Poison Laced Kiss

CHAPTER 3

WEEKS LATER…

I stumbled through the front entrance, my clothes soaked in blood and my vision hazing. There was a burning hot ache on the side where the knife had cut me deeply. One of the guards leapt out of his chair, his eyes haloed with shock.

"Miss Maia…"

I managed a weak, bloodied smile before the world took a sideways tilt and went black.

—

I hurt all over when I came to.

The pounding pain in my side throbbed with every breath, my head was too heavy, and my arms and legs were leaden. Voices murmured nearby, low but understandable. I forced my eyes open and blinked away the haze.

"She's awake," Karina, my sister said, coming into view.

I groaned, struggling to sit up. The pristine white sheets of our private medical bay were tangled beneath me. My father, Don Accardo, was off to the side, arms folded across his chest, his usual icy expression tinged with suspicion and wariness.

"Maia," he said sternly, "is there a reason you've been returning from missions half-dead lately?"

I winced and shifted in bed. "Just… bad luck, I guess," I muttered, trying to sound casual.

Karina snorted and folded her arms. "She's lying."

My eyes snapped to hers, biting. "You always think I'm lying. You probably want me to be so bad so you can feel like a good girl."

"Because you always are," she snarled, her glare vicious, and Father raised a hand, silencing us.

I breathed out, my hand finding my bandaged side. The truth was complicated. Quite disturbing.

“Ever since I stole intel from Damien Vercelli," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "And hacked into his personal server on black market pipelines, illegal arms trafficking, which our family profited billions when it happened by the way…” I directed the last part at Karina who I knew wasn’t privy to it.

Truly, Karina's eyes went wide. "Wait… you stole from Vercelli?"

Father's frown deepened as he let out a sigh with a look telling me to get to the point. I nodded. "Well ever since then, he's been coming for me. Every mission since, he's shown up. And tries to kill me, every time.”

“You're saying Damien Vercelli has personally taken it upon himself to disrupt your missions and kill you?" Father asked.

"Yes," I said calmly, leaving out the complicated feelings that were inside me when I thought about him.

"I've had to retreat once or twice," I continued, "but I've completed the others despite him. I will not let him win.".

What I didn't say was the way my heart raced during those moments, not only from fear, but from something very different. That beneath every death match, every fight to the bone, there was always a glance, a touch, a proximity that set my skin on fire. Nobody could know. They'd think I'd gone mad.

Karina was still staring at me. "You're trying to tell us you're still going on missions when you know he's gunning for you?"

"Well, yes." I looked at her like she was stupid. “ I can’t very well stay at home and play the piano cause I’m scared can I?”

Her eyes narrowed to slits at my jab at her piano playing. "You bitc—"

"Enough." Father's voice was sharp. He stepped in closer, studying me like a broken vase. "Maybe you should take some time off. A few weeks to recuperate. Heal. I'll handle Vercelli."

"No!" I said a little too quickly, my heart racing.

Father's eyebrow rose, and I forced myself to breathe and drop my voice.

“I mean… you attack him directly, you'll drive his family to open war. That'll cost us far more than we've gained. Let me go on doing what I'm doing. I've stood up to him and survived. I can do it again."

Father's eyes narrowed. "Maia…”

“I can keep him busy," I stressed, meeting his gaze. "If he's focused on me, he's not focused on anyone else. That gives us more opportunity, more openings to exploit his weaknesses. And I've gotten into his head. I know how he thinks. You're not going to find anyone more qualified to deal with him than me.”

He studied me for a long while, then finally nodded slowly. "Alright. But no missions this week. Rest. Recover. You push yourself too hard, I will put you on time out." We both knew that was a lie. I was his favorite weapon.

"Got it, sir."

He handed me a thin mission packet. "Read it when you're stronger." Then he left.

Karina paused in the doorway after he'd left. She gave me an odd look.

"You're hiding something from him," she said quietly. I didn't say anything and looked away in disinterest.

"I’ll find out what it is. Take care, sis" She then turned and left, leaving me alone in the quiet room. I sank back into the pillows with a sigh.

How was I going to explain to them that I was falling for the man who was trying to kill me, and I, him? My mind drifted back to the last mission.

We'd both been chasing the same microchip in Berlin. I was seconds from obtaining it when he caught up with me. We fought on a rooftop, in a rainstorm, slipping, smashing against metal vents and railings, soaked to the bone. I'd managed to kick the chip into a drain and dive in after it—he'd followed. The next I knew, we were both underwater in the pool below, flailing beneath the surface, bodies tangling.

When I surfaced, gasping, he pinned me to the slick tiles of the floor, one hand at my throat, his body tight against mine.

"You never give up, do you?" he'd whispered, his breath warm against my cheek. I felt my body respond immediately.

