Page 91 of Clash of Sin and Secret

Agostino looks from the weapon in Zane’s hand to the identical copy in his hand. “I put the power of your forger witches to good use. They do good work, don’t you think? Very convincing.”

There’s a delicious moment of dawning when he realizes he’s still the king of nothing.

“And for your information, cousin,thatis what cunning looks like.”

Before Agostino can retaliate, Zane presses up behind him and pulls the ancient blade across his throat.

Blood spills from the wound and darkens his shirt.

“You claim nothing. The Vasari seat of power will never be under your rule. You are nothing but a worthless snake and will be forgotten. My father will live on forever in his legacy and the sacrifice he made for his people.”

The decoy dagger drops from his hands as Zane twists his cousin’s head and tosses it onto the growing pile. “Wylder, if you wouldn’t mind, can you bonfire these assholes?”

The black dragon dips its chin and then a long spray of blue fire ignites the bodies of the fallen.

Zane cleans the blade of the Diamond Dagger on the leg of his pants and sheaths it at his hip. Then he holds his hand out for Scottie.

She accepts the gesture and when the two of them turn toward the rocky path that will lead us back to the dock, Tucker and I fall into step.

The coastal wind whips across our faces, the promise of autumn chill in the air. My muscles ache, but the victory thrums through my veins like electricity.

Ahead of me, Zane helps Scottie navigate the uneven ground, his hand steady at her waist. Tucker brings up the rear, alert despite his exhaustion.

The wooden dock creaks under our feet as we approach the zodiac. Edgar, the young squire assigned to ferry duty, straightens at attention. His eyes widen at our battle-worn appearance, but he smiles and gives Zane a nod. “Where to, sire?”

“Back to the mainland,” Zane says, his voice rough with fatigue. He helps Scottie into the boat first, then extends his hand to steady me as I step down.

The gesture surprises me—usually, I’m the one watching his back.

Tucker drops into the seat across from us, his broad shoulders slumping. The four of us sit in comfortable silence as Edgar starts the engine.

Scottie shifts beside Zane, and rests her head on his shoulder. When she yawns and reaches to take my hand, the last of my tension drains from my body.

“Let’s go home, boys.”

EPILOGUE

Scottie

Huntley’s large hands run down my body. They start at my bare collarbone and drift lower. With both of us naked and his hands pausing over my breasts, the night melts away.

The two of us visited Da’s grave tonight and shared the news that we’d taken down the man behind his death.

It was a bittersweet moment, but also a cathartic one. Da and Francesco needed to be avenged, and wherever they are, I know they’ll think using Agostino’s own witches to create the fake dagger to dupe him was an inspired twist.

“You okay?” Huntley asks, his blue eyes searching my face as his thumbs pause over my hard nipples.

I arch into his touch and groan. “I am, actually.”

And I mean it. The weight that’s been crushing my chest since Da and Francesco were murdered has lessened. And while I’m a long way from being okay, I can breathe again, and that’s a start.

“He’d be proud of us,” Huntley says, his hands gliding down my ribs. “Not the sexual situation of us all crossing lines, but of what we accomplished together.”

Sliding my arm beneath the sheet, I wrap my hand around the base of his stiff cock. After stroking him twice, I roll onto my knees and straddle his hips. “The sexual situation is our business. As long as we get the job done and Zane is safe, that’s what matters.”

I lift my hips and guide him to my entrance, sinking down to take him into my core.

His smirk melts away as he curses, his chest expanding as he exhales and grips my hips. “You take me so good—too good.”

---