Chapter One
Midnight
No matter how many functions I attend, I don’t think that I’ll ever get used to them.
Music pours out of the building in front of us, no doubt half an orchestra inside. Men in white gloves and tuxedos are unloading guests from their chauffeured cars one at a time, escorting them up to the plush, carpeted, runner that leads into the well-lit hall.
Each guest exiting their car seems more elegant than the last, their faces picture perfect as the women are escorted by their husbands and dates into the gala. It was a charity event, I had been informed earlier when I had returned to my room to find a couture gown waiting on my bed for me.
Presently, I wrap up that one-of-a-kind, custom gown in my fists as my own chauffeured car slowly pulls around the bend for our turn.
A hand gloved in white taps the top of mine softly. “Don’t worry honey, Caspian is going to meet us inside, and I’m going to be right here.”
Valeria is easily the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Effortless, ethereal. Her caramel skin seems to glow from within. She has a long, slender neck and delicate features. She easily could have been a model if she wanted to.
Yet, somehow, my brother convinced her that marrying him was a better choice. Even more astounding, the pair of them managed to produce a child that surpasses them, possessing the best qualities of each. Granted, he is still young, but he’s going to grow up to be quite an impressive young man. Sometimes I like to tease Valeria that she had motherhood experience already handling me with so much patience over the years.
I place my other hand on top of hers and squeeze her hand, a comforting gesture as she smiles at me.
“It’s just been…such a long time,” I admit softly. The anxiety coiling in my stomach is only half because such lavish, extravagant events like this one are going to be filled with people and half because being in public drags attention to the slow way I walk.
“I know honey, but you’ve worked so hard to get to this point…you deserve this recognition.”
Our car rolls to a stop just beside the hand painted sign welcoming us to the annual St. Angela’s charity gala. Saint Angela’s is the local children’s hospital that I volunteer more of my time at than I spend at home. If we make enough money tonight, we will be able to open an outreach clinic in an underprivileged section of our town. It is a cause that I am wildly passionate about. Everybody deserves access to medications and quality medical care. I organized most of this event with the hopes that I wouldn’t have to attend it myself.
I owe my life and mobility to the pediatric ward in St. Angela’s. If it hadn’t been for the lovely doctors there, I might never have regained the ability to walk all those years ago. I owe so much to them that when the kind doctors and nursing staff asked if I would be there to help celebrate and fundraise with them…of course I said yes.
I wasn’t born into money. The life that I was born into was rather plain. I grew up in a small, three-bedroom flat where everybody had to share the same bathroom. Growing up, I didn’t have new clothes or shoes that weren’t secondhand. More often than not, it wasn’t even because we couldn’t afford those things, but because my father would never spend money on anything other than the roof over our head, and his drinking problem.
My older brother, Caspian, was the one to provide for me. He would bring home takeout food or a new pair of shoes. Always with the same easy smile and a finger pressed to his lips, he would say, “Shh, Midnight, don’t tell.” He would wink, then pretend that nothing had ever happened. I used to try to ask him how he got the money to pay for things. Cas would always just wink at me, that same charming smile on his handsome face.
How exactly Caspian had changed our entire lives shortly after my thirteenth birthday, well, I hadn’t asked questions about that either. Never once did he answer my questions, so over time I learned to stop asking.
Since then, I have seen my brother do countless immoral things. I have witnessed more than perhaps I should. Yet, for every questionable thing he does…he does three that are better.
I might turn a blind eye when I shouldn’t…even after he got me shot. Being the younger sister to the city’s strongest Mafia boss is bound to come with risks, I suppose.
“Ready honey?”
A man pulls open the door and holds out a hand to lead us onto the carpet. With difficulty, I slide out of the car, Valeria’s hand on the small of my back in a gesture that makes her look like a supportive sister-in-law, when really, she is checking to ensure I am steady on my feet.
I always try to hide it, but my limp is one of my biggest insecurities. I can walk without a cane now, but it does take me longer. Heels make things even more impossible. But at five-foot-six, I don’t look too out of place next to the woman beside me without them. A part of me hopes that she will draw all of the attention to herself. I’m not unattractive, and I’m not insecure about that fact. Valeria is simply an otherworldly sort of beauty.
When I pitched the idea for this gala to Caspian, he enthusiastically agreed, telling me to spare no expense. I didn’t, of course; he wouldn’t have let me anyway. Caspian has always wildly supported any cause I want to pursue, any hobby that I want to learn, and I love him dearly for it.
