Page 100 of Made to Sin

“Ah, the wives sure are scary.”

“Oh, shut up.”

I lightly pushed him by the arm at his mocking tone. He didn’t move an inch, but it was worth a shot.

He adjusted the gold cufflinks on his sleeve, eyes leaving mine.“You’re going to hide the rest of the night?”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

He let out an amused huff. “Touché.”

Conversation over, we secluded back to our drinks, taking light sips to fuel our train of thought. I twirled the skewer in mine, and Dante swooshed the amber liquid in his.

Unwillingly, my focus strayed to the dons’ table. Sofia sat where I was earlier tonight, and Luciano was by her side with his arm over the top of her chair. They were laughing, enjoying the formal etiquettes of theCosa Nostra.

An uncalled-for sting struck my heart, wrenching it into a painstaking knot. Thinking Sofia and him were a match was one thing. Seeing the evidence of it was completely different. Jealousy burned and scorned in the pits of my stomach, but there was nothing I could do. It was the way things should have been since the beginning.

I turned around again, having enough of the couple’s display of affection. My gaze clashed with Dante’s, and I knew he saw every volatile emotion in my eyes. I sawed at my bottom lip as I tried to think of a way to get myself out of the hole he witnessed me dig.

“All the guns around give me the chills,” I nervously attempted.

He gave me a small shake of the head. “Guns are dangerous, but it’s the bullet that kills.”

I blinked. Without saying it directly, he told me everything he thought about the situation.

Don’t believe everything you see.

I wished I could believe him, but it was hard to when I snuck another glance at Luciano. Now, he had his arm on her back and was pulling her out of the ballroom, away from the crowd. It didn’t take a genius to guess what two adults would do alone.

The fist encasing my chest squeezed as my body went into overdrive. It hurt. It hurt a lot more than seeing your crush with someone else should’ve— especially when I was expecting it.

My hand curled and tightened around the stem of my martini, using it to ground myself. I watched my knuckles turn white as I sadly retorted, “Well, without a gun, the bullet is useless.”

He lifted a shoulder. “I’ll bet money that you would find a way to use it, Katarina.”

I chucked the rest of the drink back in one scratching gulp. “Well, I’ll see you when I’m low on money. Thanks for the drink, and have fun sulking. I’m heading out first.”

He gave me a nodding salute before going back to somberly analyzing his drink. Men and their improper greetings.

Looking around my surroundings, I set the quickest way toward the exit. At these events, making any eye contact was a mistake unless you had ample time to spare. I didn’t. I wanted to go home before the anxious bomb ticked further.

I exhaled a sudden breath when I finally made it outside without a hitch in my plan. Without Marco or Luciano nearby, luckily, nobody seemed to care enough to stop me.

The air was thankfully chilling, cooling the heat off my body. How ironic, the stars were the brightest I’d seen in a while. Sofia might have gotten her happy ending, but her advice couldn’t be further from correct. Even if I could never touch the stars, there wouldn’t be a day when I would stop trying.

Call it foreshadowing, but my prediction from earlier turned into reality. Luciano did break a lot of hearts tonight.

Foolishly, I forgot to consider myself a possible victim.

IASKEDFORAMOMENTto play pretend, and I got it. Luciano and I had our run, but it was time to end the fantasies.

As soon as I got home, I sped through my night routine and hid in my room with the door locked. If there was one thing I learned about Luciano, it was that he got anything he wanted. I had a feeling he would want to know why I disappeared without a word, so as cowardly as it was, I avoided him.

Just in time of flicking the light switch off, I heard the front door open and close as angry footsteps approached in the direction of my room.

I padded softly on my tippy toes into bed. In case he got the master key, I wanted to be extra prepared to fake being asleep.

A set of three, firm knocks echoed through the dark space. “Katarina, are you in there?”

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