Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1) (31 page)

Violet felt his hand between their bodies, and his cock
sliding against her slit. She wasn’t surprised that he was already hard. How
could she when she was already gasping for air and wet from just the need to have
him, and nothing more?

With one sharp flex of his hips, Kaz took Violet deep. The
immediate rush of relief washed through her, and sent her head tipping back to
the bed, exposing her neck to his mouth again. His groan buried into her skin,
right along with the imprints of his teeth as her first cry came out broken and
loud.

God, she ached for this man.

“Kaz …”

He grabbed onto her waist, and lifted up from her just
enough that he could catch her kiss again. His tongue struck against hers hard,
but it was the only roughness between them.

Their fucking had always been hard and fast. No matter
where or when it had happened, it usually left her sated and tender, but still
demanding more.

And this wasn’t the same at all.

But it still killed her just the same.

Slow, long thrusts that filled her, and took her higher
with each one. His fingers raking down her skin while she traced the lines of
his face and watched him from up above. The only sounds registering to her ears
were the slap of skin, his shuddering exhales, and her whispers.

Violet tightened her legs around his waist, needing Kaz
closer than what he was, if it were possible. She wanted to stay like that for a
moment, chasing bliss, and watching him love her.

All that blackness she had seen coloring their world began
to bleed away. Her fingernails dug into his back, raking lines over his skin.

“Love you,” he breathed.

She felt his lips tremble against hers with the words.

The tears fell, and he caught them.

“Love you,” Violet told him.

She was pretty sure she had never said anything more honest
in her life.

And she probably wouldn’t ever find anything more true to
say than those words to him.

Another slow stroke of his body into hers, and she was
flying high, and crashing down at the same fucking time. It hit her when she
wasn’t expecting it to, and that made it so damn good.

Good enough that she shook, and colors burst behind her
clenched lids when she shut her eyes and her back bowed off the bed. Kaz’s
mouth came down on hers, hiding the cry that crawled its way out of her throat.
He pushed harder into her once, and on the second thrust, she felt him shudder
as he came, her name muffled against her lips.

“Love you,” he repeated.

Violet let more tears fall.

She knew he did.

But they were still a little lost.

And that blackness was seeping back in.

K
az couldn’t sleep, not
when Violet had finally relaxed enough to go under tucked into his side, or the
three hours he had lain there awake after, struggling to find peace in his
thoughts.

They were out of time.

He knew that the moment she called him, nearly too afraid
to put into words that Vasily had given her father more than enough ammunition
to send him gunning down for Kaz. But he wasn’t concerned with what Alberto had
planned for him, but rather his plans for Violet.

He didn’t doubt that her father was going to punish her for
being with him. And considering the way the man treated her when she was in his
good graces, he couldn’t imagine how he was going to react now.

As he knew, Vasily didn’t make idle threats. When he gave a
warning, it was up to the person to understand that that would be the only one
they got.

Hubris. Kaz had thought he would be able to maintain the
relationship, as well as keeping it a secret from both their families. Even as
careful as they had been, they still weren’t careful enough, and now … they
were out of time.

Lost in his thoughts, he gently stroked Violet’s hair,
finding peace within the movements. How many times had he done this very
action, but took it for granted?

She, every part of her, was worth committing to memory, so
in his darkest hours, he could have something that brought him calm.

After some time, however, Kaz must have fallen asleep as
the next thing he knew, Vera was swinging the door open, startling them both
awake as the wood hit the wall.

“You need to get dressed and leave. Now. I just got a call
from a friend, letting me know he’s seen some of the Gallucci family in cars
heading my way.”

This wasn’t very surprising. Even if Vera didn’t agree with
the life they were brought up in, she still learned quite a few things, and one
of those was having friends everywhere.

Kaz was on his feet in seconds, grabbing the clothes he’d
worn the day before off the floor, and pulled them on. “Where’s—”

“Here. Have her put these on,” Vera said, shoving Violet’s
clothes in his arms before turning on her heel and hurrying back down the
hallway.

