Page 14 of Mafia Lion's Plus Size Obsession

She shrugs and looks around in the drawer, she pulls out a key and hands it to me. “You know how to ride, right?”

“Why would I rent it if I didn’t?” I ask.

I leave without telling her that I’ve only ridden a dirt bike over one summer when I was fourteen. I hope like hell it’s like riding a bicycle.

What the fuck am I doing? I don’t know anything about wildfires, and I sure as hell have no business being out here. I can promise you, though, that it’s not about anything logical. I just can’t be without him. I can’t.

Damn it all, I sound like a character in a bad, poorly thought-out movie!

“Where’s the fire?” I ask.

Her eyes narrow. “You want to take my motorcycle to the fires?” She shakes her head. “We shouldn’t even be this close. The only reason I’m here is I’m getting extra pay until the police show up to take care of the place until the fires are gone.”

What a horrible time for me to come to my senses. It happens, though, horrible or not. I burst into tears and justcollapsed there on the floor. The girl is very sweet, and before I know it, she’s on the floor with me, and I’m weeping against her shoulder.

She holds me and strokes my hair and I guess in the middle of my sobs I must tell her about the man I love and how he’s fighting the fire because she whispers assurances that he’s going to be okay. I don’t know how long I weep but I can promise you that I’ve never cried a cry more desperately needed than this one.

When I finally back away, I whisper, “I’m Isabella. Izzy.”

She smiles. “I know. I checked you in.” I smile as well, and she says, “And I’m Arielle. Do you want to sit with me and watch the news reports? Or do you want to sneak sips of the owner’s bourbon? He has a case he keeps in the cabinet here.”

I smile mischievously. “What about both?”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” Arielle says as she stands and helps me to my feet.

Arielle finds the bourbon and pours us both some full glasses. I’m thankful she doesn’t believe in skimping. We sit and watch the news. Nothing really changes for a while and then, there’s a news flash. I lean forward and grip the edge of the counter.

The news anchor, a pretty young blonde, explains that Company 417 have rescued the town but that they are now trapped in a canyon. I wait for the news anchor to offer more information, but she just talks about how very dangerous this whole business of firefighting can be, and how brave these men are.

I turn to Arielle. “Do you know what canyon they’re talking about?”

“I imagine it’s the one just on the other side of the park. It’s ...”

I cut her off. “How far is it?”

“About four miles, but you aren’t thinking of going there, are you? If they’re trapped, you’re going to be in real trouble. Hey!”

I ignore her pleas to come back and run out to the dirt bike. I’m zooming away before Arielle can say something that would convince me to not go searching for the man I love.

Chapter Eleven

Isabella

The smoke in the area is awful, and riding the bike makes it so that it’s especially awful. I don’t care, though. I have a horrible image of Vittorio lying wounded in the middle of a raging inferno. I kick the bike into a higher gear and speed around curves that make the bike shake and wobble.

I should be afraid. I should be worried and pacing. I shouldn’t be zooming around on such a little bike, a bike that definitely is worth less than the money I gave Arielle for the rental of it. But I'm not so much afraid as determined to find my man and save him from this disaster.

I’m laser focused on this one goal. Get Vittorio.

I come to a bend in the road and I only realize how sharp the turn is when it’s already too late to adjust. The bike skids on some gravel at a very high speed and I lose control briefly.

Well, that’s all the time it needs to go absolutely crazy. The bike shudders and then, I’m on my side with the bike and heading over the edge of the roadway towards the tree line. I start to scream and then, the bike veers and jumps. It managesto miraculously stay upright and not hit a tree, but eventually it skitters and I fall to the side as it slips from my hands and plows right into a tree stump.

I sit on the ground and try to stay calm. I can tell something is wrong with my right ankle because when I try to stand on it, it buckles and I fall again. The smoke in the air is getting denser and I curse my fucking luck. I don’t want to be stuck here when my man needs someone to rescue him.

I try to stand again and yell so loud it echoes. I sit back down and start to cry. It’s more out of frustration than anything else, but I know that I am not ready to give up. Even if the flames are getting closer, and I know they are because the smoke in the air is becoming thicker and darker, and I hear crackling noises,

I’m just about to try to stand again when I see a massive lion come striding through the trees and heading my way.

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