The Nightingale Trilogy: An Alpha Billionaire Romantic Suspense

by Cynthia Dane

  “Like I said, she was very determined and self-assured. It’s one of the reasons I hired her, even though she was so young.”

  Is that why you seduced her too? Nala couldn’t believe it. Just looking at this man made her want to vomit. Then again, she was never into older men. Maybe Tasha was. Older men with a lot of money, anyway… “She mentioned you a lot, actually. Said that she was quite… close to you.”

  The entirety of Crow’s face twitched. “Is that so? Well, I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead… and I certainly don’t like to kiss and tell, especially with family members, but…” he chuckled. “Let’s say it was highly ironic that you walked through the doors to my Aviary that day, Miss Nightingale.”

  “When Master Vincent told me about it, I told him we had to go. I had to see the man my sister fell in love with for myself.”

  She had to rely on her lying skills more than ever right now.

  “Fell in love with? Why, I didn’t know Tasha felt that way.” Xavier continued to stare at her while he drank, looking for her tells. “As for you and Master Vincent… we didn’t expect him to have a partner so soon, let alone you. I was under the impression that he was single.”

  Nala blushed, turning her head away so she could act like a treasured kitten. “We were not serious before The Aviary. We decided to become exclusive afterward.” Were these lies believable? They had to be.

  “I see. I’m glad you made that decision, Miss Nightingale. The Aviary wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  “It’s the strangest thing, though…” As if Nala would let him change subjects. “The way she died… who has a heart attack so young?”

  “I hear it does happen.”

  “You know, I’ve done some research… and apparently one can make someone of any age have a heart attack if they poison them with potassium chloride. Completely untraceable. Did you know this?”

  Xavier was not looking so amused now. “I may have heard of it. Why do you want to talk about such unpleasant things? There are so many… better things for us to talk about.”

  Now he scooted closer, and the barrier Nala mentally erected between them did nothing to stop him.

  “That may be true, Master Crow,” Nala said. “But forgive me if I get hung up on my sister. I didn’t always know her so well growing up.” More lies. She hoped they worked.

  “I suppose it’s normal for a young girl to want to know more about her big sister.” I dare him to call me “young girl” one more fucking time. Nala was young, all right, but a girl? She knew how this man thought of women… pretty soon he would be calling her a female to spite her. “Do you want to know about your sister? I can tell you all about her.”

  Xavier stood from the couch, carrying his empty glass and not offering to refill Nala’s. Fine with her. She looked to the side, retaining her cool while also suppressing her anger. The Nala of a few months ago would have lunged at this guy already. “You spoil me, sir,” the Nala of today said.

  “Tasha was an exemplary woman,” Crow began, pouring his new drink. He kept his back to Nala. He was either more foolish than Nala took him for, or he truly didn’t think she had it in her to stab him in the back. “So bright at such a young age. Beautiful, too. I may have made a fool of myself around her a time or two.”

  Nala kept her eyes down.

  “I wish I could tell you that she and I had a whirlwind romance, but that simply wasn’t the case. There was a lot of trust to build up. She didn’t say yes the first time I asked her out… and, ah…”

  “No need for those details, sir. Some things are best not known about family members.” Like how you… I don’t know… Had Tasha consented to all of it? Or did she feel pressured because she didn’t want to be cast aside by her boss and lover? Did even Tasha know the truth? Nala knew as well as anyone by now that sometimes the lines blurred between knowing one wanted to do something and being pleasantly surprised.

  “We broke up shortly before her death, you know. Don’t suppose she told you that.”

  She didn’t tell me anything. “She did, sir. She was shaken up about it. Said that she was the one who wanted to move on?”

  Finally, Crow stiffened, his glass shaking in his hand. “That she did. Was a real shame losing her from the company too. You Nazarov women seem to have a lot of will.”

  Nala got up, hair swaying across her chest as she walked straight and tall toward Xavier Crow’s form. Every step was a knowing one into a pit of vipers, a den of dogs, a cave of bears. Nala could not relent. She could not let this man see the fear gripping her bones and shaking her from the inside. Even her face, carefully made up in Maggie’s bathroom, remained unflinching as she reached out and put a hand on Xavier Crow’s shoulder.

