Page 295 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

I have no control…

My world goes black right before the impact strikes and I blink fast, reaching out for the handrail in the stuffy elevator at Memorial Sloane Kettering. I clutch the metal tight, trying to steady myself, but the dizziness assaults my body, sending me crashing to the floor in a cold sweat.

“Chell,” Frankie whispers on the ground next to me. “You’ve gotta get up. It’s time.”

“But I can’t,” I say, my eyes stinging with tears. “I’m not ready. She’s not ready!”

“We have to go,” he whispers, a single tear slipping down the side of his face. “She’s waiting for you. Don’t let her wait anymore…”

He helps me up as the doors open and I hang onto the handrail for balance. Fear grips me, the gravity of the situation making my knees wobble as I gingerly step forward, tumbling into a thick patch of foliage at Washington Square Park as my dog Princess darts past me in hot pursuit of the pink Frisbee I just tossed.

“Get it, girl!” I squeal, clapping my hands as my mother lets out a breathless wheeze from the bench nearby. I turn to look at her, gasping as she falls over onto the side of the bench, her face ashen.

“Mom!” I shriek as her eyes flutter closed, her body spasming. “Somebody, please help us!”

EMTs appear from out of nowhere, gathering her onto a gurney and loading her into an ambulance that skidded to a stop right in front of our bench only seconds after I let out that bloodcurdling yell.

I clutch the sides of my head, an empty feeling in the pit of my gut making me shudder. I catch a glimpse of my pink Frisbee laying on the lush green grass in the distance.

A dark green minivan careens around a corner and big, sad brown eyes stare at me out the side window, a tiny paw slapping against the glass.

“Princess!” I shriek, clutching the bedsheet tight in my fists. “No!”

CHAPTER13

ROMAN

Ithrow off the comforter, jumping out of the bed and grabbing my gun off the nightstand. I stumble in the darkness, stubbing my toe against the leg of a chair. I swallow a yelp, creeping toward the door with my hand outstretched. I pull it open, careful not to make a sound since I have no fucking clue what the hell is happening beyond my bedroom.

Luckily, there isn’t any more screaming.

Sounds like tortured sobs have replaced the piercing shrieks that just jolted me from the X-rated dream I was having about my gorgeous captive.

I take a step out of my room and turn my head in the direction of the crying.

“What the fuck is that?”

My heart jumps, the force practically launching me off the floor. “Dante, for fuck’s sake!” I say in a loud whisper, pointing my gun at him.

He throws up his hands, jumping backward. “Jesus Christ!”

“I could have shot you, moron!”

Dante grins. “Eh, you’d have missed. Besides, why the hell do you need the gun? The alarm didn’t go off. Your girlfriend just had a nightmare.”

“She’s my hostage, dammit!” I whisper-shout.

“Yeah, but you still have a hard-on for her,” he teases. “Don’t try to deny it.”

I roll my eyes. “Go back to bed.”

“I’m hungry,” he whispers. “I didn’t eat before I passed out. I want a snack.”

“Can I please check things out without having you on my ass?” I hiss. “Go back to bed!”

“You know, being a murderous kidnapper has turned you into more of a prick than you already were.”

“You wanna see murderous?” I growl. “Then stick around!”

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