Page 66 of Matteo

Mason frowned. “I am quitting…but I have some. They’re on my bike though.”

He slowly pushed away from the chair. “Be right back.”

Nora shrugged and I followed her man outside, getting looks from the family. The sun was starting to go down when we made it to his bike, the sky was a rosy glow of reds and oranges. It wasn’t until I was pulling the smoke into my lungs that I finally relaxed.

“So…” Mason said, lighting up one of his own.

“Oh God,” I groaned.

“What?”

“Are you about to make a case for your brother and why I should date him?” I quirked a brow.

He grinned. “Now why would I do that when watching him struggle for your attention is so much more fun?”

“Tou-fucking-che!” I laughed loudly for the first time in hours.

“Plus, he’s kind of on the lamb,” the end of Mason’s cigarette lit up bright.

“Something tells me that you know exactly where your brother is,” I shrugged walking back up the walkway and sitting on the front steps.

Mason sat down beside me, smelling like cedar. He was good looking, and I knew exactly why my sister was head over heels for him. He had a tough exterior but he could be incredibly kind.

“I do,” he said suddenly. “But you have to know, Matteo…he would die for you.”

“Motherfucker, what?” I gasped. “He doesn’t even know me.”

Mason looked over and quirked an eyebrow. “He seems to know enough, and the consensus is, if Carmine so much as flirts with you ever again, he will murder his own brother.”

I laughed again, and it rumbled deep down in the pits of my belly. “Stop it.”

“I’m serious, Rain,” Mason’s dark eyes seemed to reflect the setting sun, but I could see he meant every word.

“What do you want me to do,” I shrugged. “Your brother isn’t my type.”

“Oh, and I’m Nora’s,” he pulled on his cigarette once more. “I know he’s been calling you. I can see the numbers that he’s dialing on the phone I gave him. I didn’t even bother to tell him not to contact you, he wouldn’t listen anyway. But I would suggest, if you can be careful, going to see him before…”

Licking at my lips, I took the bait. “Before what?”

Mason snuffed the cigarette out then and stood. With ease he twisted what was left of the cigarette until it had been reduced to nothing. “Before he leaves the state for good,” Mason headed back inside leaving me sitting alone with nothing but my thoughts.

Five minutes later, I was in my car after asking Matteo for directions.

You’re insane for this,I thought the entire ride.

As I approached the Zacharra mansion, my heart thumped against my chest and my palms grew clammy. It stood tall and imposing, just like in my recurring dreams. The white stone pillars and intricate iron gates were exactly as I had imagined them. I couldn't believe it - the house that had haunted me for months was now right in front of me, almost like a mirage in the desert.

Matteo was waiting for me.

Inside.

Something told me, I was about to be devoured.

Chapter 20

Matteo

Iheard the approach of a car, before I ever saw one. The neighborhood that I’d grown up in was quiet. There were no children or really any teenagers in the area anymore. Just old people living in their mansions with high walls to keep the poor people out.

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