Bitter Vows (Crimson Falls 1)

“Interesting. I’m not sure.” Papers shuffle on the other side of the line before he speaks again. “Looks like Franco has him running a job down to Miami. I can get the details on it if you’d like.”

“I would. Darius is volatile. I don’t trust him. He may be blood, but he hasn’t been family for a long time.” With the job Kahn’s doing for Alex, looking into the church and convent, I don’t want anything to come between my relationship with the mafia, but I can’t have them working with the one man I don’t trust.

“I understand. Give me an hour. I’ll speak with the cousins and see what is happening on their end. I haven’t been in the Big Apple for long enough to have met with them yet. Perhaps it’s time I pay my familia a visit.” Amusement laces his tone, but I’m too fucking wired to join him.

“Thank you. I’m with Kahn now. I’ll have an update on the convent in your email soon.”

“A pleasure as always,” Alex says before hanging up. My gaze is locked on my right-hand man, needing some form of distraction from my thoughts of breakfast with Scarlett.

“I want to go in, undercover.” Kahn’s deadly serious expression is the only clue that he’s ready to kill. Everything else about him seems calm, laid back. If I didn’t know him, I would’ve said he’s sitting with a friend, chatting about drinks tonight or the woman he fucked this morning.

“Give me a couple of days.” I pick up the folder and slide it over to the edge of the desk nearest to him. “The contract is signed. All I need is our little princess to agree, put her signature on the dotted line, and I’ll happily have you go do anything you need to. But she’s still a flight risk.”

“You think she’ll run?”

“I do. All the way back to grandmother’s house.” The link to an old fairytale isn’t lost on me. This, however, isn’t fiction. This is real life, and Scarlett Bardot now belongs to the big bad wolf.

“I’ll stay in the cottage until you’re ready. The team is waiting on my order,” Kahn informs me as he flicks through the information I got for him. “It seems Lorenzo has taken up residence in the convent. He’s playing the good priest while he uses the women who come to him for help as toys in a much bigger game.”

My blood runs hot through my veins. I can’t imagine what Kahn is going through. His sister was taken when she was sixteen, stolen as she was walking home from school, and we haven’t had a link to finding her for years. But it seems we’ve made a breakthrough.

“I want to be there when you take him down,” I tell him. I’m not someone who has friends, have never been, but if I did call someone a friend, it would be Kahn. “I want to watch as he pays the price for his indiscretions.”

A small, yet sadistic smile curls Kahn’s lips. Fire blazes in his dark eyes as he regards me, excitement painting his expression like the goddamned Joker. He may not have bright green hair or clown makeup on, but there’s something dark in the way his gaze brightens with dangerous intent.

“Of course,” he agrees with a quick nod. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Unless you’re on your honeymoon by then, enjoying the spoils of a long-awaited victory,” he tells me, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I have to be honest; if you didn’t claim her, I wouldn’t mind taking her just to see the look on her father’s face.”

“I think perhaps I should have her visit Heaven,” I ponder out loud. “Maybe she’ll get a glimpse of what her father is really like. She’ll finally know the truth about just how far he’ll go to get his kicks.” And how far I’ll go to have her bound in my playroom.

“I think that sounds like a brilliant idea.” Kahn pushes to his feet. “I better get going. Have a few things to do before I meet up with some of the guys tonight. I can’t persuade you to join us. Can I?”

I shake my head. As much as I would like to let loose, have a few bourbons before coming home to Scarlett, I think it’s time I showed her what she would be giving up if she walked away. “No. I need to spend time with her, to get her to trust me before the gala.”

“Are you sure taking her there is a good idea?” Kahn’s brows furrow with worry, and I want to say no, I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I can’t keep her away from her grandmother, not forever. Because she needs to learn the truth, and I want it to come from the one person who is guilty of the domino effect that’s plagued both families for years.