Page 50 of Their Tracked Obsession

“Cousins are harmless.” Liv waved a hand as if it were no big deal.

“Not this one.” Sin pulled away from Liv and turned around. “He brings danger wherever he goes. Good people die.”

Liv stepped forward to touch Sin on the shoulder. She wanted him to know she was there for him, but Sin was somewhere else. He had been transported back in time—gone down memory lane where we couldn’t get to him until he returned.

“Don’t,” I mouthed at Liv and took her hand in mine.

Sin stood still for a few moments until he said, “I’ll be right back.”

Sin walked away without a glance at us.

“We should go after him,” Liv pleaded, squeezing my hand. “Make sure he’s alright.”

“He’s a big boy, Liv,” I answered with a brief smile of reassurance. “He’ll be fine.”

“Liv? Liv?” Raven called out to her friend through the crowd.

“Oh, crap, I’ll be back.” Liv turned to me, and both my hands were inside hers. “But promise me you’ll watch over Sin?”

“Like a hawk, darling.” I smiled.

Liv squeezed my hands. “Thank you.” She let me go.

I watched Liv go until she was out of sight, and I stayed cautious. Sin became my main priority because I had made a vow to protect him at all costs. No matter the wrath his long-lost cousin might bring.

Twenty-Two

Her Destiny

Sin

The walk toward my cousin was purposely slow. My eyes never wavered from him, but I remained aware of what was in my peripheral vision. I had to be prepared for anything to happen at any moment.

I trained my senses on the surrounding sounds and smells. Christ. Someone stinks. The poor asshole reeked of far too much fucking cologne, like he had dumped a bottle on himself. But I couldn’t let someone’s overuse of fragrance distract me.

I had to focus. Prevail. Stay locked in.

Danger lurked. Right inside my home. The threat was far more sinister than me.

Ace Madden wasn’t precisely the trouble. The players surrounding him were. My cousin’s way of doing business was bad to the motherfucking bone.

Illegal. Callous. Calculated.

Ace was as dark as he appeared in the suit he wore, and he fit right in with the ghosts of this place. He had more spirits who followed him than I had demons. True goddamn hauntings that tortured his soul, stalked him in his dreams, and made every damn day hell on earth.

Mr. Madden was born into utter disarray, raised to own a legacy of pure death and forced to greet life with a fake smile on his face. He was as powerful as a man could be, but he was lost underneath all the death. This was how I had always imagined his life.

“Never in a million years did I think I’d see you again.” I kept my hands in my pockets. “What are you doing here?”

If I touched the man who worked for the devil, all hell could break loose. Liv had escaped an unthinkable fate, and I wouldn’t be the one to open the gates of the underworld. I needed to keep her safe.

“I received an invitation,” Ace answered in a deep, husky tone.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” My upper lip twitched. “Why’d you dare come?”

“I wasn’t going to,” Ace replied.

His eyes were impeccable. Dark, but gray. The color of a storm on the horizon.