Page 36 of Runaway in the Mafia
High-strung tension filled the air. My panicked heartbeat came to a sudden stop. He looked—I couldn’t figure it out.
“You thought I was going to hit you.” His voice was raw. Ruined.
I laughed shakily. “You just startled me.” Mine cracked.
“Because I took a step forward?”
“Because you...” I swallowed. “It was just sudden,” I ended lamely.
A cluster of emotions appeared in his eyes. His stare went black. Murderous. It roared, and it raged. His voice was dangerously soft when he spoke next. Deadly. “Who the fuck hit you, Ahana?”
“No one.”Crap.That was too quick.
His hands fisted. As if he were scared of what they would do, he stuffed them in his pockets. When he spoke next, his words were laced with violent intent.
“You’d better hide his name in a hellhole. Because when I find him, and I will find him, that’s where I will send him. One fucking piece at a time.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
VITALE
The monster in me raged. Fuelled with a scorching fever, with the only cure being blood on my hands. I couldn’t rest anymore. Couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t fucking think. Somewhere out there was a fucker who’d put his hands on her.
It was ridiculous, really. That the motherfucker still breathed. Still slept. While she’d been ripped apart. Tainted by his rotten hands. Not for long. I’d made that promise the moment she’d flinched.Not for long.I had plans for the shithead.
Something vile burned in my body like acid and raged like a thunderstorm. I breathed poison. That some man, a fucking monster, had thought to punch her crawled up my skin all wrong. Was it a one-time thing or more? That was the question I’d been asking throughout the night. Did he slap her? Kick her? Break any bones? As if the outcome mattered. It didn’t. But I wanted to know so I could rewind it and share her pain. Vacuumit out of her and leave her empty of pain. Until I bore it on my own.
I always carried my .22 around. But ever since I’d seen her face break, ever since I’d felt her body crumble, I’d started carrying my favourite knife around. The one I’d inherited from myNonno. In my pocket on the right side. Because an asshole who beat a woman didn’t deserve a gun. He needed the sharpness of a blade. To skin him alive. Cut through limb by limb. Shredding through to his bones. Exact reason I had a chain saw in the back of my car with this jackass’s name written all over it.
I’d find out what it was soon enough. I had to. Even if she didn’t want to give it to me.
I didn’t get this woman. Was past understanding her.
She’s seeped into my skin, tickled underneath my veins, and dripped into my blood. For some reason that had nothing to do with efficiency or comfort, I found myself stepping into my childhood home every single day. The one I swore to avoid at all costs, given the fucking memories. Memories that slid off me when that heady, exotic scent floated into my nostrils. I couldn’t help myself. I combed the hallways looking for her, and when she was in a meeting sitting in front of her cute little pink laptop, I found myself leaning outside her shut door and listening to the comforting thrum of her voice. I couldn’t even say I liked this woman. But she was entangled in my heartbeat. An inconvenience I’d rather do without. A cancer in my veins. One I definitely wanted to avoid.
I didn’t want to want her. A kiss should have been enough to calm my need. I didn’t want to lie awake and plot the death of an unknown man. Fuck knows, I had better things to do. More important shit. A damn business to run. One that needed an alliance unless I wanted to go to war.Fuck.If I had known this, I wouldn’t have— no. That sin I would have committed either way.But maybe I would have gone about it in a smarter way. Thought a bit without letting my rage take over. What was the point now, anyway? It was done, and I needed to make amends.
The momentI stepped into the kitchen, the conversation dropped. With forearms balanced on the counter, hair in a ponytail, wearing a brown dress a full hand above her knees, she sucked all my attention to her. Mamma glanced my way, but the brown temptation steadfastly ignored me. She could pretend all she wanted, but she couldn’t stop her shoulder line tightening or her chin jutting out with determination. Disobedience hummed out of her body.Only for me,mia ammaliatrice.
“Vitale will agree with me,” Mamma said, nodding her head my way.
Her answering scowl came as no surprise.Witch.I liked my new nickname for her.Mia ammaliatrice.
“What will I agree with?”
I came for an espresso but ignored it for a new need. Cold water from the fridge, which would take me past her idling against the counter. A coincidence.
I swallowed the distance between us, taking in her dress, the colour of a rich espresso. When I dragged my gaze to the floor, I found red painted toes. Without being aware of it, I’d come to a stop, a seat away from her. Her gaze filled with unease, and she dropped it to the counter hurriedly. The sharp movement did nothing to mask her scent. Sultry. Sexy.
I forced myself to move. Grabbed the ice-cold bottle. A contrast to the thoughts in my mind. Silence strummed from the other side.Christ.The chill in my hands did nothing to cool the heat in my veins. I was one sniff and a shove away fromfucking her against the counter. Whether Mamma was there or not. You’d think then that I’d be smart enough to avoid the temptation altogether, but the menace in me picked up a glass from the counter, skipping the wall units behind me entirely. It took only a few seconds for me to decide the risk was too great. With the glass full, I stepped back and leaned against the wall unit.
“Am I supposed to read minds?” I asked to her glare.
“Ahana wants to pay the internet bill,” Mamma filled me in.
I gave her a puzzled look. “Why?”
“See,” Mamma pointed her pan at her, “I told you this is stupid.” Mamma looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Apparently she’s using a lot of,” she glanced at a silent Ahana, “what’s it called?”
