Page 60 of Kissing the Villain

“Someone attacked the men at our safe house in Beacon Bay.” He rose from the chair. “I have to go.”

“No.” I threw my arm out in front of him. “Send Roman and his team.”

His fingers moved across the keypad of his phone. “Done.”

“They’re getting closer.” I stood beside him. “It’s only a matter of time before they come for her.”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and sighed. “The Founders Society will deal with them.”

“The Albanians have gone underground.”

“Once Alex gets her memories back, she will marry you.” He scratched the corner of his jaw, licking his lips. “We’ll completeLegare, and everything will return to normal.”

I almost laughed at his suggestion. “Normal? Like we know what that means.”

“The Charter forbids us to admit new Knights until afterLegare. If we don’t speed up the process with Alex, we’re all fucked.”

“Her mind can fracture, Marcello. So we have to be careful with how hard we push her.”

His gaze shifted to the right side of the ballroom. “Let me talk to The Serpents.”

Hades leaned against the wall, a drink in hand, as he spoke to Morpheus. Minos was on his right, chatting with a pretty brunette dressed in a pink gown. Tall and imposing, Lethe loomed over the girls attached to his arms.

They all used nicknames associated with the Greek underworld. Hades, the God of Death. Morpheus, the God of Sleep. Lethe, after the River of Forgetfulness. Minos, the Judge of the Dead. And they lived up to their names. Aside from their tattoos, they blended in with the Devil’s Creek elite. No one seemed to notice the monsters hidden beneath the carnival masks.

“Alex doesn’t remember them,” Marcello assured me.

“No, I think she does. She has nightmares about men in scaly masks. Seeing them again might fuck with her head. It might push her over the edge. This is all part of the plan.”

Alex’s psychiatrist told me about her night terrors after I dangled his affair over his head. A divorce would have cost him a shitload of money. That was why I loved collecting secrets. They were worth more than money in my world.

“She danced with Morpheus.” Marcello tipped his head toward the tall blond with spiky tips, wearing a red and gold mask. “You thought it would trigger her, but she doesn’t look upset.”

“That’s because Sonny is working his magic on her.”

No woman could resist the golden boy of Devil’s Creek. Sonny was funny and charming and put people at ease. We sent him whenever we needed to schmooze. To get someone on our side without threatening them.

Alex gave Sonny a dreamy look.

She liked him.

Of course, she did.

Everyone liked Sonny Cormac.

“Bring Alex to my bedroom after the party.”

Marcello’s eyebrows rose, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Let’s see how the rest of the party goes. Maybe someone in the crowd will trigger a reaction from her.”

He focused his attention on Alex and nodded.

26

ALEX

Dressedin black lingerie and a matching robe, I entered Luca’s bedroom. Still dressed in his suit, he sat in an oversized armchair by the window, drinking scotch. He took in the sight of me, his blue eyes untamed and feral as they roamed up and down my thighs.

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