Page 54 of Dove

That’s when reality had finally set in. Not when I’d actually been kidnapped. Not when I’d seen all the horrors Maddox committed. But in that moment, while I held a loaded weapon in my hands. While I begged to be trained. To be a killer. This was my life. At some point, I would have to kill to defend it.

I just hoped I could.

The next bullet embedded in the tree, as my arms shook from exhaustion. “Good. You’re a fast learner.”

I smiled at Henry as I flicked on the safety and popped the empty magazine from the gun. I reached towards him. “Another.”

He shook his head. “Enough for today. We need to get back before we’re missed. Maddox is on his way.”

I glanced at all the broken pieces that littered the forest floor. There was more glass than leaves on the ground. My limbs trembled as if I could still feel the vibrations of the gun through them. He was right. It was time to go. “Yeah. Okay.”

We walked back to the house in silence for a while. “Could you not tell anyone about this?”

Henry’s steps faltered at my question. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep anything from Maddox.”

He was probably right, but I wasn’t ready for him to know. I had questioned for so long if I was meant to be with him. If I could handle this life. I didn’t want him to know until I could prove that I was. He wanted me anyways, but I needed to prove to myself that I could do this. That I could be the partner he needed, not just in bed.

“I want to surprise him when I’m really good.” I spoke as much of the truth as I was willing to admit. I considered Henry, a friend, but he didn’t need to know my insecurities. I couldn’t be more of a weakness than I already was.

“Fine. But if he finds out, I will throw you under the bus to take the punishment.”

I turned to walk backward toward the house so I could smirk at him. My voice oozed with sexual innuendo. “Gladly.”

“Jesus fuck.” My laughter drowned out his grumbles. It was strange to laugh. It felt foreign to me for so long. I hadn’t laughed since before my mother died. There was only one reason to explain my good mood now, and he was standing on the patio waiting for me.

His dark hair curled over his forehead. His perfect lips softening his harsh features. His muscles bulged where his arms crossed over his chest.

My savior. My demon.

27

Maddox

The water crashed against the dock as fog rolled in off the bay. The inky bleakness of night surrounded the area as a single bulb lit the boardwalk where we waited. Leif stood beside me, Bash and Owen at the end, stopping any unwanted company. Not that we’d find much at this time of night.

It was a risk to meet in the open like this. The warehouse nearby could be housing a sniper looking to take us out. It would be a decent way to trap us and disturb the power balance in the city. But it was a risk we took.

It showed the Gallos we didn’t fear them. That we wouldn’t hide and cower. They could infiltrate our clubs, steal our shipments, take my woman, but we wouldn’t go away. They started a war, and we’d keep coming until there was nothing left of them.

The wood beneath our feet vibrated as a man approached. I couldn’t make out his face from this distance, but his stance gave off the aura of someone with power. Strength. A monster always recognized another monster.

“Matteo.” Leif greeted him with a handshake. They might be rivals now, but once upon a time they’d grown up together. Attended the same schools. They used that bond to keep the peace between the two families until recently.

“Leif.” Every strand of his blonde hair was in place as his green eyes pierced me. I held back my smile at the picture he presented. A businessman hid the monster. “Maddox, I wasn’t aware you’d be joining us?”

“And I wasn’t aware kidnapping women was how we did business.” I saw no point in posturing or pretending. I was here to make them worry, not broker a deal like Leif.

Matteo’s nostrils flared in anger. “As I’ve said, we had nothing to do with the unfortunate incident involving Ms. Collins. An innocent woman does not deserve to be pulled into our lives.”

His words seemed to hold more weight than he intended. If it was a slight at me, he could keep his opinions to himself. I cared little that she had been innocent when I claimed her. She wasn’t anymore, thanks to what his men had done to her. Or what I had done. Regardless she was mine to keep now.

“And sending us a box full of their heads was a little over the top, don’t you think?”

I smirked. It was the psychotic things like that that made my job fun. That kept the fear alive. “Come talk to me when the woman you love is kidnapped and tortured; then you can tell me what’s over the top.”

“Love?” Matteo grunted in disbelief. “My sympathy to Ms. Collins for being unfortunate enough to catch your attention.”

“We’re not here to discuss that.” Leif cut in before I could kill Matteo. I didn’t even want to hear Kincaid’s name coming from his lips. “We’d like to end this war before anyone else dies. We have given Carmine the freedom to sell drugs in our territory. But he still insists on taking over the gambling clubs. Or disturbing our weapons shipments. If it doesn’t stop, we’ll be forced into a bloody war neither of us wants.”