Serpent King's Bride: A Dark Mafia Romance Trilogy

As I stepped outside, my heart thrummed with a mix of fear and excitement. Nathan might be pissed that I was leaving, but the thrill of defiance felt like a shot of adrenaline.

“You’re going to the Tenderloin?” the rideshare driver asked as I settled into the backseat, my destination already plugged into his app. “From here?”

“Yup, that’s where I live. In the Tenderloin,” I replied, barely glancing out the window as we left Nathan’s territory behind. The city blurred past, gray and indifferent.

The driver whistled. “You must really like them if you’re coming all the way here.”

I laughed. “Maybe I just don’t like the Tenderloin.”

He laughed too. “Yeah, I don’t find that hard to believe.”

We made idle chit chat about the weather for a bit. Pulling up to the familiar gritty facade of my old building, I thanked the driver and stepped out onto the sidewalk, my pulse spiking at the thought of Nathan’s potential wrath.

“Abby!” I heard Erika as soon as I entered the barely lit hallway. She rushed toward me, her red top vibrant against the drab surroundings. Her energy was infectious, and despite everything, a smile tugged at my lips.

“Hey, Erika,” I greeted her, embracing her briefly. “Sorry it took me so long to swing by.”

“Girl, I thought you got lost in sugar baby land or something.” Her laughter echoed off the walls. “Speaking of which, how’s life with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? Does he have a brother? Is he Chinese? My parents would—wait. Why are you making that face?”

“Let’s just say things aren’t all peachy right now. You know, he’s beautiful…but thorny.”

“Like a rose, I get it! Because he owns a plant shop!”

I laughed. “Yeah, like that.”

“Men that good-looking are never normal unless they’re already married,” she said. “Trust me. The best looking guy I was with was really into, like, ripping off my stockings with his mouth.”

“That’s kind of hot.”

“Yeah, but like…I think he maybe wanted to actually eat them, too.”

I blinked as we made our way to our apartment, trying to process that. “What?”

“He kept talking about how much he loved the taste of nylon. But he was six foot five, so you can imagine my dilemma.”

I shook my head, chuckling despite myself. “Okay, you win. That’s weirder than my thorny rose situation.”

“What is your thorny rose situation?” Erika asked.

“More like…trust issues,” I said, thinking of his dark eyes that seemed to see right through me sometimes…and, of course, the collar weighing me down, tracking me everywhere I went. “We’re sort of fighting right now.”

“Damn, that sucks.” Erika unlocked the apartment door, ushering me into the cozy chaos of what used to be our shared living space. “But hey, you’re here now. Girl time will fix you right up!”

I nodded, hoping that a day away from Nathan and the relentless grind of my undercover…well, whatever the fuck it was right now, would clear my head. Maybe Erika’s straightforward, no-nonsense approach to life was exactly what I needed to figure out what came next.

“Spill it, Abby. What’s got you all upset? What are you two fighting about?” Erika flopped down on the second-hand couch, patting the spot next to her. I hesitated, glancing at the closed door of my bedroom, where my FBI-issued laptop sat like a ticking time bomb.

“I’m still processing,” I said finally, shaking my head. The thought of opening up about this morning’s events sent a chill through me. It would only put her in more danger. And as far as everything else…she didn’t need to know. “It’s…complicated.”

“Complicated, huh?” She narrowed her eyes playfully. “Well, complicated men are my specialty. Come on, let’s get some coffee. Your treat for keeping secrets.”

“Deal.” Anything to avoid talking about the man who wouldn’t see tomorrow because of us—because of Nathan and his world that I was now entangled in. A world where my allegiance was getting murky.

“Red Lantern?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No–what if we run into him?”

“Fair point…so how about Corner Brews?”