Violet was already sitting up, the sheet clutched to her
chest as she turned terrified eyes on him. He didn’t know who of the Gallucci
family would be showing up, ready to cause mayhem if it meant dragging her away
from him, but he knew that whoever did show up, it wasn’t going to be good for
either of them.

But even as the situation was dire, Kaz forced a smile for
her. “Don’t worry about it. No one is going to die today.”

At least not where she could see …

“Let’s go.”

She was out of the bed, pulling on her own clothes as he
grabbed his wallet and his gun, leaving his cell phone for last. There were a
couple dozen messages, most from Ruslan asking what the fuck was going on, but
as he was running low on time—and he was sure Vera had explained all or some of
what was going on—he left them unanswered.

He grabbed hold of her hand, leading the way down the
stairs, but as he was passing the windows, he paused at what he saw outside of
them. There were cars already waiting, one blocking the driveway. The tinted
windows hid the passengers, but if Kaz had to guess, there were at least two in
each car, and if that was the case, they were outnumbered by at least six.

“
Shit
.”

Kaz’s gaze shot to Violet, recognizing the terror in her
eyes as she stared down at the fleet of cars. They were an ominous sight, a
reminder of their reality.

“It’s fine,” he said drawing her to the side, forcing her
to face him and not what awaited them. “I’ve got it under control.”

“How do you want to handle this, Kaz?” Vera asked from her
position at the base of the stairs, her arms folded across her chest.

She didn’t look the slightest bit afraid that her house was
practically surrounded by the very same men she was brought up to fear. But
while Vera minded the lines, she didn’t cower when she walked the streets of
Brooklyn—if there was one thing she’d inherited from their father, it was her
bravado.

“I haven’t thought that far,” Kaz responded as he and
Violet walked down the last few steps. “But she’s—” He pointed to Violet,
“—staying in here.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Vera said, already reaching to
pull the door open.

“No. You can stay in here with Violet. And call Rus.”

Kaz didn’t know where Vasily was, or whether he was
planning a surprise visit, too, but he didn’t want to know. After all, he was
the only one that could have possibly told the Italians where to find
them—which was saying a lot, considering he usually went out of his way to keep
their business away from Vera’s doorstep.

“I should be with you,” Violet argued. “They won’t shoot me
to get to you.”

“Right now,” Kaz said. “I don’t know what they’re capable
of. I’m not putting you at risk for—”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Kaz.”

Though he was tempted to argue this point with her, he just
didn’t have the time. The last thing he needed was one of Violet’s overzealous
relatives to step out of line and hurt Vera while trying to get to him—his
reaction would probably have him apologizing to Violet later—but Vera had a
mind of her own, and more, she could handle herself if the need arose.

Shifting his attention to Violet, he placed a hand at the
small of her back, giving her a slight push away from the front door, and
ordered, “Stay inside.”

“Kaz, they’re opening the doors …” Vera said, turning the
lock, her hand on the knob.

“Be careful,” Violet whispered against his lips, finally
drawing away though her hand lingered at his side, like she was afraid to let
go.

Pressing his lips to her forehead, he stayed there for a
long moment, wishing that he could take that look of fear from her face. The
last thing she should be was afraid when with him.

The moment his back was to her, Vera looked to him,
conveying everything he needed to know with one look. She opened the door for
him, staying slightly hidden behind it, and as he crossed that threshold, he
was careful not to look back. He hoped Vera would keep Violet safe and inside
the damn house.

Most of the men that stood next to the cars, Kaz didn’t
recognize, but as his gaze shifted over every man in turn, he paused at the car
parked farthest to the south. One door opened slowly and out stepped Carmine.
Unlike the last time they were in the same vicinity, today he looked rather
smug as he casually strolled forward as though he had every right to.

There was no fear in him, not this time.

Kaz wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that.

Either Carmine had something up his sleeve, something that
made him unafraid, or the man was a fool.

“I’ve come to collect what belongs to my father,” Carmine
said, his tone never wavering.

Kaz sneered, tipping his head to the side just a bit.
“First off, there’s nothing here that
belongs
to Alberto.”

“We both know that isn’t true.”

“True as the fucking blood I bleed.”

Violet wasn’t a possession to own, and her father wasn’t
her master. Besides that, over his fucking dead body was he going to hand
Violet over to someone who claimed to be there to
collect
her like she
was property.

