Vicious Hearts: A Dark Enemies To Lovers Mafia Romance
Vicious Hearts: Chapter 36

“Um, yes, hi.”

Callie is waiting for us when the elevator doors open onto the glamorous front entryway to the Drakos estate. I’ve seen some wealth in this city. I mean Cillian’s clock-tower penthouse has to be in the realm of mid eight figures. Not to mention the stunning five-story brownstone on the Upper East Side, or Neve and Ares’ gorgeous all-glass penthouse on the west side.

But they all pale against this place: an actual, honest-to-God Georgian-style English Manor, moved brick-by-fucking-brick from the English countryside to the top of a forty-floor building on Central Park South. Twelve bedrooms, twice as many bathrooms, even grounds, complete with two pools, manicured gardens, and a tennis court.

It’d be obscene if it wasn’t so damn tastefully and gorgeously done.

As we get out of the elevator, Callie’s grinning at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, Calliope?” Cillian mutters, his arm around my waist. “What is it?”

“Well, it’s just that dinner started ten minutes ago.”

“There was traffic.”

Callie’s eyes drop to the scarf around my neck.

“Great scarf, Una.”

I blush deeply. She grins. “Well then,” Callie giggles. “Dinner is this way.”

We head through the opulent home until we approach the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from the formal dining room. Just before we step in after Callie, though, Hades slips out. He clears his throat and shuts the door behind him.

“Could I, uh,” he frowns, glancing at Cillian. “Could I borrow Una for a second? Alone?”

“No.”

I bite back a grin at the ferociously snarling possessive note in Cillian’s voice.

Hades smirks. “C’mon, Cill, it’s not like that. I just need to tell her—”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

I giggle as Hades sighs. “Fuck it, fine. Stay, for all I care.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Hades rolls his eyes and turns to me. “I just wanted to say, I’ve been a little prickly to you.”

I mean, he has, yes. But it’s fine. I’m an outsider, and yeah, my father almost killed his brother. I get it.

“Hades,” I reassure him. “It’s all good.”

“No. I mean, I can be a dick. Okay, I am kind of a dick.”

“Kind of…?” Cillian mutters.

Hades ignores him, shoving his dark hair back from his piecing blue eyes. “I was angry before, when that fucking thing went off almost in Neve’s face at the reception. And because of that, I spoke out of turn.” He smiles wryly. “You’re not your father, Una.”

I reach out and squeeze his hand, ignoring the tight-jawed growl from Cillian when I do.

“Let’s start fresh, yeah?”

Hades grins. “Perfect. I swear, I’m not a dick all the time.”

“That’s to be debated,” Cillian murmurs grimly, yanking my hand back from Hades. “Now, if we’ve all kissed and made up…I think we’re all probably starving.”

It’s actually my first “family dinner” at the Drakos house. But despite my nerves, and maybe partly because of Hades clearing the air beforehand, the whole thing is perfectly lovely.

I laugh and drink wine with Neve, Eilish, and Callie. We crack up at a story Ares tells us about Hades keeping snacks under his pillow when they were kids. Dimitra, as super intimidating as she is despite her small stature, makes a grand toast to Cillian and I, involving both a Greek proverb about wine and honey and something about “love and babies.”

Yeah, easy there, Dimitra.

She even comes over to hug me, and to tell me how glad she is that I’m part of this family now, which when I think about it is maybe the first time I’ve ever heard that in my life.

I lean my head against Cillian’s shoulder, our hands clasped together on his lap, and I smile at all the love and family around me.

Life is pretty fucking great.

All the siblings, and Castle—who really might as well be a Kildare sibling—ride the elevator down with us after dinner. We’re all still laughing about a joke Hades has cracked when we tumble out the front doors onto Central Park South.

Ares huffs, turning to glare up at the building across the side-street from the corner the Drakos’ building sits on. The other building has a huge crane on top of it, complete with a giant wrecking ball, as well as scaffolding and bare iron beams.

“All this shit was supposed to be finished three months ago,” he mutters, angrily gesturing at the construction. “I mean Ya-ya doesn’t need to hear this bullshit day in and day out.”

Neve’s freaking gorgeous Aston Martin pulls up at the corner, and a valet driver leaps out with a quick nod.

Callie grins, whirling on Neve. “Okay, first, you can totally say no. But—”

“Yes, Callie,” Neve laughs. “You can drive it. Take it for a spin around the park or something.”

Ares groans as his little sister squeals and hugs Neve fiercely. “God help the pedestrians and other drivers.”

The rest of us are still talking and laughing as Callie bounces over to the car parked on the corner.

Everything after that happens in slow motion.

I hear a dull, faraway pop. I’m vaguely aware of Castle roaring and shoving past everyone, pelting toward where Callie is grinning and doing a little victory dance next to the open driver’s side door of the Aston Martin.

There are screams as he slams into her, grabbing her around the middle and yanking her off her feet as he rolls onto his back, slamming against the hood of a taxi that screeches to a stop.

…Just as the wrecking ball that was hanging from the crane above not forty seconds ago smashes Neve’s car into the street with the sound of a bomb going off.