Page 117 of Villainous Kingpin

Sasha and I walked her out of the building and got her into the car. Then I helped her into her room and tucked her into bed.

“Is it him, Star?” she kept whispering. “He came back.”

“No, Mom,” I soothed her as her eyelids grew heavy. “You’re safe. He’s not here.”

Now I laid in my bed, unable to find rest. I should be scared, but I wasn’t. I should be surprised to see him again; I wasn’t. For that moment, when I stood in front of him, his spicy scent wrapping around me, I felt whole again.

God, to feel so much for someone couldn’t be healthy. Yet, I feared there was no cure. Deep down, I’d hoped he’d find me. Why? Maybe because I was a damn glutton for punishment. It wasn’t as if I could get a happily-ever-after with him.

The look on my mother’s face when she looked at Bas was heart wrenching. I could see the ghosts plaguing her, swirling all around her. When your boyfriend’s father shoots your mother, it pretty much nulls your chances at a future. Right?

And then there was the issue of his deceit. I was an idiot to feel anything for him at all. So damn stupid.

Yet, I couldn’t forget that moment our eyes connected. A simple glance from him could light me on fire and melt my soul. In the most consuming kind of way.

I shifted on the bed again, exhaustion heavy in my bones. Weeks and months of constant training were hard, but now it was all over. And again, I couldn’t get my rest.

I had no clue what I’d do with myself. I needed to keep myself busy. Eventually, the school would keep me and the girls busy, but it’d be a while before that happened. Until then, I’d have to find a way to keep myself busy. I couldn’t stand to have all this time to think.

Like now.

I felt tired, but my mind refused to calm. Thoughts whirled in my mind and they all revolved aroundhim. Basilio DiLustro.

There had to be something wrong with me because a twisted part of me craved him. The son of the man who destroyed my mother.

The man I fell in love with. I knew he was a DiLustro when I asked him for help. I knew he was a killer. A criminal. None of it mattered to me, because I saw the man worth loving behind it all.

Until his father. Until the unknown past came knocking on the door. Until Bas’ betrayal.

If I had known, I would have kept my distance. I would have fought the attraction. I wouldn’t have gotten close to Bas. I wouldn’t have fallen for him

My mind mocked that unspoken statement.

“I wouldn’t have,” I protested in a whisper to the dark, empty room. The truth was that the attraction to him had been so damn different and curiously exciting. Such a new, unfamiliar feeling.

Yes, I had gotten good at lying to myself. Somewhere deep down, I knew the road would have always led me to Basilio DiLustro.

“Talking to yourself, principessa?” A familiar deep voice rasped. I shot out of bed to find two dark figures over my bed.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed. My heart beat hard and my lungs struggled to get air into them.

“You’re going to fulfill your promise, principessa.”

I opened my mouth to scream but before a sound could break through a hand covered my mouth, muffling it. With wide eyes, I watched him push a syringe into my neck. I attempted to struggle, my vision turning fuzzy.

My eyes locked on Bas’ blurry face with disbelief.

“I told you I’d always follow,” he whispered.

The last thing I remembered was a familiar spicy scent in my nose, filling my lungs and my eyes closed as darkness crept in.

Then there was nothing but an abyss.

CHAPTER44

Basilio

Wynter’s body slumped in my arms.