Page 51 of Her Captor's Secret Heir

I recoil as if I’ve been smacked. All the blood in my upper half goes to my feet.

Terrible things happen to mafia princesses on roofs. Survival instinct makes me scurry backward a step. I bump into a chair, spilling some of the water from my bottle.

He’s so angry about Finn that he wants...the roof.

No! He can’t. He’ll have to carry me there.

My heart’s flying as a chemical cocktail made for survival floods my system—preparing me to fight for my life.

I’ve felt it before and I know exactly what this razor-sharp edge forming inside of me is, right down to the tang that forms in my mouth. My body feels exactly the same as it did when I knocked the kidnapper out.

But this... this feels much more dangerous. Like I’m matched against the top of the food chain. The alpha of alphas. The king of the Irish Mafia jungle. Kieran McGregor.

The man now watching me with predatory eyes.

Fighting the urge to run, I stutter, “W-where’s M-M-Max?”

Without moving a muscle or even blinking, he says, “I don’t know. And honestly, I don’t fucking care.”

My hand is shaking so hard, I almost drop the water bottle. That’s when I realize I have a weapon. A small one, but it’s something. My fingers wind tighter around the glass bottle’s neck.

He takes a step toward me, shoves the coat out again. “Take the coat, Carra.”

My breathing is erratic, on the verge of hyperventilation now. “I’m... I’m... No. I don’t want to go. We can talk in here.”

His temper snaps. “Carra, what the hell is going on?”

I snap back at him as I careen dangerously close to losing control. “I’m not going to the roof with you.”

He’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming all the way. I’ll claw my French manicure off in his face. Kick his shins bloody with my dainty pink toenails. The lioness inside of me is ready for battle.

I move across the room. Circling the couch. Never taking my eyes off him.

He freezes. His expression changes. As if the thundercloud over his head has parted, and a beam of realization struck him. Kieran lets out an anguished groan.

“Mother-fucking hell. What kind of monster do you think I am?”

I stare at him, shaking all over. I’m not sure if I’m going to leap on him or pee in my pants. I am not going to that roof.

With a ragged swallow and half shout, I tell him, “You’re scary. No one has ever demanded for me to go to the roof with them before. I’m not keen on someone that looks like he commits homicide in his sleep being the first.” Words are flying out of me so fast my tongue can barely keep up. “When you’re a mafia daughter, you hear stories... I’m not going to be one of them. Unless you knock me out and carry me, I’m not going up there.”

He growls and scrubs his hand over his face. “Put the damned jacket on, Carra. I’m not going to hurt you,not ever, but you’ve fucking sliced me open. Yet again.”

We’re in a stare off when the hotel door swings open and Eva bustles in, returning from escorting the others out. She screeches to a halt when she almost slams into Kieran’s back.

As if I’ve magically summoned the girls at the same time, Ariel comes from the bedroom, with an expression that says she’s overheard our raised voices.

Kieran drops his head, the hand holding out the jacket falls to his side. When he looks up at me, there’s incredible pain in his eyes. “Would you, please, come with me? I have to talk to you tonight. Alone.”

Something about his agony wipes away my terror. It vanishes so fast that I’m left weak and shaky. Somehow, my heart feels like it’s connected to his by a string.

Things are terrible. But he’s suffering too. Something tender inside of me hates that.

Damnit.The realization makes me want to scream. The things I feel for this man make me insane.

I stand there, clutching the darn bottle of water, agonizing over the squeezing sensation in my chest. Everyone’s eyes are on me. Max appears behind Kieran’s shoulder. He looks about as friendly as a cactus. “The Presidential Patio has been cleared if you’d like to go up now.”

“Yes, we were just going,” I reply quickly and walk up to Kieran. “Just put it over my shoulders. I don’t want to mess up my nails. I’ve never had a manicure before and I’m going to try to keep this nice until the wedding.”

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