Beautiful Trouble: A Dark Mafia Romance

The manor house and grounds were beautiful. Inside was all dour and dark and stuffed full of dead things—dead antiques, dead paintings, dead people—but outside was incredible. I was so used to Sea Isle, which was one long, hyper-developed island, a mixture of sand and concrete.

But this was nature. The grass was mowed and controlled and the hedges were kept neat and clean, and everything was manicured and kept in perfect little rows. I breathed the air and strolled along, heading toward the edge of the forest.

The forbidden trees.

I got within ten yards when Jekyll whistled. When I looked back, he shook his head sternly.

Do not pass go.

I skirted the woods. I didn’t step into them, but I got as close as I was allowed. Jekyll and Hyde weren’t happy, but they didn’t stop me, either.

Whatever. It was fun to piss them off.

I gazed out into the dark forest, and wondered how far it would be to salvation. Somewhere out there, Cassie and Roman were trying to rescue me—or at least I thought they were.

Maybe they weren’t. And that was okay.

There was something between Roman and Darren. I saw a glimmer of it every time Darren spoke his name. A long feud, some past transgression that left both men angry and scarred. This fight between them was about more than a power struggle.

It was intensely personal.

Only I didn’t know why or what happened.

Finding out might get me one step closer to freedom.

Or it might land me in that murder basement after all.

I turned toward the house and spotted a figure hurrying toward me. I thought it was Penny at first, until I realized she was staring at her phone as she hustled down the lawn. Erin looked a lot like her younger sister, only leaner, more intense. All her features were stretched and sharpened, and while she was pretty, she didn’t have that same soft beauty.

I slowed as Erin approached. She tapped away at her phone and looked up at the last second like she was surprised to see me standing there. She frowned at the guards and waved a hand.

“Go away.”

Jekyll opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut. He turned and walked off with Hyde on his heels.

I laughed, unable to help myself. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“They’re paid to listen to the family.” She tilted her head and her eyes pierced me with an incredibly deep, searching gaze. I felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane, her attention that was distressing and intense. I was glad she normally stared at her phone, because I wasn’t sure I could handle this level of scrutiny all the time. “So you’re my brother’s new obsession.”

I blinked rapidly. “I don’t think I’d put it that way. More like his new captive.” I held up the bracelet.

She ignored it. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s distracted and agitated. Darren’s usually very single-minded.”

“I’m sorry to disrupt your harmonious little family.”

“I don’t think you are.” She shoved her phone into her pocket. “Walk with me.”

She didn’t wait for a response and stomped off. I considered ripping off the bracelet and running into the woods—I had a good head start on Jekyll and Hyde and might be able to get away—but decided that could wait.

Erin was more interesting.

I caught up and fell into stride with her.

“I found my brother’s file on you.” Erin stared straight ahead as she talked, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep her guts from spilling out. “I know your name isn’t Winter.”

I flushed. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that other one.”

“I assumed you wouldn’t want me to, considering how much trouble you went to distance yourself.”

“It’s hard to start over.”

She glanced at me, frowning. “It really is.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“What does it mean that I’m distracting your brother?”

“I don’t know, but it’s interesting. When you first came here, I thought you were just another tool he was using to get his way, but now I wonder.”

“Wonder what?”

She didn’t elaborate and changed the subject. “Why do you hate your father?”

“No, thanks, I’m not going there.”

“This isn’t that kind of conversation. It’s more like an interrogation. I ask, you answer.”

“Okay. Pass anyway.”

She looked frustrated, like she wasn’t used to someone telling her no, which was probably true. She was older than me, closer to Darren’s age than to mine, but she acted like a teenager.

A spoiled, insanely rich teenager.

“What about your mother? Are you close to her?”

“We talk but we don’t see each other much.”

“Why did your parents get divorced?”

I stopped walking. She kept going then turned to face me, head tilted to the side.

“Has anyone told you that it’s insanely rude to ask that sort of stuff?”

“Yes,” she said earnestly. “And I don’t really care.”

“My parents got divorced because my dad’s a psychotic asshole obsessed with image and my mom got addicted to pain killers. Okay? Are you happy?”