Royal Legacy (Dynasty of Queens #5)

Chapter 1 – Poppy

“Hey! You ready yet?” Penelope’s voice reverberated through the door.

I let out a hiss and shot a look at the bed. The covers stirred slightly, but the bundle didn’t sit up. I launched from the vanity stool and tore the door open with a finger pressed to my lips.

“Oh, shit! Sorry!” Penelope whispered, eyes going wide as she realized what she’d done.

“It’s all good,” I promised, careful to keep my voice low. “He fell right asleep after all that swimming.”

Relief swept through her face, but beneath it was something deeper.

A scar that wasn’t healed, a pain that would never truly go away.

My cousin had been a super auntie this weekend.

The zoo, Navy Pier, three bookstores—she’d taken my son everywhere and been his constant companion.

He constantly jabbered with her, his eyes filled with a glowing admiration.

“Well, you look like you’re ready!” Penelope quipped, hiding her private heartache behind her signature, blistering smile. “Let’s go down. The guests have already started to arrive.”

Any protest on my part was useless. I’d finally agreed to come visit, to leave the safety and comfort of home, only to be swept into the fast-paced tug-of-war once again. There was a good reason I left this behind and carved a path for myself.

As I shut the door to my bedroom, I sent up another small prayer of gratitude. If Penelope and I hadn’t traded places, this could have been my life, married to a don and playing hostess to Chicago’s Underworld players.

“You’re sure it’s okay that I’m participating?” I asked, secretly hoping for an out as we walked down the hall.

Penelope shot me a sideways glance. She knew what I really meant. “I won’t force you to make an appearance.”

She’d been unbelievably kind. It had me backpedaling. “It’s just dinner. I can manage dinner.”

“You don’t sound too sure of yourself,” she laughed nervously.

I wasn’t. “It’s not like they know who I am.”

“True.”

Tonight, I was just someone visiting for two weeks. We wouldn’t mention I was family. Our secrets were safe.

“If Brady wakes up, will he be okay?” Penelope paused at the top of the stairs.

I held up my phone. The screen showed the nanny camera app. “I’ll be watching. If you see me dash away, you’ll know why.”

“Good.” My cousin looped her arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s go have some fun.”

I returned the hug, but inside, my stomach knotted.

This was far from my idea of fun. There was a new release on my Kindle I was dying to read.

Curled in bed with my little guy, reading to the background noise of his soft, sleepy breathing, that was the perfect evening. That was what I’d been doing for years.

What’s one night?

It wouldn’t kill me to step out of my comfort zone. Plus! Who knew, maybe living an adventure was just the kind of change I needed?

The inner cynic laughed as I glided after my older cousin. It reminded me how much I hated change.

Not all change is bad, I quickly scolded the negative voice. If I didn’t embrace change, I wouldn’t have gone to North Dakota eight years ago. I wouldn’t have adopted Brady five years ago. No…change wasn’t the problem.

It was being back in the underworld.

My palms began to sweat as we headed straight for the back patio.

The French door was thrown wide open, beckoning us into the dwindling sunlight.

Voices rose and fell. The harsh sound made me shiver.

When someone laughed a little too loudly, it was similar to a demented cackle.

Fiends, all of them. Fiends and monsters, each ready to pounce and devour a sweet piece of flesh if the mood struck.

At least I was simply the “guest” of the don.

That was my only protection against the living, breathing nightmares.

Penelope swept us through the doors. Her dress fluttered around her legs like a living thing.

Her attire was a magical kind of armor, her smile a weapon, and her heart belonged to the don.

She was in her element. A modern queen, reigning over the dark with an implacable force of will. This was what she was destined to do.

My heartbeat doubled. I didn’t realize how badly I was reacting until I reached for a cocktail from a passing tray and noticed my hand was shaking.

Breathe! They wouldn’t hurt me.

But the sideways glances, the curious looks, and the minute calculations in their eyes told a different story.

I followed Penelope to the don, who broke away from his conversation to press a firm, possessive kiss on his wife’s forehead. He murmured something in her ear that tipped her lips upward in a secret smile.

Saints! They were so in love.

That was the kind of picture-perfect affection readers desperately turned the pages of stories to enjoy. The smallest knot of jealousy pulsed in my chest. I might not have found it—hell, I wasn’t even looking for it!—but I wanted someone to look at me like that. Who wouldn’t?

“You’re looking lovely as well,” Don Alessandro commented, shifting his gaze over his wife’s head to acknowledge me.

Over the years, we’d come to a friendly understanding. The Mancinis visited North Dakota regularly, which helped erase any awkwardness from jilting this man years ago.

“Thanks,” I gulped.

“Introduce us,” a deep bass commanded.

