Page 36 of Felix

I sit there, watching Aurora sleeping like an angel in my lap. Her long, black hair fans out across my legs, and her breathing is soft and even. Fuck, she’s beautiful when she isn’t all guarded and shit.

Gently, I run my fingers through her hair, careful not to wake her. She’s been through enough hell lately, and she deserves some peace. But the rage inside me threatens toburst out, thinking of those fuckers who hurt her. I have to do something about it, and I know just who to call—Matteo.

Shifting slightly, I pull my phone from my pocket without disturbing Aurora. My fingers fly over the screen, shooting off a text to Matteo.

Felix:Need a meeting. It’s ‘bout Aurora.

A minute later,his reply pops up.

Matteo:I’ll come to yours. El wants to meet Aurora anyway, and we can talk shop in the basement.

I smirk,thinking of how much Matteo loves my basement. The dude is a psychopath like me, but hey, it takes one to know one, right?

Felix:Sounds good. See you at five.

I text Fratelli’s,ordering four pasta dishes for delivery.

As Aurora continues napping, I grab her book from the coffee table. Flipping through the pages, I can’t help but feel a bit more connected with the woman resting on my lap,seeing as how she bared her soul to me earlier. Hell, it’s like I’m reading her journal or some shit.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter under my breath as I dive back into her story. The lines between fact and fiction start to blur, but I reckon I can tell which parts are real and which ones are not. The raw, gut-wrenching pain in her words? Yeah, that isn’t anything any writer could make up.

“Fuck,” I whisper, my emotions churning inside me like a damn hurricane. The more I read, the more I want to wrap my hands around those bastards’ necks and choke the life out of them. But for now, I can only focus on Aurora and make sure she’s safe with me.

I glance at the clock, seeing it’s four o’clock. Shit, time flies when you’re caught up in a good book. But right now, I need to take care of business. I gently shake Aurora awake, her long, black hair spilling over my lap.

“Hey, babe,” I say softly, “my boss and his wife are coming for dinner. You need to grab a shower before they get here.”

Her dark eyes glare at me with that grumpy look she’s got down pat. “Why the fuck didn’t you wake me sooner?” she snaps. “I need more than an hour to look presentable!”

“Relax, sweetheart.” I chuckle, trying to soothe her ruffled feathers. “Tracksuit pants and a T-shirt will be just fine.”

Aurora bursts out laughing. “No one sees me like that except you!” she says, smacking my chest playfully. God, I love that fiery spirit of hers.

“Fine, go on then,” I say, helping her up. Shestumbles a bit, still groggy from her nap. “Get yourself all dolled up. Just don’t take too fucking long, alright?”

“Whatever,” she mumbles, dragging herself towards the stairs and up to the bedroom.

Forty minutes later, Aurora walks in wearing a simple pair of black suit pants and a long-sleeve black blouse. I’ve noticed she covers her tattoos in public. Why the fuck is that? It makes me curious. But fucking hell, Aurora looks good.

“Hey,” she calls out, entering the kitchen when the doorbell rings. The kid from Fratelli’s hands over the pasta and takes off without waiting for payment. Aurora’s dark eyes glance at me, full of questions. “Why didn’t he want payment?”

“Simple,” I say, smirking. “I don’t pay at Fratelli’s. It’s a money laundering system. I drop the cash off, I eat for free.”

Her eyebrows arch, but she doesn’t press further. Smart girl.

Ten fucking minutes later, Matteo and Eleanor show up. As they walk through the door, Eleanor’s calling Matteo a fuckwit and promising he’ll pay for some shit later. No idea what their beef is, but Matteo looks like a man in the doghouse. Serves him right, I guess.

“Hey, Felix,” Matteo grunts out, trying to smile despite his obvious annoyance with Eleanor.

“Matteo, Eleanor.” I nod, acknowledging them. “This is Aurora.”

“Nice to meet you,” Aurora says, extending her hand. Eleanor shakes it eagerly, eyeing her up and down withexcitement. Matteo nods at her, still looking sheepish after the argument.

“Boys,” Eleanor smirks, gesturing to Matteo and me, “fuck off to the murder dungeon so we can talk.” Damn, she’s bossy.

“Whatever you say, El.” I snort, knowing damn well she won’t hesitate to kick my ass if I don’t listen. Matteo and I head downstairs to the basement, leaving the girls to their chatter.

As we step into the dimly lit room, the clinking of chains echoes off the walls and ceiling. The musty scent of old blood lingers in the air. I turn to Matteo and say, “Aurora’s the girl from the newspaper clipping that Angel sent me. Her past is… disturbing.” My voice catches as I recall the details. “She was kidnapped and held for three weeks, raped and tortured repeatedly.” A shiver runs down my spine at the thought. “And there were two other girls with her… an Asian and a twelve-year-old. They spoke Italian and kept saying ‘Enzo’ over and over again.”

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