Page 6 of These Sinful Kingdoms

“What is it you feel I should know?” Everly asked, stirring the milk into her tea and delicately placing the teaspoon down.

Her hair was drawn back tightly, not a hair out of place in her slick bun and her make-up was minimal, understated but it didn’t cover the black rings under her eyes.

She was in a grey power suit and her perfume was light enough that it didn’t overpower you, but still lingered, a scent that screamed money and power.

Everything about her was just perfectly put together, almost to the point that I felt uncomfortable, but she was highly recommended, and I have to admit, I was judging her before I knew her, and it wasn’t fair.

“I don’t know how much you know about me, my world, and what I am involved in…” She smiled, cutting me off with a flick of her manicured hand.

“I am well aware of who you are Ms. Moretti and I have no interest in judging you based on your past. If it helps you feel better, my colleague Chris and I have worked together on cases for The Mendez brothers and helped out his partner Charlie’s brother who was involved in the group the Forsaken. I have an excellent judge of character and I know that you are the kind of person I would be happy to work for.” The smile she gave me was genuine and I relaxed a little, Luca’s hand squeezed my thigh under the table as reassurance.

“Thank you. That means a lot. For the record, I had no interest in taking up any of my father’s legacy, I am more interested in taking back what is mine.” It wasn’t a lie, I never really had an interest in taking over my father’s position and if I could avoid it, I would.

“That is not my concern. My job is to help you get access to all your assets. So, your accountant already sent over the documents, and I have to say, it is going to be a bit of a fight, to begin with. I know the lawyer your brother has engaged, and that man is like a dog with a bone.” She grimaced and I felt that familiar sense of defeat creeping up.

“But I am better than him. He was always sloppy with his fine print. I’ll find the loopholes and get things through. So, would you like to get started? I just need your signature.” She pulled out some paperwork and slid it across to me.

I studied the amount her retainer was and swallowed hard. Damn, that was a lot of money. She noticed what I was reading and the sly smile she gave me had me sitting back in my chair.

“I can promise you that I am worth every penny. But you don’t need to take care of that. All my fees have been taken care of by Alejandro and Dante.” She hid her amusement behind the teacup as I looked between Luca and Kingston.

“I don’t understand.” She shrugged.

“I don’t question them, though I gathered it was something about helping you because you helped them.” Luca nudged me.

“Ror. Sign the dotted line. You can worry about that later once you have access to your money again. Let’s just get your kingdom back first.” He winked and I looked at Kingston who also nodded his encouragement, so I grabbed the pen and signed.

“Excellent. I will get started right away. Aurora, you need to be aware that men like this tend to get aggressive once they realize you are fighting back. Be prepared for some pushback once I start the process.” She gathered up her things and stood with a gentle smile.

“I’ll send over a copy of the contracts as soon as I get to the office. Call me if you need anything. It was lovely to meet you Ms. Moretti and I look forward to getting you the results you need.” She shook my hand and nodded at the others before leaving us there sitting in silence.

“Well. That’s the start of that. We will have your world back together in no time.” Luca said and I sighed.

“That may be the case, but if Nicolo and Rocco push back, I don’t have the ability to counter them. You know everyone went with him after my father died. I am a sitting duck.” Kingston shifted and put his arm around the back of my chair, his fingers brushing the nape of my neck.

“You are not alone. You have more allies than you think. They may have gone with him but that didn’t mean they were loyal to him. Besides, it is well known now that you have connections to the Mexican and Irish mafia. That has to count for something.” He said softly as he massaged my neck.

His touch soothed the jagged edges of tension in my body and warmed me in ways that I didn’t like to admit.

Every time Kingston touched me, I felt alive, cherished, and relaxed all at once. The man had magic hands and they always left me wanting.

“Maybe. But I know Rocco. He wants power for himself and if he has to get it through my brother, he will. We have to be prepared for some kind of backlash. I just don’t know what to expect.” I glanced at my phone to check the time.

“We should go. I want to clean up before Fabian finishes for the day. I need to stop in and get new shampoo too.” Luca chuckled as I shot him a glare.

“What? The kid is ingenious. I never would have thought of something like that at his age.” I rolled my eyes as we made our way to the car.

“I swear it’s that game. He has been talking to someone lately that he is infatuated with. I know it isn’t a girl. A guy who he said is teaching him ‘mad skills’ and goes by the name of “the Wizard”. I want to look into it.” I said as Kingston held the door open for me and Luca frowned.

“Okay. I’ll ask him tonight and see what he says. I’m sure it is nothing sinister though.” We got into the car and I considered the events of my life to this point and wondered what move my brother was going to make next.

It was like a long game of chess and now we waited for him to shift his piece.

Chapter five

Gianluca

Iputmyphonedown after looking at it for the tenth time in an hour. It was eight and Aurora had gone on another date, one she didn’t want to cancel as it had been organized weeks ago and she felt guilty about canceling on such a nice guy.

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