Shared Crown of the Mafia Billionaires

1. Audrey

AUDREY

I walk into Bennett Kingston’s office, and I’m trying to keep my cool, but I can feel myself losing it. “Hey! You! We need to talk.”

Bennett Kingston, who is always in control, slowly stands up from his desk and smiles at me as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Audrey… it’s good to see you.”

I shake my finger at him. “Nope. None of that. I don’t want to hear any of that Mafia charm—”

His eyebrows lift. “Mafia charm?”

I go to my tiptoes and poke a polished fingernail into his big, brawny chest. “Yes, Mafia charm. And wipe that smug smile off your face. What are you doing?”

He just smiles at me as if he’s enjoying every second of this. The man is sex on legs, and every encounter I’ve had with him, I’ve had to calm my racing thoughts. “Well, I’m working, but I do appreciate the distraction.”

There’s a sound behind me, and I turn to look.

Knox, Bennett’s right-hand man, comes walking into the office.

He’s smiling too. He’s just as broad as Bennett.

They are both insanely handsome, and I try not to react when he crosses his thick arms over his massive chest and leans against the wall.

He acts as if he has all the time in the world and is just enjoying the show.

I glare at him and then look back at Bennett. “Call off your goons.”

Bennett frowns in confusion. “Goons? What goons?”

I put my hands on my hips. “The goons that you have following me everywhere.”

He doesn’t say anything, and I stomp a foot in frustration.

“I’m not kidding, Bennett. I’m already paranoid because my dad is having me tailed, and now you are too.

” I put my hand up and hold my thumb and index finger just an inch apart.

“I’m this close to just finding a hole, digging in, and staying there. ”

I’m too close to him. As soon as I get done with my tirade, I realize it.

I’m not sure what it is with Bennett Kingston or his friend Knox, but any time I’m anywhere near them, I go a little nuts.

I take a giant step back, and I’m sure if I was on the outside watching, it would be hilarious to see.

No, it wasn’t just a tiny step; it was a big, exaggerated one.

And he doesn’t like it.

He frowns and steps toward me. “What do you mean your dad has people tailing you?”

I roll my eyes. “Really?” I point a thumb to my chest. “I know everything there is to know about what my family does, has done, or plans to do, and I left to live in their rival’s territory. Do you think he’s just going to let that go?”

Bennett’s jaw tightens, and even though he doesn’t say a word, I know what he’s thinking. He’s trying to figure out how he’s going to end Victor Sterling. And even though it’s my father, I understand the sentiment. My father is a bad man.

I’m not sure what I was thinking. As if I could leave one of the biggest Mafia families in the South and just live my life?

That obviously is not going to happen. If it wasn’t for my brother Grant, I would have moved far away from here, but here I am, standing in Kingston territory begging for a little bit of space.

Bennett looks at Knox. “Can you get John and Tony in here please?”

Knox looks me up and down, and I feel the heat from his gaze all the way across the room. He nods at Bennett. “I’ll be right back.”

I glare back at Bennett. “I don’t know what this game is, but I don’t want to play it. I’ve told you everything about my father and what his plans are. You don’t need to keep tailing me.”

Bennett just stares back at me, and I can feel my face heat. Under different circumstances, I would probably fall for this man. He’s handsome in a way that makes me wet just looking at him. I shift my thighs together and have to look away.

Mere seconds pass, and Knox comes back in with two men trailing behind him. Bennett points to them. “Are these men the ones following you?”

I glare at them. “Yeah, that’s two of them.”

One of them speaks up. “The other two are working for the Sterlings.” He looks at me. “Or I guess I should say working for Victor.”

I close my eyes for two seconds just to get my thoughts together.

“Bennett, please, I told you I’d come to you if I have anything else, and I will.

I want my father taken down just as much as you do, if not more.

My baby brother…” I stop myself because talking about my brother makes me emotional. “Anyway, I will tell you. I promise.”

Bennett comes over and stands in front of me. The smell of his cologne hits me, and I breathe it in. Damn, he even smells good.

Bennett doesn’t say anything, just stands there, staring at me. When my eyes lift to his, he starts talking to the two men, but he continues looking at me. “Tony, tell Miss Sterling what your orders are.”

Tony doesn’t hesitate. “To protect Audrey Sterling.”

“And?” Bennett asks.

Tony says the words as if they’ve been drilled into him. “To treat Audrey Sterling as a member of the Kingston family, and that means protecting her at all costs and destroying anything that gets in our way.”

My eyes jerk to Tony’s, but he’s looking at Bennett. I see the sincerity on his face, and there’s no denying he takes his orders seriously, but I still have to ask. I look at Bennett. “So you’re not having me followed to find my dad or because you think I’m some kind of double agent?”

He smirks at that. “Double agent?”

I shrug. “You know what I mean.”

He shakes his head. “No, I only want you protected. That’s it.”

“Why?” I ask. When he doesn’t answer, I look between him and Knox. “Why do you care?”

Instead of answering my questions, he tells Tony and John, “You can wait outside.”

They leave without commenting. As soon as they go out the door, Knox comes to stand closer. His eyes never leave me, and I start to feel the weight of his and Bennett’s gazes the longer I stand here.

I toss up a hand. “Are you not going to answer me? Why?”

Bennett lifts his chin. Every move he makes, every sound, every look is controlled, and it is driving me crazy. “I want you to move into a Kingston house.”

Stunned, I blink at him. “No. That’s not going to happen.”

He leans back and sits on the edge of his desk. He looks completely calm except for the tick of his jaw. “Yes.”

My mouth drops open. “I’m not moving in with you.”

He tilts his head and searches my face. “You would be living with both Knox and me. We have a house together.”

Oh my God, I wouldn’t survive it. That’s my first thought.

There’s no way I could live in a house with the two of them.

Just being in this office is overwhelming, and I know I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I was in a house where they slept…

and did other things. Even though I feel strongly about it, I stutter, “I can’t live with you. ”

He bites his lip and looks at me.

I look at Knox, who has moved closer, and my breath is stilted when I realize how close they both are. Nope, there is no way I could live in the same house. I would make a fool of myself and throw myself at them. I’m shaking my head. “No, there’s no way I’m living with you two.”