Almost like this visit concerns me.
God damn it. I’m going to throw up right here and now on my father’s marble floor and pristine rugs. This can’t be what I think it is. Can’t.
I clench my arms around my middle.
Feel my father’s thought sensors begin to tangle into my thoughts once more, invading when he knows I’m vulnerable. This time I let my thoughts explode.
How could you do this? How could you fucking sell your own daughter?
His thoughts crawl over mine, strangling them until his voice is the only one in my head.
Property is meant to be sold.
Bile stings up my throat. I grip the side of the desk, my body shaking, and the superintendent’s worried gaze splits between me and my father. He extends one too-warm hand and places it on my shoulder. It’s a paw, a paw without fur, and I shudder against the touch.
“Sofi DiArgento.” He smiles at my father from over my head. “It is my pleasure to welcome you as a contestant for the alpha auction.”
7
Colton
A quick Google search is all I need to find the start of what I need to know. The girl who called herself Kayla is none other than Sofi DiArgento, daughter of Chicago’s vampire don and a trained fighter in her own right. Information on the vampire mob is hard to come by, but we have our sources. Given don DiArgento’s brutal policies – staking any vampires who left his domain and betraying the supernatural alliance – he has nearly as many enemies as followers, and former mobsters and shifters alike are eager to find a way to strike back, no matter how small a way.
But why would the don’s daughter choose to work in the club? Cage fighting is a dangerous sport and the risks far outweigh any orgasmic thrill that might accompany it. A fucking hot girl like Kayla — Sofi — certainly can’t be so desperate for a good time that she’d turn to fighting for sport. Add in the secrecy, her nervous gaze, and the way she kept the medallion carefully hidden, and the puzzle pieces start to click in place.
Her father doesn’t know she comes here.
Frowning, I put away my phone, ignoring the row of unread texts from the city council. They update me constantly on the status of the upcoming auction, clearly expecting me to be as excited as they are that I’ll be forced to mate with a girl I’ve never met, probably won’t even like. And since I met Sofi – I don’t want another woman. Why the hell did I ever agree to an auction that’s nothing more than bloodline mating crap? Just because it’s been a century of tradition and the shifter lords are expected to be appeased by mates that are basically well-bred sacrifices? Fuck it. Who cares if marrying a non-elite would corrupt my bloodline? This isn’t Nazi Germany. We’re shifters, for god’s sake. We’re already considered mutants by the rest of society. Just because we’re kings in our own domain doesn’t change that reality.
It doesn’t change anything.
I glance back down at the screen and the words “the perfect candidate” stare up at me. Damn it. I can almost hear the self-satisfaction oozing through Algernon’s text and an urge to punch him rages through me.
There are no perfect candidates.
There’s only Sofi.
My dream mate.
And the daughter of my enemy.
Whatever simpering tool Algernon has picked out will be nothing more than eye candy, someone to make me look good at the various mob functions and a stranger who expects to be welcomed into my bed.
She won’t be Sofi.
I shove my phone into my pocket, scowling. Furious at myself for allowing myself to be vulnerable with her, to fall for someone who had the audacity to lie to me at our first meeting.
And a vampire at that.
Damn fate and damn my life. I need to get out of here, find somewhere to think. I enter my fingerprint at the garage behind the club and the hidden door slides upward, moonlight glints off of the row of ridiculously expensive cars and club-marked motorcycles. I slide on the back of my favorite Harley, and kickstart it to life. The engine growls beneath me, like the rumble of my beast, and the feeling is ridiculously comforting. Why in hell am I letting a stranger control my emotions – my destiny – like this? Maybe the mate attraction is nothing more than testosterone, reminding me how I’ve been too busy for a good fuck entirely too long. I need a diversion. Something to distract me from the auction and the way my life is about to change.
She may think she can hide from me.
But I know exactly where to find her.
The End…for now.
The story continues in Sold to Shifters, the first book in hot new RH series Sinful Mates.
About the Author
A former runaway and ever-hapless adventurer, Dany Stone learned early that words have the ability to cure any pain. Now she loses herself in creating happy endings for characters who’ve been through hell.
She emerges from her book cave to chat with readers on social media, conquer new realms with her partner, their son, and sassy Yorkie, and, of course, find her next new read.
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Myth Hunter, Inc.
Book 1: Darkest Rites
Book 2: Cursed Relics
Neverland Fae
Book 1: A Touch of Stardust
Sinful Mates
Book 1: Sold to Shifters
Divinity: a gods and goddesses anthology
Blood Tide
Written as Everly Smoke:
Down the Wolf’s Den
Book 1: Moon Summoned
Book 2: Moon Fated
Book 3: Moon Claimed
Howling Devotion
Book 1: Bad Little Wolf
Cursed Vampire’s Touch
Royal Queens of New Orleans
Lashe’ Lacroix
About Cursed Vampire’s Touch
Can the enemy of my enemy be my friend or are we screwed?
