Page 211 of His Hell Girl

My hand immediately tightens on Sisi's shoulder at his name, mostly because I'm still bitter that she almost married him.

"No." She frowns. "Did they find him? What happened?"

"He was spotted running with some cartel people. Marcello got an account about him but… He doesn't seem like the same Raf you knew, Sisi."

"What do you mean?"

"He's the right hand man of the boss. It's an obscure cartel, only recently appeared on the map."

"Fenix," I add grimly.

"You know about it?" Sisi turns to me.

"Not exactly. I know about its existence, but since it doesn't interfere with my business, I've never looked deeper into it." I shrug.

"But how could he have ended up with them? Why not come back and take his rightful place?"

Not long after Rafaelo's mysterious disappearance, Benedicto had suspiciously up and died, leaving Michele in control of everything within the famiglia.

"Michele put a price on his head. He can't step anywhere on the East Coast without every assassin in the area hunting for him," I answer grimly.

Sisi turns her sharp gaze toward me, and I know what she's thinking. Why did I never tell her about that?

But how could I when I go mad with jealousy just thinking about him? When I want to go on a killing spree when anyone mentions his name? He may beonlyher friend, but to me he is a reminder that I could have lost her.

And I can't stomach that thought.

The girls continue chatting while I stay stiffly by Sisi's side, trying to think of ways I can redeem myself with her.

And when she drags me in a darker corner of the house where the music isn't so loud, I know I only have a small window of time to plead my case.

"Before you say anything, hell girl. Yes, I knew about the bounty on his head, but I had no idea he'd been sighted. That cartel is mostly active in New Mexico, so I had no reason to dig deeper."

"But why wouldn't you tell me? We shareeverything," she replies and I feel the slight disappointment in her voice.

"I don't like it when you talk about him," I admit in a low voice. "It takes everything in me not to go into a murderous rage when he's mentioned."

"Vlad," she sighs, "he's my friend. He's neverbeenanythingbut my friend."

"I know. But I can't help it, hell girl. The mere thought that you could have married him haunts me even now. Ican'tnot be jealous, even when I know I shouldn't be."

"You silly beast." She shakes her head, a small smile playing on her lips as she punches me playfully. "You know you're the only one for me," she murmurs softly.

"I do. I do," I whisper against her hair as I hug her to me. "But that doesn't mean I'll stop being jealous.Ever."

Not when I know what a prize she is and what a lucky bastard I am for her to even look in my direction.

"Well…" she trails off, "you're lucky sometimes I like it when you're jealous," she continues as she trails her finger over my chest, "when you revert to a caveman state and have your wicked way with me."

"Fuck, Sisi." I grab her hand, my breathing ragged as I struggle for an ounce of self-control. "You're driving me crazy."

"Not now," she retorts saucily. "Tonight."

"Tonight," I repeat bleakly, already counting down the seconds.

SISI

ONE YEAR LATER

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