Page 31 of Made to Sin

It was a cheap insult, but it got the results I wanted. She finallyfocused her full attention on me— she glared at me, but it didn’t make a difference as long as it was me who held her eye contact.

“Aren’t you one?”

I shrugged. “I don’t feel entertained.”

“Then I’m doing great at my job.”

An amused smirk drew on my lips as I stared out into the distance with her. From this high, even the tallest trees blended in with the forest, none distinguishable from each other. Roles and responsibilities fleeted into a force of nature. I wasn’t theCosa Nostra,and she wasn’t the woman I couldn’t have.

The reminder of our cruel reality hit as another hot gush of wind blew by. “How’s your husband?”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s standing less than fifty feet away. Go ask him.”

“I wanted to ask you.”

She tilted her head with a condescending smile. “Why? So we can both lie?”

Her abrupt outburst caught me by surprise. Katarina was spontaneous as fuck, speaking her mind with no context. Usually, I could read off her face what she meant and decipher from there, but this time, I had no clue.

I raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

Her hands flew up in the air. “Eda doesn’t even know me!”

I rubbed my palm over the lower half of my face, wondering how I was going to get out of this hole. I told Eda to keep the favor between us, but I should have known she would never lie. The lady was too righteous for her own good.

It wasn’t my intention to introduce Katarina into the organization, but working with Marco wasn’t enough. The coward was relentless. He locked her up until she became a shell of herself, and when I saw the hopelessness in her eyes, it reminded me so much of Mamma’s. I had to do something before I killed her husband.

The memory led an acidic burn up my throat, and I had toloosen my collar before it suffocated me alive.

I sucked in a silent breath and settled with, “You looked like you needed something to do.”

The unsaid words between us were loud. Her glare lessened, her irises sparkling. When she hated me, I could convince myself I didn’t really want her, and that this attraction was solely physical. When she looked at me like I was her savior, it made me want to say fuck the consequences and keep her for myself. I barely knew the woman but something carnal pulled me in. The more I interacted with her, the harder it was to fight the desire.

“Why are you helping me?” She asked softly.

“If I left you, theCosa Nostrawould have eaten you alive.”

Her head tilted further to the left. “So you’re my knight in shining armor all of a sudden?”

“Something like that.”

“Why do I have a feeling you have some nefarious plan up your sleeve?” She warily asked.

I felt the corners of my lips lift. “Is it working?”

“If you’re talking about making me miserable, then no. It’s been really fun so far.”

“Ah, I guess I have to step up my game.”

For the first time since we’d met, the smile on her face was reserved for me. I was so accustomed to her scowls, the happy spark in her eyes made something in my stomach twist.

Fuck,this shit better be indigestion and nothing more.

GUNSHOTSECHOEDLOUDLYINTOTHEatmosphere as the range reeked of booze and gunpowder. It wasn’t a very wise choice to mix drunken men with firearms, but then again, theCosa Nostranever cared much about safety.

The Made Man next to me agreed, lighting up a cigarette as we admired the view. Nicotine highs and cliffs were equally as bad, but I wasn’t going to break the comfortable space we fell into. Silence usually unnerved me because it gave the other party too much time to analyze my flaws, but I would take Luciano’s smoke-filled breath over his muddling words any day.

Though he confirmed what I’d been stuck on the past week, it didn’t feel good. In fact, I felt worse— the confession made butterflies go rampant in my stomach and caused my heart to skip over its next beat.

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