Page 32 of As Devils Love

“What’s going on in there?” Tomas Bernardi’s voice booms from outside my door. As if it wasn’t bad enough that my stalker woke me up earlier tonight, Tomas’s screeching comes just as I’m drifting off again.

“Why are you yelling?” I shout right back.

A whole lot of good he is as security if it took him this long to respond to the noises he must’ve heard from my emerald-eyed monster’s touch. Just thinking about what happened, again, sends butterflies through my stomach, and turns my cheeks several shades of a darker red.

God, there really is something wrong with me.

“Don’t toy with me, girl. What game are you playing?” He’s drunk again. I can tell by the subtle slurring over certain words, but more so by his total lack of common sense and reason.

The ludicrous notion that anything is happening behind my closed door is one thing, but his calling megirlis what really pisses me off. There used to be a time when Tomas wouldn’t dare call me anything other than Miss Napoli, out of fear of facing Father’s rage.

He’s gotten too comfortable living in my home over the last few weeks, and it's high time someone put Tomas back in his place.

“You’d be wise to remember where you are and who you’re talking to, Tomas.” I don’t show any signs of my bubbling temper, favoring a calm voice with stern intention.

Silence.

Good. For the first time since he arrived here, Tomas is actually thinking before he blurts out whatever comes to mind. However, when he finally finds the nerve to respond, I don’t get the humbled apologies of a Napoli underling. Instead, Tomas erupts into hysterical laughter that lingers far longer than it ought to with how serious I’m being.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” He finally hisses when his laughter comes to an abrupt halt. “Think I’m one ofDaddy’sscared soldiers? Afraid to face the big bad don’s wrath?”

He bangs against my door in a fit of rage, and my spiking fear sends a cold shiver down my spine. Two more loud knocks follow against the wood, each one more violent than the last.

I decide Tomas has lost his mind. I need to do something about this before he gets in here. I grab my phone and dial my father’s number. He’ll know how to handle this problem better than I can. At the very least, he’ll give Tomas a good beating for his display of utter disrespect.

It isn’t the first time he’s referred to Father asDaddy. And the brazen way with which he says it, leads me to believe that this old fool has been sitting in a seat of power too long. He’s grown comfortable at Father’s side and believes himself untouchable.

Well, if I can’t change his mind, thebig bad donwill.

Unless Father doesn’t answer, and as it stands it doesn’t look as if he’s going to. Normally he never lets his phone ring beyond the third note when I call, and we’re well past that now.

“What’s the matter?” Tomas tests again. “Cat got your tongue?”

His words send me into a new panic. What if Tomas has finally become unhinged because something has happened to Father? Would the Napoli consigliere be so rude and obnoxious toward the head of this family otherwise?

“How about you open that door, Fia? Let’s you and I have a little chat.” His menacing tone isn’t helping quell my fears. It’s as if every time I think, he speaks to keep the doubt alive.

“Go away,” I shout, cowering beneath my blanket.

“Open this door, right now.” Tomas barks, and I can hear him jostling the handle as if every new twist might magically unlock it. “I’m not screwing around. Something’s happening in there, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

“Nothing’s happening. I’m trying to sleep.” Can he even hear me over how feeble I sound?

“Fine.” An unsettling quiet follows. But as uncomfortable as it is, the silence doesn’t last nearly as long as I would like it to. “Then I’ll huff,” Tomas starts, before another heavy thud comes at my door. This time, it sounds like his full weight is smashing into the thick wood. “And I’ll puff.” He’s shouting the words while he continuously bangs against the door.

“Stay away from me,” I shout, trying to reason with whatever sanity might be left in him.

My attempts go ignored and the constant barrage on my door continues. It sounds like a mixture of his shoulder driving into the middle, and vicious kicks colliding with the door handle. Finally, the locks give out and splinters of wood allow the monster inside.

“And I’ll blow your house down,” Tomas finishes with a gut-wrenching grin in the doorway. His drunken, wild eyes stare at me cowering beneath my blanket, before they drift across the room to see if anyone else really is in here.

Luckily for my stalker, he vanished half an hour ago. Or is it Tomas who’s the lucky one?

“What do you want?” My voice is timid and fearful.

What the hell is wrong with me? I managed to hold my own, if only a little, against a man Iknowis trying to kill me. Tomas, on the other hand, makes me so scared I can barely think straight.

Unlike my stalker, Tomas doesn’t have any pleasant intentions toward me tonight. I can tell by the way his narrowed eyes scan my blanket, lingering uncomfortably long across my body.

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