Sinful Empire (Mount Trilogy #3)

“Careful, Lachlan. You wouldn’t want to get attached to me.”

His lips lower, stopping a breath from mine. “Too late.”



I jerk awake, expecting to feel a solid man against me, but he’s not there.

“Where is he?”

“Ms. Kilgore, are you okay?” The nurse holding my chart tucks it away and comes toward the bed. She’s blond.

Instantly I tense. “I’m . . . I’m . . .” I trail off because I have no freaking clue what I am anymore. But okay is not it.

“Is the pain getting worse?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.” She heads for the IV drip, but I don’t trust her. I don’t trust anyone I’ve seen in this room except Temperance and my parents.

Where the hell are you, Lachlan? I need you.

“Mom? Tell her I’m okay. I don’t need more drugs. I can stay awake.” My voice sounds weak, but she’s the only defense I have against this unidentified blond woman.

My mom jerks awake. “What? What’s going on?”

“I’m just going to adjust her meds, then take her down for a test.”

“A test?” My mom sits up straighter in the reclining chair on my right. “What kind of test? What’s wrong?”

The nurse glances at my mom, and I look around for a weapon. Just in case. The tray from whatever meal I didn’t eat is still on the table beside the bed.

As the blonde explains about some kind of neuro test, I reach for the butter knife with my free hand and tuck it beneath the sheet. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.

The metal bites into my palm, and I remember holding on to Magnolia’s silver chopstick I’d had made for her. I was going to stab that blond bitch if she came back. I just can’t remember her face.

“Everything’s fine, Mrs. Kilgore. I promise this is routine. I’ll have her back here in no time.” The nurse adjusts whatever they’re pumping into me from the pole attached to the bed, and releases the brake.

“I’ll come with.”

My mom rises from the chair, and I wonder if her protective instincts are flaring for the same reason as mine. If this is really the crazy bitch, I don’t want my mom anywhere near her. Especially not if I have to stab her with a butter knife.

“We’ll be right back. There’s no point in you trudging through the halls to wait outside anyway.” As my mom wrestles with this decision, the nurse says, “I swear. She’s going to be fine.”

The nurse’s placating tone rubs me the wrong way, and I prepare to do battle. I keep quiet, not wanting to give my mom a reason to come along.

When she finally nods and lowers herself back into the chair, her eyelids droop almost instantly.

“Mom, it’ll be okay. I’ll be right back. You should sleep.” I don’t believe what I’m saying, but I tell her anyway.

“Love you, honey.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

She’s already snoring as the nurse wheels me out of sight.



The hallways of the hospital are quiet, which puts me even more on edge.

“Where are we going?”

“Just another quick check of your head. You took a hard hit.”

I almost ask her if she did it, but then I’d lose the element of surprise if it’s really her.

My paranoia ratchets up the farther we get away from my room and my mom. Finally, I can’t stand it anymore. With the butter knife clutched in my hand, I turn my head, ignoring the pounding pain.

“Who are you, and where the hell are you taking me?”

She steps forward to punch a round silver disk that activates the double doors, and they swing wide.

“No need to panic, Keira. I promise, everything’s going to be fine.” She turns me toward an open doorway, and there’s nothing but darkness beyond it.

“If you try to f*cking touch me, I swear to God, I will—”

She raises a hand in a defensive gesture. “No need to threaten. I’m not going to hurt you. I don’t have a death wish. I’ll give you two a few minutes alone.” She pushes me into the dark room and steps back.

You two?

My eyes acclimate to the darkness as her shoes squeak in retreat on the tile floor, and I find his face in the shadows.





Mount





Something metallic bounces off the tile as Keira bursts into tears.

f*cking Christ, her tears kill me.

“Where have you been?” she asks through a sob as I drop to my knees beside her bed.

Rivers spill down her cheeks, so many that my thumbs can’t catch the droplets fast enough. She jerks her face out of my hands as her lungs heave.

I’ve been dying for more than the glimpses I’ve gotten of her for days. I could only see her as they wheeled her in and out of her room for tests, and then I’d lose her again when she was pushed into a room. I cursed the hospital for only having security cameras in the halls.

“I’ve been watching. You’ve been protected. You’re safe. I swear it.”

“But where the hell have you been?”

Guilt claws at my chest at the sound of her ravaged voice. I’ve brought this proud, strong woman to her breaking point. All of this is my fault.

“I couldn’t be there. Your mom and dad came before you were out of surgery, so I had to stand down. Pretend it wasn’t killing me to wait and find out if you were going to pull through.”

“But—”

“When they called your family upstairs, I couldn’t go. I couldn’t explain who the hell I am to any of them. Who the hell I am to you. That I’m part of your f*cking family too.” Reliving those moments of helplessness guts me just as badly the second time.

“So, you left me? Alone? For days? Wondering whether that crazy f*cking blond bitch killed you too?”

I know exactly which crazy f*cking blond bitch she’s referring to. “You haven’t been alone. Not for a f*cking second, Keira. If you had, I would’ve been in there.”

“How is it possible that you—Lachlan Mount—with all your unlimited power, couldn’t manage to get me a single sign that you were okay?”

I blink as it finally occurs to me why she’s so upset. She’s spent this whole time worrying about me too. “I didn’t know you needed a sign.”

“I’ve been losing my mind, wondering if you were alive! Wondering if I was crazy. Wondering if anything was real.”

“Keira—”

Her tears fall faster. “Nothing makes sense anymore. I don’t understand what happened. You have to tell me something. Who was she? And Mags—she tried to kill her too. All those women—”

I cut her off with the press of my fingers to her lips. As much as I want to tell her everything right now, I can’t.

“Not here. Not now, Keira. Not yet.”

“When? I need to know.”

I cup her face, trying once more to catch her tears on my thumbs. “No more tears, hellion. The only thing you need to focus on is getting well. Letting them take care of you.”

“No! I need answers, and I need my freaking husband.”

“Keira. I can’t—”

“Don’t tell me there’s anything you can’t do, Lachlan. Because I won’t believe you.”

Her conviction rings true, and I wish I deserved it. I don’t deserve that kind of faith from anyone. Especially not now.

“That’s where you’re wrong. If I could do anything, I’d rewind the clock and undo all of this.”





Keira