Chiara smiled, gathering her arm around her little boy’s shoulders. “I don’t know how to thank you for giving us shelter,” she murmured.
“No thanks is needed. It’s enough to know that you and your child weren’t harmed.”
“No one’s going to harm them anymore,” Ettore added. “When I spoke with the command center, they informed me that the explosion at the villa the other night killed all of Massioni’s lieutenants. His network is in shambles. My comrades and I are already making plans to crush his organization to the ground. No one will be coming after Bella or any of her family anymore.”
Chiara’s relief was clear in her eyes. But there was a note of hesitation there too. “I’m glad to hear that,” she said. “Because I’ve decided that I don’t want to go to Rome.”
Bella frowned. “What? Then where—”
“The vineyard is my home, sorella. That’s where Pietro and I belong.”
Although it made sense, the thought of leaving her family behind still put a pang of sadness in her breast. Ettore must have registered the spike in her emotions. His fingers came to rest lightly under her chin, tipping her face up to meet his.
“Do you want the same thing, love? To go home to the vineyard, instead of living with me at the command center in Rome?”
“The vineyard hasn’t been my home for a long time. Where you are, Ettore, that’s my home now.”
Because of him, her family was safe now.
Because of him, she had everything she’d ever wanted—all she needed—right here in her arms.
They said their final good-byes to Scythe, then drove his black Range Rover back to the vineyard in Potenza.
Hours later, with Chiara and Pietro settled again in their home, Ettore took Bella’s hand and walked her out under the starlight.
She saw his gaze drift to the sleek blue Pagani that had brought them to this place two nights ago. It seemed like forever since he’d stormed into her life again and whisked her away from the villain who had held her.
Now, she and Ettore had forever waiting for them in their new life together.
She couldn’t wait for it to begin.
He gestured to the sports car. “You don’t suppose Chiara has any use for that, do you?”
“Hmm. Probably not,” Bella replied with mock contemplation. “The Rover would be more practical. Not to mention it might give Scythe a reason to come around and check on them from time to time.”
Ettore grunted. “I’ve got a feeling that might happen either way.”
She smiled. “You may be right about that. Still, a sports car won’t get much use out here at the vineyard. And Pietro is still years away from truly appreciating that kind of machinery.”
“Shame to let a perfectly good Pagani sit unappreciated.”
She smiled up at him. “And it’ll certainly get us back to Rome a lot faster.”
Ettore smirked. “Faster to Rome means faster into my arms again. And into my bed.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said, arching her brows.
“Then let’s go.”
He playfully smacked her backside, and they both raced down to the waiting car. They climbed in beneath the lifted gullwing doors, and in seconds the Pagani rumbled to life.
Ettore took her hand, bringing it up to his lips. “Ready for the ride of your life?”
“Oh, yes.” Bella smiled. “I’m ready for anything with you.”
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Lara Adrian, discover TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT, STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, and MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED.
About Lara Adrian
LARA ADRIAN is the New York Times and #1 internationally best-selling author of the Midnight Breed vampire romance series, with nearly 4 million books in print and digital worldwide and translations licensed to more than 20 countries. Her books regularly appear in the top spots of all the major bestseller lists including the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Indiebound, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc.
Lara Adrian's debut title, Kiss of Midnight, was named Borders Books best-selling debut romance of 2007. Later that year, her third title, Midnight Awakening, was named one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Romances of the Year. Reviewers have called Lara's books “addictively readable” (Chicago Tribune), “extraordinary” (Fresh Fiction), and “one of the best vampire series on the market” (Romantic Times).
With an ancestry stretching back to the Mayflower and the court of King Henry VIII, Lara Adrian lives with her husband in New England, surrounded by centuries-old graveyards, hip urban comforts, and the endless inspiration of the broody Atlantic Ocean.
Connect with Lara online:
Website - http://www.laraadrian.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LaraAdrianBooks
Twitter - https://twitter.com/lara_adrian
Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/laraadrian/
Discover More Lara Adrian
Stroke of Midnight
A Midnight Breed Novella
By Lara Adrian
Click here to purchase.
Born to a noble Breed lineage steeped in exotic ritual and familial duty, vampire warrior Jehan walked away from the luxurious trappings of his upbringing in Morocco to join the Order’s command center in Rome.
But when a generations-old obligation calls Jehan home, the reluctant desert prince finds himself thrust into an unwanted handfasting with Seraphina, an unwilling beauty who’s as determined as he is to resist the antiquated pact between their families.
Yet as intent as they are to prove their incompatibility, neither can deny the attraction that ignites between them. And as Jehan and Seraphina fight to resist the calling of their blood, a deadly enemy seeks to end their uneasy truce before it even begins….
* * * *
Tempted By Midnight
A Midnight Breed Novella
By Lara Adrian
Click here to purchase.
Once, they lived in secret alongside mankind. Now, emerged from the shadows, the Breed faces enemies on both sides—human and vampire alike. No one knows that better than Lazaro Archer, one of the eldest, most powerful of his kind. His beloved Breedmate and family massacred by a madman twenty years ago, Lazaro refuses to open his heart again.
