Page 64 of The Mafia's Captive

Her eyes flicker open. She looks around and tries to get up, but I gently hold her down. “You don’t need to get up. The doctor said you should rest.”

“I’m fine.” Her voice sounds hoarse and sexy. I clamp down on my shameless arousal. I should focus on helping her heal instead of thinking of making love to her. “Do you want to sit?” I ask, already grabbing pillows and putting them behind her back so she can sit comfortably. She adjusts her position looking around. “You’re in my room,” I tell her when I note her confusion. She had fallen asleep in the car and I carried her back here. This was the first time she woke up ever since the incident.

“What happened to Saccone?”

“He’ll no longer bother you.”

She stares back at me.

“His remains are currently being recovered from the site. He burned off with the explosion.”

“Wow.”

“He shouldn’t have touched you. I’m sorry I let it happen.”

“Let what happen?”

“Saccone shouldn’t have been able to take you. And Sal… I trusted that son of a bitch.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m pretty sure he would have found me regardless of what you did. Rob did the best he could to protect me.” Her hands go to her mouth. “Oh my god, Rob. How is he? Is he still?”

I shake my head, unable to say the words. The image of Rob’s remains in the shallow grave Sal put him in is still seared in my brain.

“Oh, no.” Tears fill Corina’s eyes as she reads my face.

“He was a true soldier. He will be missed. Not just by me, but by everyone in the family. And then your friend being evasive and all.”

“How’s Jesse?”

“Alive and well, although I would rather she wasn’t.”

“She is not my friend. She never wanted to be one, but please don’t kill her.”

Saying no to her is difficult, I’m finding out. “I won’t if you don’t want to.”

She gives me a weary smile, warming my heart. “I can’t believe Rob is dead. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t—”

“No. If anyone is to blame, it’s Saccone, and he met his fate in that fire, believe me.”

“What are you going to do to Jesse?”

“It’s up to you.”

“She’s the one who stole your money.”

“I know.”

“And she was seeing Sal.”

“I know.”

“I never thought she would betray me like that. I thought we were friends.”

“She was also using some of it to put a deposit on a house by the way. She didn’t use all of that to pay her sister’s medical debt” Corina’s eyes widen. “I figured she didn’t tell you that part.”

Corina shakes her head. “She was the only friend I had in this city.”

“You’ll find new ones.” I brush away a few strands of hair that fall to her face. She flinches slightly. A dull alarm bell rings at the back of my mind. “You should rest. You’ve been through a lot.” She looks like she’s going to contradict me, but she nods her head and sinks deep into the bed. I pull the covers over her. The compulsion to kiss her temple is there, but I suppress it. Instead, I watch her as her eyes droop close and let her go.

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