Music washes over us as we enter the massive room. I find Caspian quickly. He is equal parts imposing and dashing. At six-foot-three, he’s always drawn attention. He wears his tailored tuxedo well. He’s the perfect partner to Valeria. Where she’s exotic, he’s classically handsome. Caspian’s always drawn women’s eyes with his strong jawline, styled brown hair and bright, piercing blue eyes.
He doesn’t smile until he sees us. My brother scoops Valeria up the moment she is in reach. I smile seeing them together, the sweet way they interact. Valeria is beautiful alone, but like this, filled with joy, takes her to another level. A gentleman with a polished silver tray offers glasses of champagne, and I manage a whole sip before Caspian moves toward me. I note the two large men standing a respectful distance behind him.
My eyes narrow, “I thought you agreed, no bodyguards tonight?”
Caspian’s arm encircles me and he presses a kiss into my forehead, lifting the glass from me as he does. “Did we? I don’t remember that.”
Well isn’t that just overly convenient for him? At least I managed one whole sip of my champagne. “You can give that back now, please.”
If Caspian hears me, he doesn’t acknowledge it. I think he ignores me on purpose.
“The pair of you look so lovely I might die. Therefore, I really do need some protection, don’t you think?” Caspian continues. Valeria takes his other arm as we head further into the room. It looks exactly as beautiful as I imagined it. It was one thing seeing it during setup, but filled with people, it is breathtaking. “Besides, these two gentlemen are here for you lovely ladies.”
He cannot be serious.
“What would we like to do first?” Caspian continues, as if he hasn’t just totally gone back on our peaceful little agreement. “It is my understanding that after the first orchestral set they intend on honoring you for being kind enough to put this together.”
I can feel his eyes on me, waiting for my reaction. He expects me to bristle, and internally I do. I would rather not be up on that stage in front of everybody. I would rather not fumble through an awkward speech that I didn’t prepare…but I also don’t want to disappoint those people around me either.
Seeing my apprehension, Caspian’s expression softens. I think Valeria and myself might be the only two beings in the entire world able to consider my brother soft in any way. I’m aware of the reputation that Caspian has. He didn’t earn the nickname Diavolo for no reason. He is going out of his way to make sure that I feel comfortable here, he is going that extra mile to ensure that I enjoy tonight. I never could say no to him. He asks for so little as it is.
Big bad mafioso here, fussing over his baby sister to make sure that her feelings aren’t hurt.
“I think it will be good for you to get out there, you need to meet people. You spend so much time at St. Angela’s, and you refuse to take any credit for it. How are you supposed to make a name for yourself, if you are always in the background? I insist that you get up there tonight, and you own every scrap of gratitude that you deserve.” Caspian encourages, “You are a Knight, and I have worked very hard to ensure just how much weight that name carries.”
“I’m supposed to be just finishing college and getting a respectable job, Caspian,” I tease. “Just because you were a deviant at twenty-four, doesn’t mean that I have to be.”
Still, I can’t deny that he has a point.
“Maybe you can find a handsome dance partner then?” Caspian suggests.
I used to love to dance. He’s attempting to bond with me, to make a suggestion that would help me enjoy my night a little more. I can still remember all the steps to the classical dances that are playing by heart. I can still perform the twists and dips in my mind…but my body…
“Cas!” Valeria hisses from Caspian’s other side, chastising him for suggesting something that I can’t possibly do. Not since the injury. Something passes between the couple, and I squeeze Caspian’s arm before letting him go.
“I think I will go find a handsome dance partner!” I force a smile. Caspian works so hard. They deserve to have a break, a night out, Caspian away from his duties and Valeria away from her motherly responsibilities. Caspian will have a better time himself if he’s not fussing over me every moment.
I know he’s not going to let me out of his sight unless I look like I’m having the time of my life. He’s sending one of those large men in the black suits to follow behind me at a distance. They are my least favorite part of Caspian’s lifestyle. He didn’t agree with me when I told him that just because he chose a life of crime didn’t mean that I had to.
Caspian was always better with people. He has a way with words, a natural charisma paired with intensity that leads to either people trusting him very quickly, or fearing for their lives. Depending on which way he chooses to take things.
I skirt the edge of the ballroom dance floor carefully so as not to slip. I have no intention of butchering my beloved memories of the years I spent training to dance by fumbling around the dance floor with my leg that refuses to work properly. I absolutely don’t want to have that many pairs of eyes on me when I embarrass myself. The man behind me, carefully watching my every movement, is intended to put me at ease as much as my brother. He knows large groups of people are difficult for me since the accident. He always says to simply trust him, that he would never let anything bad happen to me…he would never allow anything to happen. But he can’t stop my anxiety from attacking me. It is something he can’t help no matter how he tries.
