Chapter 1
KING
The lighthouse in the distance grows brighter as we draw closer to Lighthouse Landing. The small town has a charming appearance, but no one can escape the darkness that lingers in the corners. No matter how much light you try to shine. It’s always there. Lingering and drawing closer.
The ocean tide is rougher than normal. There is something in the air tonight. I’m not sure what it is. I felt it the second I stepped onto the yacht to make our way over to the Landing, as I do almost every Friday night.
I always trust my gut. I’m not sure what is off, but I’ll find out soon enough, I’m certain.
"We had the men conduct an additional inspection of the docks. Everything is good. The place is already filling up tonight.” Anton arrives to stand beside me.
“I’ll be going over first,” I tell him, grabbing my leather jacket from where I tossed it.
I don’t pull the yacht all the way up to the island. It’s too big and noticeable. Instead we anchor it off shore a bit and use the speedboat attached to the back. Tonight a few of my men who were off wanted to go to the fights and brought dates. Even Anton brought his wife along.
Lighthouse Landing is typically a secure place for us. The cops are in our pocket, and I’d taken out the trash a month ago when it started to poke around. Still, something is lingering in the air, and it’s putting me on edge.
“I let everyone know.” Anton turns to head toward the back of the yacht. I sense the boat coming to a halt and the anchor dropping as I make my way toward the speedboat.
“Cash, you’re with me,” I tell him as I pass. He falls into step behind me. A few of my men are already getting the speedboat ready. Cash and I both hop in. The second it’s released, I take off toward the island. The dock is already filled with other boats from the mainland. The fights are always a mix of crowds.
I pull into my normal spot before hopping off so that Cash can take the boat back and bring more people in. I make my way around the side of the warehouse, not going to the main entrance. One of my men is there waiting to let me in.
"Evening, sir."
"Evening," I respond, starting my own check-over.
I make my rounds, but everything is already in order, and all the fighters for the night are here ready to go. People are making their bets, and the money is already pouring in.
The majority of the money comes from the streaming and bets placed there, but the atmosphere is essential. Plus, I enjoy watching the fights too. It is, after all, how I got my start and rose all the way to the top in the rink and then the city.
It wasn’t a big step from being inside the rink running shit to doing the same and so much more outside of it. I never miss a live event I’m hosting. I’m not one that likes attention, so I usually stay off to the side, lingering in the dark. Someone has to. These things need order.
I take a spot toward the back as the first fight begins. Still unable to fight the sense that I am missing something, I’m on edge as I find myself once more making rounds. I head toward the front to check in with Mickey, who covers the main entrance.
I pass by a small crowd of women dressed to the nines, not leaving anything to the imagination. Their heels click loudly on the concrete floor. I always hate that sound. It reminds me of the strip clubs and being a kid in the back while my mom worked.
Whenever I saw those heels, I knew it meant it was time for her to go to work. The girls were sweet to me, but that shit still fucked with my head and could turn my stomach. Which many would say is insane with some of the other things I've done and seen. Things that would haunt people's dreams.
"Are you supposed to be here?" Mickey asks as I open the door to check on him.
What I see shocks the ever-loving fuck out of me. A tiny figure stands there, dressed in jeans and a fuzzy pink sweater, adorned with a cat wearing a crown. Even being a tiny thing, her cheeks are full and round, speckled with freckles, but her plump, bow-shaped lips do me in. Those are the kind of lips people pay to have, that men fantasize about. Ones that will visit me in my dreams from this day on.
She pushes her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose that has a slight upturn to the end as she stares up at Mickey. I bet she has to stare up at everyone. I feel a sudden sense of annoyance but not at her. At Mickey. I want her eyes on me, not him.
“Yes.” Her voice, like the rest of her, is small, yet I can tell she is trying to put fire behind it. It’s adorable and oddly sexy at the same time. Two words that don’t go together, but then again, neither do she and I, but we’re about to. "My brother is in there. Rich."