  “It’s hard to believe my sister would let go of such a… well, do I have to say it? Such a fascinating man. I wish I knew what she thought was so much better than a life like this.” Nala gestured to the lavish room around them.

  Xavier looked as if he didn’t know quite what to make of her. “You like a lavish lifestyle, do you Nightingale?”

  She nodded, slowly. “I am a creature who appreciates the finer things. Good wine. Better food. Fine delights, sir.” The purr in her voice was something she should have reserved for Vincent. Now is not the time to feel guilty. “I don’t ask for much. As you can see from my style, I’m pretty low-maintenance. I speak my mind a lot, but I also know when to stay quiet.” Nala shrugged, reclaiming her hand. I need to douse it in lye. “In return, there is a lot that I can offer the right man. I thought Tasha was much the same way. Which is why it’s so curious she would leave you and quit her job. Marrying well and having a prestigious job were her two main obsessions.”

  “Marriage… well, perhaps that was it, eh? I am not the marrying kind of man. I’m also not very committed. She knew that getting involved with me, though.”

  I bet she loved that. Tasha was a poster child for monogamy.

  “Now I want you to tell me something, Nightingale.” Xavier turned, backing her against the wet bar. Nala’s hand bumped against an ice bucket as her ass remained the only thing between her and a bunch of shot glasses. “Why did you come here tonight? Does Vincent even know you’re here?”

  Nala tilted her head and grinned. “No.”

  She didn’t know how he would react to that. Would he find it intriguing? Would he call her a liar? Tell her she was a bad sub who needed to return to her Master and accept punishment? Or would he be pleased as punch, knowing he had her right where he wanted?

  Oh, the latter, of course.

  “That’s right. I’m sure he would never let you come here on your own like this. Why do you think I sent for you?”

  Nala snorted. Now she had to play her final card. “To kill me and send Vincent my body.”

  This time, she got an appropriate reaction. Xavier blanched as if she had accused him of directly murdering anyone. “Excuse you…”

  She shrugged. “Someone’s been trying to kill us. Someone killed that couple in Germany. Someone killed my sister.” Nala glanced away before looking him in the eye again, fervor renewed. “And someone killed Desirée. You know. Vincent’s pregnant fiancée.”

  Crow walked away from her. At first, Nala thought she had pushed too hard. Maybe they had even been wrong about a few details and she sounded stupid now, but when Crow looked at her again, this time with anything but grandfatherly flirtation in his eyes, Nala knew she had struck a nerve.

  She also knew she would probably pay for it. She didn’t imagine him calling for a guard.

  ***

  Being tied to a chair in a madman’s office was a helluva lot different from being tied up in Vincent’s bedroom.

  “Don’t bother struggling, dear,” Crow said, leaning against his desk and lighting a cigar. Two armed guards stood on either side of Nala, who was tied tight to a Robert chair. The only reason she now knew this basic kind of chair was called a “Robert” was because Crow called it that about fifty times, in case
his guards hadn’t known him for long. “As much as I would love to see you struggle, my dear, it won’t do either of us any good. It will exhaust me to watch. And, well, you won’t make any headway. All of my top guards are well versed in knotting.”

  Nala made a sour face. Did this brute know what that meant to someone in her generation? I’ve read too much fanfiction. Terrible prose about dudes and… well, never mind. Those weren’t what she wanted to be her last thoughts in life, anyway!

  “Why look so upset?” Xavier moved his cigar before approaching her, placing both hands on her face. “Any death should be perfectly beautiful. Second only to the body they place in the casket… and don’t worry. Since you’re Tasha’s little sister, I’ll make sure you have a peaceful death, body fully intact. It was the least I could do for her.”

  Nala shirked away, trying her damndest to get away from this monster’s cold touch. “But not Desirée. Fuck that pregnant bitch, right? How dare she get knocked up after you raped her!”

