Page 82 of Sin & Secrets

I take the stairs two at a time, trying to find the source of the fire. If the fucker who set it off is still there, he will take me to Cassandra.

Someone screams. And my blood runs cold.

The sound sends me careening toward the kitchen. I brace myself as I kick down the door.

I’m immediately greeted with billowing black smoke that renders me temporarily blind.

“CAS?”

I blink away the smoke.

To find Donatella standing barefoot on the counter, frantically wafting at the smoke alarm with a towel. A half dozen charred pieces of bacon are strewn across the floor as if flung from the cast iron pan that still hisses with fat on the ground.

And, at the center of it all, is a sheepish-looking Cas hunched over the tap, wincing in agony.

The gun in my hand feels suddenly entirely unwarranted. I quickly holster it in the back of my pants before anyone can notice.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry!” Cas gives me a frantic look as she approaches. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Finally, the beeping of the alarm subsides, and Donatella hops down from the counter. “Clearly, you were trying to burn the entire house down.”

“I was just trying to make breakfast.” Cas ducks her head in shame.

A startled laugh escapes my lips as I tug her toward me, needing her closeness to reassure my poor, anxious heart that she is okay.

“I think we’ll leave the cooking to Donatella in the future.”

Cas returns my embrace hesitantly, so I glance down to try and find the cause. But she’s buried her head in my chest.

Donatella grabs a towel to wrap around the still-sizzling panhandle. “You scared me half to death. You could have burned your arm off!”

When Cas cringes against me, I gently pry her arms from around my waist and examine her hands. As I suspected, a large welt seems to be forming on her left palm.

“It’s fine,” she insists.

But I’m already dragging her back over to the sink and turning on the water. I stand behind her as I hold her burned hand up to the steady stream of cool water.

“I could do this myself,” she murmurs but makes no move to shake me away.

Behind me, I hear Donatella sigh. “I have some chores to catch up on.”

I make a mental note to ensure Donatella’s bonus is doubled this month when the kitchen door bangs shut behind her.

Finally alone, I take the opportunity to pin Cas against the counter with my other hand and rest my head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Cas sighs as she leans against me seemingly content with my closeness.

“For nearly burning down my house?”

“For being a terrible cook.”

I slowly rotate her arm so that the water splashes evenly over the burn. “I don’t need you to cook for me.”

“I was just trying to do something nice.”

With a laugh, I plant a soft kiss on the side of her neck. “It’s the thought that counts,Angioletta.”

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