Page 8 of Die With Me

“Well, well. Look at those beautiful eyes—misty, like the sea at dawn.” The man chuckles as he leans against the doorframe and drags his eyes down the length of my body. I feel like a fly who’s just been caught in a spider's web.

A very gorgeous spider, who looks like a mythological deity.

Dumbstruck by his ethereal beauty, my mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water before I stupidly reply, “Do you like the sea?” My brows furrow as I realize how dopey I sound, white knuckling the door like it’s a lifeline.

He winks, and my insides flutter like a thousand butterflies have just escaped their cocoons and are shaking their newly formed wings for the first time. “In another life, it would have been my greatest love.”

I want to be your greatest love.The thought flickers through my mind, voiceless. I’m only a teenager. I’ve never been in love. I’ve never even had a boyfriend. But this man—this God—whoever he is, I want to be his everything.

I want to ask him if he knows my name literally means ‘star of the sea’, but the softness his eyes hold for me hardens as he looks over Adam in the suit. “Acceptable.” His voice is rougher when he speaks this time—booming into the small space of our one-bedroom apartment and echoing off the bare walls. “Ready to go?”

Adam’s footsteps approach from behind, and though I don’t want to pull my eyes from the man before me, as my brother’s hand finds the small of my back, my head whips to the side to see a look of disapproval stretched across his face. “Lock the door behind us. Don’t let anyone in while I’m gone. If Howie comes by hollering about the rent, pretend like you aren’t home. Do you understand?”

I nod sheepishly, cheeks growing warm as Adam speaksto me as though I’m a small child. My eyes flit back to the man taking up the entire space of the doorframe. His muscles ripple beneath his button-down shirt, threatening to tear the fabric beneath his suit jacket, as he pulls out his phone.

“Take care of my brother.” I try to sound threatening. He laughs in return, fingers flying over the screen without paying me any attention other than his uncaring chuckle.

“Can I have a second with my sister, Luca? Please?”

Luca.

Of course, his name is just as sexy as he is.

Luca makes a sound that lands somewhere between a grunt and a huff before turning and leaving without another word. I watch him go, very nearly calling out after him.

Adam’s fingers wrap around my bicep, and only then do I realize I’m halfway over the threshold in pursuit of Luca. My foot hits the floor with a defeated thud, and I allow my brother to pull me back into our tiny apartment.

“Don’t even think about it, Mari.” His warning is sharp as his fingers dig into my skin. “I don’t want you getting caught up in this.”

“I don’t want you caught up in it either, Adam. Everyone knows how dangerous the Morronis are. For all you know, you could be walking into a room where they don’t expect you to make it out alive! And they won’t care! You mean nothing to them!” I rip my arm from his grasp and launch myself into his arms, hugging his waist. “Youmean everything to me. You’re all I have. Maybe…maybe I could?—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence. You’re my little sister. It’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around.” He squeezes me tightly before gently pushing me away.

“Everyone knows how easy it is for a woman to make money these days. If I can make myself invaluable?—”

“Stop! Mari, just stop. Please. We’re just talking in circles, and I have to go. I’ll be back later tonight, okay? Do your homework. And get those dark thoughts out of your pretty little head.” He knocks his knuckles against my forehead before heading out the door. “You’re not going to sell yourself. Over my cold, dead body.”

Luca

“The next time I saw him, he was covered in blood. He managed to escape wherever you guys were and make it home mere seconds before he died. The last words on his lips were that he was sorry and that it was you who shot him.” Misty spits her words as though they taste like garbage. “I ended up selling my body just to survive. I never did make it to medical school.”

As she tells her tale of tragedy, I recall that night her brother died. He was just a kid looking to make a quick buck. I felt sorry for him, and would never have hired him for any type of job. He was too young. Too inexperienced.

But my father had been impressed with how the weedy twirp had walked into our restaurant and promised to pledge his allegiance to the Morroni name. I didn’t know what he needed the money for,but after picking him up at his shoebox apartment, I assumed it was to take better care of his little sister.

I’m not ashamed to say he meant nothing to me—that I didn’t care if he caught the stray bullet meant for a member of a rival family we met that night. I didn’t stop to look for him when the shootout was over. I didn’t bother seeing if he was still alive or dead. He never crossed my mind as I reported the evening’s events to my father.

And I never thought of Misty again after that night.

But fuck if I’m going to tell her thatnow.

It would make no difference, other than to anger her further. And my piccola demone is pissed off enough as it is.

Blood drips steadily from the cut at my temple—compliments of Misty’s wineglass–when she walked behind me toadmire the viewof the city from my living room windows.

I don’t know why I asked her to my apartment tonight.

It’s clear that after our last meeting, she wants me dead now, more than ever.

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