Page 71 of Taboo Flames

“I just do,” he replies with a shrug.

That isn’t enough reassurance for me. I wait for Carlos to start walking again before spinning around and bolting back toward the restaurant.

I ignore Carlos’s yell, running as fast as I can in my high heels. I slip into the nearest hidden corner and immediately undo the straps of the shoes. Clutching it in one hand, I tiptoe down the hallways, careful to avoid Carlos.

When I hear a pained grunt, I quickly follow the sound to the underground parking lot of the restaurant.

Then I quietly dash toward one of the cars parked there and stoop behind it, peeking out from my position to watch what’s going on.

The first thing I see when I poke my head out is Gio’s smile. It’s not the usual smile I’ve gotten used to. There’s something almost shark-like and feral about this particular smile. Something that makes him look nothing like the man I know.

Every trace of humanity is wiped clean from his expression, leaving something that makes shivers run down my spine.

Something glints on his hand, and I briefly wonder if it’s some kind of jewelry. That is until Gio lands the first hit on the other man’s jaw, and I realize exactly what it is.

I hastily slap my hand over my mouth to muffle the sound of horror that suddenly tears out of my throat.

“When I’m done with you, Salvador,” Gio snarls in a dark voice, "Your corpse will be tossed away like the filth you are. I’llmake sure you’re so unrecognizable that your family will never be able to identify your body.”

It’s obvious that whatever this man may have done to Gio, it is far beyond the simple matter of interrupting our dinner date. Gio must have recognized him earlier.

The second hit comes as lightning fast as the first, and the man howls, begging as he’s knocked down to the ground again.

I watch, entranced, as a switch flips in Gio’s eyes, and he rains hits and punches down on the man. This is a side of Gio I’ve never seen before. A side I’m not sure I should have ever gotten to see.

Eventually, the man stops begging or groaning in pain. There is so much blood, and it covers Gio and pools on the ground beneath the bloody pulp.

“Boss, I think he’s dead,” the man standing behind him says, but Gio doesn’t stop.

I feel my stomach revolt, but I squeeze my eyes shut and my hands into tight fists to fight back the urge to throw up. When I finally open my eyes, I’m in for a surprise as my eyes meet intense dark brown ones.

Realizing I’ve been caught by Gio, I gasp and quickly scramble away. This time around, I’m less careful about being caught by Carlos. I have a feeling being caught by Carlos will trump being caught by Gio at the moment.

I let out a shriek of terror when Gio appears in front of me, and I run right into him.

“Going somewhere, princess?” he drawls icily, his face blank.

“I didn’t see anything, I swear,” I rush to say.

“Let’s go home,” he says to me, as if nothing just happened.

I swallow, trying to control the shakiness in my limbs. “I think I’d like to sleep in my own bed tonight.”

He raises a brow at me. “But I like you in my bed.”

My heart immediately softens at his admission, but just as I open my mouth to say yes to him, I spot the blood on his hands and remember what I just witnessed. The blood has stained his chaplet a vivid red, and it’s a sharp reminder that Gio is a dangerous man.

I take a shaky step backward. “I just want to go back to my home.”

Gio’s eyes don't leave mine when he barks, “Take her to my house, Carlos.”

“Gio, I?—”

“We will talk about this when I come home.”

“I’d rather?—”

“Please, princess. I can’t bear to be away from you tonight.” His eyes look sad, contrasting dramatically with his bloody clothes. I know he wants to explain, but I don’t know if I can accept any explanation.

---