  “Shut your foul mouth. I would never do such a dire thing.”

  “Not according to those emails.”

  “Ah, yes, such an astounding hack job. I admit, I was impressed your boyfriend could hack through my firewalls. Then again, I was impressed with how good his app was for my company… I shouldn’t have been impressed that second time.” Crow smirked, finally drawing his hands away. “What happened between me and that sweet, curly-haired vixen is neither here nor there anymore. All I’ll admit is that we had relations. She was a magnificent sub, by the way. Your boyfriend had trained her well.”

  Nala knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help it – she surged against her bindings, growling in rage at the kempt man before her. Xavier remained unfazed while two strong hands pulled Nala against the back of her chair. The guards gave her stern looks that would make a woman not overdosing on adrenaline squirm in her seat.

  “Possessive, are we? Don’t like the thought of him being with another woman?”

  “Fuck that! I don’t like the idea of you having innocent people killed!”

  “It’s a rough world out there, Miss Nightingale. The more successful you become, the rougher it becomes protecting your holdings… not to mention your ideals. As for Desirée…” he looked away. “How unfortunate. I believed she would keep quiet about our affair. Then that thing happened.”

  “A baby, you sick, twisted fuck. A baby happened.” Nala was one of the least maternal women in the world, and even she was beyond horrified by what he had done. “Not any baby, right? Your baby. It had to be yours, because you were the only man she was ‘with’ while she was separated from her fiancé. She wouldn’t get rid of it, would she?”

  “Now would be an excellent time to shut your mouth.”

  Didn’t he know Nala didn’t take orders well? “Did you know that Desirée had a miscarriage before? She would have given anything to have a baby. Even if it was yours. No. That took things too far. That took power out of your hands, and you are not the type of man who has power taken away, are you?”

  Xavier Crow mindlessly buffed his nails with his thumb as he regarded Nala with a toxic look. “You are very different from your sister. You’re lucky I liked her so much. She’s the only reason I’m not having someone slice that mouth off your face right now.”

  “I’ll be sure to thank her for it when I see her.”

  “You do that.”Crow motioned something to his guards. Something like, “Time to get out of here.”

  “Wait,” Nala said, before the man before her could suddenly disappear. “Just tell me one thing. Something I haven’t gotten a straight answer for.”

  Crow gave her a numbing look. “What?”

  “Why did you kill Tasha?” When he was not immediately forthcoming, she continued, “Was it because she was too close to a cure, and that would have ruined your business?”

  A snort shot through his puffy nostrils. “I’ve already told you that Tasha was no closer to a cure than anyone else. I never lied about that. Besides! Why would I kill her for that? A cure would only increase my brand and fortune! The Nobel Prize, for God’s sake!” He shook his head. “Do you want to know why your poor sister had to be taken care of?”

  Nala steeled herself. “Yes.”

  Xavier Crow picked up his hat and put it on his head before gesturing to the guard again. “Because, my dear, if I couldn’t have her, then nobody could. I don’t like it when my toys take themselves home.”

  The guards left. Nala sat alone, with Crow, almost in complete disbelief. She died because of a creepy, possessive boyfriend? It seemed too unreal. Too… anticlimactic, almost. Nala had built a narrative about cancer and pharmaceutical conspiracies in her head for so long that this was a fucking disappointment. Tasha was nothing more than a statistic for college campaigns and public TV PSAs.

  “So,” Nala chuckled, grinning at Crow, “you loved her back, huh?”

  He turned. “What?”

  “In your own twisted way. You loved my sister back, after all. That’s all she fucking wanted.” Nala didn’t touch the other shit that would’ve doomed her sister anyway. She wanted to get a final jab in before dying.

  So did Crow.

  “You know what the most satisfying thing about seducing Desirée was?” He loomed over Nala, a man who wasn’t so big when she was standing, but now seemed like a shadowy giant. Nala shivered to smell that strong cologne and realize that his face was coming closer to hers. Cologne turned into aftershave. Smelling his breath meant he was way, way, way too close. “Knowing that she belonged to another man. Those are always the most fun. And… oh, you both belong to the same man, don’t you? I wonder… how would Vincent feel knowing that two of his precious women knew me last?”

