Kings of Blood and Money (Underworld Kings)

“You could take me all the way,” I huff, opening the door and watching her car pull away. Caleb comes out from the security house, letting me inside the main gate.

“Where’s Roman?”

“He did an all-nighter so I relieved him.” He bows his head before going back to the security house.

There’s no sign of a party when I get inside the house. Everything’s been cleaned and smells of pinewood. The hit I know is coming lands on my jaw, jarring my head to the side. My teeth puncture my cheek, a copper explosion filling my mouth. Fucker didn’t even pull his punch.

“Ow, asshole,” I groan, spitting blood into the sink.

“You deserve worse,” Noah fumes, one hand on his hip, the other pointing an angry finger at me. He looks like shit.

“Did you sleep in that outfit?” It’s creased to fuck, no tie, shirt hanging out his pants.

The soft thuds on the stairs have me turning toward the door as Freya bursts through it. “Remi,” she cries, throwing herself into my arms.

“I’m sorry. Fuck, I fucked up so bad. I’m so sorry,” I tell her, crushing her to me. If anything had happened to her because I was foolish, I’d never forgive myself.

“It’s okay. I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re home.” She grips me so tight, her nails bite into my flesh.

“Hey, I’m here,” I soothe. I’m such a piece of shit. I’ve traumatized her.

“I have to show you something,” Noah says, running a hand through his hair. Something happened. A nauseous wave slouches my stomach.

Freya’s hands loosen, and she slowly slips herself down my body. There’s dread in her eyes. “What happened?” I breathe.

Well, this is a problem.

Maddox Mercer’s pale as fuck face stares up at the ceiling of one of Dad’s rooms, a foul fucking stench already rolling off him.

“You did this in front of her?” I grunt.

“He fucking groped her. If you hadn’t fucked up, she would have never been here.” He drags his hands over his head and down his face.

“So, it’s my fault you couldn’t break his arm instead of killing him?”

“Did I talk fucking Chinese, motherfucker? He groped our girl. Don’t bullshit me and tell me you wouldn’t have killed him too.”

I would have, and it wouldn’t have been as clean as this. My leg flies out, booting the cunt in the face. It’s stiff and gross.

“Really?” Noah admonishes.

“He moved,” I lie.

“Rem, this is serious. We need to get rid of him—and fast. Antonio will notice when he can’t reach him.

“Did you get his phone?”

“No one was allowed to bring phones here so they couldn’t be tracked and photos couldn’t be taken.”

Smart.

“We use acid.” It’s a no brainer. We can’t have any part of him washing up. “Roberto will have what we need. We call in a favor.”

“We have to deal with the clean-up ourselves, though. We can’t trust anyone outside with this,” he says, like this is our first rodeo.

“When have we ever?” I scoff.

“Make the call.”

Thirty-Four

Freya

I laid awake all night, reciting that door code over and over in my head. Noah had no choice but to give it to me in the heat of the moment, and shit is so crazy, there’s no way he would have changed it already. I need to make a move, slip in there without them seeing me. “Freya.” Noah startles me, pulling my attention from the cream cheese I’m slathering on a bagel. They’re both staring at me. I was so lost in thought, I didn’t notice them come in.

“Sorry,” I say, looking up at the men I’ve fallen in love with. They’re killers, criminals, yet I can’t not love them. Love is unconditional, eternal. Fate brought us together. To imagine a life without them is to desist imagining at all. I don’t want to exist if it’s without them.

“We need to go collect something of a sensitive nature, so we both need to go. Are you going to be okay here on your own for an hour?” Noah bores his gaze into me, trying to strip away the layers and see what I’m feeling underneath. He’s scared. Frightened I won’t see him the same way after this. But there are other things I need to do before I deal with anything else.

Ice hums in my veins. I’m going to get an hour to find out if that’s my dad in there and beg him for answers. “I’ll be fine. I need to call Ivy anyway. She yaps on and on. I’ll no doubt still be getting my ear chewed off by the time you return,” I lie, still creaming the damn bagel.

They watch me warily. “Are you okay? This has been a lot,” Remi says, reaching out to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. My head tilts into his hand, my body always seeking contact with him.