Page 17 of Dark Consequences

“Keep that up, and Liam won’t be an only child for long,” I muse leisurely.

“I wouldn’t complain,” Michael remarks.

“Oh my God, Michael, stop.” Rose giggles, her face blushing a bright red, but the sinful smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes scream she is anything but embarrassed.

Igor stabbed Rose in the aftermath of their wedding, resulting in the loss of one of Rose’s ovaries. The doctors froze the eggs they could salvage and had Michael fertilize the ones healthy enough. And while her other ovary survived the attack, it makes the ability to get pregnant naturally much more difficult.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I want to see you pregnant,” Michael growls against her mouth, kissing her once more. It’s a sore spot for my brother knowing that he didn’t get to be there for Rose during her pregnancy and the birth of his son.

“Moving on,” I say, a tad bit louder this time. The two are like a pair of horny teenagers, and keeping them focused is just as bad. “Where are Lily and Mei?”

Rose helps hand a sleeping Liam off to Michael before sitting up. “It was time for Mei’s nap, so they’re resting in their room. Look, I need to tell you both something, though, before they wake up.” Rose’s tone is as serious as the look on her face.

“What is it?” I ask, immediately alarmed.

“Lily told me about how she came to be with Xiao. Six years ago, she was working as a relief doctor in Columbia. There was another doctor there, a creep…anyway, he drugged her and took advantage. After he got his fill, he sold her to some local drug lords. From there, she was sold several times until she was brought to Miami, where she ended up at an auction and was sold to the Triads. Xiao found her next at one of his whorehouses and was apparently entranced right away. He took her for his own.”

“How the hell did she survive for so long?” The Triads are notorious for pumping their working girls with more drugs and alcohol than they can handle. It often leads them to overdose and death if something else doesn’t take them first.

“I think it goes without saying that she did whatever she had to in order to survive. For her and Mei,” Rose says.

I can only imagine what that included and shudder in anger at the thought of what Lily has endured these past six years.

“Do you think it was the same auction?” Michael wonders.

Rose fidgets with a lock of her hair. I’ve learned it’s a sign of her nerves, so we wait her out. “I don’t know. The way she described it to me…it seemed less sophisticated. But it could be.”

Michael nods and runs his free hand down her back before drawing her in to kiss her forehead. “We’ll look into it. I promised you I would end the one behind the auctions, and I will.”

“Thank you,” Rose murmurs, closing her eyes at his comforting touch. After a second, she opens them and stares directly at me. “Promise me you’ll take it easy with Lily. With both of them, Raphael. I only suffered a couple of weeks of that abuse and was lucky nothing worse happened. But she has spent years drowning in it. That kind of trauma doesn’t just disappear overnight.”

“I know.”

“So be patient. Because despite all that, somehow, she’s still strong. I can see it. And maybe you can help show her?” Rose suggests, reminding me once again why she’s the perfect match for my brother. Whenever Michael leaps off a cliff, Rose is always there, ensuring he’s safely tethered to a sturdy tree before encouraging him to jump.

After they leave, concentrating on actual work for our various businesses is difficult when I know Lily’s so close by, but there’s no rest for the wicked to maintain our vast empire. As Michael’s second, I’m responsible for the day-to-day, balancing the books and identifying any discrepancies that need further attention. On both the legal and illegal sides of our business.

The soft giggle of a young girl’s voice floats through the air, and I glance up at the clock, realizing nearly an hour has passed. Rose’s words echo through my mind, and I know I need to talk to Lily. Running a hand down my face, I close my computer and leave the office in search of my guests.

Just as I come around the corner to the kitchen, my phone rings. Digging it out of my pocket, I swipe the green button on Enzo’s name and accidentally hit the speaker button.

“Hey, hold on, En—”

“Raphael! I was just fucking ambushed by the Triads,” he rushes out, his tone laced with pain and adrenaline.

“What happened?”

From the corner of my eye, I notice Lily approach cautiously, leaving Mei behind to watch her show.

“They fucking T-boned my Land Rover and then started firing. Evie’s with me, man, and she could have been killed. Those titty-sucking, motherfucking fuckers—”

“Enzo!” I shout, interrupting my friend to keep him focused. “Where are you?”

“The corner of Antonia and Fifth.”

“Are you two okay?”

“We’re a little banged up, but we’re more alive than those pieces-of-shit, beady-eyed assholes. I killed every one of them,” Enzo declares.

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