Page 59 of Taboo Flames

Guilt eats at me for my dishonesty, but I refuse to be dissuaded from my mission.

As soon as he leaves, I rush back to my laptop and copy down the name of the orphanage. On Google Maps, it’s about an hour’s drive from here.

It’s the only link I have to finding more about Gio. At least, I hope they still have records from all those years ago.

I take a quick shower and get dressed in dark jeans and a dark sweatshirt. Then, I grab my car keys, and just as I’m about to leave, my phone begins to ring, and I see it’s Fabio. I have a feeling I know what he’s going to say.

I silence my phone and tuck it into my pocket. I can’t let Fabio stop me from doing what I’m about to do.

I steel my spine, jump into the car, and drive out of the compound. I consider calling ahead to ask about the orphanage’s records, but ultimately, I decide against it.

I step on the gas and swerve onto the highway, the car eating up the distance.

I turn up my playlist, hoping the loud bass will block out all the nerves and doubts playing in my head.

Just as I swerve around a corner, a blacked-out SUV curves around my car, cutting me off. I almost crash into it at the speed I’m going, but at the last second, I slam on the brakes, and the car skids to a stop, just a few inches from making contact with the SUV.

My heart races dangerously as an imposing man steps out of the car and faces me with dark, menacing eyes.

I suck in a frightened breath.

How the hell did Gio find me here?

CHAPTER 16

Giovanni

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Aurora, it is that she’s a shit liar.

She’d be dead if she were really a part of my world. You need a poker face as solid as a steel mask to survive in my world.

She has far too many tells, from the shifty eyes to the way she bites her lips to how she wrings her hands. I’m not sure she even knows she’s doing all those things, but I, of course, clocked all of it at once.

At first, I suspected she was cheating on me…if that word can even be used for two people in a non-relationship.

Naturally, my plan was to tail her and find out who the bastard was. But as soon as she took a turn onto the highway, I knew exactly where she was headed. I saw the home page of the orphanage I grew up in on her laptop, and I put two and two together when Fabio sent me a threatening yet enlightening message to ensure his sister didn’t get involved with my bullshit.

I’m not sure what would have made me angrier: her going to visit a lover or her putting her nose in my damn business. But in summary, I’m pissed right now.

I shouldn’t be surprised though. Her silence regarding my nightmare had been more than a little bit suspicious. I’d been waiting for her to fire me with a thousand questions concerning that night, but past her bruised throat, she had given no indication that anything had happened.

That had been my first hint.

“Gio,” she breathes out shakily, “W—what are you doing here?”

I stalk toward her and glare at her through her car window. “I could ask you the same thing, princess.”

“Oh,” she mumbles, chuckling nervously, “I was just on my way to?—”

I cut her off immediately and say, “If you’re about to lie, you can save it because it’ll only attract more punishment than you already deserve.”

A frisson of panic flashes through her face.

“Open the door,” I command.

“Gio, I can expla?—”

Without any preamble, I open the car door and drag her out. She lets out a shriek as I throw her over my shoulder and turn toward my car.

---