"Not when I always win and beat you," I'd retorted, and he'd laughed low and dark. And then he kissed me. It was wild, brutal, hungry. A storm tearing through both of us. I should have stabbed him, killed him. But I didn't. Neither did he.

My cheeks flushed with the memory. My n*****s tightened under the thin fabric of my T-shirt, and I shook my head, dragging myself back to the present.

"Focus," I said to myself and reached over for the water glass sitting next to me. I took a sip, then set it down.

I gazed at the mission packet but didn't open it. Not yet. Instead, I leaned back on the pillows instead, staring at the ceiling.

In a perfect world, things would have been different. He wouldn't have been Vercelli, and I wouldn't have been Accardo's daughter. But this wasn't a perfect world. This was war. And in war, feelings could get you killed.

Yet I couldn't get him out of my head.

And I was starting to wonder… maybe he couldn't get me out of his head either.

—-

A WEEK LATER…

My feelings for Damien only grew stronger after that. By the next mission after I had healed, we surrendered to the crazy chemistry between us and f****d.

It was raw and intense but never enough.

Following every mission, after nearly killing each other, we'd find the closest secluded place, tear one another's clothes, and hate f**k like animals. But it wasn't good enough for me. I was obsessed with him, and it drove me crazy to guess what I was to him.

Now, I'd just finished another mission; bombing a meth lab disguised as a rural farm on the outskirts of Brooklyn and I was sneaking off to meet him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone move too quickly, as if stalking me. For a moment, I could've sworn it was Karina.

But then I laughed at the thought. Karina hardly ever left the mansion, and if she did, it was probably to go to some high-society ball Father insisted on sending her to. So I ignored it. I met Damien at some hotel in Midtown, and the moment our eyes locked, it was like a dam broke. He pushed me onto the bed, hands already on me and mouth on mine. I didn't care that the mission almost killed me, I came to life the moment he touched me.

Later, after it, when Damien excused himself to the bathroom to shower, I slid out of bed and into the suite. I changed clothes and headed downstairs to the private bar of the hotel in hopes of calming my racing heart.

And that was when I felt it, a shadow being cast across me. A cold, familiar voice sliced across my spine.

"I knew it."

I stared up in horror at Karina looming above me, in black, phone in her hand. Father stood beside her, jaw clenched and eyes flashing with suppressed fury.

My heart was in panic. I stood hastily. "What is this?" I exclaimed, my voice shattering.

Karina raised an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb, Maia. I followed you because I had a feeling and guess what? I was right."

She held the phone screen up to me, and my world dropped. It was footage of the bedroom upstairs. Me. Damien. Us in bed.

Father's fist clenched. "You've been sharing a bed with Damien Vercelli? The enemy?"

"No!" I blurted out, but my voice was shrieky.

"Don't lie to me," he spat.

Karina's lips twisted in a triumphant smile. "Here’s the next clip," she told me, wiping the screen. Moans. Damien's voice. My voice. The evidence was damning.

Father wheeled around sharply. "I'll kill him now. Men, move in now. He's in the suite upstairs."

"No!" I positioned myself between him and his men, grasping his arm. "Please, don't. Don't hurt him."

Karina gasped. "You love him."

I didn't even try to deny it. “Yes," I breathed. "I do. I've done everything you've ever commanded me to. I've lied, I've stolen, I've bled. I've done the work of more than half your men and never once complained. Please… just give me this one thing. Let me have him."

A deep, languid voice interrupted behind us. "Won't you respect your daughter's wishes?

I remained frozen in place. My heart was beating as I slowly turned to face Damien. Wet hair, unbuttoned shirt halfway down, but sharp and alert eyes.

"You…heard it all?" I whispered quietly.

He looked at me for a second before moving towards me. "I did. And I'm not going to let them hurt you because you care about me."

He looked at Father. "I never meant for this to escalate," Damien said evenly. "Especially after you sent her to steal from me. But she outsmarted me. Time and time again. And somewhere in the process along the line, I came to understand her. Not your soldier. Not your daughter. Just her." He turned his eyes back to me. "Your histories and families are nothing to me. I don't care about them. I just want you."

Father's eyes flashed between us. The atmosphere was tense. Then he released a slow breath, as if pushing the weight off his shoulders. "Treat her well, Vercelli," he snarled in a low tone. "Or I'll destroy all that you are."

Damien glared at him but nodded. "Understood."

With a brief nod, Father turned and walked away, Karina trailing behind him, her face twisted and sour with defeat. When they were out of view, I looked at Damien. "Did you mean it?" I breathed.

He took a step forward and flashed me a hard smile. "You're mine, Maia."

A l

augh exploded out of my chest, and I flung myself at him, my arms around his neck and we kissed. I was happier than I'd been in ages.

Little did I know…