Page 207 of The Devil's Fire

It was for the best for her to leave. She couldn’t be happy with someone like me. She had only ever been in danger since we got together. I almost lost her too many times already, and I still had no idea who had been behind the attack or what kind of mess her mother was involved in.

I was going to get to the bottom of it, make sure no one was ever going to hurt her again, and let her live a quiet and safe life like she was meant to; one that was far away from me because that life didn’t exist with me.

My world wasn’t for her. She was too pure, too innocent to have shit like this happen to her. It had broken her to the point where her once-bright green eyes, the ones I fell in love with, had lost their entire spark.

I hoped she was doing better and healing, even if it wasn’t with me. I just wanted her to be happy, and I knew it couldn’t be with me.

I wanted to see her, even if it was just for a mere second. Just one last time. Damn it. Even working out for hours couldn’t distract my mind completely from thinking about her.

The bag hit the ground with a loud thud, making me snap out of my thoughts. I let it be on the ground and sat down on the bench as I wiped the sweat off with a towel and tried to calm down my heavy breathing.

I picked up my phone and looked at the picture I had saved of her. It was the one she had sent to me after I had gifted her the earrings. It was my favorite picture; the way she was smiling, and her eyes had so much life in them.

My phone rang, and the caller ID interrupted my gaze at the picture, a habit I had developed since she left. I kept staring at it, fully aware that I couldn’t see or hold her, but I clung to it for my sanity, even though it was simultaneously tormenting me.

“What?” I snapped into the phone.

“Hello, handsome.” Raffaele replied with a chuckle.

“What do you want?” I didn’t hide my annoyance that he had disturbed me.

“Are you in the gym again?” He said in a disapproving tone. “Are you trying to become a bodybuilder?”

“If you have nothing useful to say, keep your mouth shut.”

“What’s the fun in that?” I could hear his grin through the phone as I made my way out of the gym, not in the mood to listen to his bullshit.

“Fuck off.”

“Now, wait a minute!” He said quickly before I could hang up the phone.

“Get straight to the point before I fuck you up.”

“That sounds hot.” Raffaele laughed.

I hung up the phone and went upstairs to take a shower. My phone continued to ring when I didn’t pick up, but after the fifth time, I had enough.

“What’s the point of working out this much if you’re still going to be an ass?” He said once I had answered his call.

“Where are you?”

“Warehouse by the port. Why?”

“So I can come and fucking kill you.” I sneered.

“Calm down! I was just trying to make a joke, geez…” He kept on mumbling something about me being an unbearable ass these days. I closed my eyes, imagining smashing his skull into a wall over and over again.

“We might have found something.”

I snapped my eyes open.

“What is it?” I said impatiently. If there was one thing I hated, it was not getting straight to the point and wasting my time.

“Get your ass over here and you will find out. You could use some fresh air.” Raffaele hung up before I could curse at him.

After a quick shower, I got ready and drove to the port where our products were shipped. The warehouse was the central hub where everything was weighed, counted, and repacked before distribution and sale.

We had the most sought-after product in the game, giving our competitors no chance to even come close to what we have. Our cocaine boasted the highest purity, making it far more potent than the inferior cocaine others sold due to their lack of knowledge about the quality of their own products.

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