by Olivia Ryann
Cherish
Cherish Series Book 4
Olivia Ryann
Author’s Copyright
Copyright Olivia Ryann 2018
Editing by Teresa Banschbach
Cover By CoverIt! Designs
May not be replicated or reproduced in any manner without express and written permission from the author. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to author and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
A Note From Olivia
About the Author
1
Fiore
The bullet left the gun. The breath left my body. My temple throbs, a remnant from Tony’s violent temper. The air around me seemed to vanish, bleeding out in a rush. My muscles lock up, freezing me in my tracks.
It feels like I am being crushed and crumpled as I stood there, staring at the two men. The whole world is stained red as I waited for one of the men to die.
One is my kidnapper turned lover. One is my brother turned enslaver. They wrestle on the ground before me, fighting over me. Their eyes are filled with hatred for one another, their grappling violent.
Whichever one I shot, I have to live with not just his death, but the life laid out for me by the survivor. I have no real options in this scenario.
They’ve left me none.
It’s an impossible choice, yet… somehow, I blink, and I’ve already pulled the trigger.
My aim is true, though I tremble as I take the shot. The loud report of the gun startles me. Monster and Tony don’t even have time to react to the sound before the bullet takes the back of Tony’s skull off.
There’s blood everywhere, although with my red-stained vision it looks black to me. Blood sprays in all directions, especially outward from the wall where the bit of skull landed. It keeps bubbling up from where the back of his skull is missing, Tony’s exposed brain pulsing and pumping out blood.
A tide of nausea overwhelms me, rising up in my throat. Tony slumps down against Monster’s chest. Monster seems frozen as if he’s unsure what has happened to Tony.
Suddenly, I am unlocked. I can move again.
The nausea threatens again, gagging me. I drop the gun carelessly, turning away from the scene I just caused. I try to cover my mouth to hold the vomit in my throat, but it bubbles up just like the blood from Tony’s corpse.
I fall to my knees and retch violently, the vomit falling onto the pristine wood floor. I hear Monster move behind me, hear him wrestling with Tony’s body.
“Shit,” he mutters quietly. Then, “Are you alright?”
Retching again, I close my eyes against the whole entire world. For just a moment, I need to not be the girl that murdered her brother. The girl who is shivering and vomiting while the entire world spins around me.
Someone else tries to enter the room, but Monster gets rid of them. “Go back to your rooms. Don’t come out until you’re told to.”
He’s clearing the area of witnesses. Witnesses that could tell everyone what I’ve done. I’m at once humbled and ashamed.
Though it wasn’t a choice I wanted to make, a tiny voice inside says that I obviously made the right one. Monster is already proving that.
I feel his hand on my back, a gentle caress. Monster rubs my upper back for a second as I double over miserably. I just killed my only brother that stuck around. The only family member that I still had any interest in talking to.
No, I didn’t kill him. I murdered him.
It feels surreal like I imagined the whole thing. I stare at my trembling hands dumbly. Why aren’t they covered in blood, then? It feels like they should be. Did I really kill him?
But a glance behind me at Tony’s crumpled body tells me that I didn’t make it up. I wipe the vomit from my mouth and wince as Monster draws a blanket over Tony’s body.
Monster looks at me, his expression brooding. “Come on. We need to get you out of here.”
He helps me off the floor, putting his arm around my shoulders and guiding my shaky steps to the door. I grip his arm, nails digging into his flesh through his button-up shirt. I’m still crying, the only sound in the house is that of my hysterical sobs.
“Stay here for a second, Fiore,” Monster orders, parking me by the front door. He tries to pry my hands from his forearm, but I burrow my face against his chest, making a low keening sound.
I need Monster. Need him with me. I won’t let go if it means he won’t leave my sight. In this uncertain world, this world I just helped to create when I fired that shot, he’s the only person I can rely on.
He seems surprised by my clinginess, his free arm coming back down to pat my shoulder. “It’s okay, Fiore. It will be okay, I promise.”
I squeeze my eyes closed and release a sob as he disentangles himself. He steps away through the doorway to the living room, keeping one eye on me while he pulls out his phone. His phone calls are hushed, but in the silence echoing throughout the house right now, they sound loud.
“I need you to come here, to the house,” he orders. “There is a body. I need it taken care of.” He pauses, listening intently. “No, I think we’ll be gone. Yes. Alright.”
He hangs up, casting one last glance around the living room. Monster runs his hand over the bottom half of his face. I watch the gears in his head churn for a moment.
Then he turns toward me. We make eye contact as he walks over to the front door.
“We’re going to go now,” he says, his Greek accent thicker than normal. “You and I will find a hotel to stay in for a bit. How does that sound?”
