Kingdom of Ash and Smoke

U

ays taken from.Luca leaned against the metal table, hands clean but gloves still on. A man knelt in fro

sked calmly.The man didn't spe

ore bored than disturbed. "He's low-level. Doesn't

"Then he's useless.

w who she was. You sent the messag

"I-I was just told to

wh

ed. "He pays cash. No name. Bur

ver thought

face. "I didn't know she w

He stood.The

f it."Niko d

ouldn't stop thinking about the fact that a part of him didn't hate it.That was the problem.Sera Moretti was nothing but trouble.Too

t

t

moves behind his back.And Luc

E

posed to hate him.Not crave his touch Not remember the ghost of his fingers on her skin like a brand.She sat on the floor of her bedroom, laptop open, Matteo's locked hard drive hooked in. She'd stolen it,yes, stolen,from his old safe while Lu

uilding

three hours. Found a folde

months,on "business consulting," he said. Some shell company

ag

ng over someone bleeding out.Another showed a meeting-l,blurry, zoomed in from f

o Vent

ution style.And the police hadn't said a word.Sera slammed the laptop shut, heart racing.She needed answers.But the

U

shing shoulders with women in silk dresses and secrets.She didn't belong here.That was the point.She pushed past the guard like she o

to talk

stand.He d

her body,tight jeans, damp hoodie, wild hair,and then back to

ve," he said softl

e. Barely.Luca nodded to Niko. A silent comm

ad, that cocky arrogance re

ning didn

warning. It

was a challeng

again, deliberately. "And o

And somewhere much lower.He

thing you shoul

ing to tell me

smi

was no war

you're in c

o was really doing."That made him stop.Because the tr

e truth is your brother wasn't innocent. He wasn't clean. And the

breath

side are yo

dn't

her for a lon

er into the private hallway behind the club. The door sl

," she

he d

t

ly against the wall, pinning

you disappear

won

hy

e you w

at her, ey

uth crashed

to be kissed like this and hated herself for it.His hand slid under her hoodie, gripping her waist, her t

istake," he

s it feel lik

ead press

Not secrets. Just them.Then his phone buzzed in his pock

it?" sh

dn't

oved his gun into

eed to

. What's

omething raw flicker

id darkly. "And whoever has it... t

Chapt