Page 105 of Made to Sin

“Yeah, she was upset about something, and—”

I didn’t listen to the rest of his sentence, too busy rushing to the exit of the hotel. I snatched my keys from the valet as soon as I was out and ran to get the car myself.

Fear unfurled in my chest as I imagined the worst-case scenario of what could happen to her when she was out on the streets alone.

Fuck, it was my fault for not following her.

I broke every street limit to race home.

The house was eerily quiet, not a single man-made noise could be heard. For each step I took, I silently prayed Katarina would pop out of the shadows somehow.

Nothing.

I reached her door. It felt like a stab in the chest when I twisted the knob to find it locked. At least this was an indication that she made it home.

“Katarina, are you in there?” I asked between knocks.

No answer.

The slight worry grew again, but Dante’s warning came to mind. She was upset and unlikely to respond.

I kept trying. I wasn’t going to leave until I saw with my own eyes that she was safe.

Eventually, I realized trying the nice route wasn’t going towork. “Katarina, if you don’t open this door within ten seconds, I’ll break it down,” I threatened.

Rustling sounds had never made me happier, but hearing them come from the other side of the door was music to my ears. The supercoil around my lungs loosened when she answered.

The first thing I did was run my gaze down her body, making sure she was fine. Her shoulders cowered a bit, but other than that, she looked normal. No bloodshot eyes, no bruises, no anything to suggest otherwise.

Her appearance was where the normalcy ended. I tried to talk to her, to figure out what she needed, but she didn’t want to tell me anything. Rather, she avoided my concern and practically shooed me out of her way.

To make the situation more frustrating, my body was used to her. I didn’t get a wink of sleep when she was away, relying on sugarless, black coffee to function.

Then, she continued making the same choice over and over. I was going insane without Katarina, and the whole thing had made me into a short-tempered asshole.

She ignored my very existence, even when I went out of my way to cross her path. I didn’t fucking need the bottle of Dalmore from the bar upstairs. I had one in my office. Yet, I called for her specifically and asked her to bring me a glass.

When she gave it with a mere, “Here you go,” I chugged it like a shot and requested a refill. I did it about five more times until the end of her shift.

My head felt like it was on fire by the time I stopped. Still, she didn’t break out of character, so I wasn’t satisfied.

—

I drowned myself in work to forget the hollowness in my chest. From overseeing three deals a week, I boosted it up to five. Money came in like water, supposedly submerging me in its happiness.

The only thing I drowned in was anger.

Dismissing yet another potential supplier, I yelled, “Do you take me for a fool? Get out of my club before I throw you out with missing limbs.”

I didn’t know why I wasted my time with fuckers who were dumber than a five-year-old kid. If they were going to try and convince me their shit was the best in the business, at least have some proof. This was a deal, not a charity.

Dante didn’t hide his frustration this time, slamming his hands on the table. “What the fuck is going on with you, Luciano? That’s the third this week.”

I tiredly rubbed a hand over my face. I didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. Something was wrong with me, and it all had to do with a certain brunette.

“Would you rather I work with scammers?”

“Since you seem to want nobody right now, it might be better.”

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