Dead to sin fate trace b.., p.10
Dead to Sin (Fate Trace Book 3), page 10
But still, it took almost no effort whatsoever to lock Mark inside the empty body cooler.
I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh as he thrashed around inside the tiny compartment, his panicked cries echoing off the metal walls.
I couldn’t leave him inside for long. But fifteen minutes or so in freezing temperatures should be enough to scare him a bit before we had a little chat about what is and isn’t appropriate when it comes to pursuing women.
And why he wouldn’t be pursuing my woman at all again in the future.
I pulled a chair up and stretched my legs out, crossing my feet at the ankles as I listened to him hyperventilate.
“I hope you’re thinking hard about your actions in there, Mark.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I answered the call.
“Amelia? Everything okay?”
“Yes and no.” Her tone was one of slight concern and I wasn’t convinced of the yes part of that answer.
“Indie is fine,” she started. “Safe, anyway. But I have never seen anyone have such a severe panic attack, Kier. I think she may need to go to the hospital.”
Fuck. I shouldn’t have left her so quickly. “I’m on my way.”
I ended the call and rushed to the door before she had the chance to say anything else, beating myself up for thinking she was fine. Of course, she wasn’t fine. She’d just experienced something seriously traumatic, and I left her like a moron.
My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel, my foot pressing harder on the gas pedal. The street lights blurred as I drove through the quiet neighborhood, desperate to reach her apartment. My heart raced with worry, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling of panic gnawing at my insides.
I literally could not think of anything aside from getting back to her. Not even the fact that I’d left a living, breathing human being inside a cooler meant for dead people.
And that the temperatures inside were too cold for him to survive in for as long as I would be gone.
INDIE
Kiernan had forced me to take a few days off of work after all that had happened, promising me that he’d deal with anything that came up.
He’d only had to go in for one cremation shortly after I came home from my hospital visit. Some work was sent in from the college, which was weird because I hadn’t had anything on my schedule.
Other than that, he hadn’t left my side.
I was back in the office, calling him because I needed to play catch up on some paperwork and I couldn’t seem to find anything on the work he’d done while I was away.
He answered on the second ring. “Hey, baby.” His gorgeous face appeared on the screen as he seemed to be walking to his car.
“I can’t seem to find any of the paperwork to file from when you filled in for me a few days ago.”
His smile faltered. “Oh. I’ve already turned everything back over to the college. It must have slipped my mind to do any of the intake digitally. I was distracted worrying about you and eager to get back to you. Don’t worry about it. I’ll have them fax it over and put everything in for you.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. He was always so eager to help, to take things off my plate.
I couldn’t believe there was ever a time I thought I couldn’t commit to being with this man. Or that I worried things might not work out between us.
He was perfect in every way.
“I’m coming to steal you away for lunch, so finish up what you’re doing and I’ll be there in ten.”
Everything with Mark made me realize even more so than before that Kiernan is a forever kind of person; the kind of man who will always drop everything when life is back on its bullshit. He’d reassured me over and over that I would never have to deal with the kind of bullshit that Mark had to offer ever again, and I trusted him that that was true.
“Great,” I said, then hesitated. “Love you.”
My heart skipped a beat. I was still getting used to saying it.
“Love youuu.” He grinned, winking as he clicked his seatbelt into place.
But I couldn’t get enough of hearing him say it.
EPILOGUE
Indie
ONE YEAR LATER…
The bar at L'Ultima Cena was busy for a weeknight, and the buzz around me would have been overwhelming any other time, but it all faded into the background when Kiernan looked at me the way he was looking at me right now.
Like it was me he wanted for dinner.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” he said. Those words were loaded, but only he and I knew that.
Grinning, he slid off his worn barstool and stepped away, dodging stumbling patrons and weaving through tables cluttered with half-empty glasses.
I pulled my eyes from his retreating back and took a long drink of my rum and coke, emptying the glass.
My phone buzzed on the bartop.
Kiernan
Empty.
My pussy clenched.
Owen would be here any minute for our weekly dinner date, but I was sure he wouldn’t have to wait too long if we were quick—which we would have to be anyway. I was super thankful that we’d made a point to see one another often after I moved out several months ago. Being with Kiernan 24/7 now that we lived together was a literal fucking dream come true, and I was glad that my excitement about it hadn’t been diminished by the fact that I would no longer be living with Owen. We were as close as ever, and so were he and Kiernan.
I hopped down and made a beeline toward the back hall where the restrooms were. And I had apparently not been paying close attention to where I was going, because I smacked face-first into the back of a pretty redhead and sent her stumbling.
“Oh my god, I am so sorry. Are you okay?” I was mortified.
A tall man with dark hair and tattoos covering his arms reached out and grabbed her by the elbow as she stumbled. The way he held her, with a protective grip and a concerned expression, made me assume he was her significant other. “Oh, look. Someone just as clumsy as you are, Hunny Bee.”
“I am not clumsy,” she pouted up at him, then turned to me with a warm smile. “You’re good, no worries.”
Two other men crowded in behind her. The brown-haired one placed a hand on the small of her back while the blonde one planted a quick kiss on her freckled cheek.
I should have already been on my merry way, but curiosity held me in place. I raised an eyebrow at her. She just scrunched her nose in response.
“You, Hunter? Not clumsy?” Blondie asked incredulously as he pulled back from her.
The brown-haired one took her hand and wiggled his phone in front of her face, jerking a nod toward a booth in the far corner.
She squealed at the face on the screen. “TK! Oh my god!”
A dog barked in the background and I was sure I heard a gruff voice say something in Italian, but they were already halfway to their seats.
I had to shake myself out of the momentary trance I’d been in from seeing how comfy she’d been with three separate men. And none of them seemed to be jealous about it.
Good for her.
There was only one man I felt anything for these days, and he was waiting for me in the men’s room.
I shoved open the door and found him waiting impatiently by the sinks.
He said nothing about how long it had been since he texted. He just stalked toward me and shoved me against the wall, dropping to his knees and pulling my leg over his shoulder.
We were not strangers to public fun, but I had at least expected him to wait until we were in a stall. Not that it had mattered to either of us in the past.
“Kiernan, what if someo—”
His mouth was on my cunt before I could finish the question, sufficiently cutting off my words and removing every other thought from my brain.
There was only us. Only him.
There would only ever be him.
ALSO BY GENNA BLACK
Haverhill Burning
No Small Sin (Fate Trace Book 1)
Sinners Keepers (Fate Trace Book 2)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments can feel a little redundant after several books.
I love and appreciate all the same people from all of my other acknowledgments. You know who you are, and you mean the whole entire world to me.
I would also like to thank The Used, Wellbutrin, and Captain Morgan.
I would not like to thank people who don’t return their shopping carts, my UPS driver, and Mitch McConnell.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Genna Black is a romance author who juggles writing and raising her hell spawn alongside her aggressively supportive husband. Fueled by excessive amounts of caffeine and spicy ramen (and a necessary dose of antidepressants and ADHD medication), she finds great joy in crafting stories that will make you giggle while keeping you on the edge of your seat. With a knack for the steamier side of romance, she hopes to offer readers an escape from the dumpster fire that life can sometimes be.
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Genna Black, Dead to Sin (Fate Trace Book 3)
