Four months later…
“Is this what you wanted?” Aiden’s lips brush across my cheek and over my lips. His kisses are hot and fiery and my body rises underneath him.
“Yes. This is it. Wait. Lower.” I run my fingers through his wild hair and his tongue traces a path down my neck and over my breasts. When he gets to my nipple, Aiden reaches up and blindly ties my free wrist to the bed post.
A raspy sigh escapes my lips. Giving myself to him so completely like this is another level of pleasure. His kisses scatter over my body like searing rain drops. No matter how many times he tastes me, it’s never enough.
But this time is different from all the rest.
This time, we’re married. Officially. Finally.
It’s barely been two hours since Aiden and I said ‘I do’ to each other. Our small but lavish wedding in the hills was so romantic I could hardly believe it was actually happening. My dress fit like a charm—it was the same one I chose back when our wedding was still supposed to be all business—and despite my worries, it didn’t bring back any bad memories. None of them seem so bad in retrospect anyways, not even the most heart-wrenching of them, because they all brought us here. Together.
Tara was my maid of honor. Felix walked me down the aisle. The two toughest people I know, finally recovered from their wounds. It was joyous.
But even that hardly compared to when I saw him waiting for me down at the end of the aisle.
Aiden Kilpatrick. The wild Irishman. Tamed to the best of his abilities for one day and one day only. Just for me.
Under the alter, he gave me another first kiss. His first as my husband. My first as his wife. The magic of the moment touched me like nothing else ever has. The setting. The people. The love. It was all perfect.
Even his mother and father watched on from the garden they now shared.
After the short but sweet ceremony, we said our goodbyes and Aiden picked me up off my feet and whisked me away to our new bedroom. It was one I’d never seen before. The view was to die for, but we only had eyes for each other.
Aiden stripped me of my wedding gown and tied me to the bed.
The soft silk restraints hold me in place as his wild tongue lashes lower and lower on my body. Every time he tastes me, it’s like a current of electricity rushes just underneath my skin.
The fact that we’re officially married only adds to the excitement. Another first.
“You’re mine, princess,” Aiden whispers, lapping up the nectar gushing from between my legs. His hot breath drives me wild, but I’m tied too tight to move. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is where I belong.
“Show me,” I gasp.
Aiden’s more than happy to oblige. His cock sears into me, brand new even after so many times together. My lover. My husband. My man. He takes me like nothing else in the world matters. His wild passion hasn’t eased one bit. His love is savage and merciless and there’s no stopping him as I begin to writhe against his powerful thrusts.
My back arches and my thighs clench against the fire building from our union. It ravishes me until I can barely breathe. I scream his name. It’s mine. He is mine.
And then we break through.
An eruption of pure ecstasy. Mutual explosions that rumble through our bodies until we’ve given each other all that we’ve got to give.
Aiden falls on top of me and pulls out. The restraints come off. They aren’t nearly as sturdy as his embrace. We recover together, wrapped in each other’s arms. There is nowhere else I’d rather be.
My favorite place is next to Aiden, and the best part about that is that we can travel anywhere in the world and I can still be next to him.
And that’s exactly what we’re about to do.
“We should head to the airport soon,” I sigh, not wanting to leave, but knowing we should. I trace the scars on Aiden’s chest and rub my forehead against his chin. We’ve spent an eternity listening to the syncing rhythm of our beating hearts, and it’s still not enough. But I know this isn’t the end. It’s only the beginning.
“We can leave anytime we want. I own the plane,” he reminds me, pulling me in tighter.
“I know… but I want to do this again,” I smirk, feeling naughty.
Aiden rolls on top of me. “I’m ready.”
“Not here!” I giggle, though his hardness is making me rethink that.
Aiden’s stormy green eyes glint with recognition. “On the plane?”
I nod.
“I knew I married you for a reason.”
He wrestles me off the edge of the bed and we fall onto the pile of clothes that we stripped off the second we were alone.
Our laughs fill the gentle air and I’m consumed by happiness.
Today has been perfect. I’ve had my first kiss as a married woman. I’ve had my first fuck. Now it’s time for another first.
The moment we’re able to pull ourselves out of this bedroom, we’ll be heading off on our honeymoon. A romantic getaway around the world. Freedom. Adventure. All with the man I love.
