top floor, ask for Bruno.
