Page 29 of Runaway in the Mafia (The shadows of Cosa Nostra Chronicles #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AHANA

“ W hat are you doing?”

The pure sin dressed in olive green dress pants and a white button-up with rolled up sleeves wasn’t any kind of good news.

The fact that his car was in the driveway, boot open, and the maids were piling Lia’s luggage into it screamed manipulation.

Add to it his presence, and it outlined deviousness.

Leaning against the matte black of his car with a puff in his hand and evil in his eyes.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He shrugged and pushed off the car.

His gaze was thoughtful as he inhaled more nicotine.

I followed the cigar as his hand dropped next to his thigh.

The charcoal grey of the ashes kissed the gravel, its ember fading before dusting off.

The man lived off nicotine, I had thought, but he did seem to smoke less of it these days. “Taking you to your getaway.”

My gaze whipped up.

You have got to be kidding me.

He smirked. A devilish glint to his eyes.

“We are going with Romeo.”

“He’s sick.”

I frowned. “He seemed fine this morning.”

He shrugged. “What can I say? We live a dangerous life.”

This had his hands all over it. “What happened?”

“Got shot.”

“What?” He didn’t seem to be bothered by his cousin’s injury. In fact, he seemed to be pleased about it. Suspicion sneaked up my body. “Why?”

“He was being an idiot.”

“Who was being an idiot?” Lia came up behind me. Another bag in tow. You’d think we were going away for a month instead of a day.

“Romeo.” He grinned. What is so funny?

“What else is new?” She skipped past me to the car.

Wasn’t anyone in this family bothered about their cousin’s injury? “Lia! Your cousin got shot.”

She looked at her brother. “Will he live?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s fucking Romeo.”

“See?” Lia looked at me with an exaggerated sigh. “No worries… he’ll be… wait!” She paused with a stricken look. Finally. “Who’s taking us?”

I couldn’t believe this. Vitale grinned, his gaze travelling over his sister’s shoulder to mine. “I am.”

“Awww…” She ran up to him and he swung her up. “You’re the best.” She hugged him tightly.

“Anything for my girl.”

Why the hell is he looking at me then?

“See.” Lia jumped off her brother and skipped to the other side of the car.

“I think we should cancel.”

Two pairs of Di Matteo eyes came to me. Both of them angry glares. One funny, the other not so much. “Oh, come on,” Lia moaned. “I’ve been looking forward to it for ages.”

“We can do it another time.”

“Get in the car, Ahana.” There was a warning in his tone. I ignored it and clutched my bag.

“I think we should stay.”

“I’m going.” Lia slid into the back seat and slammed the door shut. Such an attentive cousin.

Vitale’s glance was murderous as he pulled the passenger door open and stood next to it. “You have one minute.”

“Is he at least joining us there?”

“Not unless he wants a kneecap gone this time,” he muttered softly, but I caught it.

He couldn’t have… his glare told me he had.

I shook my head. I couldn’t think… the man was insane.

I needed my wits together to put up a fight.

As if he could see into my thoughts, he put an end to any idea of a fight.

By striding over and flipping me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I’d never been so demeaned in my life. Hitting him with my weekender didn’t deter the thick block of muscle that he was.

It only made his grip on my ass tighter, and that I didn’t like. I didn’t.

That wasn’t why I was out of breath when he dumped me on the seat.

Not why my nipples tightened when he hung too close to them, and his hot breath sneaked through my cleavage as he buckled me in.

The tick on his jaw was out of control. Frustration oozed out of him.

The buckle clicked in, and his fist gripped my chin.

He hovered an inch from my mouth, clear intention in his eyes.

Shit.

No.

Lia is in the back seat.

Her giggles told me she found this highly entertaining.

But it stopped him. Barely. With a muttered curse underneath his breath, he rolled his knuckle down my neck and pushed his thumb on my locket.

It dug deep into the dip on my collarbone.

A reminder of what he could take away. I stiffened, and he pulled away.

But it reminded me of what I had woken up to a few days ago.

When I’d found the locket on the nightstand next to my bed. He’d given it back to me.

My grace faded away when he slipped into the car. A shiver ran the length of my spine at the way his hand clenched around the wheel. Not like I asked him to take us.

I crossed my arms and glared at him. “I would have been perfectly alright staying back.”

“No doubt playing nurse to my idiot cousin. It’s just a hole in his shoulder.” His tone was all snappy.

“He’s shot.”

