Page 38 of SINS & Riley
“Don’t play dumb, Riley. It doesn’t suit you. You know who.”
He knows I visit Dante.
My throat goes tight, and suddenly I’m choking on a hundred truths I can’t tell him about Dante.
That he stole my virginity.
That I hated him right up until I didn’t. And then, it was too late.
That I never got to say I love you when I wanted to.
That his little mafioso heir might have squatters rights in my belly.
I can’t tell Zver any of that.
I can’t let him see that no matter what he does to me, Dante will always be etched into me so deep, not even Zver can carve him out.
My brain scrambles for exits, and I say the only thing I can.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m not exactly sure what you want me to say.”
“I want you to explain why you waste your time pining for a man who threw you to the wolves.” His tone sharpens, dark amusement curling at the edges. “Not that this wolf is complaining. His loss is my gain.”
I swallow hard, the words strangled in my throat. It’s a fair question. One I ask myself every time I go.
Deflated, I try to explain. “Dante tried to warn me away from the club that night. I wouldn’t listen.”
He doesn’t reply. Just lets the silence stretch, taut and ugly, until it grates against my skin.
I hear the glass tilt back, the swallow, the pour of another.
The air carries it—scotch. Just like Da used to drink.
Thank God he’s only offered me water.
He’s going through them fast. How many has he had?
When he speaks again, it breaks me.
“You’re wasting your time. Everyday in a graveyard, pining for a ghost. You are worth more than Dante D’Angelo.”
He’s… angry.
And he doesn’t understand.
The graveyard is the one place I can pretend I don’t cry myself to sleep every night. I can pour out my heart with zero repercussions. What does he care?
My chest clamps—fear and fury knotting until something inside snaps.
Zver can own my present, but not this: my past, my grief, my heart. “This is mine,” I spit before I can polish it.
He grumbles, pleased to bait me. “Are you going to stop me from going there?” I snap.
He chews the silence like dessert, then, finally speaks.