I camp at the side of a table covered in hors d’oeuvres as the music blends one song into the other. People who recognize me from the hospital come to greet me or wish me congratulations. I watch the board with our donation counter and goal on it surely and steadily climbing toward the success markers, and I will be content to do so all night.
Standing here, I am alright.
I can do this.
Maybe it would be nice to be at events like this again…I have avoided them for so long. Even if my heart ached with each waltz turn I witnessed. I can remember when I used to live for these things. I would dance the night away, fulfilling so many of my childhood princess fantasies.
“Come on.” The voice comes from beside me, and I turn to see Caspian with a disapproving look on his face. “You’re not a wallflower, Midnight. You cannot stand here all night. The floor isn’t going to bite you. I will help you.”
I shake my head, not even considering the offer. I smile nervously and then make a show of looking for something to drink.
“If not me, then who? You could have any man in this entire room.”
Perhaps. If not, he would make sure that they danced with me anyway.
“What if Leo dances with you?” Caspian offers casually, genuine concern knitting his brow.
Heat flushes my system at the mention of Leo, and I shake my head. The last thing that I need is his hands on me when I need to be concentrating. “No, Cas I’m fine. I’m just enjoying my success. Can’t I just do that?”
“You know, I worry about you. You would enjoy this more if you were interacting with the people who are here because you made this happen.”
Will they have been disappointed in me if I don’t go? Have they started to whisper about it behind my back? I don’t think they have…but now it feels like they are all glancing at me, whispering over their shoulders. They are going to wonder why I’m not walking around, dancing, aren’t they? My vision starts to blur.
I shake my head. No, this is silly. They aren’t talking about me. Nothing is wrong, I just need Caspian to stop pushing me. He means well…
“I need some air, okay?” the words leave my mouth before I think about it. I really need space, for him to stop pushing me, but I can’t say that. “Just some fresh air, on the terrace okay?”
Caspian studies me for a long moment before surrendering, nodding his head once.
“I’ll send Leo out with you,” Caspian offers, his hand already motioning to his best friend across the hall. Caspian gestures for him to come closer and Leo nods. Leo, who looks good in a suit. Really good in a suit.
The idea of us alone on the terrace, such a romantic setting, makes me blush. Normally, I would take any excuse I could to spend some alone time with the handsome man my brother is offering so easily to me. But I learned a long time ago that Leo doesn’t have anywhere near the same interest in me as I have in him.
Didn’t mean I can’t look. Look at Leo in all of his glory, the easy way he walks across the room. Look at how people start to move out of his way as he grows near to them.
Leo is the sort of man that commands attention. Built light as a fighter, his strong jawline and lack of smile tend to draw women to him like bees to honey. My heart flutters as his green eyes lock me in place. It is like the rest of the room fades away as my heart races. His gaze drops to drink in the sight of me in a dress, like he has never seen me before. Perhaps he didn’t think that I could clean up as well as I have. The corner of his lip upturns, the echo of a smirk, and I’m almost melting into the floor with how flustered such a simple thing makes me feel.
I have it bad.
I know I have it bad.
Leo is my brother’s best friend, his right-hand man, and just about the worst man that I could find myself attracted to, but here I am.
“I don’t need a babysitter, Cas, I’ll just be a moment,” I rush to say, lifting onto my tip-toes to press a kiss into Caspian’s cheek. A merciful, rare, moment of grace fills me as I turn and leave the ballroom before Leo can finish his journey toward us.
The cool night air feels better than I imagined. I can feel the soft breeze pushing away any remnants of my anxiety.
No more people, no more noises or polite small talk. Just me, the breeze, and the light floral scent carried on the air as it swirls around me.
My shoulders slowly start to relax. I’m not bothered at all by the sound of steps approaching me, I am expecting Leo, after all. My eyes drift closed as I speak, “You don’t actually have to chaperone me, you know-”
He never can tell my brother no. I guess he feels like he owes Caspian for saving him from the streets all of those years ago. I start to turn, wanting to chastise Leo for being so gullible to his face, but I never get the chance. A hand wraps around my waist from behind and another comes to my face and a cloth soaked in something clamps down over my mouth and nose.
I inhale to scream, suddenly forgetting any self-defense I have ever learned.
I shouldn’t breathe in. The reflex is my undoing. Fuck Caspian’s going to kill me. That last thought I have before darkness consumes me, and I collapse backward into the waiting arms of my attacker.
Chapter Two
Leo
Contrary to popular belief, chloroform does in fact have a smell.
The reports tend to vary from person to person, ranging from a sickly sweet, almost bourbon smell, to citrus cleaning products on steroids. I wonder which one little Midnight smelled.