Then, when we get back, I’ll be running my own special team of doctors and nurses. I’ll also be getting some more official training. Aiden has set me up in one of the top programs in the country. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more.
And it’s all happening because I dared give my heart to a heartless prince. In return, he’s shown me every last bit of himself. Now, I can see clearly.
We belong to each other. And nothing has ever felt so right.
AIDEN
The big metal box sits in the middle of the room like a black hole, teasing us with its mystery.
Nolan, Shane and I have all tried to open it with countless different combinations of words and numbers, but no matter what we come up with, the door just won’t budge.
“I say we just blow it open,” Shane grumbles, clearly getting frustrated.
“No. We can’t,” Nolan shakes his head. “It’s not worth the risk. Whatever is in there, it’s important.”
Both of my brothers circle the solid safe. They stroke their chins trying to figure out what to do next. When nothing comes to mind, they look back to me for guidance.
“What should we do?” Nolan asks.
I keep my eyes peeled on the digital lock pad. It’s all that stands between us and the last of Dad’s possessions.
“Maybe we’re not supposed to see what’s inside,” I say.
Neither of my brothers like that response. “So, then let’s blow it up!” Shane huffs.
“I don’t think it’s supposed to be a secret,” Nolan remarks. “It wasn’t exactly hidden. We found it right beside the couch in his living room. There wasn’t even a blanket over top of it or anything. Dad knew the risks of the kind of life we lead. He knew there was never any promise of tomorrow. If he wanted to keep something hidden from us, then he would have made sure to tuck it away before he left it for the day.”
Nolan’s right.
After we’d had time to properly grieve his death, we went about sorting through all that Dad had left behind. His penthouse in the city was the last place we checked, and it’s where we found this strongbox.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it. Elisa and I were about to get married and every last thought of mine was fixated on her.
Plus, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly suspicious about the safe. So, I told Nolan and Shane to deal with it when they had a chance, then I got married to the woman of my dreams and took her on a honeymoon around the world.
We’ve been home for about a month now, and it’s recently come to my attention that the mystery of this metal box is still unsettled.
Nolan and I both scoured over Dad’s last will and testament, looking for clues, but we found none. He never mentions this box.
The whole situation gradually began to make me uneasy. Everything else in my life has been balancing out. Elisa and I are the happiest we’ve ever been. The empire is chugging along just fine, both above and below ground. And I’m finally gaining the trust of those disgruntled Italians who had once been convinced by Ciro that I was responsible for the death of their fathers.
It hasn’t been an easy road, but it has been a necessary one. My empire is too vast and intricate to run completely on my own. If we’re going to keep our heads above water, the Kilpatricks are going to need some loyal bottom-feeders to take care of the shit that’s supposed to remain beneath the surface.
For the most part, those young Italian orphans left in Ciro’s wake are ready to be those bottom-feeders. At this point, there are still some thick-headed hold-outs—Adriano Sabatino jr, for one—but they’ll come around. I haven’t left them much of a choice.
Besides that, only two major issues remain.
The first being what to do about Sergey Barinov, Manuel Vignotto, and the remaining Black Delphi members. My brothers want to go after them all with everything we’ve got—they have Dad’s blood on their hands, after all.
But I’m not so sure it’s the smart thing to do.
Ever since I killed Ciro and Dmitry Gazin, all has been quiet on that front. There hasn’t even been a peep about Manuel Vignotto—and I think the traitorous fucker at least has enough brains to count his lucky stars that we haven’t torn apart the world looking for him… yet.
But he’s not the only one who’s skipped town. After we came out on top of Ciro’s coup attempt, what little remained of the Cheryshev Bratva also got the fuck out of dodge. There are no Russians left in the New York underworld and part of me dares to hope that we might never have to deal with those animals again.
Sure, the Black Delphi didn’t get what they came for, but if they’re smart, they’ve learned that there’s no room for them here.
For now, my plan is to continue building up our power and connections so that if they ever decide to do something so foolish as return, they’ll be met with a solid wall of swift and merciless destruction.
Nolan and Shane don’t share my vision. They desire something more proactive. Something more immediate. They want revenge. Now. But I’ve seen how foolish unbridled vengeance can turn you. We almost lost everything because I was so caught up in the haze of my righteous retribution—or maybe it was just love that clouded me…
Either way, I’m not ready to take any chances. Not yet.
