Page 4 of Reckless Hearts

Complicated, and downrightdangerous.

“You won’t be too proud to call if you need anything, will you?”

I smile. “No. I promise.”

We stand, and Raph hugs me close. “Again, I’m so damn sorry, Dahlia. Please,please, tell your mom that I’m on your side. And whatever you guys need, I’m here, okay?”

I leave Raph with his gaze lingering on our waiter and make my way to the elevator. I do love Gallow Green, where we’ve been sipping wine, and I appreciate that Raph picked this spot on a quiet night midweek, since he knows my thing about big crowds.

Downstairs, I shiver as I step out into the cool autumn air and raise a hand to hail a taxi. I swallow as I glance up at the big full moon looming over the city, and a chill creeps deviously up my spine.

It’s not Halloween yet, but it’s close.

Devil’s Night.

Hisnight.

And it reminds of a Halloween night six years ago. A night of devils and darkness, of mayhem and death.

The night my life changed forever.

A short cab ride later, I’m pulling up outside the forty-story building on Central Park South. That same creepy chill finger-walks up my spine as I step out of the car and smile at the doormen and Drakos family guards, who all know me well by now.

In a parallel universe, one where I have any sort of sanity, I never even cross paths with Calliope Drakos, much less become friends with her. Not because she’s not an amazing person and one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and not even because her family is Greek mafia.

No, it’s because six years ago, I crossed paths with the very devil himself. And that devil happens to be her brother.

Deimos Drakos.

My terror. The prince of darkness who stalked my shadows and haunted my inkiest dreams back at Knightsblood, not to mention has continued to do so virtually ever since.

Every story has a villain, and he’s the one in mine.

Callie is the youngest in her family with four older brothers—and all five of them were named after various Greek gods, muses, and titans. Her oldest brother, Ares, who runs the Drakos empire now and is married to Eilish’s sister Neve, is named after the god of war and courage. After him comes Hades, the god of the underworld…though I have to admit, Callie’s wild-man of a brother has certainly chilled out a fair bit since he got together with his fiancée, Elsa.

Kratos, my friend’s largest brother, is well-named after the god of strength and might. Meanwhile Calliope and I joke all the time about her being named after the muse of “eloquence, epic poetry, and harmony of voice”, because my brash, sassy friend is possibly the least eloquent person I’ve ever known, and much as I love her, she can’t sing for shit.

And that leaves Deimos: the god of dread and terror.

There has never, ever been a person so aptly named.

Run from this place, now. And if you ever speak of any of this, I’ll destroy everything you love.

I shiver at the memory as the elevator rises to the roof of the original building atop which the Drakos estate sits. Almost a hundred years ago, Callie’s great grandfather used his newfound criminal wealth to buy a neo-classical mansion in England, take it apart brick by brick, and then transport it to America and rebuild it on the roof of this forty-story building overlooking Central Park.

It’sstunning.

Sprawling, massive, with panoramic views of all of Manhattan and Central Park. There aregrounds, complete with classical Greek sculptures,twopools, a tennis court, and rose gardens. It’s without a doubt one of my very favorite places on earth.

Except…

I shiver as the elevator doors open revealing the foyer of the gorgeous estate.

Except there’s no escaping the tingling sensation I get whenever I’m here. The warning light blinking on and off in the back of my mind.

The feeling that a malevolent spirit is about to emerge from the shadows, snatch me up, and drag me down to Hell.

The thing is, I didn’t know who Callie was when we first met. Or rather, I didn’t know who her family was. Eilish invited me to a bar early on in our friendship, and just introduced me to herfriend Callie.

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