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CHAPTER 14

Maximo

After however long it took for us to stop clawing at each other, it was only when the sun began to set, and the sky started turning pink that she passed out from exhaustion. My intention wasn’t to bring her here and fuck her. In fact, I’m not actually sure why I brought her here. My father’s cabin isn’t exactly a place I choose to bring a person I only just met. But after she took me somewhere that meant so much to her, I couldn’t stop myself from arranging this.

Since she’s been sleeping, all I’ve done is stare at her. Watching the rise and fall of her back as she lay on her front, her head turned towards me. Her blonde hair splayed over the pillow, and the white bedsheet covering only her ass as she peacefully dreams.

It’s been so long since I’ve felt a connection like this with anyone, and honestly, it scares the living shit out of me because I know that if the police ever finds out what I’ve done, whatever this is between us, can go no further. Who would want to be with a cold-blooded killer like me? My cell phone vibrates against the wood of the bedside table. Her body stirs slightly, and I answer it.

Carefully getting out of bed, I grab some gray sweats from the drawer, pressing the phone between my jaw and shoulder while putting them on. “What?” I murmur, careful not to wake Julia.

“I figured I’d give you a call and see how you’re holding up,” Rocco says.

I step out of the bedroom and close the door behind me. “I’m good, why?” I whisper further.

“Well, you did just...wait,” he pauses briefly. “Why are you whispering?”

“No reason.” It’s not like I’m going to give him a full breakdown of the fact that Julia is sleeping after fucking my brains out.

He laughs down the phone, “You’re with her, aren’t you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Does she know?”

“No,” I roll my eyes as though he can see me. “You think I’m going to tell the girl I’m fucking that I’m the CEO killer. Don’t be so fucking stupid, cugino .”

Sighing down the phone, I can already hear the smirk on his stupid fucking face as I descend the stairs and make my way toward the kitchen. “I don’t know, man, pussy will make you do some crazy shit when it’s good.”

And fuck me, is it.

The way her body responded so perfectly to mine, her moans of ecstasy every single time I touched her body, even down to the way my name sounded as she cried out with each and every orgasm I gave her. Fuck. This isn’t good, I’ve already become addicted to this woman, and I have no fucking idea what to do about it.

She came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, she was all I could think about. Turning on the coffee machine, I grab a mug from the cupboards and add three spoonfuls of sugar and powdered milk. “In answer to your question, I’m fine. I’m just glad everything is over. You took care to leave the body where someone would find it, right?”

“Yes.”

“And the recording?” I ask, watching the coffee heat up in the glass pot. I try to rid my thoughts of the beauty sleeping upstairs.

“Emailed to the to the New York Informer Newspaper from an untraceable IP address. We should see it on our screens within the next few hours or more, depending on how long it takes those assholes to check their emails.”

“Good.”

“So, where are you exactly?”

“Dad’s cabin.” I clear my throat, waiting for him to say something completely out of turn. He knows what this place means to me, and bringing her here may have been a terrible mistake, but once the idea popped into my head, I couldn’t stop myself.

Rocco lets out a whistle down the line, saying nothing in response.

“What?”

“Nothing, I’m just...are you in love with this girl?” The question is so matter-of-fact that it completely catches me off guard.

“Rocco, what the fuck kind of question is that?”

There’s no way that I can love someone after only being around them a handful of times, shit. Even if I did, I wouldn’t exactly know either. I’ve never been in love with a woman in my life, and besides, the notion is ridiculous on its own.

“It’s one that’s easy enough to answer, so...are you?”

I curl my fingers around the black handle of the glass coffee jug and begin pouring it into the mug. “I’m not even answering that.”

“No answer is an answer in itself, cugino . My suggestion is you drop this shit before it gets any more complicated. What do you think will happen when she finds out you’re the man the whole of the New York Police Department is looking for? You made a mistake getting involved with her. You’re flying back to Sicily in a few days. How do you think she’s going to feel?”

“I know, alright,” I whisper shout. “Nobody will know it was me unless you snitch on me, which I know you won’t. So, trust me when I say I’ll take care of it.”

“You better, Max. End it before it becomes even more complicated than it already is.”

The silence on the line is palpable, neither one of us saying a word for a beat. I know everything he said is right. I need to break this off before her feelings get involved, or worse, my own. I’m just not ready to give up a single part of her yet.

“Look, I have to go. Are you staying there until your flight?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll pick you up in a couple of days.”

“I need to return the rental.”

“Shit, alright, I’ll bring a friend and have him take it back.”

“Alright. Speak soon.”

Fuck.