The Immortal Mafia Council has decided we’ll work together to find the royals whose blood can defeat them. Who knew vampires, werewolves, and fae weren’t the biggest, scariest beings lurking in the shadows?
We’re all mafia immortals bound by the rules of the council, but century grudges and hidden agendas has allowed our worse nightmares to become our new reality.
New Orleans has a problem, and no amount of king cakes and hurricanes will obscure the treat. The tide has changed.
1
Micheline Lambert
“You can’t hide on the floor of your closet all night. Come on, it’s time you got up.”
I was the biggest hypocrite that had ever walked the face of the earth but that was irrelevant now as I waited for my baby sister, Madeleine, to pick herself up off the floor. I had allowed her to waddle in her despair for four hours, but time waits for no one.
Madeleine stood up. “Go to the funeral without me. I can’t do this, and I don’t want to.”
Goddess Sori lend me your strength.
“News flash, Madi, no child wants to bury their parents. Put on your damn clothes and meet me in the basement. Mom and dad made me promise not to tell you, but its time you knew.”
“Time for what? They always told you things and left me out. Now, you come in here saying you’re going to tell me something; whatever.”
I shrugged. “Fine, then I won’t tell you. The limo arrives at the house in three hours, so don’t be late. If I have to come back and drag you to the funeral, I will.” Walking to the door, I ducked, as her pink, sparkly, unicorn musical snow globe went flying past me.
Closing the door behind me, I walked down the hall to my bedroom. Two steps before the bed, I collapsed to the floor. Curling into a fetal position, I buried my face in the mauve chinchilla rug. A silent scream burst from my throat as I lost myself in misery.
“My lady, I have scented your bath with roses and lilies, let me
help you,” said Quin. He grabbed my waist and carried me over his shoulder.
“I don’t want any help. Get out of my room and stop calling me that.” I wiggled, attempting to get out of his embrace, but his grip was tight.
I blinked, then I was submerged in the scented water. Sputtering, I moved my hair from my eyes. “Have you lost your mind?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at him. Quin had been serving the family ever since I was three years old. However, he had never been as difficult as he was now.
“I promised your mother and father that I wouldn’t allow you to fall apart, and I won’t be breaking my promise.”
Breathing deeply, I looked at him. “I’ve already shattered into a million pieces.”
He reached behind the door, grabbed a towel, and handed me my cashmere robe off the door hook.
“You’re stronger than you think. Get dressed and meet me in the basement.” He closed the bathroom door.
The bath water was red. Each of the white lily leaves were coated in red. Quin wasn’t the subtle type. He was showing me that my parents were now in their final resting place, and that today was the death of my innocence. It was a night of death, because I died a thousand times as the limousine took me to the morgue to identify my parents.
An hour later, my floor-length black Givenchy dress covered my body and my see-through lace gloves covered my fingers. My flaming strawberry-blonde hair was swept up in a bun at the back of my head. My black cashmere hat had a lacy veil which covered half of my face. The veil didn’t cover my red swollen eyes, but that was what my Prada shades were for.
The stairs creaked as I descended, but I didn’t care. The boogie man could jump out of the drywall today and I wouldn’t care. I was fresh out of giving two fucks about what happened. I paused at the base of the steps when I saw Madi.
She rolled her eyes. “I bet you thought you were the only one that Quin had something to tell?” Uncrossing her arms, she tossed her hair back.
Madeleine yanked a chair and flopped down in it. Quin was located at the opposite end of the table. Seeing the table without our parents was like a stab through the aorta. Mom and dad always came down here to do their business dealings. Anytime people in the mafia came to the house, they came in through the back door and met down here.
Closing my eyes, I struggled deep inside and fought the tears that surged into my eyes.
“I don’t care what you think and I’m tired of your attitude, so check it at the door.”
When we were ten, I agreed to stop kicking the shit out of her, but he was about to make me go back on my promise. I was tired of being the punching bag.
I lost them just like she did, damn it. Unlike her, she got to hide in her room and cry, I had to be sworn into the familia.
As head of the household, and now the Don of the Lambert family, I had to identify our parents’ bodies and convince the other families that we could stand on our own without being married off like cattle. I couldn’t escape this life, but I was able to save Madi.
“Madeleine,” said Quin, “there’s no prize for being a frigid bitch. Your sister sacrificed much, including her own happiness, so that you wouldn’t have to.”
Her cheeks burned as she glanced away from me. “What are you talking about?”
I held up my hand. “It’s not necessary, leave well enough alone. Just tell us what we need to know so that we can digest this situation and get prepared for the funeral.”
She rubbed her hands through her hair. “No, all of the family secrets end now. If we’re going to survive this, all of us must know what’s going on. Keeping me in the dark is handicapping me.”
Quin’s lips pressed tight. He lowered his head and after a few moments looked at us. “She’s right, Mic; maybe if she knew she wouldn’t be treating you like crap all the time.”
“Tonight, after identifying your parents, Mic had to meet with the family.”
Madi frowned. “We don’t have any living relatives. What family are you talking about?”