Sworn to his duty as the leader of the Order’s command center in Italy, the last thing the hardened warrior wants is to be tasked with the rescue and safekeeping of an innocent woman in need of his protection. But when a covert mission takes a deadly wrong turn, Lazaro finds himself in the unlikely role of hero with a familiar, intriguing beauty he should not desire, but cannot resist.
Melena Walsh has never forgotten the dashing Breed male who saved her life as a child. But the chivalrous hero of her past is in hard contrast to the embittered, dangerous man on whom her safety now depends. And with an unwanted—yet undeniable—desire igniting between them, Melena fears that Lazaro’s protection may come at the price of her heart….
* * * *
Midnight Unleashed
A Midnight Breed Novella
By Lara Adrian
Click here to purchase.
Return to New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Lara Adrian’s “addictively readable” (Chicago Tribune) Midnight Breed vampire romance series with a pulse-pounding novella of paranormal seduction and dangerous thrills, where an icy immortal beauty and a lethal Gen One Hunter must confront a powerful enemy while struggling to deny the irresistible calling of their blood.
Dirty Sexy Secret
By Nazarea Andrews
Dedication
For Jessica, who heard the original idea and wouldn’t let me forget it.
And for Tiffany, who cheered me on and said the right thing at the right time. Thanks, girls.
Prologue
Three killers, two cops, and a journalist walk into a bar.
Sounds like a bad joke, right? It's not.
It's the end--dear god I hope it's the end--of the worst day if my life.
/>
I just hope we all walk out alive.
Chapter 1
Some people say you can't go home again. And that is a complete pile of bullshit. You can. It just won't be home.
I should know. I did it.
Green County doesn't change. It's been four years since I bolted. Six months since I sucked up all my pride and ego and came back. And it still struck me as strange. Green Co. is exactly the same. Same ridiculous festivals. Same leafy boulevards and parks filled with yoga moms and shrieking children. The same gossips fill the coffee shop and eye me when I step in.
They'll chatter my every move to Eli later, cooing over him while warning that I was too skinny, too wild, too rude, too, too, too.
They did the same thing in high school.
Nothing changed in Green Co. If you want change you go somewhere else and you let it wrap you up tight and fight like hell to keep from being dragged back.
Eli gets pissy when I say shit like that. But Eli never left Green Co. Never felt the need to get out, to see and shape the world. He's always been more than happy to see and shape the County.
And you know, he was right. He was good at it. I loved that he cared so much about Green Co. That he wanted to save the little Kansas county from itself.
Someone had to.
I flash the ladies a smile as I order two extra large iced coffees. Cindy grins at me, punching in the order and adding a slice of banana bread and her boxed lunch.
“Long day, Hazel?”
I grin, a half quirk of my lips that passes as a grin these days. “It’s a day ending in Y, Cins. Those are always long.”
She gives me a smirk that tips toward worry. “You need a day off, sugar.”
I make a face, and drop a twenty on the counter as I take my order. “I don’t even know what I’d do with that much free time.”
She arches an eyebrow at me and I grin at her.
“Hazel, my love,” Gabe says, sailing through the door of the coffee shop as I turn away from the counter.
I swallow the grin before it twists into a smirk. “Gabriel,” I say, almost frosty and he laughs.
Smug bastard.
“We should carpool, love, if we’re going to keep meeting like this. Save the planet and all.”
“Because you care so much about the damn planet,” I scoff, and he makes a face, all wounded dignity.
The problem with that face is that I know Gabe. I've known him my whole life.
Gabe is everything I ran away from when I left Green Co. Everything I wanted to forget. The tiny smile that means trouble and the too sharp eyes that see right through my quick easy lies and watches with concern when I isolate.
Fucking bastard is my neighbor. He's too damn close for comfort and too damn nosy for his own good.
And coming from an investigative journalist, that's pretty fucking nosy.
"I've got work, Gabe. So as much as I'd love to spar," I shift my boxes and nod at the door.
"Hazy," he says, and it draws me up. Because once, we were friends. We were impossibly close. He was my rock, and I threw him away. Because I was so fucking determined. To be more. To get out. I fucked up and I ran, and I left Gabe behind with all my other mistakes.
I always regretted that. Hurting Gabe.
"Wine night?" he asks, and I flinch, falling back a step.
It's still too soon for that shit. And he sees it in my eyes.
His smile dips, just a little. Just enough that I notice. Because I know him better than he knows himself, and I can read his sadness in the line of his shoulders.
"Maybe next week," I offer, shuffle stepping closer to the door. Aware of all the church ladies watching, and Cin, standing at the counter, her lips pulled down in a frown, and worry.
And Gabe shrugs it off. Beams at me like a fucking lunatic, and nods. Gives me the out.
I flash him a quick smile and move toward the door, and he steps to the side, giving me a sardonic smile.
Because he's Gabe.
And this is Green County.
And nothing here changes. Not really.
