Arranged love

Grave snorts, and Cross laughs.

“I’m serious,” he argues. “You marry her but have an airtight prenup. A spouse can only get a percentage of what you have once you get married. He had Kingdom shares before he married her. Therefore, she can’t touch it.”

“Too risky.” Cross shakes his head.

“Is that what you and Emilee did?” Grave arches a brow, looking at Titan. “Did you do an airtight prenup?”

“No,” Titan growls as if that’s ridiculous. “I married my wife because I love her, not because I was cornered.”

“Bones isn’t backed into a corner,” Grave argues. “For all we know, Mia is lying.” He points at me. “How many women have tried to get what we have? A lot. It’s not uncommon for women to use their pussy for a payday.”

A silence falls over the room while everyone stares at him. He arches a brow. “Are you all suggesting that April got pregnant on purpose?” he demands.

“You said it.” Titan shakes his head. “Not us.”

Grave shoves the papers off the table and starts to climb up on it to get to Titan, but Cross grabs the back of his shirt, yanking him back.

“You motherfucker-”

“Enough!” I shout, interrupting Grave and standing from my chair.

Titan sighs. “None of us think that April was trying to trap you.” He throws his hands up in surrender. “But this affects us all. If John gets one foot in, he will find a way to get it all.”

That’s why I told them. I’ve always been a very secretive person. What I do is no one else’s business, but this does include them. We are all equal partners. If one is attacked, we are all under attack.

“Maybe we’re looking at it from the wrong angle,” Cross says slowly, shoving Grave into his seat. “We find who went after Luca first. You said that Mia has a timeline?” He looks at me, and I nod. “Then we’ve got time there. But whoever shot Luca could be getting away as we speak. So let’s start there first and then circle back when need be.”

“Where do we start?” Grave asks, placing his hands in his hair. “We have nothing to go on.”

“Glass,” I answer when everyone looks at me. “That’s where he was shot. We’ve got surveillance. If no one saw anything, the cameras did.” I’ve been too busy since I brought Mia home from the hospital that I haven’t had the chance to go to Glass yet. I was going to watch the cameras there, but I can do it from here just as good.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

We all enter my office, and I pull up the surveillance at Glass on my computer. After logging in and going back to yesterday, we watch it as the screen goes black.

“Well, that’s convenient.” Cross sighs.

“Here …” I take a piece of paper from the black Kingdom stationery-it’s got a gold circle and K in the middle-and I write down an address. “Titan, you and Nite go get him and bring him back here. We’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Got it.” Titan nods before he and Nite turn and exit my office.

My brother turns to face me. “You’ve never been that guy who thinks with his dick, so don’t start now.” Then he storms out.

“Ignore Grave,” Cross tells me, and I wave off his concern.

But little does he know, my dick is screaming pretty loud right now. And all I can think of is Mia lying naked in my bed underneath me with my hand wrapped around her throat again.

MIA

I DIDN’T SWIM for very long. My side hurt too much to actually enjoy it. Instead, I sat in the shallow end, just soaking up the night heat.

Getting out of the shower, I enter his bedroom and see a door to the right. Hoping it’s a closet, I smile when I’m right. It’s large-the floor is white marble with a black inlay design in the shape of diamonds, and it’s cold on my bare feet. To my right is a set of dresser drawers. I open the top one up and see watches of various colors and sizes-all expensive designer brands. The second drawer is full of cuff links. Shutting it, I turn and look around to see the rows and rows of clothes hanging. To the left is nothing but shoes-everything from tennis shoes to boots to dress shoes. Some are still in their boxes.

Stepping up to one of the racks, I run my fingers over the dress shirts, feeling the softness of the fabric. I come to his T-shirts and drop the towel from around my chest. Standing up on my tiptoes, I remove a black one. It says Kingdom in gold letters on it. I slide it on. One shoulder hangs off, the sleeves come down to my elbows, and the hem reaches mid-thigh. It’s huge, but I have nothing to wear here. Plus, it’s really soft and smells like him.

When Haven told me what happened to Luca, I panicked, grabbed what I could, which was only my phone and purse, called an Uber, and got to the private airport as fast as I could. I don’t know how I’ll get my stuff here.

Opening another drawer, I find his boxer briefs. I don’t have any extra underwear, and I refuse to go without. I pull on a black pair and roll the band down a few times, hoping that will help keep them up.

Exiting the closet, I turn off the light and then leave the bedroom. It’s on the first floor. I walk down the hallway to an opening. It’s the living room. It too looks like no one is ever here. Bare, dark gray walls, and no throw pillows, blankets, or decorations of any kind.

I turn around the corner and walk up the stairs. My bare feet sink into the plush carpet while my hand grips the dark banister. I make it to the top and take a right. The second door on the left is partially open, so I step inside.

It’s a media room. I recognize it because my father’s house in Italy had one. It’s got a huge screen at the front of the room. Three rows of five black leather chairs that have blue neon lights underneath them.

The back wall has shelves of movies on it. I walk over, scanning the DVDs, and come across what looks to be a photo album. I remember my mother saying that she would make me one but never did. Not sure why I’d need pictures to remind me of a nonexistent childhood.

Picking it up, I sit down on the floor cross-legged and open it up. The first page has a picture of Dillan and a woman. I’ve seen her before. At the hospital. Dark hair, blue eyes. I don’t know her name. But she’s standing in a hallway with him. Looks like a school, but I can’t be sure. I’ve never been, just from what I’ve seen on TV shows. He’s got his arm over her shoulders. She’s holding a Louis Vuitton purse in one hand and her cell in the other. She’s got a bright smile on her face. He stares at the camera, looking almost numb. The flash illuminates his hard blue eyes and sharp jaw. He doesn’t have any tattoos that I can see-not like he does now-and it makes him look so young. He’s wearing a white T-shirt with jeans. She’s dressed in designer heels, a skirt, and a sweater. She’s leaning into him, both arms wrapped around his waist.

I flip the page and see another picture of him. He’s on a baseball field this time. Dressed in a blue-and-white uniform that says Wildcats on it, he’s got a bat in one hand, a ball in the other, and he’s smiling. One that shows off his dazzling smile and two dimples. He’s beautiful.

Turning again. I see another picture, and I frown. He’s wearing a T-shirt like I have on, but it’s white with black letters reading Kingdom across the chest. He still doesn’t have any visible ink. He stands there with my brother Luca in a hallway next to a set of glass double doors. I tilt my head to the side. “Why does this look familiar?” I whisper to myself. “Like I’ve seen this before.” I didn’t know him. I never met the Kings …