Darkest Sins (Perfectly Imperfect #9)

“I found them in the kitchen an hour ago,” Zara says next to me. I hadn’t even noticed her presence, too entranced by the sight in the living room. “Apparently, Lucia woke up and went into your bedroom. Since you were still asleep, she asked him to give her breakfast.”

I press my hand over my heart and swallow. “What did he do?”

“I found a box of cookies, ketchup, and a jar of pickles. Hopefully, he didn’t give her all of that at the same time.” She tilts her head toward the man in question. “I don’t think he’s been around kids much. Look at his face. He seems utterly terrified.”

“Yes.” I blink away the tears threatening to spill. “I told him the truth last night.”

“Why?”

“No lies. Only secrets.” I smile, then elaborate after Zara gives me a confused look. “That’s been our thing from the beginning. But not anymore. No more secrets left.”

Zara nods. “Are you going to see Massimo today?”

“Tomorrow. I’m meeting with the investors at the Bay View casino after lunch.” I glance at her. “You still won’t tell me what’s going on between the two of you?”

“Since I was three, the only time I’ve seen Massimo is at our father’s funeral. Outside of old photos, I didn’t even know what our stepbrother looked like before that. What could possibly be between us, Nera?” Her voice is dry and slightly shaky. “I have to finish that pantsuit for Dania tonight. Will you be back for dinner?”

“Yes.” I wrap my arm around her waist, giving her a hug. “Thank you for helping me take care of my daughter.”

“Always.” She hugs me in return and heads to the dining table, her attention immediately drawn to the page in her sketchbook.

I lean my shoulder on the doorframe, watching my demon hand Lucia a Disney Princess hairbrush. His eyes find mine and lock as our daughter lifts a strand of his long hair and starts to back-comb it.

Chapter 35

“What’s going on?” I ask as six enormous SUVs make a U-turn on the driveway and park in a perfect line, side by side.

“Sicilians are late,” Kai says and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me close.

The doors of all the SUVs except for one open simultaneously. Men in black tactical clothes exit the vehicles and line up next to each other along the edge of the road. There are twenty of them, and every man carries several weapons strapped to his body.

“Sicilians?” I’m gaping at the small army on my driveway. “The same Sicilians who tried to kill me?”

“Yes. A mistake I’ll never forget.”

The driver’s door of the lead SUV opens and a tall, heavily muscled man steps out. He’s wearing a three-piece gunmetal gray suit with a black shirt underneath, and a black tie. The Sicilian looks around and heads toward us, his hands in the pockets of his pants. Dark aviator sunglasses are obscuring his eyes, but the accessory can’t hide that something isn’t quite right with his face. The skin on his chin and cheeks seems mangled somehow, which makes it hard to pinpoint his age, but everything else about him tells me he’s young. Probably midtwenties. He doesn’t seem to be carrying any weapons, butKai’s gaze is fixed on him as if this man is the one who presents the biggest threat and not a platoon of armed mercenaries.

“You’re late, Rafael,” Kai barks.

“My apologies,” the newcomer says. “You asked for twenty men. I had to pull a team off a job scheduled for this afternoon. That required adjusting some logistics.”

“Dropping a job?”

“Of course not. I’ll be taking care of that contract myself.” The guy removes his sunglasses and turns to me. I barely refrain from recoiling. His face is a mess of scars and battered skin, as if a wild animal had mauled him. He probes me with his penetrating gaze, with eyes that appear to be his only undamaged feature. “I’m terribly sorry for the misunderstanding that occurred two nights ago. We had no idea that the contract we accepted involved Mazur’s girl.”

Before I can respond, light reflects off a silver blade. I suck in a breath, staring at the wicked-looking knife Kai is holding against the guy’s neck. Blood wells at the spot where the tip nicked the man, and a thin trickle slowly slides down the cold steel. The Sicilian doesn’t even blink. He just looks at Kai and raises an eyebrow.

“You do not stare at my woman, Rafael.” My demon’s voice is low but charged with menace. “You got that?”

“Noted.”

Kai slowly lowers his knife. “I’ve sent you the blueprints for the house and the property. You better do your job right, or I’ll slaughter every one of your men, and then I’ll be coming after you.”

“Your family is safe in our hands.” The Sicilian puts his sunglasses back on, and my eyes catch on the multitude of raisedscars crisscrossing his skin from his wrists to the tips of his fingers. Nodding at the armed guys standing at attention, Rafael heads back to his car.

The men disperse. Five run up to the house, taking guard positions on the corners and by the front door. Two go to the staff quarters, a two-story building to the left. And the rest of them rush off in different directions across the lawn, heading toward the perimeter walls.

The leader, Rafael, takes another look around, then gets behind the wheel and drives off.