Page 226 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Anger directed at God for letting this happen, for allowing my world to come apart at the seams.

Again.

I search for the lifeline once more, slogging through the darkness that tries to swallow me whole. I fight, squeezing my hands together and gritting my teeth, desperate to find it and to cling to it. I push through the gloom as another breeze flutters against my cheeks.

“Speak,” it whispers in a voice only I can hear.

My lips quiver as they part.

“P-please,” I whisper. “If you can hear me, please save my brother. Please let him live. Please keep him safe.”

The words choke me as they tumble from my lips, and I wait for the assault on my heart to commence once again since I don’t feel that I deserve to ask these things of a higher power I’ve all but turned my back on over the past few years.

It doesn’t happen.

Instead, warmth radiates from deep inside of me. It’s a comforting sensation that blankets me in the peace I was certain would forever evade me.

It happened that quickly.

And it may be fleeting, but it fills me now, giving me the hope that I thought was lost forever.

Someone is looking out for me and Nate.

Someone is watching over us.

Someone is going to keep us safe.

A hand drops onto my shoulder and I gasp, nearly falling over as I twist around to find Sergio standing over me.

“I figured I’d find you here when you didn’t come back out.” He drops into the pew behind me. “What’s happening with Nate?”

“He’s in surgery,” I whisper. “And I’m sorry I didn’t come to find you. I just needed to come here.” I look around. “To talk to someone.”

Sergio nods. “I’ll leave you alone. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He rises and I grasp his hand.

“No, wait,” I say, patting the seat next to me. “Don’t go. Stay here with me.”

His eyebrows furrow but he nods and lowers himself into the pew.

“I bet you didn’t think we’d end up here when you kidnapped me this morning, huh?” I ask, laying my head on his shoulder.

He gazes down at me. “End up in a hospital? Or end up with a whole lot of feelings I can’t explain for a girl I was trying to extort?”

A tiny smile plays at my lips. “Both, I guess.”

He nods. “Then, yeah, I did. On both counts. Guess you can say I’m a glutton for punishment.”

“And, uh, what about those feelings?” I whisper.

He shrugs. “I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re fire and ice, lethal and scorching hot. I never know what you’re gonna do next to make my blood pressure skyrocket. You drive me absolutely crazy with need, like I can’t breathe with you or without you. And that mouth…” He traces the outline of my lips with his forefinger.

“My mother always did say I was a mouthy one,” I say.

“You make me irate one second, and then ache for you the next.”

“Is all of that…bad?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“It’s fucking horrible,” he breathes, his lips hovering over mine. “And incredible at the same time.”

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