Page 79 of The Wages of Sin

I’d been lost in a beautiful dream, lounging on a Mediterranean beach, cool waves lapping at my bare toes, when those words yanked me out of sleep.

Of course, it wasn’t the words as much as the voice saying them that made my eyes violently pop open.

I knew that voice.

Shit.

It haunted my nightmares and for good reason. Hearing it could only mean one thing.

Hollis had finally found me.

I only took a second for my eyes to adjust from the fog of sleep and focus on the man who had killed my sister standing next to the bed. His cold eyes were filled with malice.

“Surprise,” he said, his mouth twisted in a cruel perversion of a smile.

Instantly, my heart seized in my chest. Fear like I’d never felt before bubbled up in my throat, sharp and sour. I reached out in panic to Dorian’s side of the bed…but it was empty.

“Where’s Dorian?”

Hollis laughed, a bitter sound that grated against my ears. “The assassin? Were you hoping he’d save you? Is that why you’ve been fucking him? Well, I’ve got bad news. He’s not here.”

Something in Hollis’ callous tone set me off. Now, I wasn’t just scared but angry as well.

“What have you done to him?” I demanded.

“Don’t tell me you actually care about that bloodthirsty bastard.” Hollis paused, cocking his head to the side as he stared down at me assessingly. Slowly, his eyes widened. “Holy shit, you do. You actually feel something for that lowlife.”

“Where is he?” Fear and anger propelling me, I pushed myself up on the mattress. “If you hurt him, I’ll?—“

“You’ll what?” he said, cutting me off with another mocking laugh. His smile grew even more evil as my mouth clamped shut. “Finish that sentence, Kiera. Go ahead and threaten me. Please, I’m dying to hear what you’ll do.”

My hands balled into fists at my side as impotent rage burned a hole in my stomach. “I’ll kill you.”

“Threatening the life of a federal agent? Playing the whore for a mob hitman?” Hollis shook his head sadly. “Your time as a fugitive really has corrupted you, hasn’t it? Your sister would be so disappointed.”

Rage got the better of me. “Fuck you. Don’t you dare talk about Deena, you psycho son of a?—“

Before I could finish the curse, Hollis backhanded me across the face. The edge of his gold wedding ring caught my lower lip, cutting deep and instantly filling my mouth with the sharp tang of blood.

But if Hollis thought he could cow me with a single blow, he didn’t know anything about me. I’d taken much worse hits in the last year and a half and come back swinging.

I turned back toward him, my lips curled in a wide, bloody smile before I spit in his face.

“You bitch,” he snarled, wiping the dripping red mess off his cheek. “I’ll kill you for that.”

I let out a bitter laugh. As if that hadn’t been his plan all along.

“Touch me again,” I warned him, “and Dorian Marchetti will hunt you down and teach you the meaning of pain.”

Hollis didn’t look impressed. “I thought you were worried I’d killed him.”

At first, sure. But now that I was more awake, I remembered Dorian’s plan to leave early to confront Russo. Realizing he was safe eased my mind.

“You really don’t know what he’s capable of, do you?” I taunted Hollis. “The idea that someone like you could ever best Dorian Marchetti is laughable.”

Apparently, that was more mockery than Hollis could swallow.

Pride stung, he brutally raked his fingers across my scalp, grabbing a handful of my hair as he yanked me out of bed.

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