Page 75 of Kissing the Villain

I moved toward the desk, staring in disbelief at the live video footage. “What is this place?”

“My office.”

I swallowed hard. “Do you watch me from here?”

He shrugged, unaffected by my question.

There was footage of all the founders’ mansions, including Wellington Manor. My lips parted in shock at the sight of at least twenty feeds, some of which were of my Brooklyn apartment.

A chill rolled down my spine like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water on my head. “How long have you been watching me?”

“A long time,” he confessed.

“Why?”

I was afraid of the answer.

“Because we have a lot of enemies,” he admitted. “Some you have met over the years without even realizing it. You don’t want to know how many times we’ve come close to losing you.”

My hands trembled from the fear tearing through my limbs. “Why would anyone want to hurt me?”

“Because the future Queen of The Devil’s Knights holds a lot of power in our world.”

“Why me?”

“Your grandfather made a deal with our father to protect you. He would only agree to the marriage if he knew you were safe. Luca needs a queen. He can’t become the Grand Master without you. It’s our most sacred law. There are things I can’t tell you until you become one of us.”

“All of this…” My voice trailed off, bewildered by the secret spy shed and all the secrets they were hiding from me. “It’s a lot to take in right now.”

“You have time,” he assured me. “But we need to get moving before the sun rises.”

Marcello moved to the center of the room and dropped to his knees in front of a steel door built into the cement. He turned the wheel on top of the door, spinning it with a groan.

“Stand back,” he said.

The door crashed to the ground a few inches from my sneakers. I poked my head inside the hole, surprised to find a metal ladder attached to the wall.

“Who are you people? This is like something from a James Bond movie.”

Marcello chuckled. “My family is full of surprises.”

“I bet this house has tons of secret passages.”

He winked to confirm my assumption but offered no additional information. “After you.”

“No way! I don’t know what’s down there. There could be snakes or alligators. And I hate the dark.”

“Alex, it’s just stairs. Do you think I would take you down here if I thought you’d get hurt?” Marcello noticed my hesitation and jumped to his feet, brushing off his shorts and knees. “I’ll be a few rungs below you. If you fall, I will catch you.”

I glanced down at the ladder and cleared my throat. “Um… I don’t know about this. How deep does this tunnel go?”

He pointed his finger into the cave of wonders, and I couldn’t bring myself to look again, too freaked out about being buried alive in the dark.

“It’s only a twenty-foot drop.”

I rolled my eyes at his use of the wordonly.

“Shouldn’t take you long to hit the bottom.”

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