“Do not stop sucking.” I release her hair and take out the necklace. I fasten it around her throat. Mine. All mine. She looks up, her mouth full of cock, my rubies shining against her pale skin. “Beautiful.”

I scrape a tear from her cheek and put it to my tongue. She gives a tiny moan of helplessness that vibrates down my shaft. I smile. “There is more you need to learn than just how to make a man come. You’re here now. And you’re ours. You’ve showed some strength, but if you want to be worthy of the world you’ve found yourself in, to be a woman I would be proud to call my own, you’ll need to be more than just a pretty mess.”

A bang on the door. January starts but I grip the back of her head and hold her in place. “Come in.”

Gretzky enters, his expression blank. “Doc needs to talk to you.”

I look down at January, still working back and forward, tears puddling on the ground below her. “Is it urgent?”

“Very.”

Gretzky doesn’t exaggerate. I pull myself from January’s mouth and swipe a thumb over her swollen lips. Her face is paper pale.

“Take Miss Whitehall to my bedroom and lock the door.”

“Yes, sir.”

I stroke January’s tear-stained cheek. “Be ready. When I return, you will do your duty by me. And if the others come back alive, you will do your duty by them, too.”

Chapter Sixteen

January Whitehall

I’m running through a burning house, grabbing paintings and vases for mom. I’m the only one who can do it. Mom said the fire can’t touch me. But maybe she was lying because flames are crowding in, licking my heels, and turning my hair to straw. I run faster, stacking things on top of each other, trying not to drop anything…

“Tesorina?”

A cold hand shakes my shoulder and I gasp. I smell whiskey and cigarettes. “Domenico?”

A low chuckle. “Yeah, baby. Basher’s here, too. And Morelli.”

I rise and see dark shapes moving at the foot of Eli’s bed. It’s twice the size of mine, big as an ocean. Doc’s icy hand closes on my shoulder. “Did you miss us?”

I want to say no but as his weight sinks into the mattress, I smile. There’s a sense of rightness in him being here at odds with everything else. “You’re all okay? None of you are hurt?”

“We’re fine, Tesorina. Kiss me.”

Before I can protest, Doc’s mouth descends on mine. I fight for a second then give in. He’s such a good kisser. There’s no urgency, just a slow exploration like we’ve got all the time in the world. A bedside lamp flicks on and color rushes at me. I see the bright gold of Doc’s hair, the dark tattoos on his forearms.

Another weight settles at my back. “JJ…”

A warmer hand cups my jaw, breaking my kiss with Doc. Bobby. He kisses me, fast and rough. I feel Doc slide beneath the covers, putting his cold knee between my legs. I’m still wearing my white dress and Eli’s rubies are heavy around my throat. I tried to take them off but the clasp is impossible to undo alone.