Page 42 of Mafie Kings

Leaning against another tree, I slowly slide myself down until I’m sitting on the damp forest floor. Emotions hit me all at once, the tears already threaten to fall. I cover my face as I try to calm my breathing, needing to gain control of myself.

Out of all of the methods of torture I have undergone, sleep deprivation is the worst. It makes you feel crazy until you can’t decipher what's real anymore.

Lev sits next to me. “He isn’t going to let this one go,” he starts. “but maybe he would leave you alone to get some sleep if you stayed with me.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “I can’t sleep with anyone in the room.”

He sighs. “Have you ever tried?” he asks without judgment in his tone.

“Once,” I confess.

“Can I ask what happened?” I’m silent at first, not really wanting to admit what I did. Lev sits in silence with me, not pushing for answers, making me feel like I can tell him.

“I stabbed him,” I say, under my breath.

He doesn’t respond, and I wonder if he could even hear me.

I clear my throat. “I have night terrors… sometimes when I wake up, I don’t know where I am and it sends me into a panic.” I let my head fall back to rest on the tree before continuing. “He didn’t die or anything. I didn’t even like the guy to be honest, so when he freaked I called him a pussy and told him to leave.”

Lev stands up slowly and dusts off his pants. “Remind me to take away your blades if you’re ever in my bed.” he jokes.

I laugh as he offers me a hand and pulls me up to stand. I sway a little, but Lev is holding me tight. He pulls me into him and something stirs in my chest. Lev is the kind of man you can lean against. He might have a dark side that breathes violence, but for someone he cares about, he’s unmoving. Like a small island within a raging storm.

I briefly let him hold me, before my eyes start to feel too heavy to keep open.

“Coffee?” I ask him, ready to be done with physical activity for the first time in my life.

He grabs my hand and pulls me along the trail. “Coffee sounds good,” he says.

Chapter 22

“You know, there would be more room for caffeine in your cup if you didn’t use so much milk and sugar.” I joke with her as she prepares her ‘coffee’.

She laughs as we walk to the nearest table. Last night, I found the video of Evie’s challenge failure. She was an impressive manipulator, only failing because of random chance. I can’t help but think that if that roadblock wasn’t there that day, she would likely be ordering us around.

What I didn't expect to see was the Italian chief of police forcing himself on her. That was painful to watch, cementing in my mind that it was a good idea not to share it with Alexi.

“Think you’ll be able to complete the driving course today?” I ask her. Part of me is worried about her being behind the wheel with how exhausted she is. Another part of me is trying not to care. This is the first girl I’ve ever wanted to protect, which means Alexi will find a way to ruin it. He doesn’t like anyone getting too close.

Evie’s shoulders slump and she looks down at her coffee. “I don’t know…” she says “But, I’m sure as hell going to try.”

There’s the fighter I’ve come to enjoy being around. Evie has been ours for four days now, but somehow it seems like she’s been here for years.

Around eight-thirty, we head to the race track when I notice that the roads are damp from a small rain shower this morning. It’s an overcast day, but the temperature is still nice.

I look down at Evie. “Are you sure about this?”

She turns to answer me when Alexi appears out of the shadows. “Thinking about chickening out, Princess?”

She straightens her spine, the carefree expression she had with me instantly gone.

“Not a chance,” she tells him.

“Well then, want to make it interesting?” he asks her, coming to stand in front of her as an attempt to use his height to intimidate her.

My fists clench before I release them, not wanting to give away the fact that his tactics are irritating me. If he knew just how much I’m beginning to care for her, this would only get worse.

“What did you have in mind?” Evie asks, crossing her arms over her chest and refusing to back down.

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