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CHAPTER ONE
KATIE
When had his touch started to make my skin crawl?
Tommy slipped his fingers beneath my hair and gripped my neck painfully, sending waves of warning shooting down my spine.
‘You’d better make it worth my while after the party.’ His words slurred slightly, already too many drinks deep.
I used to love his wild ways. Everything about him was so much less measured than the men I grew up around. Being the daughter of a heinous mafia kingpin brought me all the trappings of luxury, but with every moment of my life monitored. Tommy had represented freedom, hedonism, a way to lash out. Especially after my sister-in-law shot my father, leaving me free from his control. Where she and my brother had settled into running the family business and living in a happy little bubble, I’d exercised my freedom in full. I’d fallen headfirst into my relationship with Tommy, with no safety net. At first it had been exactly what I needed, wild nights and stress-free days, but over the months the attention he gave me had turned sour. Yet, there were still glimmers of it from time to time. Enough to give me hope.
‘You know I hate coming to your shitty family things. I’m a fucking rockstar, I’m above this shit.’ His fingers dug all the harder as I twisted my neck to loosen his grip.
‘I know,’ I whispered. ‘I appreciate you coming.’
‘Gotta mingle with the peasants now and again. Let them get a glimpse of what their shitty lives could have been.’
The private elevator came to a stop, the doors opening up into Cam’s luxury apartment. Apartment didn’t describe it, really. The penthouse had two floors and extended the entire length of the building. It had floor-to-ceiling windows that provided breath-taking views of Edinburgh Castle. He was anything but a peasant. We ruled half of Scotland’s criminal underbelly. Fuck, we owned a private island and the jet to get there. Not that Tommy cared. His balls were bigger than his brain.
Tommy grabbed my arm as I tried to leave the elevator, trapping me against the wall. ‘You have thirty minutes max to do your family shit and then we’re going.’
It had been weeks since I’d seen them. I missed them. But I didn’t want to anger Tommy either. Half an hour was better than nothing. I nodded as he pinched my face between his fingers before thrusting his other hand beneath my skirt. Panic shot through me as I tried to wriggle free, looking around, fearing that someone would see us.
‘Remember that this is mine,’ Tommy said as he pinched my clit viciously between his thumb and forefinger through my underwear.
I winced and bit my lip to stop myself from crying out. ‘I’m here to see my brother.’
‘Just keep it that way.’
Then he was gone, leaving me to right my dress and try to stem the wetness in my eyes from turning into tears. Pressing my fingers against my wet cheeks, I looked up as I dabbed at my face, willing my mascara to stay in place. It was then I spotted him. Mac. My sister-in-law, Maeve’s, brother. The way he was staring at me made my stomach flip. I had barely spoken to him over the nearly two years that Maeve had been part of my family, and was sure he detested me. I just didn’t know why.
I met his dark-eyed stare and dropped my hands to my sides, blinking away when he continued to glare at me. When I looked back up, he had moved on.
With a sigh, I headed into the throng, dodging bodies and making a beeline for my brother.
‘Katie!’ His face broke into a grin as he made his way toward me, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.
His arms felt like home. I’d spent so much of my youth in them, seeking solace when my father hurt us, and trying to fill the gaps in our childhood with the only person who cared about me. He’d always been my rock. But now he had a family of his own. A woman he adored, and two adopted teens who needed his support. Hell, he even had our mother.
‘Hey Cam,’ I replied, wriggling out of his grip and offering a smile. ‘Happy birthday. Are you enjoying your party?’
‘Even more now that you’re here. Where have you been lately? It’s been weeks since we last saw you.’
‘Oh, you know, this and that. Keeping busy. I’ve been renovating the new house.’ I needed to deflect before he asked questions about why I’ve been avoiding my family, or about Tommy.
‘I still think you need to move somewhere closer to us.’
‘Glasgow’s only an hour away.’
‘Aye, but your house is in the middle of nowhere and you keep refusing my men as security,’ Cam said, running a hand through his hair. ‘I’ve heard that you haven’t put in a security system yet either. It’s not safe Katie.’
‘It’s hardly the middle of nowhere. I have neighbours.’ Kind of. Through the woods.
‘I’m worried about you.’ His voice softened my resolve. Maybe he was right. Maybe I should move closer to Edinburgh to be nearer to him and Maeve. It was at that moment that I saw my mother making her way toward me.
‘Katie,’ she said with a smile, pulling my stiffened shoulders into her arms and giving me a squeeze. The only thing that squeezed was my chest, in panic. When Maeve had found her and convinced her to come home after my father’s death, I’d been excited to see her. I missed her so much after she ran out from under father’s tirade of terror that I hadn’t really grasped how much her abandonment had hurt me. When she came back into our lives, it was like meeting an almost stranger, an overfamiliar stranger who loves you. It put me on my ass emotionally. Yet Cam had taken her back into his life with arms open, instantly sparking up their old relationship with no issues or insecurities. Why couldn’t I? Instead, I avoided her as much as I could, and thus avoided them all.
‘Mum,’ I said, stiffly, before extracting myself from her arms and taking a step back. ‘How are you?’
