Page 21 of The Assassin
Madam Winters met him in front of the shiny reception desk, her red satin dress a tight fitting piece of artwork on her curvy waist. She was outfitted in gold jewelry, from her earrings to her necklace, which glittered with diamonds, to the rings on her thin fingers. Her smile always seemed genuinely pleased, but behind it lay the warning of a dangerous woman.
“Mr. Mancini, welcome back.” She held out her hand and he cradled it in his palm as he bent to kiss her knuckles. Her Southern accent slipped through her words, making them sound more charming.
“Madam Winters, pleasure as always.” He gifted her with a smile and glanced around the foyer.
“You’re not here for an afternoon delight,” she surmised, her mouth curling in amusement.
“No, I came to see Kirby. How is he?”
Madam Winters patted him on the back of the hand. “I told you I’d take care of him.”
“I know and it’s not that I don’t trust you, ma’am.”
“Such a gentleman.” Her gaze slid to the man behind the desk, one Gabriel knew was her son. He took after her in appearance, from the light blue eyes to the blond hair, but there was an unveiled disgust in the stare he gave Gabriel, as though he didn’t like his presence in the hotel. “Darcy, darling, tell Mummy Dearest if Bliss is available at the moment.” She turned her attention back on Gabriel. “He’s been keeping the company of a King lately. A man by the name of Jester.”
Darcy tapped on the computer at the desk, his eyes flicking up every so often to look at Gabriel with annoyance. He reminded Gabriel of Ardan in a way, but there was nothing sexy about the exasperation in Darcy’s gaze, and he didn’t get Gabriel’s blood pumping hot like the assassin either.
“Is this Jester good to him, or do I need to break some heads?”
Madam Winters laughed and the rich sound echoed in the foyer. “Goodness gracious. You have no faith in me, honey. I’d not let anything happen to that sweet boy.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Gabriel raised her hand to kiss it again, sending her one of his most charismatic smiles. “But Kirby has a habit of not telling people when he’s in trouble.”
Darcy cleared his throat and walked around the desk, a tablet he’d picked up clutched against his chest. He pursed his lips and straightened. “Bliss is currently available. I’ve sent word to him that he has a visitor.”
Gabriel slanted his head forward in acknowledgement. “Thank you.”
Darcy huffed and strode past him, clearly not inclined to say more.
Madam Winters shook her head. “He’s a good boy, but not always the friendliest. I blame that on myself. I taught him to not trust people for the longest time while he was growing up, and he’s kept that attitude into adulthood.”
“It’s a good lesson to learn. People will only disappoint you in the end.”
She patted his chest and sent him a dazzling smile. “But there are also good men in the world, like you, Mr. Mancini. Without you, Bliss would have been dead.”
“Speaking of the devil.” Gabriel peeked over her shoulder at Kirby, who’d reached the bottom step of a grand staircase. He looked healthier than the last time Gabriel had seen him and much to his surprise, Kirby’s natural blond hair had been dyed a brown. Gabriel was so used to seeing the blond that the dark color made him startle in surprise. The darker color suited Kirby, though, and it gave his face a fuller appearance. He didn’t look so emaciated in his slimness.
Kirby’s grin lit his face and he nearly ran into Gabriel’s arms, burying his face into his neck with a laugh. He curled his arms around Gabriel’s waist, securing a hold on him. “Gabe, hi.”
Madam Winters held up her palms toward them in anI’ll leave you begesture and floated away toward a couple of men who sat on the couch closer to the doors.
Gabriel returned Kirby’s hug, latching onto the shorter man and kissing his forehead. “Hey, bug. How are you?”
“Is that a rhetorical question? Because you keep asking over the phone and you know I’m fine.” Kirby laughed. “I’m always fine here. They take care of me.”
“Even the one with a stick up his ass?”
Kirby’s laughter doubled. “I’m assuming you’re talking about Darcy. They call him the Winter Prince for a reason.”
“He needs to get laid.”
“More than once. I think he needs to be regularly fucked.” Kirby shook his head and took a step back out of Gabriel’s arms. “You’d think it’d be easy for him here seeing as it’s a whorehouse.”
“Would anyone be willing?”
“He’s a good-looking guy. I know one of the whores, Romeo, would be more than happy to give him what he needs for free, but Darcy’s tighter than my virgin hole before Leo came along.”
By ‘came along,’ he meant Kirby had been charmed into the life of the Italian mafia with the belief that Leo would take care of him. Unfortunately for Kirby, Leo’s version of taking care included beating him until he could barely move. After years of seeing the torture, Gabriel couldn’t stand it anymore. He’d taken Kirby and fled before he planned a way to get rid of his boss.
