Page 20 of Kissing the Villain

I yanked on his shirt as he walked toward the door, forcing him to stop. “Your obsession with The Serpents will get you killed.”

He turned to look at me. “Marcello said they hang out at this bar. He knows Hades. This is where I will find him.”

The leader of The Serpents called himself Hades. His second-in-command named himself Morpheus, after the Greek god of sleep. Then there was Lethe, named after a river in the underworld, and Minos, who judged the dead.

“You don’t know what they look like,” I pointed out. “You can’t waltz into a bar like this and ask for Hades.”

“I got a plan,” he assured me and opened the door.

He had a plan, alright.

It just wasn’t a good one.

9

LUCA

The Wellington twinsthought they could outsmart me.

Guess again.

No one had ever bested me, and I was not about to start with Alex and her pain-in-the-ass twin brother.

Alex’s eyes flickered with rage when she spotted me at the end of the bar, nursing a glass of scotch. She had every right to hate me. It was a dick move to take her virginity and leave without saying goodbye.

But duty called.

I couldn’t explain why I had to go, hopeful she would forgive me. Everything I did was for Alex. She was always on my mind.

After learning Alex was in Beacon Bay with her brother, I drove to The River Styx to speak with Morpheus and Hades. Aiden was desperate to gain the attention of The Serpents, even though they preferred to work alone. I figured I could have her all to myself if I got her brother out of my way. His desperation to join The Serpents made it easier for me to lure him into my perfectly crafted trap.

Teeth gritted, Alex stormed over to me with Aiden at her side. “How dare you avoid me and then show up here?”

“I was busy, baby girl. Don’t be dramatic.”

Aiden snarled at me. “I should have known Marcello set me up. Is this a game to you people?”

“Am I not allowed to drink at a local bar?” I raised the glass to my lips and gulped down the remaining amber liquid. “I think the better question is, what are you doing here?”

“Luca,” Alex groaned. “This game with my brother ends now. I don’t know what you and Marcello are up to?—”

“I’m just drinking.” I patted the leather stool beside me. “Sit. You look like you could use a few drinks.”

Aiden got in my face, arms crossed over his chest. “What are you playing at, Salvatore?”

Ignoring Aiden’s question, I flagged down the bartender to order a Cosmopolitan for Alex and a bottle of Heineken for her idiot brother.

I handed both of them drinks. “You don’t think I know what goes on in and around Devil’s Creek?”

“If you’re behind this,” Alex said with fire behind her words, “I will never speak to you again. My brother is hellbent on destroying his life for the sake of his art, and wherever he goes, I will follow. So you better think long and hard if this is what you want for me.”

She knew I had feelings for her. It was impossible not to feel something for her because she was the only one with that power over me. I didn’t want Alex chasing her brother around Devil’s Creek and Beggar’s Bay, all for the sake of his ego. So, I had to show Aiden the path that led Alex right to me.

“I have a proposal,” I said to Aiden. “Stop putting your sister in danger, and I will introduce you to The Serpents.”

“Done,” Aiden said without a thought.

I held up my hand. “I’m not done. I will make the introductions, and in return, you won’t interfere with Alex and me. Understood?”

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