“Give that a few minutes,” Carmine said, chuckling. “And we
might get to see that blood, scum.”

Kaz let that comment roll off his shoulders. He’d been told
worse. “As I said, there’s nothing here that belongs to your father, so be a
smart little prick, and go.”

“Not until you give me what I’ve come for, Kazimir. My
sister—now.”

“No,” Kaz replied, unfazed.

If this was the only thing Carmine had to toss at Kaz, the
fool was going to be surprised at the outcome.

“You’re not walking away from this one, Markovic,” Carmine
said, never taking his gaze off Kaz for a moment. “If I were you, I’d get on my
knees and beg for a bullet.”

“That’s because you’re weak, Carmine. Unlike you, I don’t
get on my knees for anyone.”

Carmine smirked, his voice lowering just enough as to not
be heard by the men feet away. “Seems there is a particular slut you’ll get on
your knees for, huh?”

It was the “slut” that made Kaz’s eye twitch. He couldn’t
ever picture calling one of his sisters that, but Carmine had done it easily,
with relish almost.

Words rarely bothered Kaz, not when he had called himself
worse during his darker times, but hearing Carmine say that about Violet? It
made him snap.

Before he could even check the impulse, his fist was
flying, landing with almost perfect precision across the man’s jaw, just as
he’d been about to say something else. It was at the perfect angle that as soon
as his knuckles met Carmine’s face, he felt the crack of bone.

Even Carmine couldn’t contain a grunt of pain as his head
jerked to the side with the force of Kaz’s hit. He had barely drawn his fist
back when he heard the unmistakable sound of guns being drawn.

But his attention wasn’t focused on the weapons aimed in
his direction, but rather to the car where a door was being opened. Kaz knew,
even before the first hint of the man’s dark head showed above the roof, that
it was Alberto Gallucci. And though they looked quite similar, there was
definitely a difference between father and son.

While Carmine played at being a boss, it was clear that
Alberto was one. He had yet to even say a word as he took his time walking past
the cars, but he didn’t have to use his words to announce that he was the man
in charge. It was just a known fact. Though the men never took their eyes from
Kaz, they all stepped out of the way as Alberto neared.

Kaz, on the other hand, was not impressed.  “I don’t
think we’ve had the pleasure, Gallucci.”

“No, I’m glad to say we haven’t.” Alberto came close enough
to be just a couple of feet away from Kaz, and barely gave his injured son a
second glance. Lowering his voice just enough to not be heard by all watching,
he said, “Not with you being an adult, anyway. Although I must say, I liked you
better as a boy, before you thought to chase after my daughter.”

“I seem to remember that differently, then.”

Alberto rubbed his hands together, as if he was wiping dirt
from them. “Oh?”

“I liked her quite well then, too, no?”

The Italian boss stiffened, but that was his only show of
irritation. His face remained as cold and impassive as ever as he looked Kaz
over once more, then his gaze swept to the house behind him. “I will give you
one more chance to give my daughter to me and this all goes away, Kazimir.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I can assure
you that if you storm my sister’s home like you own the place, you might not
like what Vasily does.”

Alberto smiled then—small and dark. “I think you will soon
come to find you have no idea what your father will do.”

Kaz felt the brief urge to reach for the gun at his back,
but he beat it down. It would do him no good at that moment, given the weapons
still trained on him.

“Two minutes,” Alberto continued, “and she had better be
clothed.”

“I told you—”

Alberto held up a hand, stopping Kaz. “I may not like your
kind, but there is one thing we Russians and Italians have in common in our
business, and that is learned respect. You have, in the highest of regards,
disrespected me, Kazimir. And you will either bring me what is mine, or I will
take it from you.”

Kaz’s fist clenched with the need to strike another man. He
had the feeling that hitting Alberto would not end as well as it had when he
hit the man’s son.

“She’s not yours,” Kaz said cooly.

She was his.

Alberto sighed, passing another look over Kaz’s shoulder.
It took all Kaz had not to turn around and make sure his sister and Violet
weren’t watching from the windows where they could be seen.