I don’t imagine she will be in much of a mood to answer my questions whenever she wakes up. I doubt that she’s going to want anything from me at all.
If I could have taken somebody else, I would have. The sins of her brother weren’t something that Midnight should have to answer for. I never wanted to hurt her…but she is the only one that will work. For some time, I thought that his wife might be motivation enough. I thought that perhaps his son would be motivation enough.
I have to hit Caspian where it hurts. He could always remarry, he could always have another child. Midnight, she’s irreplaceable. I have waited for too long, I have worked too hard to get to this point, and I will not give up now. I won’t.
Sleeping like this, she looks so peaceful. My weight indents the side of the thin mattress on the small bed that she’s strapped to. Her eyes roll softly under the closed lids. She will be awake soon. I’m going to watch her whole world shatter, everything that she’s come to know over the time of her brother’s new life. It pains me to know how badly this is going to hurt her. My sweet, lovely, Midnight.
She’s never known how beautiful she is. I can’t lie and say that it was her kindness that first caught my eye. Her long chestnut hair falls in pretty waves over the pillow. Her bright, brilliant blue eyes are hidden from my view in her chemically induced sleep. Her arms pulled above her head like this, trussed to the bedframe, isn’t helping me focus any. I have often fantasized what she might feel like with her arms, and other parts, around me.
Caspian always said that she was a great dancer before the accident. Her frame hasn’t suffered any for its loss. Perhaps she can’t perform the moves anymore, but she still has the body: lightly muscled in her legs, lean dexterity in her thighs. Even with her limp, she moves with more grace than half my men ever have.
Her dress is slid up over her knees, and I can finally allow myself to look at her with intention. It’s always been so important to keep my distance from her. I couldn’t allow my attraction to her to get in the way of what I needed to do.
Don’t get distracted. Over the years, it has become a mantra that I repeat inside of my head over and over again.
It was hardest on the days that I thought she might be looking at me too.
Midnight stirs on the bed, and my time with her is almost over. The illusion of who she thought I was is about to shatter. These last few moments of the drug shaking from her system are sweet. I drink in the way her brow furrows, her sweet groggy sounds of a body rousing as she twists. Is she dreaming? Her back arches her toward me as if she is shaking off the vestiges of a memory she doesn’t want to leave.
Midnight’s pretty blue eyes start to flutter open, registering my face so near her own with a sleepy half smile. Is she dreaming about me? If I could allow her to stay in the dream I would. Her full lips part, and the lipstick smeared over the edges makes her even more attractive. I have to admit this isn’t the reaction I presumed she would have to my being in bed with her, but I’m not protesting either.
She tries to lift her arms. The metal chain of the restraints click against the headboard and realization dawns on her. Midnight looks up to her bound wrists and starts to struggle. Confusion crosses her expression first, and then panic as she pulls as if it would free her.
“They’re quite secure, I assure you.”
“Leo?” Midnight stares at me accusingly, surprised that I’m really there, her chest heaving. Fuck if that isn’t a pretty picture. “What the hell are you doing?”
I don’t answer right away. “I know that you’re going to have a lot of questions. This is going to be a very difficult time for you, Midnight.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about? Let me go right this instant.”
I shake my head, my hand lifting to the side of her face and running my knuckles down her soft skin. “Sorry, I can’t do that.”
“Uh, yes you can!” Midnight pulls on the restraints again as if she can just get me to come to my senses. I wonder if she’s ever been tied down before? In my fantasies…I must have done it a dozen times. My knuckles run down the curve of her neck, my gaze following the invisible trail that I take down her skin. So fucking beautiful. My knuckle runs down the plunging neckline of her ballgown. The fitted bodice curves around her breast so prettily.
“You look….so stunning tonight. I’m sorry to have to ruin your dress.” I haven’t yet, but I certainly want to. My finger crooks inside of the neckline, running the line of the fabric. “I never intended to harm you, if you have any headache, rest assured it will be resolved soon.”
“I-I don’t understand, what are you-” her breath hitches as my hand slides inside of the bodice of the gown to fit the breast into my hand. It almost feels as if she arches up into the touch, even if she pulls away the next moment.
“Be still now,” I warn, and she thrashes again, the skirt of her dress riding up her thighs as she does. “If you’re a very, very good girl…then no harm will come to you.”
Midnight’s eyes are a blue fire as they turn back to me, even with the pink flush tinting her cheeks. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but Caspian is going to kill you for this.” Her teeth bare as she speaks.
She has always had such blind faith in her brother. I click my tongue against the roof of my mouth and shake my head. “Cas cannot save you now, and your brother deserves everything that’s coming to him.”
