Inferno's Kiss by Monica Burns Read Free Book Online Page A

eye vanished as she kneed him in the groin. With a loud cry of pain, the Praetorian’s sword hit the ground’s mix of dirt and gravel as he dropped to his knees, clutching his jewels. The tip of her sword immediately pressed into his chest, ready to drive through the man’s heart.
    “You fought well, Praetorian. I now ask for your forgiveness,” she said quietly. “Do you give it?”
    “May your soul rot in hell, Unmentionable,” the man snarled, and with a flash of speed that surprised her, his forearm came up to viciously slam into the edge of her blade.
    The move knocked the sword away from his chest, but the price the Praetorian paid was her blade slicing deep into his arm until she struck the bone. With a fierce noise of anger, she grimaced as blood spurted its way onto her hand. In the next instant, an icy chill streaked across her skin as the Praetorian retrieved his sword and dragged it deep through the layer of skin beneath her belly button.
    “Oh fuck,” she whispered as her brain reacted frantically to the injury and began to shut down everything but the most important organs necessary for survival. “Lysander . . . I’m sor . . .”
    The Praetorian’s vicious laugh rang in her ears as her hand pressed against her wound. She heard the man’s laughter cut short just as she sank to her knees and tumbled to the ground.
    Gasping for air, Cleo shot upright on the couch. Christus , she hadn’t dreamed about that terrible night in more than a year. She pushed her dark hair back off her face. Where the hell had that come from? Right. Feeling empathy for her mother. Cleo raked her fingers through her hair then shook her head and closed her eyes. She understood why her mother had kept her in the dark about her father. She just needed to process it. What she hated the most were the cruel things she’d said to her mother. Cleo and her mother were all each other had. Not exactly true when she thought about it.
    An image of Marcus Vorenus flitted through her head. He’d said he wanted to get to know her. And, one thing was for sure, the Sicari Lord didn’t act like he was going anywhere anytime soon. In a way, she wasn’t really surprised by it. Atia and Marcus were blood bonded. That wasn’t the sort of thing you walked away from.
    Fuck, was he really trying to get back together with her mother? She winced. She wasn’t going there. The first thing she needed to do was deal with her mother. She could figure out how to deal with Marcus Vorenus’s return to their lives after that.
    Deus , she wished Lysander was here. He was the closest thing to a brother she had, and if anyone could make her see the logic in the situation, it was him. Thinking of her friend reminded her of Angotti. The bastardo had been inside the convent, and he was going to tell her what she needed to know. She’d use his knowledge of the building to get Marta out of that hell hole and help Lysander at the same time.
    Of course, when Lysander heard what she’d done, he’d thank her, then kick her ass, then thank her again. As for Marta—who knew what her friend would do. Cleo swallowed hard. Marta might wish she were dead. Even worse, her friend might beg Cleo for the Nex Cassiopeia . She shuddered. No. Marta was stronger than that. Besides, killing her friend just wasn’t part of the plan.

Chapter 3
    A sliver of light from a window above the alleyway made the slimy cobblestones glisten. The rank smell of the sewers made Cleo wrinkle her nose as she waited patiently in the dark. Like most old cities, Rome’s current drainage system had been in place for a very long time, and the smell reflected that fact. Even despite the amount of time she’d been standing here, she still wasn’t used to the stench.
    The sooner she returned to the safe house for a good soak in the tub, the better. For the past week, she’d been so busy planning Angotti’s execution that she’d not been able to take any time for one of her favorite activities. A