  All the blood froze in Nala’s veins.

  No matter how much she struggled in her bindings, no matter how far she twisted her head, and no matter how she bore her teeth once he had her mouth open, Nala could not stop Xavier Crow’s version of a kiss.

  Fucking. Kill me. Now.

  To think that her sister had kissed this mouth willingly… to think that Desirée hadn’t.

  That was his point, wasn’t it?

  “We’re done here.” Xavier adjusted his suit jacket before heading toward the office door. “I’ll give you a few minutes to think about your life. Treasure them. I won’t be more generous than that, Nala Nazarov.”

  He left, locking the door behind him. Nala stared at the office before her, tasting that sludge of a kiss still on her lips. Am I really going to die? With that on my mind? Until now, Nala foolishly hadn’t considered that an immediate possibility. She was prepared for anything, but to be left here, alone, wondering about her fate? It seemed almost too simple for a man like him.

  Vincent… What would happen to him? Nala was prepared for something bad to happen, but… for him to lose two lovers like this… At least I’m not pregnant. Nala had to find some bright side.

  She slumped against the chair. I wish he were here. She wished he would come crashing through the window, untie her, and make off with her in his arms. She knew that was stupid. Not only did he not know she was here, but what could he do? Throw himself into danger as well? Ha.

  Just as Nala wondered how she was going to die, she realized she had been staring at the same paper weight on the desk for five straight minutes. That the world was becoming blurry. That sleep sounded like a very, very awesome idea.

  Her eyelids became unbearably heavy. Slowly, they fluttered shut, and the last thing Nala remembered were two memories coming together: her tenth birthday party, wherein her sister and mother pooled their money to buy her a handheld video game she had always wanted… and those walks on the beach with Vincent.

  I’m sorry, Mama. You’ve lost everyone now. I’m sorry Vincent, you’ve lost another one.

  She fell asleep.

  Chapter 18

  “Nala…” The voice was far away, threatening to break at any moment. “Nala!”

  The haze wa
s too hard to navigate. Nala wanted to respond, but she was so sleepy, so tired that it made more sense to sleep forever. No, Mom, I don’t want to go to school… dumb chemistry test today… I know Tasha said she would help me study… but she was busy….

  “NALA!”

  She was on the floor, untied, but unable to move. Whoever untied her picked her up and hoisted her over their shoulder. Nala recognized the soft fabric of a Stanford sweatshirt and the scent of expensive cologne.

  “Vincent?”

  “Don’t,” he whispered, carrying her. “Don’t inhale. Don’t make me inhale…”

  He jumbled the door handle. When it wouldn’t work, he stepped back, raised his foot, and took it down with one heavy kick. Nala felt it all vibrate through her floppy body.

  Fresh air hit her. She didn’t realize she needed fresh air, yet she awoke from her dreamworld and sat up with a start. Before she could tumble to Xavier Crow’s hallway floor, however, Vincent put a firm hand on the small of her back and took in the biggest gulp of air Nala ever heard a man take.

  “What happened?” she asked. Her brain was still fuzzy, but with Vincent with her, everything was okay, right? Wait…

  Vincent?

  “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”

  Finally, Vincent pulled her off his shoulder and tentatively put her feet on the floor. His hands remained firm on her shoulders. “Don’t make any sudden moves. You were poisoned.”

  “Huh?”

  “He pumped a shitton of carbon monoxide into that room. I got in through the window. Climbed in from outside… was not easy.”

  “What? How did you know I was here?”

  “GPS on your phone, Nala.”

  If she had the energy, she would be more enraged. “What!”

  “Let’s not argue right now.” Vincent hoisted her back over his shoulder again. Nala’s stomach did a few somersaults as she watched the carpet rush by beneath her eyes. “We’re gonna get caught within about…”

  “Halt!”

  Vincent stopped in his tracks, clutching Nala as if she were his most precious possession.