Page 415 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I want him but know I can never…will never…have him.

Especially after I complete my objective and bring his whole family to its knees.

The fantasy of a happy and perfect future for me will always be just out of reach.

It’s the life I chose, not that there was much choice in the matter.

If I wanted to live, I had to go down a path.

Now I’m in so deep, there is no way out.

I’m trapped in my life like a rat in a dirty, dark maze.

I wander, I hunt, and I avenge.

Period.

There’s no happily ever after for me.

I’m not like those romance novel heroines at all.

Damaged? Check.

Broken. Check.

Redeemable? Fuck no!

And girls who can’t be redeemed never find their true loves.

That’s their punishment, I guess. Their lot in life.

Their curse.

I busy myself by taking the food packages out of the refrigerator as Dante heats up the oven. He’s muttering something about temperatures to himself and I sneak a peek at him as he fiddles with the buttons on the oven.

What the hell is his story?

Because for as many lies choking me, I’m two-hundred percent sure that he’s burying just as many.

He doesn’t really know who I am, but he keeps himself pretty guarded, too.

And even though I know I should leave it alone, I can’t.

I want to know the truth.

I want to know exactly who I’m falling for…the first person who’s turned me inside out like this in so long, I can’t even remember the last time it happened.

If ever.

I lean against the counter next to him, watching him load the tin containers onto the racks. “I’m kind of surprised you didn’t devour it all,” I say.

He turns his head toward me. “I guess I lost my appetite, too,” he says gruffly.

“Sorry,” I say softly.

He shrugs. “Hey, everyone deals with things in their own way. I don’t criticize. I have my own shit to handle and I know I screw it up plenty.” He chuckles. “But I screw up less than my other brothers, so there’s that.”

“Yeah…” I murmur, a faraway smile tugging at my lips.

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