“The mafia. You’re a Lambert, your mother married into the mafia, which makes you two part of the family.”
Shaking her head, she laughed. “You must have fell and bumped your head. Daddy’s name was Piero. He wasn’t in the mafia; he never even raised his voice to anyone. Mafia men kill people, and they’re monsters.”
I knew this would be a mistake. Madi was gentle and loving. I knew it was a disaster to shatter the dream she had of our parents. She didn’t know all the things they had done, or why our names were changed to Lambert. She never knew because we shielded her. She was the bright light in their darkness. A darkness I would have to maintain, unless I was ready to join them in the family plot up the road.
“Mic tell Quin he’s mistaken. You can’t believe this about daddy.”
A tear slid down my cheek. I couldn’t see my sister break into pieces. I told Quin she didn’t need to know, and I was right. This was too much too soon. I stood abruptly and the chair fell to the floor.
Quin cleared his throat. “She’s to marry Torin Cullen in two weeks. That will give you enough time to get settled in Las Angeles.”
“You are marrying that devil, and now we have to leave our home. Great! I lose my parents and now my home. Just kill me.”
“I’m sorry, Madi. This was the only way.” I turned away from her. Each tear that rolled down her face was like a sip of poison, and I couldn’t breathe.
“Mic can’t go with you. It will be you and I.”
“Mic, you’re abandoning me. How could you leave me when I need you?” She ran over to me and shook me. I closed my eyes against the pain that I saw on her tear-stained face.
“Nothing could tear us apart. We are one mind, one body and one blood. Even in death, I will be with you.” Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I hugged her tight.
“She’s not abandoning you. We’ve uncovered a plot to kill you. The Cullens won’t protect you unless you marry into their family,” said Quin.
Pulling back from me, she wiped her face. “I have to speak with Leonardo, so he can go with me.”
I’m not telling my sister that Leonardo was the scumbag who had been wasting three years of her life. And, that he had been screwing her best friend Beth.
He won’t be sliding between Beth’s creamy thighs again because she was dead, and if he weren’t careful, he would join her.
“After the funeral, let’s stay inside. It’s not a good time to go and run the streets. Other mafia families are looking to make a move on us. We’re not out of the woods yet.”
Searching her face, I saw her hesitation. “I might go to see Leonardo after the funeral.”
“We need to stay inside. This is a perfect time for both of us to be shot in the head or found mugged and dead. I’m not saying you can’t see Leonardo, just have him come here.”
The funeral was hard and long. Mom and dad would’ve been proud at the lavish sendoff. Everyone had dispersed about two hours ago, and I couldn’t manage to get my legs moving. It was at this moment it dawned on me, that I would never see our parents again. Tracing the tombstone with my fingers, I blinked back the tears. It’s reckless for me to still be here, but I’m too hurt to care about my safety.
“We need to leave. I can’t find your sister anywhere. I’ve checked in with the guards, and she gave them the slip,” said Quin.
Madeleine only listened to daddy. Heck, she didn’t even listen to mom. If this was what the rest of my life looked like, I might as well jump in the dirt now. I don’t have the patience to coddle her, not when I’m busy trying to save her life.
How can I keep her safe when she won’t listen?
Pulling out my phone, I entered the tracking program. Madi has always been reckless and an amazing liar, embedding spyware on her phone was a last resort and a safety measure. Once the program loaded, I stared at it in shock. It was an address in Central City.
“Send all of the teams to 8926 Golden Cloud Drive.” I t
ossed my phone in my purse and ran down the hill toward the black Hummer waiting for me.
Quin grabbed my arm. “This could be a trap.”
I jerked away from him. “You know what the werewolves will do to her if they catch her.”
“I’m coming too. I’ll drive.” He opened my door and ran around to the driver’s side. Turning around, I took one last look at my parents’ grave.
Something deep inside told me it might be the last time I see it.
Reaching underneath the seat, I grabbed two Glocks, one I placed in my holster underneath my dress and the other in my palm.
“Leonardo is behind this. He has led her out here.” Tapping my foot on the floor, I pulled my phone out and called her again. Her phone went straight to voicemail.
Quin glanced at me as he stopped at the stop sign. “If the werewolves didn’t get to him, then it’s the vamps or the fae.”
There was a reason that the Cullens were trying hard to bully us into marrying them. I don’t like being the sacrificial lamb, but I had the responsibility to keep my baby sister alive. I promised mom and dad, and they’re dead. Now, it was up to me.
I would do what I have to or be anything I needed to be, in order to keep her alive. My hands would have to get dirty so that hers could stay clean.
He parked on the side of Mo’s Bowling Alley. Something was wrong, my guards weren’t here, although they left before we did.
“The guards aren’t here. Nobody is here.” I stared down at my phone one last time, no text, no call, and no response. Looking up at the sky, I clenched my jaw. Darkness would be upon us in less than thirty minutes, and the werewolves would be prowling around.
Supernatural Syndicate: A Limited Edition Collection of Magical Mafia Stories Page 32
