Page 63 of A Bond Beyond Blood
Chapter Twenty
Gannon
I didn’t need sleep anymore, which made these lonely nights all that much longer—and all that much more excruciating.If I could sleep, even for just a little while, I’d be able to pass the time, but instead I was forced to wander.
To think.
Then wander some more.
It’s what led me to Jackie’s place this morning after over a year away, then again a short while ago.My feet were determined to lead me back to her, even after all this time apart.
I couldn’t fucking take it anymore.The loneliness was a palpable presence, a stifling, suffocating beast.With the holidays, the pain became too much to bear.I’d been debating showing my face for weeks now, ever since those first signs of autumn began showing up in the bite in the air, the leaves changing color on the trees, but I hadn’t yet found the courage until this morning.
I had nowhere to go and no one who missed me, while I missed my ma and Jackie so goddamn much it hurt almost as badly as the constant hunger.
But when I found myself at Fiorino’s Meats twice today, my ex-girlfriend wasn’t alone.
What the hell was she doing with VincenzoRicci?
Franco would turn over in his grave if he knew.
The Riccis were bad news.
As far as the five families went, we learned from a very young age that the Donatis and Riccis were off limits.It didn’t matter that most of the Ricci family were six feet underground, or that Vincenzo Ricci had been turned into a vampire back in the fifties and ‘gone straight’ or whatever, running his boxing gym and keeping his nose out of the family business.
Once a Ricci, always a Ricci; that’s what our fathers used to say anyway.
And that fucker had thrown me off a balcony!
I stopped walking as I remembered the way I’d felt, for just a split second, so goddamnfree.
That was before my stomach revolted.So embarrassing.At least Jackie hadn’t been there to bear witness.
Tilting my head back, I inhaled deeply, wishing I could recreate that feeling.
Of flying.Of freedom.
As daylight began to paint the cloudy sky with a soft purple hue, I blinked out of my thoughts and stopped walking.Spinning in a slow circle, I took in my surroundings.I’d wandered all night and wound up in the warehouse district, surrounded by brick and concrete buildings on every side.
This early on Christmas morning, not a lot was happening in this part of the city, and as I assessed the warehouse closest to me—abandoned, judging by the busted windows on every floor—an idea bloomed in my mind.
I didn’t need aRiccito throw me off a balcony; I could throwmyselfoff.
My lips twitched on a smile as I hurried down the side alley in search of a window with enough glass busted out of it that I could slide inside without having to break anything or draw any attention to myself.Not that anyone was around, but after those first few weeks of living on the streets, I’d learned not toinvitetrouble.
I could handle myself against any humans who might start shit, but holding my own against other vampires had proven to be a bit complicated—and I had yet to figure out what made some of them so much stronger than me.
About halfway down the alley, one of the windows had been completely broken and the shards had been carefully removed, so I gripped the base of the window frame and hauled my ass over, dropping to my feet inside the abandoned space.
Trash littered the floor, and an old, yellowed mattress had been pushed into the far corner.Scowling, I covered my nose, wishing I could turn off the heightened sense of smell in moments like these.Crouching low, I waited, listening for any sounds of life.There’d been squatters here recently—pungent scents of human excrement and old, rotting food wafted from the corner—but it didn’t sound like anyone was here now.Not a single heartbeat or hushed breath carried on the stagnant air.
Rising to my full height, I headed for the stairwell; a building long abandoned wouldn’t be likely to have electricity, and I hated elevators anyway.Too many things could go wrong.
I hauled the heavy door open and waited, again listening for any signs of life, but even in here, the only thing my heightened senses picked up on were scents I wouldn’t soon forget.I climbed the stairs to the first landing and looked at the door, considering.Vincenzo had thrown me from the balcony outside Jackie’s apartment, but that was only one story up.I already knew I’d land on my feet from that height.
