Page 249 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

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alessandro

Fuck Chiara.

I fucking hated her. I hated the way she trusted me so much. I hated the way she knew exactly what she was doing. I hated that I’d told her I cared about her. I hated how I felt about her. I hated that I couldn’t stop fucking thinking about her.

There was only one other time I’d felt like this. With Bella. The whore who had cheated on me with my brother, who told me I knew too much in the family, who sold me out for ratting on the Sicilian Mafia for trafficking.

She was the daughter of the don, and she had put me in fucking prison.

I gripped the steering wheel and slammed my fist into the dashboard with the other.

Why the fuck did I feel so fucking good when I was with Chiara? Why had I let my guard down? Why did I want her approval more than anything?

Rain beat down on the windshield as I veered onto the highway, heading for New Jersey.

When she had told me she cared about me … God, all those memories of Bella had flooded my memory. I didn’t want to end up back in that shithole they called prison. I didn’t want to die in the hands of the Sicilian Mafia. I didn’t want to lose Chiara.

But I had no other choice. I was so damn close to piecing everything together. There was a reason I had come to New York, and there was a reason I’d chosen to weasel my way into this family. That reason wasn’t Chiara … but maybe that was why I’d stayed here for so long.

I could’ve found out everything that I needed already, but I refused because Chiara would be caught up in the mess. So, I stayed around and helped her when she was in danger. Because I was the one who’d put her in danger. And I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Ever.

After two whole hours of trying to get her out of my mind and failing miserably, I pulled up to the address her father had sent me. The lights were off, no cars in the driveway. I waited on the other side of the road and cut my lights. It was the middle of the night, and nobody was home.

Something wasn’t right.

I rested my head against the headrest and blew out a deep breath. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I knew it was Chiara without even pulling it out of my pants. I ignored the call, not wanting her to mess this job up tonight.

Once the phone stopped buzzing, I pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

A missed call without a voicemail and a text.

Chiara: I hope you don’t mind me staying the night.

Me: I gave you the keys for a reason.

Chiara: Don’t need to be so rude about it.

My lips curled into a small smile, my chest tightening. But as quickly as the smile appeared, I forced it away. Nope. I was not feeling like this about her. I could like her. I could protect her. But I wasn’t going to lov—

A car pulled into the driveway, and I sat up taller, thrusting my phone into my pocket and snatching my gun from my waistband. Time to get this shit over with.

30

alessandro

It was a clean job. At least, I thought it would be.

I watched the man walk into his house. I followed him. I told him the consequences of not paying up to the family. And when he thought about running, I tied him down to his kitchen chair, lit a cigar for him, and stuck it between his lips.

“This might hurt,” I warned, not giving a fuck if it actually did.

All I wanted was to make this quick and get back to Chiara. I didn’t trust that guard of hers to not try something. She was smart, but she trusted the family a bit too much.

In this business, you were never safe.

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