Page 58 of PortCity Killers

??N I N E T E E N??

Casa di Giovenni was settled among the mountainous hills that decorated the small cluster of islands, their very namesake. It stood, tall and proud as its inhabitants, towering over a small settlement you had to cross to reach the main house. It seemed the Giovenni’s had made themselves their own private township on their island.

We passed through a small square lined with tiny shops until it suddenly ended. The square turned to trees as we took the small dirt road that twisted and wound through them.

The jungle we went through gave me the fucking willies. It was the kind of dense forest you went missing in. The kind that spurred the stories of people running naked for their lives while rich white men dressed in cult attire paid to hunt them down.

The rumors of The Hills didn’t travel very far from PortCity, but if you stayed there for any length of time, you found yourself privy to a whole new underbelly of malintent that made you question the world you lived in.

I wondered if the twins had ever held their own parties here, kidnapping those who couldn’t pay up and letting them loose with the false hope of freedom only to shoot them down through the trees.

Would Jaymes have been one of those people if I hadn't done what I did? Would he have finally gotten what he wanted? To die as he lived: running from something he couldn’t see, from ghosts that would devour him for their own amusement.

Don snuggled me closer to him when I shivered, completely oblivious to the murky thoughts brewing under my skin. But I let him, and I sank into his side with a sigh that made me question whether or not I should be encouraging my own fixations.

Was I attracted to them because of what they held over me? Or because they were hot, powerful, and anyone would be attracted to them? Was I not so different from my brother that maybe I played with fire a little too much for my own good?

“We’re here,” Don rubbed a thumb behind my neck, bringing a tingle all over my skin.

I shuffled out of the open door, taking the hand of the man who held the door open. Valentina stood a few feet away in the doorway, her hands spread out to me. I wasn’t ready for the warm reception, but she didn’t seem to care as she folded me into her embrace. I nearly melted into her vanilla scent, my absolute favorite.

Don appeared beside me, chuckling at her enthusiasm as she kissed each of my cheeks, “Be gentle with her today, Valentina. Hug her much harder and she might break apart.”

Valentina pulled back, taking in my blush, her eyes drifting around my body for any signs of...something, on full alert, “Why? What’s happened?”

“Nothing,” Don shook his head with a smile, “A small incident. It’s been taken care of, but perhaps we should give her a little space while she catches her breath, hmm?”

The Giovenni household looked like something out of a storybook. The Italian villa architecture was all stone walls and warm colors, lighted by soft flickering sconces in the wall. I didn’t have time to take in anything else as he steered the two of us through the foyer.

Valentina took my hand–which I stared at for a long moment–as she dragged me through the hall. Don glanced back, a very pointed look settling on our clasped hands.

I made to pull away, but he ever so gently inclined his head as if to warn me not to. His green eyes were sharp, focused, and didn’t match the easy smile he gave me over his shoulder as he led us. For now, I let Valentina’s long fingers stay wrapped around my smaller ones as if we were friends walking the shops in their little township.

“Don did not tell me he was coming to get you, or I would have come along,” Valentina shot him a glare, which he pointedly ignored with a smirk on his entirely too handsome face.

While I was likely the reason he didn’t tell her, given my hesitancy, I could sympathize. Don seemed perfectly content to do what he wanted and at his own damn pace. I myself hadn’t realized we were going to be coming either; otherwise, I might have packed another set of clothes.

Valentina’s high waisted pants and her fitted white shirt looked like it belonged on a runway. Her hair was down, flowing between her shoulder blades in big shiny waves while I was sure I looked like the hired help that scurried in the back door.

Pressed between her and Don in his usual suit, dripping gold chains and a matching watch, I couldn't have been more out of my element. I shook my head. The feeling of being trapped in opulence while looking like trash wasn’t new to me.

My step father’s family had been very, very rich, something they liked to rub in his face every moment they could. I would have to be sure to keep an extra something at the bar if Don truly was set on stealing me away more often than not, regardless of who won the bet. Though at this point I was so fucking nervous I felt like I was walking on autopilot.

I doubted I would be able to come if I wanted to.

We passed the long archways, turning into a large dining room with wide French doors which were thankfully closed. I couldn’t imagine the draft since they overlooked the sea. There was a wide, softly lit chandelier that hung above a long wooden table covered in a white cloth. It felt silkier than I thought tablecloths ought to feel, but no one was asking my opinion. Don and Valentina both waited until I had chosen a seat before nodding to one another and taking their own seats; one sat across from me and one off to the far side.

“Will you be spending the night?”

Valentina’s eyes were full and bright, filled with a mischief that had me absolutely blushing as I shook my head, “No, sorry.”

“It is a pity, but that’s alright. Don will be busy with family anyway, and we would have been pulled away.”

“Your family is here?” I asked.

I’d never been one to meet the parents, but I certainly didn’t think I was ready to meet the Giovenni’s while in coochie cutters and with my tits hanging out. I rubbed my sweating palms on my bare thighs. If I had thought I was nervous before, I knew nothing about anxiety until now.

Valentina’s throaty chuckle sent tingles through me, “No, muñequita, but they are expected to arrive at any moment. Much to my pleasant surprise you were the one waiting for me at the door.”

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