Page 41 of Sinful Kisses (Dark Mafia Sins 3)

When I open my eyes again, I’m alone in the car. The windows are rolled up, and the air conditioning is on full-blast. Goose bumps pepper my skin, and I look around. We’re parked in a back alley, and I see one door propped open with a rock. I don’t recognize the area.

I rub my arms with my hands before unbuckling and leaning through the middle to turn down the cold air. The car is silent. It’s the first real silence I’ve heard in over a month. Even the outside world’s sounds are eliminated from here.

My mind goes to the party.

My sister.

Katrina.

My hand rubs at my chest, the pain increasing. She’s gone because I gave her that stupid needle. My lips tremble as I blow out a breath. It feels like I’m being hit with a tsunami of emotions, and they’re crashing down the walls I built. Like sand, they crumble and dissolve, leaving me in a quake of swarming guilt and grief. Suddenly, I’m hot. Sweat coats my skin. Gut-wrenching pain has me hugging my knees as I cry. It’s a loud, throat-cutting sob. My body falls to the seat, and I close my eyes, wishing this all away. I want to go back to not remembering. At least then I didn’t hurt. Back then, hope flowed in my veins rather than this hard, piercing feeling. It hardens my heart in a way I’ve never felt. With each beat, my disgust with myself infects more of me.

La famiglia protegge la famiglia. Family protects family. It’s what my father has always said.

I couldn’t even do that. I tossed my sister the needle without care. What hurts the most is knowing there was a small part of me that hoped she would overdose. I wanted her to hurt like me, and I thought that would show her how I felt. I was horribly wrong.

The feelings are not the same. I want to take back that horrific split-second thought. It pains me I was so selfish I would ever consider hurting her. I lay on my side until I can’t breathe anymore.

My entire world is crashing down on me. Crawling over the console, I open the front door, trying to breathe in the fresh air. I gasp, the oxygen feeling more like sharp blades as I inhale it.

The door swings open, and I fall to my hands as I crawl out of the car. Pebbles stick into my palms. I hear cars in the distance as I brush my hands off on my legs before I fold myself over. My arms wrap around my legs, and I squeeze my eyes closed. Tears leak from under my lashes. I take a few moments before I’m able to breathe, feeling like my air is being stolen away from me.

Slowly, I untangle myself from my knees and stand. My feet shuffle in a circle, taking in our location. What the hell am I doing? The deep, sinking realization that I’m lost in my life swirls around me. I don’t know which way to turn. Where to go. I don’t know who I am anymore. I had always identified as being Nicoli’s daughter who was marrying Alfonso. Only now, I’m realizing I never had my own identity.

My fingers lace through my hair, wrapping it up into a ponytail before letting it fall to my shoulders.

“Well, well… who do we have here?”

A chill slithers down my spine, and I slowly spin toward the voice. A man who looks to be in his thirties is standing before me in a suit. His eyes light up, but he tries to control it. He knows who I am. It’s written all over his face.

“You headed in there?” I ignore his question, giving a strained smile. “A girl like you shouldn’t be out here alone.” His tongue swipes over his top teeth, and I hold my urge to step back. With predator stealth, he moves forward. “You by yourself, Gia?” he asks, confirming he knows who I am. “Your family is pretty worried about you.”

Is this him doing good cop right now?“I would think a man like yourself wouldn’t bother with gossip, troubling yourself with a woman’s pastime.” I smile. Old me would never dream to say something like this. I would think it but never say the words aloud.

He chuckles. “Your family is no concern to me.” His eyes shift around our surroundings.

I take a step back, ready to retreat to the car. The smile on his face grows. Within half a second, he has me pinned against the car, his hand tight on my throat. My heart pounds with the realization that no one is nearby. Other than Romeo and his brother, no one knows where I am.

“You, on the other hand….” He leers at me, his eyes radiating evil.

“Let her go.” Romeo’s bored voice has my body relaxing in relief one second while my breath is cut off the next. My hands grab hold of the man’s, my fingernails clawing into his flesh as I struggle for air.

“Is this what you’ve been hiding, cousin?” The man looks away from me to Romeo. “I can’t decide if you’re a genius or really fucking stupid.”

“I won’t repeat myself.” Romeo’s voice hardens with a dark edge.

“This is not the time to decide to grow up, baby Romeo,” the man taunts. His grip softens, and I’m able to take a deep breath before pressure returns.

My full attention is on the man. My fingers hurt from clawing at him, and my fight weakens as I become lightheaded.

The same moment I’m dropped to the ground is the same time gunfire echoes around us. I’m blasted with warm liquid across my face.

“Breathe, Gia.” Romeo is kneeling in front of me. His presence surrounds me even though my eyes are closed tight. A soft material brushes over my face. Calloused fingertips glide over my hands.

Suddenly, my airways open, and I heave for oxygen. I can’t get enough in. “In through your mouth, out through your nose,” I’m directed.

His voice is soft yet demanding. As I get my breathing under control, I open my eyes. Romeo’s concern stares right back at me.

“Are you okay?” His hand goes from mine to tenderly touching my sore neck.

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