Ruthless Heart

It was just that good.

I hear a zip and turn to find Nero buckling his belt back up. “We should go,” he says, looking satisfied, his labored breath the only hint of what we just did. “Probably outstayed our welcome already.”

“Uh uh,” I manage to murmur. Nero pauses and reaches over to straighten up my dress. He brushes my hair from my eyes, then drops a swift kiss on my forehead.

“C’mon.”

He opens the closet door and doesn’t even pause to check if anyone’s there before striding out. I have no choice but to duck after him. I hightail it to the front door—but not before seeing the housekeeper in the hallway, watching us disapprovingly. With my hair mussed and my dress askew, I could be wearing a billboard saying, ‘I just fucked in a closet.’

I follow Nero to the car and tumble in, feeling the desire fade under a wash of shame and embarrassment. What just happened? Upstairs, Fiona McKenna is probably weeping, her entire life crumbling before her eyes.

We did that.

Idid that.

Nero starts the engine. “All in all, I’d say that went pretty well, don’t you?” he shoots me a triumphant grin as we drive away.

I feel a chill.

He’s proud of what just went down, I realize in horror. He doesn’t care about the collateral damage, or who he hurts along the way. He’ll do anything to get what he wants—just like he’s been warning me.

Nero Barretti has been telling me exactly who he is from the start, I’ve just been trying to ignore the truth that’s right in front of me.

“I’m cruel, and ruthless, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I want.”

His words echo, loud in my mind. He means them, every last one.

So what happens if I get in the way of that? I wonder, when it’s me standing between him and the next part of his Barretti empire expansion.

Will me and my brother wind up as collateral damage, just like Ian and Fiona?

Can I even trust him to honor our arrangement, when he’s so proud of the fact he’s a man without honor?

What was I thinking, making a deal with the devil?

The devil always wins.

I look at him sitting beside me, and for the first time, he looks like a stranger to me.

Dread sinks through me. I’ve always believed Nero is a man of his word, but how true is it?

I can’t believe I’ve come this far, managed to dance around my certain death and play Nero at his own game, only to let my heart risk everything by falling back in love with him. The kind of foolish love that made me forget how much is at stake.

That made me ignore what kind of man Nero really is.

The King of the Barretti empire.

It will always come first—not me. It will always enjoy his utter loyalty—not me.

As much as it pains me to realize it, I finally understand the truth. He can’t be trusted, no matter how much I want it to be different this time.

I’m on my own.

And I know exactly what I have to do.