I nod, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. He opens the front door, escorting me out to the curb. We only wait a moment before a sleek white SUV pulls up. Monster hustles me into the back seat, sliding in beside me.
I can feel the judgment coming off the driver as he surveys me. I must look like a complete wreck and smell like vomit.
“Take us to the Belvedere Hotel,” Monster says, in that no-nonsense tone of his. He slips his arm around my shoulders and I unabashedly burrow against his chest, hiding my face from the world.
As the SUV pulls out, I’m overwhelmed by my own thoughts.
I murdered a man.
Worse, I murdered my own brother.
Tony could very well have been the last I’ll ever see of the Carolla family. According to Tony, my father and brothers are dead and gone.
Supposedly, killed by the only man I have left, the man I cling to right now.
I keep picturing Tony, in the moments before I shot him. He wrestled on the floor with Monster, his face bright red with rage. There was murder in his eyes.
If I hadn’t shot him, he
would have killed Monster without question. And then he might have killed me too, while he was at it. There was really no telling with Tony.
The logical part of my brain says that what I did was right. But the louder, more emotional part of my brain is still devastated. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.
Or maybe I do know, and that’s the problem. Maybe the issue is that I don’t know who loves and who is just using me, who plays with my heart and who laughs when I hurt. How can I have any idea, when Monster and Tony are the only men in my life?
Monster shifts, clearing his throat. The words come almost out of nowhere, soft and quiet. “Thank you, Fiore. I know he was your brother, but… thank you.”
The tone of his voice is the closest thing to remorse I’ve ever heard from him. All I can do is nod, rather than letting the kaleidoscope of thoughts leave my mouth. I swallow, burrowing against him.
When we get to the hotel, Monster pulls me from the car, sweeping me off of my feet and cradling me close. I let my eyes close, shutting out the rest of the world.
Monster carries me upstairs, his arms strong and true. He carries me into a bedroom, setting me on the bed. Without a word, he starts undressing me. Shoes on the floor, dress over my head, bra and panties cast aside.
I realize I’m still crying, soundless tears falling down my cheeks. The weight of my eyelashes is so heavy right now, so I let my eyes drift to a close a final time.
He tucks me into the big bed, lying on my side facing him. He turns off the lights and then comes back to me, sitting with me. His warm fingers run through my hair as he lulls me to sleep.
My last thought is that I am very glad that he is here.
2
Arsen
I stand by the window of the Belvedere Hotel penthouse suite, looking out at the sunrise. Well, it’s not really the sunrise any longer. It’s officially the morning, as the sunlight blossoms over the oak trees on St. Charles Avenue. As I watch the street below, a streetcar stops, letting people off and picking a few up.
The Belvedere penthouse is only ten stories, so I sip my coffee and look down on the people below like some kind of demigod. A few people are up and moving this way or that, crossing the street to get to their service industry jobs. Maybe coming back from late-night employment in the French Quarter, who knows.
Behind me, Fiore stirs in the bed. I turn my head and look at her, but she’s still just a lump beneath the covers. I slept in the other room for a few hours, afraid almost to leave her alone for too long. She seemed more fragile than ever in the moments just after she killed Tony, desperate and lonely and insane with grief.
When I came back, I was relieved to find her still breathing. She had tunneled under the comforter, restlessly tossing and turning in her sleep. So, I ordered coffee from room service and stood guard.
Keeping a watch, if you will.
I frown at the people walking down below, ruminating on the events of yesterday. I’m not sure how Fiore came to save my life, especially when she could’ve had her brother in my stead. How she could point a weapon at the two of us and shoot Tony, I’m not sure.
But I am grateful, after a fashion.
Who would have guessed that the girl I abducted could be the girl that saved my fucking life later? Not me, of that I am certain.
I must admit, seeing her after she pulled the trigger… watching the horror on her face when she realized the gravity of what she’d done…
There is something about killing a person, a person who’s not attacking you, that just changes you forever. Watching the indelible marks of unquestionable murder sink in on Fiore’s face was both painful and beautiful.
Now, she truly belongs to me in a way that she didn’t before. A deep pool of emotion stirs beneath my surface, though I am careful not to let it show.
I am nothing if not a vigilant man.
Pulling out my cell phone, I text Bill, my “fixer”, asking for an update. He replies almost instantly, saying that the house has been cleaned thoroughly and the body disposed of.
I release a heavy breath, setting my coffee down on the table by the window. Fiore stirs again, yawns, and uncovers her face.
Her eyes search for me. When she finds me, she looks a little surprised.
“You’re here.” It comes out low and breathy.
“You seem surprised,” I say, walking over to the bed. I stare down at her, pinning her with my gaze.
