But the image wouldn’t come. I wanted her, but I didn’t just want any version of her.
I wanted her. The woman who called me out yet let her breath hitch when I spoke to her. The one who was too fucking sharp for her own good.
I let go of myself with a curse, smacking my head against the cold shower tile.
Not yet.
I finished showering, dried off, and pulled on black boxers before stepping back into the main suite.
Dario was lounging on the couch, flipping through his phone. He glanced up, smirking.
“Keir, you’ve had a hard-on for a while. Want me to take care of you?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, the next time my cocks near anything, it’ll be my princess.”
Dario howled with laughter. Kaz just scowled from where he sat, arms crossed.
A knock sounded at the door. Dario hopped up to answer it, returning with arms full of takeout bags.
“Dinner!” he shouted.
I groaned. “I swear, you think we’re deaf sometimes, eejit.”
Dario grinned. “I love it when you talk dirty to me in Irish, Daddy.”
I smacked him upside the head as I reached the table. “Gobshite. Just ‘cause I’m older doesn’t make me your Daddy.”
At thirty-eight, I was the eldest. Kaz was twenty-eight. Dario? Twenty-three and fucking annoying. I might have been their leader, but the only time I liked hearing “Daddy” from Dario’s mouth was in the bedroom.
And even then, it was a rare occasion when we both were seeking a release.
? ? ?
The SUV rolled down the gravel driveway, headlights off. Kaz pulled off to the side half a mile from the house, cutting the engine.
“Alright, we check the tree line first,” I murmured. “Then we move in.”
They nodded. We climbed out, moving silently through the trees, eyes locked on the dark house ahead.
Something felt off.
Too quiet.
We circled the perimeter, checking for movement. Nothing. I motioned for the boys to move in. Low crouch, guns up.
I expected an ambush. We were told this place was a hot spot for those sick fucks.
What I didn’t expect was—
“Holy fuck.”
Dario wasn’t wrong. It was a bloodbath.
Bodies littered the yard. Ten of them.
Some had their throats slit. Others were gutted.
And some? Their necks were twisted at odd angles, snapped clean.
