Page 102 of Reckless Hearts

My face goes pale as I clamp my hand over my mouth.

Oh my fucking God.

“Again, I want to assure you that Adele is justfine. My guys took the two fucks out and cleaned up the whole thing. And she’s here with us in London now.”

“Can I talk to her?!”

He nods. “Of course. She’s resting for the moment, but I’ll ask her to call you the second she’s up.”

I exhale a shaky breath that does absolutely nothing to calm my nerves.

“W-who do you think it was?” My voice cracks as my eyes widen with fear. “You don’t think—”

“No,” he says quietly, shaking his head. “They’re all gone, Dahlia, and not a single one of them is coming back.”

There’s a lethal edge in his voice. And we both know who he’s talking about. After Nasser El-Sayed—the bastard who fathered me—was killed, there were a number of his people still out there who wanted my mother and I, and Aunt Celeste, dead.

I don’t know all the details. But I do know that Adrian hunted every single one of them down like rats and killed them all. Literallyallof them. Yes, he did it to protect my mother and me. But I know it’s Celeste that drove him to that extreme.

The man would burn down the world to save his one and only.

“Look,” he growls. “We still don’t know if this was anything more than a robbery, even with the silencers on the guns. I’m probably just being overly cautious, but—”

“But you’re worried about me.”

His lips twist, half in concern and half in pride. “You’re getting too clever for your own good, luv.”

I grin a small smile. “Well, I blame you, Uncle Adrian.”

He chuckles darkly, but then his brow furrows again. “I don’t necessarily want to involve the Drakos or Kildare families—I know you’re close with them—but I do want to make sure you’re protected. Just out of an abundance of caution. I’m thinking about sending a few of my men—”

“I’m safe.”

I let my eyes lift from the screen to survey the guest room of Deimos’ loft around me. The whole place is also afortress. Pin-code security doors, a state-of-the-art alarm system, and now that I’m staying here—though I’m not sure if Deimos has realized I’ve figured out this part—there are five armed Drakos men in the lobby, outside the building, and occasionally patrolling other floors. I can only assume Deimos has sworn them to secrecy concerning the fact that I’m living here.

“You’re sure?”

I nod at Adrian. “Very.”

He doesn’t ask for the details, but he also believes my answer, because he trusts me. Still, I can see there’s an unasked question in his eyes.

“I’m…staying with a friend right now,” I explain.

The corners of his lips lift with curiosity and amusement. “Oh?”

My face warms. “And… I’d rather thatnotbe shared with my mom just yet?”

He chuckles. “Heard loud and clear.” He sighs, shaking his head. “Remind me again, when the hell did you grow up?”

“Is that her?”

My face lights up at the sound of my mom’s voice in the background on Adrian’s end. He glances past his camera and nods.

“Yeah. She’s all yours.” He shifts his gaze back to me. “Here’s your mum, luv. Call me if you needanything, yeah?”

“Of course. And thanks, Uncle Adrian.”

He flashes a roguish grin at me before the phone twists to face my mom. I smile widely as she beams at me.

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