Page 17 of Awakened by Sin

It took every ounce of control she possessed to stay behind. This was the second time in a matter of days that Nora’s parents had asked her to look after their kid while they put their lives on the line. What the fuck? She was the one who should be charging into the bowels of hell. She was dispensable. She had no husband, kids, or responsibilities. Lyla and Gavin had a daughter, a future.

Nora’s lip quivered before she burst into tears. Carmen felt like doing the same, but she reined it in and paced around the cream and gold nursery while she tried to soothe the distressed baby. Nora pounded her little fists against her chest in frustration. She brushed kisses over soft skin and cuddled the baby close.

“Shh, it’s going to be okay.”

She hoped Nora didn’t notice the quaver in her voice or the fact that she was stiff as a board. She should put Nora in the crib since she was transferring her anxiety to the baby, but she couldn’t let her go. Nora kept her sane. She breathed in that baby scent she couldn’t get enough of and tried to shrug off the dread chilling her core. Lyla had to be alive. They would all get through this.

“Daddy will bring her back,” she whispered.

Nora needed her mother, and she needed her best friend. Lyla had been through too much to die now.

It had been a hellish two days. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept. The monster had been a step ahead of them this whole time, successfully concealing his identity and biding his time while he schemed and hunted. The future of the underworld rested on the tip of a knife. Her future depended on the outcome of what took place in Hell tonight.

The kickoff began when Lyla’s father, Pat, showed up in the middle of the night, looking like a bloody extra fromPulp Fiction. He claimed his house had been broken into and Lyla’s mother kidnapped. While they were trying to get the details from him, the fortress was attacked. It had been a marathon of terror—the race through the underground tunnel, the trek across the desert to the safe house, and Pat’s betrayal. She would never forget Lyla’s blank expression as she watched her father crumple beside the bed with blood pouring from the wound in his gut. Lyla’s father had sold them out and led the monster’s men straight to them. Even now, the foul taste of betrayal lingered on her tongue. The monster could manipulate anyone to do what he wished. If they couldn’t trust family, who could they trust?

Carmen closed her eyes and whispered prayers into the yawning silence. The monster had been a step ahead of them for years. If Lyla’s father was capable of killing his own daughter, anyone could be working for the monster, so she had to be on guard. Nora Pyre had been born to the most dangerous crime lord Las Vegas had ever seen, and for that, she would be hunted for the rest of her life. It was only a matter of time before he sent someone for Nora. If Gavin didn’t make it … No. Something lethal and vicious unfurled in her gut. She brushed her hand over the warm metal pressed against her belly. They would have to get through her first.

A muffled sound behind her made her tense. She whirled, one arm holding Nora while the other brought up her gun. Her skittering senses came to a dead stop when she saw Marcus standing in the doorway. Even in the middle of the night, he was impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit with a handkerchief folded into a sharp triangle in his pocket. His perfect side part made him look like a sexy banker.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Blade called me, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay,” Marcus said far too calmly for a man who faced a woman with a gun.

“I’m fine.” She didn’t lower the gun, didn’t move a muscle. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down, not after what she had been through. The monster exploited with a ruthlessness that made everyone a suspect.

“Carmen, put the gun down.”

“I think you should leave,” she said.

He didn’t do as she suggested. Instead, he stayed put, stretching her already frayed nerves to the breaking point.

“What’s going through your head right now?” he asked.

“You’re too perfect,” she whispered.

“What?”

“You filled Vinny’s place so easily.” Her overactive mind pieced together strange facts that made no sense. “Gavin put you, a former intern, as interim CEO while he was in jail. Gavin doesn’t trust anyone, but he trusts you as much as he trusts Blade, and they’ve known each other for decades. Why?”

The gun wavered as Nora fussed. Logic and instinct battled within her. Two days ago, she wouldn’t have questioned Marcus’s loyalty, but witnessing Pat’s betrayal changed everything. They were at war, which meant she couldn’t assume anyone’s loyalty was absolute. Her head throbbed as Marcus remained motionless in the doorway. This was just another scene in the nightmare that wouldn’t end.

“You replaced Vinny in every way—at work and in the family. You’re always there when everyone needs you. Gavin even made you Nora’s godfather. You’re the perfect agent—”

“I’m not working for him,” Marcus snapped.

She tightened her hold on the gun. “How can I be sure?”

“You know me, Carmen.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

She knew what he looked like during sex, that he was a money-making machine and dressed with the precision of a man who favored order above all else. She also knew that his acute concern and affection for Lyla didn’t make sense.

“This is what he wants—for us to turn on each other. You can trust me. I’m not the enemy,” Marcus said.

“I want to be alone.” Last night, she killed her first man. When she saw the soldier outlined in the moonlight, something lethal and visceral took over. She stepped out of the shadows and pulled the trigger. It had been abrupt, gruesome, and final. She didn’t regret it, but this was different. Marcus wasn’t a heartless soldier hunting down a helpless baby. He was a man who kissed her ankles and touched her with gentleness and care.

She’d seen Marcus a handful of times since their disastrous hookup. The friendly familiarity he once treated her with was gone, and he spoke to her with the same polite reserve he used when speaking to a hotel guest. Even now, as she faced him across the room, his charming demeanor was absent.

---