The door opens and Brandon Archer steps through, all long legs and wide shoulders and a face that’s so fucking pretty it’s almost painful. His green eyes, so expressive and alive, find me and go blank. And I almost drop my bags.
Because if there was ever a mistake I made, it was him. Eli comes in a half-step behind, and a half-foot taller. His eyes warm as he pushes past Archer to wrap me in a hug.
It’s been about twelve hours since I saw my foster brother, so of course he’s tackle hugging me in CinSations. While Archer watches, those moss-green eyes probing me. I squeak and Elijah relinquishes me reluctantly. I drive an elbow in his gut. “Dumbass. You spill my coffee, you replace it.”
He doesn’t even blink. He just shoots a quick look at Archer, an eyebrow quirked in question.
Because of course they don’t talk. How silly. Why would they?
See—this right here? This is why I left. Because I can’t handle seeing the epic fucking bromance that is Elijah Beasley and Brandon fucking Archer.
I shift, and Archer smiles, a slow curling thing that I want to smack off his face. “Hazel, sugar, you need a hand?”
My smile feels more feral than sweet, and his eyes are sparkling, that fucking, amused she’s so cute light I’ve seen for so long. “Thanks, but Gabe is helping me. Right?” I side eye my friend who gives me this extravagant bow that doesn’t say, you just blew me off. Thank Christ for Gabe.
I twist. “Have a good day, Officer.”
Gabe snorts at that as he takes my bag and one of my coffees. I think I’m in the clear. That I’m safe, and out of the danger zone that is Archer.
And then his hand closes around my arm, and it pulls me to a stop.
He’s always been ridiculously able to pull me to a complete stop with almost nothing.
“You can’t hide in that farmhouse forever, Hazel,” he murmurs, and I flush.
Damn fair skin. A blush is too fucking easy to see and he’s always been too fascinated with pulling them from me. I can almost feel the low chuckle he gives as he lets me go, and I fall back a step.
It’s a retreat, and that’s just another reason I scowl at him. “Tell Eli I’m making dinner on Sunday. Mom is coming over.” I push past him and Gabe slips an arm around my shoulder, ignoring Archer’s tension. “You aren’t invited,” I add, all sugar sweet. And then I’m gone.
Outside and Gabe is steering me to my truck.
“Tension between you and Green Co’s finest, love?”
“I don’t want to do this, Gabe,” I murmur, and he pushes a blond curl out of my eyes, watching me with those strange honey-warm eyes of his. And then he nods.
“Ok. Not now. But we will talk. Soon. I just painted a target on my back and Archer’s never liked me to begin with. You owe me.”
I huff out a breath, and let my gaze dart up to him. Gabe gives me a patient, waiting look and I nod.
Because apparently things do change.
Gabe can grow up, even just a little.
“Ok. Tomorrow.” I say, and he nods. Brushes a kiss over my hair and hands me my bags as I slide into my truck.
And then he stands there, watching, braced between me and CinSations as I drive away.
He was my best friend a lifetime ago, before I fucked up everything.
I wonder if maybe he could be again.
Chapter 2
Eli is still charming Cindy, and I’m still listening to the gossipy bitches who like to fill me and him in on everything that might be even the slightest bit interesting in the County. For the past six months, that’s been almost exclusively Hazel.
Which would be great, if I cared the way I’m supposed to. If I could push Hazel back into the box she’s supposed to be in, the one that she hasn’t been in since I came back from my one tour overseas and she greeted me with a fist to the face. She broke my nose and shattered the protective little box that I’d always stuck her in.
&
nbsp; “She’s looking pretty, but she has to be lonely.” Prudence McCann is telling her sister-in-law, but her eyes are on me, like I should be doing something about Hazel being lonely.
Because that’s appropriate.
Fuck, Nora would eviscerate me and let Eli strangle me with my guts if I made a move toward Hazel. And I’d probably provide the knife.
Doesn’t mean I want someone else anywhere near her.
Pru doesn’t really relent until I offer a smile, tight and awkward and pull away. Gabe reenters the shop and I catch his eye.
There’s a lot of anger there, and I swallow a curse. Gabriel Delvin on a warpath is the very last thing I want to deal with now. If there’s anyone besides Eli whose been protective of Hazel it’s Gabe, the short, snarky best friend who attached to her in middle school and never quite let go.
And I always liked him as much as I loathed him. Even when I was pretty sure he was fucking her, I liked him, because it was better him than me, even if I wanted to punch his too white teeth down his throat.
“Officer, may I have a word?” he asks, and even phrased as a question, that’s a summons. And we all know it.
Gabe isn’t Green County royalty, but he’s old blood. That’s why his befriending Hazel was so strange. Military brats, especially ones like us, didn’t mix with the County’s founding lines. The Moats and the McCanns and the Jacksons. The Delvins are less of a power in the County, especially now that they’re fading and most have left.
But that doesn’t mean Gabe is someone I can ignore. So I follow him away from the ladies who are still prattling about Hazel, catch Elijah’s eye and he gives me an irritated look, like he’s annoyed he has to deal with them while I deal with fucking Gabe Delvin.
1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Twelve Page 32