Wrapped up in my own nerves, I hadn’t spared the man Alessandro was talking to a look. I flicked a glance at him—and froze. Every fiber of my being went on high alert, and instinct screamed to take flight, since there was no fighting this monster.

And monster was the right word. He was as tall as the don, with a similar build.

Whereas Don Mancini was polished, wearing his suit like a second skin, this man evoked a far more garish image.

His hair fell to his shoulders in messy curls that refused to be tamed by the product he’d liberally applied.

Tattoos boldly peeked over his collar, clawing their inky tendrils up his throat.

A fresh shiner decorated his right eye, and an angry scar, still red and swollen, curved under his freshly shaven jaw.

Bottomless black eyes were fixed on me. “We haven’t had the pleasure,” the stranger added.

The way his heavily accented tongue curled over the words sent a shiver over my skin.

“Certainly.” Alessandro’s voice was both cold and hard. “Ivan, this is a friend of my wife’s, who’s come to stay with us.”

The man lifted his hand, which was also littered with black and blue ink, reaching for me.

Gold rings winked, catching the evening sun on their thick bands.

On any other man, they might have looked cheesy.

But on this hand, they felt…deadly. Like they were designed to break bone under the guise of decoration.

I placed my clammy mitt in his. The grip swallowed mine and closed around me like a snare. The moment our skin made contact, a cool, crisp rush rattled my heart. I wanted to run.

My voice was unnaturally high. “Hi!”

“Hi.” He smirked. “And do you have a name, friend of Penelope?”

“Poppy,” I gasped.

“Poppy.” He tested the name. “Like the yellow flowers on the Pirin Mountains.”

My brain short-circuited. His heavily accented English did something funny in my belly.

Luckily, Penelope jumped in with her characteristic wit. “Yep, this is my buddy. I finally convinced her to visit, since we built the swimming pool in the backyard.”

The stranger kept hold of my fingers, studying me with a marked attentiveness. The smile made his eyes crinkle at the corners. This was no boy teasing me. He was all man, and he knew what he was doing. “And do you like to swim, Poppy?”

“Yep.” I wanted to smack myself. I cleared my throat. Could I sound any more like a frightened rabbit? “I enjoy it as much as the next person.”

A masculine note of appreciation rumbled in his chest. “Such a good summer for it. Boiling hot.”

Geesh! He even made the weather sound seductive. I tugged my hand, which, after a moment, he released. Air didn’t quite seem to fill my lungs.

“We’re going to go check on dinner,” Penelope announced, looping a protective arm around my shoulders once more. “Sorry to interrupt. You two continue your chat.”

“Apology not necessary,” the stranger murmured.

While at the same time, Alessandro grumbled, “Shepherd has it under control, vespina.”

Penelope waved her husband off and bounded away, tugging me along.

“Sorry about that, little mouse!” she said in a rush. “I was so excited to see Alessio that I didn’t realize he was talking to him.”

“It’s okay.” I swallowed hard. “He was just intense.”

Penelope nodded. “Everyone else is nice enough. Or, well, as nice as politicians and businessmen can be,” she added with a laugh. “Ivan is a little uncivilized. Okay, no, that’s a lie. He’s really uncivilized. Kind of like a pirate.”

Pirate…no, that didn’t fit. Pirates were sailors, roving about, searching the high seas for adventure and treasure. This man was something else.

Something worse.

A barbarian, bringing a hoard of soldiers to attack and pillage. I hadn’t read Robert E. Howard. Pulp fiction wasn’t my cup of tea. But this man? He could be brothers with Conan.

“Anyhow, he doesn’t do social gatherings. But Alessio asked him here tonight to meet with the mayor about some important district rezoning proposals. There’s an investment opportunity we’re excited about. It hinges around Ivan participating,” Penelope continued. “I’m actually surprised he came.”

“What is he?” I asked as we slipped into the kitchen.

Penelope’s nose wrinkled. She set her cocktail down on the counter. “You know what he is.”

I did. Anyone with eyes could see it. “A boss.”

My cousin nodded. “His territory is north of the city, the Lake Bluff area. The Skokie Highway runs right alongside it, and if the rezoning goes through, there could be trouble on the west side of the road—. Sorry!” She shook her head. “You don’t want to hear about all that.”

I smiled. A trickle of warmth rushed through me, helping to thaw the muscles that were too numb from the encounter. “I missed you.”

“Same!” Penelope grinned. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Me too.” And I was.

I raised my untouched drink in a salute and tipped it back. “Damn, that’s good.”

“Do you want another?” She scooted hers toward me.

I eyed the tumbler. It was a bad idea. “Maybe after dinner.”

At that moment the poor butler pushed through the swinging door, and Penelope shot him a grin.

“Shepherd! Just the man I was looking for.”

The butler groaned. I hid a smirk and watched as my cousin began to give him the riot act. My fingers inched toward her untouched drink. Just a sip….