Right now, I’m preoccupied with the second problem that faces what little remains of my family.
What the fuck is in this metal box?
This mystery is why I called my brothers here today. It’s about time we finally figure this shit out.
“You’ve tried Mom’s full name?” I ask Nolan, gesturing back towards the lockbox.
“I’ve tried all of our names. Nothing. You’d think having three sons would have given Dad plenty of inspiration for a password. But no matter what I’ve tried, the door hasn’t budged.”
Suddenly, a new idea hits me.
Three sons.
Dad has three sons. Before he died, he’d told me that the love he had for the three of us was even stronger than the love he shared with Mom.
But he couldn’t use all of our names for one password.
Three sons.
There are also three sides to a Trinity Knot…
Triquetra.
I lunge forward and plug it in.
The red light above the keypad blinks and turns green. The lock clicks open.
“Holy shit…” Nolan and Shane are immediately at my side.
I rip open the door and a pile of documents immediately spills out. The whole inside of the safe is overstuffed with paperwork and folders and envelopes. We each take a handful.
The first folder I explore is filled with maps. Pen marks circle locations I’ve never even heard of. Mostly, they seem situated around Eastern Europe and Russia, but there are some arrows pointing to counties in California.
“Who the fuck is this?” Shane shoves a photograph in front of my face. It looks old. A faded mugshot of a man I can’t put a name to. Although, he does look oddly familiar…
“I think that’s Sergey Barinov,” Nolan mumbles. He hands me a document. It’s written entirely in Russian, but at the bottom Dad has circled a name and a signature. Beside it, he’s scribbled in something of his own.
BARINOV.
All caps. His handwriting is aggressive and angry. “Dad was looking for him…” I realize.
“Why?”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling we’ll find out.” There must be thousands of pages and photos in the lockbox. It’s going to take us a while to sort through it all, but I already feel like I know what’s happening.
“Why didn’t Dad ever mention any of this?” Shane mumbles, as he and Nolan pour over the pages.
“Because he was trying to keep us away from him,” I respond.
“From Barinov?” Nolan asks.
I nod.
Shane sneers. “Why the fuck would he do that?”
“Because he was worried.” That’s the polite way of putting it.
For the most part, Dad was the most stoic, calculated and organized person that I’ve ever known. But when he was scared, all bets were off.
I’d only had the horror of seeing him this frantic once before.
And that was just before I was taken as a child.
One day, not long before I was dragged away, I wandered into his usually spotless office to find it covered in pages and documents and maps.
The contents of this safe remind me of that day.
Back then, Dad was desperate to protect his children, to protect me, and it made him messy. The same can be said about what we’ve found today.
Before his death, Dad was looking for Sergey Barinov.
And it was to protect us.
“Worried about what?” Shane asks.
I tell him.
“I’m not afraid of any stinkin’ Russians…” he growls, his face turning red with anger.
“But Dad was.”
“And they fucking killed him for it.” Again, Nolan is right.
Slowly, I can feel my face turning red with anger as well.
My heart starts to beat faster. Blood pumps into my fists and a dreadful fury wraps around my heart.
“We have to find him. Sergey Barinov and Manuel Vignotto too.” Nolan is usually the voice of reason, but even he’s been consumed by thoughts of revenge.
“We won’t be safe until we do.”
It’s the truth.
Fucking hell. This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Dad is dead, and he can’t protect us anymore. If we want to escape the demons who crave our downfall, we’re going to have to smoke them out and meet them head on.
It seems, that for whatever reason, the Russians have our number. No one in my family is safe until I wipe them off the face of the earth.
And here I thought I was finally getting things under control. Now, I know why Dad said he never slept. Our enemies don’t, and so neither can we.
Somewhere out there, someone wants what is ours. If I’m ever going to give my family the life they deserve, then I’m going to have to go on the offensive.
But it isn’t going to be pretty.
“This might mean war,” I warn my brothers.
There’s no hesitation in them. “Let’s fucking do it,” Shane says.
Nolan nods too. “We’re all in, brother.”
All in. That’s what it’s going to take.
If Elisa and I ever want to have kids and start a real family of our own. If my brothers are ever going to have a chance at a normal life. If I ever want to sleep again at night. Then we’re all going to have to go all in.
I’m fucking ready for it.
