Page 28 of As Devils Love

However, this man who has been watching me, since our dance in that club, has piqued my interest and hooked my curiosity.

“And anyway, you’re my go-to-girl when it comes to my outfits for a night on the town. I wouldn’t want to start getting bad designs just because I upset you,” she cracks a joke to still my nerves, after Tomas’s outburst.

Who would’ve thought a stranger could put me at ease after what just happened? But joking isn’t going to make this any easier. I need to know what this guywantswith me. It has something to do with Father’s shady empire, I’m sure. But whatI can’t wrap my head around is my role in this thing. With the killer’s record sitting firmly in the double digits for Napoli murders, I have to know why he can’t just finish the job on me.

Screwing me can’t be his only motivation, can it?

Let’s just hope curiosity doesn’t kill this cat, before I can get my answers.

Chapter Nine

CRUE

Two days and you’re following her again? Pathetic.

This isn’t a hunt anymore. You’re pussy-whipped and you haven’t even gotten to test drive the product. Grow some balls and kill this bitch already!

My inner voice is loud and overbearing. This was bound to happen eventually, but I had hoped it would take a while longer.

“I can’t kill her yet.” Oh, wonderful. Now I’m talking to myself while I meander through the streets of New York.

Matteo’s list is taken care of. Mark saw to it personally. There’s nothing stopping you from finishing this.

“Matteo wants me to break her first.” Arguing with myself over semantics is a new low. But that’s exactly what I’m doing by tailing Fiametta around. I know she’s seen me. I allowed her to,on a few separate occasions, even before I made my first move on her.

By doing that, I’m ensuring I stay at the forefront of her mind. When I’m through with Fiametta Napoli, I’ll be the only thing she thinks about. Mad rambles and panicked outbursts about the beast trying to hurt her will follow, to her father’s great dismay.

And then I’ll kill her.

So, break her faster. Cut off Tomas’s head in front of her. Curb-stomp the ginger firecracker’s skull while she watches from her bedroom window.

Tie her to a street pole and fuck her stupid for all of New York to see.

Just. Finish. It.

My mind is a self-correcting ecosystem. Killing satisfies the darkness inside me. Snuffing out someone else’s flame ignites mine and keeps the shadows at bay. It’s never for long, but any stillness from my own overbearing thoughts provides the clarity I need to stay in control.

Fiametta has changed that. I’ve been slaughtering Lorenzo’s men for over a year, but since Matteo put her in my path, my shadow has grown longer.

Two weeks ago, I was killing on my own terms.

Logic dictated my actions.

I had control.

Now, I won’t get it back until she’s dead.

Unless, Little Flame, you’re the one who will shine brightly enough to cast it away for good.

Little Flame? Cute. You still have to kill her.

“I will.”

Before she ends up killing you.

“What?” I stop in my tracks.

You’re acting all brazen and brash. You’re not giving yourself, her or the goons tailing her time to rest. Keep moving down this road… keep fucking up, and she’s going to be the reason you die.

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