Page 19 of Merciful Lies

No Jiminy Cricket motherfucker telling me what to do. To leave her alone.

Still, what could I give her?

Before I can fall down the rabbit hole of the ifs and buts of pursuing Anna Keller, I hear Luc snort.

“What?”

“You know that little flower who came in here six months ago to pay off her brother’s debts?”

“Yeah,” I reply, and I lean forward.

“Well, I think she just walked in, and uh, Boss, she’s got a surprise.”

My heart is hammering. She’s back. Anna is back in town, and she is here. In my place.

I don’t care what brought her here. I just know I want her. Six months did nothing to dampen my need for this woman.

“Boss?”

“I got it,” I say.

Then I stand.

CHAPTER EIGHT-ANNA

Fear slithers down my soul as I stare at the enormous sign featuring a coiled up black snake ready to strike.

I’ve seen it once before, but last time was a walk in the park compared to how I feel now.

I walk into the Vipers’ Den and my gaze flits around from one hulking man to the next. I don’t know if he’s here.

And really, I am not so sure I should be, either. My hands go to my belly, and I feel a protective wave roll over me, forcing me to reject any uncertainty.

I’m not here for me. Besides, I have nowhere else to turn and the police already said they couldn’t do anything without witnesses.

I’m exhausted and my throat is sore from crying and talking to the police.

After I recognized the huddled form below my window as belonging to my brother, I ran down the stairs from my apartment to see if I could help him. And to wait for the cops and ambulance to arrive.

Sammy.

Images of my brother and the sweet baby he used to be filter through my brain. My heart hurts so badly, I sway on my feet.

Oh, Sammy. Why?

“What are you doing here? Oh my God, are you pregnant?” a sharp female voice snaps.

I turn my head to see the pretty bartender I remember from the first and only other time I ever went to the Vipers’ Den glaring at me. Her eyes are glued to my stomach, and her expression is sour.

“I, uh, can you tell Nico?—”

“You think you’re the first woman to trick the king with fake paternity suits? You better get your ass outta here,” she says, but her warning is flat.

“I-I need to see him,” I reply, finding my backbone somewhere beneath the numbness disguising my pain.

“Anna.”

I turn my head and see Nico striding towards me. He looks like some reigning monarch, his black on black outfit is molded to his perfect body.

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