“He’s an idiot.” The engine fired up, and instead of going forward and turning, he reversed all the way out. At full speed. Creating a trail of brown dust. The man drove like he had a bounty on him. I frowned. He probably did.

“Why would you even shoot him?”

“Wait.” Lia leaned forward between the two seats. “You shot Romeo?”

“He was—”

“Yeah. Yeah. You’re going off like a broken record. An idiot. We all know now.” His death glare didn’t scare me. Lia, though, snuggled back onto the seat.

Minutes ticked in the car. Tension hummed along with them. He was such an intense pack of dark deliriousness, set ready to combust. The way he shifted gears, his hand on the wheel, his bare forearms flexing with barely contained energy.

He threw me a glance. “What?”

I shifted in my seat. “Maybe you should smoke more?”

He frowned. “You want me dead so fast, mia ammaliatrice? ”

“That too.” I grinned. “And it’s an addiction that’ll only harm you. Shooting your family isn’t a good habit to keep, you know.”

“Yeah?” He shifted his eyes off the road for a heartbeat. His gaze sparked. “I have a new addiction.”

“Shooting people not get you off?”

“Nah.” He took his hand off the gearshift to wipe the smirk off his lips.

It was all bad intentions there, and I walked right into it. “What is it?”

His gaze burned into me when his attention shifted off the road back to me.

He didn’t even say the word. He only mouthed it.

But he might as well have screamed it at the top of his lungs.

It was clear as a black circle painted on a white sheet.

It clamoured along the thick padding of his car and pierced my chest like a bullet to my heart.

It sank fast in the quicksand of my heart.

It was too late to withdraw it from my memory.

He made sure of it when he left an imprint.

Long after it was mouthed, the word vibrated within me.

You.

“I can’t believe you did this,” Lia squealed.

I can’t believe it either. But I bet we were thinking of two different things. Lia’s bag thudded to the floor. She let out another squeal halfway between the front door and the sofa in the living room. I trailed behind her. Reluctantly.

Couldn’t say I was too excited to step inside this house. The place was small. Not really. But you had a Roman God oozing sex and mouthing ‘you’, even Buckingham Palace would shrink to one tenth of its size.

My feet stumbled. Confused. Do I move forward or make a run for it?

The door thudded shut behind me. My hyper awareness picked up a firm set of footsteps.

I propelled forward at lightning speed. I needed as much distance from that psychopath as possible.

To think I thought I was going to relax this weekend.

Relaxation sounded like I’d be barring my door with a broomstick and hiding under the bed.

Quivering. At least I wouldn’t be sleeping alone.

There were only two bedrooms in this place.

And I wasn’t sharing anything with the psycho shooting his cousin.

He was a lunatic. No doubt about that.

I found Lia cross-legged with a bowl full of tarts on her lap.

“Ahana.” She had jam on her mouth. “ Pasta di mandorle is one of my childhood favourites. You’ve got to try this. They are so yum.” She popped another tart in her mouth.

“Ok—”

“No.”

I didn’t turn. Didn’t dare to. But his glare burned the nape of my neck.

“Seriously, Vitale, how are you Mamma’s son?” He growled, but it didn’t stop Lia. “You need to go to etiquette classes or something. You’re so rude.”

I couldn’t help the snort. “I don’t think there’s a class that can fix him.” I walked over to Lia. They were little sweets made of honey and almonds with a cute cherry on top. I picked one up. “He was born like it.”

The sweet only grazed my lips before a hand knocked it right out of mine. Lia and I both stared at him. This was new. This level of rudeness, even for him. “I bought it for my sister. Not. For. You.”

I didn’t know why I had to blink so fast. Not like I wasn’t used to hurtful words.

I’d had much worse thrown at me. Silly me.

I hadn’t expected it from him. It hurt more when it shouldn’t.

I’d never cried in front of a man. And somehow I was in danger of breaking that rule.

“Right.” Even I could hear the crack in my voice.

I backtracked slowly. Lia’s face was a fuzzy vision.

Spinning around, I walked—ran to pick up my bag.

I was at the stairs when I heard Lia.

“You hurt her, Vitale. I’m going t—”

“One more word from you and I’m taking it off you.”

I guessed she loved those sweets. Because I didn’t hear a peep from her after that.

I stumbled up and burst into a room with twin beds. The sunflower pattern on the bedspread swam annoyingly before my eyes. Damn it. Angrily, I wiped the tears away. No man was going to make me cry.

If he wanted to make me feel like an outsider, he’d achieved it. Not. For. You jabbed like a steak knife in my heart.