Page 30 of Dance of Madness

“Oh, no, you were in factstaring. Longingly,” she grins. “Fawningover, if you will.”

“Okay,notwhat you think. I just happened to have Insta open when I got caught up thinking about something. Chill.”

“Yeah, thinking about something likedick.”

“Wait, who’s thinking about dick?”

I groan. Val—of course—joins in the torment.

“How is it that the second someone is getting teased about sex, you show up?” I mutter at him.

“It’s my superpower,” he shrugs. “Say the worddick, and boom—here I am.”

“Milena was ogling Nero De Luca,” Brooklyn says smugly.

I glare at her. “I wasnot?—”

“No no, I get it,” Val muses. “Tall, kinda unhinged, super-hot in that ‘I’ll choke you ‘til you come’ way?”

I roll my eyes. “You need help.”

“Hey,you’rethe one getting wet for Nero De Luca, baby girl,” he tosses back.

I sigh.

Touche.

Val grins as he glances at Brooklyn. “I mean, what does a dude like that evendofor foreplay? Commit arson? Smash kneecaps?”

“Definitely drown puppies,” Brooklyn nods sagely.

I frown at them. “I take it back: youbothneed professional help. Desperately.” I shake my head. “That’s fucked up. You don’t evenknowhim.”

“And you do?” Val teases.

Yes.

At least, I think I do. After that night, my pen pal and I never corresponded again. The book disappeared. The letters stopped.

Have I ever confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt that the man was Nero?

No.

But sometimes, a gut feeling is all you need. And it’s that gut feeling that makes me abruptly go quiet whenever he happens to be in my vicinity, that makes me stare at him, trying to peel back the—admittedly gorgeous—layers, trying to guess if I'm imagining it correctly.

To try to reconcile the fearsome, brutal don of the De Luca mafia with a letter full of deep secrets and hidden desires. To see him in the pages of a centuries-old German book, and in a night of wild abandon, smelling of sweat, blood, and cum.

It’s the same feeling I got another taste of the other night, when Alicia set me up to get chased by whatever psycho was waiting for me—or for her—in Greymoor.

I gulp.

Even if hedidexpect her and got me instead, it looks like I still caught his attention.

Caught it like adisease.

I shiver and make a note to talk to Rurik, Papa’s head of security, about tightening thingswaythe hell up around the house.

“Whatever, I need to get back to work,” I mutter, making a move to stand.

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