King of Wrath (Kings of Sin #1) by Ana Huang

For the next forty-five minutes, Luca walked me through the store’s finest offerings. He was actually an excellent salesperson—knowledgeable about the products and persuasive without being pushy.

“This is one of our newest pieces.” He retrieved a dazzling ruby and diamond dragon bracelet from the display case. “It consists of forty round and pear-shaped rubies weighing approximately four point five carats and thirty marquis, round, and pear-shaped diamonds weighing approximately four carats. It’s part of our Exclusive collection, which means there are only ten in existence. Queen Bridget of Eldorra owns the sapphire version.”

My breath caught. I’d grown up around jewels my entire life, and I recognized a standout piece when I saw it. The rubies were a pure, vibrant red with no orange or purple overtones, and the bracelet’s overall craftsmanship was exquisite.

“I’ll take it.”

Luca’s smile warmed a fraction of a degree. “Excellent.”

The cost of the bracelet and the discreet emerald earrings I’d chosen as an everyday piece totaled two hundred thousand, five hundred dollars.

I handed over my black Amex.

“You should come over for dinner soon,” I said as Luca processed the payment. “Dante and I would love to see you.”

A long pause, followed by a vague, “I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.”

Frustration needled at me. I hadn’t seen or talked to Luca since the engagement party. I couldn’t shake the sense he disliked me for some reason, and his cool reply confirmed it.

“Have I offended you in some way?” I had half an hour before my meeting and no time to beat around the bush. “I get the sense you don’t like me very much.”

Luca slid the sales receipt across the counter. I signed it and waited for an answer.

His work wasn’t the best place to have this conversation, but the rest of the customers had left, and the other staff members were out of earshot. This was the best chance I had of getting a straight answer. I’d bet my new jewels he would go out of his way to avoid me if we weren’t forced to talk one on one.

“I don’t dislike you,” he finally said. “But I’m protective of my brother. It’s always been the two of us, even when our grandfather was alive.” Luca’s voice dropped. “I know Dante. He never wanted marriage. Then, one day, out of the blue, he announces he’s engaged? It’s not like him.”

A strange current ran beneath his words, like they were a mere cover for what he really wanted to say.

It made sense though, even if I was startled by how readily he’d answered. I’d expected him to deflect.

“And yes, I’m aware of the business side of the arrangement,” he said. “But your family gets much more out of the deal than ours, does it not?”

Heat crawled down the back of my neck. Everyone knew Dante was “marrying down,” but no one dared to say it to my face.

Except for his brother.

“I understand your concerns,” I said calmly. If Luca was trying to get a rise out of me, he wouldn’t succeed. “I’m not here to disrupt your relationship with Dante. He’ll always be, first and foremost, your brother. But I’ll also be your sister-in-law soon, and I hope we can at least establish a civil rapport, for both ours and Dante’s sakes. We’ll see each other plenty at family functions in the future, including Thanksgiving, and I would hate for animosity to ruin a good meal.”

Luca stared at me, his surprise tangible. After a long, drawn-out moment, his face softened into a small but somewhat genuine smile.

“Dante got lucky,” he muttered. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

My brows pulled together at the odd response. Before I could question him on it, an explosion of noise yanked my attention to the entrance.

My blood iced.

Three masked men stood by the door, two of them holding assault rifles and one holding a hammer and a duffel bag. One security guard lay unconscious on the floor next to them; the other faced down the barrel of a gun with his hands in the air.

“Everybody get on the fucking ground!” One of the men waved his gun while his accomplice smashed the glass of the nearest display. “Get down!”

Luca and the other two employees complied, their faces leached of color.

“Vivian,” Luca hissed. “Get down.”

I wanted to. Every instinct screamed at me to crawl into a corner and curl up until the danger was over, but my muscles refused to obey my brain’s commands.

I’d lived in New York for years, but I’d never experienced a mugging or assault. Sometimes, I’d watch the news and wonder how I’d react if I were caught in such a situation.

Now I knew.

Not well.

One second, I was signing receipts and talking to Luca. The next, the sight of the masked men had pressed pause on the tape of my life, and all I could do was watch, numb, as the one who’d shouted instructions caught sight of me still standing.

Anger lit his eyes.

Fear ricocheted through my body as he stalked toward me, yet my feet remained rooted to the floor. No matter how hard I fought the creeping paralysis, I couldn’t move.

Everything felt surreal. The store, the robbers, me.

It was like I’d floated out of my body and was watching the scene play out as an invisible third party.