Page 32 of Devil’s Candy

“Understood,” she answers with a nod as she pulls an onion from the basket on the counter and starts chopping.

I shrug on my coat, the early fall nights now cold. Besides, my black leather jacket helps me to blend into the shadows, and then I’m out the door, heading down to the car.

On my way, I can dispose of our clothing.

But as I make my way down the stairs and into the garage, I can feel the vibration in the air that tells me I am not alone.

It’s not a sense most people develop, but I always know.

I stop, pulling my weapon from my belt as I drop into a crouch behind my car.

“You’re annoyingly good, you know that?”

I’d recognize that British accent anywhere. Killian Smith.

I’m a little impressed that he made it into my completely closed garage. But mostly, I’m just pissed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Sver

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I spit, standing up from my crouch. Killian leans against the cement wall of the garage, his signature black trench coat helping him hide in the shadows.

“I thought it was time we had a private conversation.”

When I choose a place to live, I am meticulous in not leaving a trail. No one ever finds me. “How would you like it if I showed up at your place on Wilder Street? Or the one on Tenth? Or how about the villa in the South of France?”

“You stay the fuck away from my wife,” Killian snarls, moving toward me with a speed that belies his size. I don’t flinch as he stops, his face only an inch from mine. “I don’t know how you found those places but if I find you there, I will fucking kill you. I’ll finish what I started.”

I keep my features expressionless. “What do you want, Killian?”

“I told you. I want to talk.”

“About?”

“About how you need to stay the fuck away from my family and our associates. There is no happily ever after where we bring you into the fold. Understand?”

“I’m not asking to be in the fold. I’m just trying to keep Candy safe⁠—”

“Fuck you and your safety.” Killian’s spit hits my face. “Or hers. You don’t get to play that card after what you did to Rebecca.”

I look away. The truth is, the Smiths have every right to hate me. I deserve their deep loathing. Frankly, I deserve death. And no amount of reasons will ever be enough. “I won’t stop you if you kill me, Killian. I only ask that you keep Candy safe if you do. She’s an innocent in all of this.”

He lets out a roar. “Don’t try to play protector now. You killed an innocent woman, the woman he deeply loved, right in front of him. There is no coming back from that.”

What I did, I did to protect my daughters. Ivan Ivanov had made it clear. I followed his orders, or they died. But that doesn’t change my actions, doesn’t make them right. “I know.”

He takes a step back, his hands balled into fists as he lets out another roar. “I should kill you. I should take a knife to your throat right this very second.”

Death might be a relief. “Make the promise and I’ll let you do it.”

His shoulders unwind and his face goes dead. “I won’t promise and death is too kind for you. But I’m warning you, act against Vinnie, and I will do to Candy what you did to Rebecca.”

Without warning I shove him with a force that sends him flying back. No one, not even a Smith is going to touch Candy. It might even be what I deserve, but with startling clarity I understand what Candy means to me. I’ll die before I let someone hurt her.

He lands in a heap on the ground. “Threaten Candy again, and we’ll learn once and for all which of us can best the other. But one of us will die. How do you like your odds considering you’ve got a pregnant wife?”

“Fuck off,” he says as he sits up, pulling at his coat before he slowly stands and begins to dust himself off. “I’ll retract the threat, as long as you leave New York and stay the fuck out of our business. Take Candy with you if you’re that worried.”