"Your brother?" Rich is three times this girl's size. I knew he had a sister. "Richy Rich is your brother." It's difficult to believe that a Haven could produce a young princess. They tend to have a darkness to them. One I can understand. That hasn’t touched this little ethereal creature. She is pure as fresh fallen snow.
"My twin." Well, fuck me. She has shocked me twice in a matter of seconds. It’s not something I’m used to. My intrigue is growing by the second. Right, along with my dick. I just walked past a room of half-naked women and nothing. Princess here isn’t showing ankles or wrists, and I’m hard as fuck.
"All right then." I open the door wide, wanting her inside as much as she wants in. “In you go, Princess.” My eyes drop to her ass that her jeans mold to perfectly. She hurries past me, her friend going with her. I don’t miss the way her eyes take me in.
As I follow behind them, I search through my mind. The sister’s name. Willamina Haven, it clicks, but they called her Willa. The girl with her must be Teddy. Yes, I know all about the house that sits up on the highest hill of Lakehouse Landing.
“Was he flirting with me?” Willa asks Teddy as they make their way down the long, dark hallway.
“I was.” I smirk.
“Oh my God,” Willa whispers loudly, making me chuckle. Damn, she is adorable. How the hell is she a Haven? And when did adorable become such a big part of my vocabulary? I don’t think I’ve ever used that word to describe anyone or anything in the past. Now I can't stop thinking it when it comes to her.
Her friend hooks her arm into Willa’s as they make it into the main part of the warehouse where two men are in the middle of a match. A thick crowd has gathered around the ring with everyone on their feet. I hang back and watch the girls.
Anyone who sees Willa will know she’s fresh grade A fucking meat. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her, and I'm not letting anyone get close.
Teddy glances back toward me a few times, her eyes narrowing. She’s protective. Clearly more street smart than Willa, but if I recall right, she is a city girl that moved here a few years ago. Her mother is employed at the Haven estate, where she resides in the guest house.
Both of them stand out in contrast to all the other women here, and Princess sure as fuck doesn’t belong in a dirty-ass warehouse.
Willa covers her face with her hand when one of the men in the ring takes a right hook that drops him, blood splattering out across the ring. The crowd roars.
I know her brother is up next. People start to chant Richie Rich . He has yet to lose a fight here at the Landing. He’s in it for the blood. The kid sure as fuck doesn’t need money. Hence the name I’d given him that first day I met him.
Princess tries to lift up on her tiptoes in her sneakers but can’t see for shit. I know this is my chance, and I never let an opportunity that I know will win for me in the end pass by. Wouldn’t be here today if I had.
I step up next to Willa. “Want to get closer, Princess?”
She turns her head toward me, giving me her attention.
“You can do that?” Willa asks, her eyes so wide behind those glasses.
“You got a name?” Her friend cuts in.
“Everyone calls me King,” I tell her, not bothering to glance her way. Not when I can stare down at Willa, trying to figure out what is so captivating about her that has stolen all of my attention. “You can call me Vasily, though, Princess.” Willa’s face starts to turn pink, lighting up those freckles.
“You can get us closer, Vasily?” She licks those bow-shaped lips of hers.
“Yeah, I can.” I throw my arm around her, tucking her in to me. “Stay close.”
“Okay.” Willa presses her tiny body more into mine. A protectiveness roars to life inside of me.
The crowd parts as I make my way through it toward the stage. Willa pushes even farther into me. The sweet smell of berries and lemon hit, and I know it can only be her in a place like this.
That’s when it hits me. This was fucking it. Why I’ve felt off all night. Now that I have her pressed against me, that feeling is gone. Replaced by a new feeling that I’ve never had before and am not ready to even begin to try to figure out.
I don’t want to let her go, but I know that’s not an option. She doesn’t belong in my world. She is too good for it. I’m already playing with fire.
I am, after all, the one who killed her father.