Page 63 of Craving Danger

“I don’t know how long I’ll be,” I tell him.

“Take your time. I’ll get Milo something to eat from across the road.”

Nodding, I climb up the steps, and when I enter Samantha’s apartment through the window, I find her sobbing on the couch.

She’s changed out of the pantsuit into a pair of leggings and a T-shirt, and her hair hangs in damp curls around her shoulders.

“Hey,” I whisper so I don’t scare the shit out of her.

Her head snaps up, and seeing me, she darts from the couch and plows into my chest.

I wrap my arms around her shuddering body, and lowering my head, I keep my tone soft as I say, “I’m here, baby. I’ve got you.”

She cries harder, and it has me lifting her into my arms. I walk to the couch and sitting down, I position her on my lap before holding her tightly again.

“That’s it, baby. Let it all out.”

I close my eyes, and while she breaks down in my arms, I find comfort in being so close to her.

Right now, I’m not a capo.

I’m not her boss.

I’m just an ordinary man who gets to hold the woman he’s fallen in love with.

Chapter 20

Samantha

After I cried my heart out, I made myself a cup of coffee, which I’m sipping on while I sit next to my mystery man on the couch.

He has his arm wrapped around my shoulder, and it makes me feel safe.

“I had a bad day at the office,” I whisper over the rim of my cup.

That’s the understatement of the century.

“Want to talk about it?” he asks, his tone gentle and caring.

Not wanting to put him in any danger by telling him about Mr. Vitale being a mafia boss, I shake my head. “I can’t.”

I can’t tell anyone about what happened.

It’s something I’ll have to stay quiet about until the day I die.

Feeling exhausted and emotionally drained, I let out a miserable sigh and mutter, “I need to do something that will take my mind off what happened today.”

My mystery man pulls his arm away from my shoulders and says, “I’ll be back in a few seconds.”

He gets up and walks into the restroom.

I rise to my feet and take the cup to the kitchen. Placing my hands on the side of the sink, I stare at nothing in particular as the past day's events hang over my head like a dark cloud.

Jesus, I can’t believe what happened today.

Mr. Vitale is one of the heads of the Cosa Nostra.

After I got home, I took a quick shower before Googling the Sicilian mafia. Everything I read about the mafia group increased my fear tenfold.

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