“Caspian saved you! We saved you! I don’t know…what,” her words die as my fingers pinch her nipple between them firmly.
“You don’t know Caspian as well as you think you do, Midnight.” She yelps in surprise as I release her nipple, and pinch the peak between my fingers, rolling firmly. “As you’re at my complete mercy…I think you should consider your words.”
Her eyes lift to mine, and I don’t miss the way her bare thighs clamp together. Did she like that? Releasing her trapped skin, my fingers spread across her breast, kneading the flesh into my palm possessively. “I know that learning the true nature of who he is will hurt you. I’m truly sorry for that. Caspian will be made to pay for the things he’s done.”
More than once, since I came to live with the Knight family, I have been tempted to abandon my cause. Seeing the way that they act with one another, it is clear Caspian values his little family in the way that I always loved my family. We had the commonality that we would both do anything to protect the ones that we loved, and to better our stations in life. Neither of us had been born into privilege. In a lot of ways, Caspian had been born worse off than myself.
It doesn’t excuse the actions that he took, the things that he had done.
It wasn’t easy to win Caspian’s trust. It was a long, slow road to gain the position at his side that I stand. Caspian’s right-hand man, his best friend and trusted companion. He has invited me into his very home, we have broken bread together.
He thought that I was nothing more than a street rat that needed a second chance at life. I played my part well. I did everything that he ever asked of me.
I hate that Midnight was the only thing that I can use against him. If I could have used Valeria I would have. But Midnight is the key to everything. She is the one that will topple him, the one he can’t live without.
Though, I can’t exactly say that I am sorry to have Midnight here, bound in the basement of my private mansion. “Keep in mind, Midnight, we are at a secured location that Caspian has no knowledge of, he’s not even going to know where to look. So,” I pause, my eyes lingering on her lips as she frowns at me. “You can yell, and scream to your heart’s content if that’s what pleases you. Or, you can save yourself the trouble and do as I say. I’m going to give you the night to think about it. I want you to think long, and hard about your choice. I can leave you bound here, alone in the dank of my basement…”
I pause, letting the truth of my words settle in. Never in my life would I have thought that we would be here, with her in such a position. Every time we have been alone until now the conversations were brief. Like the charged tension between us was too much for her to handle. She has hardly ever been able to look at me without blushing. I would recognize that tell-tale flush in her cheeks anywhere. Still, I have to press the issue a little further.
“I have a large staff, and I cannot keep an eye on all of them, you see. I cannot control if they wander in here while you’re all alone.” Fear pinpricks her pupils. I can see her pulse racing in the pulsating of a vein in her pretty neck…but her thighs slide over one another for friction. I bet she thinks I don’t see that. “I would much rather put you in one of my many bedrooms, wouldn’t that be nice?”
She deliberates, but says nothing. “I’ll tell you what, if you behave, follow my very simple rules, I promise to answer all of your questions in time.”
I study her face, even when she’s biting her tongue to keep from verbally lashing out at me, I want to taste her. She’s always so sweet, so generous and kind, even this slight view of her temper has me itching to know what else is in there, what else has she hidden from me.
“Unlike your dear brother, I always keep my word.” Would she fight me if I kissed her? If I took her lower lip between my teeth?
Midnight’s eyes move to the ceiling, as if somehow, she can see where she is or acquire super powers and see the house. She regards me slowly, and she knows I’m not teasing any longer. My fingers close on her nipple again, pulling softly. “Answer me, Midnight.”
“Caspian will come for me. He will find me, and he is going to eat you alive,” she hisses, not even attempting to pull away from my touch.
“I dearly hope so.” My eyes alight with fire. Where had this temper been these last few years I’ve spent sleeping in the same home as her? If this is a taste of what was to come, I can only guess how interesting our time together is going to be.
Midnight has no reason to doubt her brother, no reason to assume anything other than him moving heaven and earth for her. “He’s certainly going to try.”
Midnight understands the situation now. She stares at me, as if she’s never seen me before, as if I am some sort of monster. Something foul under her shoe that she would never want to see again…but her breath is coming in steady puffs and her cheeks are flushed. Her hands pull at the binding around her wrists again.
“Who are you?”
I smile softly, keeping careful control of my own breathing. “Not who you think.” I pull my hand from her dress, and move across the room to the door. I wink in her direction as she fumes, her thighs still rubbing together as she attempts to lift her body to look at me. I catch the sheen on the skin near her most intimate places before I flick the light off, shutting and locking the door to the sounds of her frustration.
If you liked the preview, you can get the whole book here