“No. Not exactly,” she says, sitting up. She pushes her fingers through her hair. “God. I need a shower.”
I incline my head toward the bathroom. “It’s that way. I have some new clothes for you, whenever you’re ready.”
She just nods, shivering a bit as she sheds the blanket. She’s completely naked, bare before my eyes. She stands up. She’s fucking stunning, not that I needed any reminder. Her skin is milky and pale, her breasts like two teardrops, her ass jutting out in just enough for a handful.
She doesn’t shield herself from my eyes as she pads over to the bathroom, but she doesn’t make eye contact either. Though I am stirred by her naked body, as I always am, I don’t say anything.
I just let her go, knowing that she has plenty on her mind after last night. Besides, there is plenty of time for frolicking.
I realize that in the back of my mind, I no longer think that Fiore has to die to serve my purposes. I think that Katherine Carolla died some time ago. And I rebuilt her remains into Fiore, this fiery little bitch. A girl who knows my predilections, who understands my wants and needs. She has proven herself, time and again.
She’s done everything I’ve wanted, and yet… it still isn’t enough. Perhaps if she wore something that would tell everyone who saw her that she was mine… I think of the collar that I brought for her, a simple and elegant white gold band.
If she wears it, will that be enough?
I hear a loud sound come from the bathroom. Something shatters, and I hear Fiore curse. Striding over to the door, I open it to find Fiore sitting on the edge of the bathtub, a piece of porcelain broken into a million pieces at her feet. Behind her, the bathtub is filled with gently steaming water.
She’s in tears and bleeding all over the place from cuts in her palms and fingers as she tries to pick up the pieces.
“Stop,” I tell her with a sigh. I start rolling up my sleeves, preparing to deal the mess. To my surprise and consternation, Fiore jerks her head side to side, picking up more tiny pieces of porcelain.
She doesn’t even seem to be aware of the fact that she is bleeding, little red rivulets leaking from her hands to land in perfect droplets on the white tile floor.
“Leave it!” I order her, scowling. My shoes crunch against the porcelain. “Put the pieces down and get in the bathtub.”
Fiore looks up at me, rage written all over her features. “You don’t tell me what to do.”
My brows lift. “That’s the basis of our relationship. I tell you what to do, you squirm. I force you to do it, you love being forced.”
She throws the bloody mess she’s holding at me, hitting me square in the chest with a thud. A big bloodied stain starts to spread across my crisp white button up, right over my heart. The pieces of porcelain fall to the floor. I look up, enraged.
“What the fuck did you do that for?” I sneer, moving over to her in an instant. Towering over her, I grab her by the shoulders and give her a shake, thinking that I can shake some sense back into her.
“Are you going to kill me, then?” she asks, biting off her words. “Are you going to get rid of me like you did my whole family?”
My eyes narrow at that. “Are you saying that you aren’t glad to be free of them? Or maybe you liked being a piece of property?”
I push her down into the bathtub roughly. She falls in, the water splashing against her body. Still, she looks at me through slitted eyes.
“Just say it,” she hisses. “Just tell me that you had my brothers and my father killed.”
“Oh, little flower.” My lips
tip up in a smile. “I didn’t have them killed. I killed them myself.”
Her eyes go wide, the breath leaves her in a whoof. Her voice is shaky now. “No.”
I perch on the end on the bathtub, by her feet. “I did. And I’m not sorry about it, not even one bit. I’m not sorry that Tony is dead, either. I’m only sad that you took his life instead of me.”
Tears overtake her. “Why?”
I look down the bridge of my nose at her. “You know why. Your family was a parasite, a leech, living off the blood of others. I did the world a favor, taking all of you out. And I did you a favor, although I didn’t plan it that way.”
She takes a big breath. Tearstained, her breasts just peeking out of the water, she is quite lovely. “You planned to hurt me. Kill me. You said as much yourself.”
“Yes.” I cock my head. “I did.”
“And now?” she asks, her voice gone soft and breathy.
Rather than answer, I put my hand in the water, testing the temperature. It’s hot, but not unbearably so. My hand dips lower, caressing her ankle lazily. “I did kill Katherine. I killed all the Carollas. Now you’re Fiore. You’re my creature. Understand?”
I make eye contact with her on the last word, finding those baby blue eyes looking back at me. Somehow, those eyes are still full of innocence. They haven’t been corrupted in the time that she’s been with me.
I lean closer and grip her knee. She bites her lip and slowly nods. “Yes.”
Sliding closer on the rim of the tub, I move my hand up her silky thigh. “I saved you. When I bought you, you became mine. My possession, my plaything. And you were forever out of their reach.”
