Taboo Flames (The Sicilian Sins #2)

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Giovanni

I stare at Aurora’s exit like a pathetic fool. It’s why I don’t notice Leo’s intention until I’m reeling back with the force of his punch. I lick the inside of my cheek, tasting blood.

I spit into the sink but make no move to hit back.

“Are you just going to stand there and let me hit you? Because I don’t plan on quitting until you’re enough colors to be mistaken for a rainbow,” Leo growls furiously.

I just shrug noncommittally.

I deserve far worse for what I’ve done to Aurora. So he can give it his best shot. No matter how much he hurts me physically, it will never be any match for how I’m feeling on the inside because of her.

Leo lets out a disgusted sigh. “Fuck, man. I can’t believe you’re in love with her. I need a drink.”

He makes his way to one of the top cupboards and pulls out a bottle of whiskey.

I glare at him. “First, you barge into my home, and now you’re stealing my drinks.”

“I rang the doorbell several times and left you so many calls. I was beginning to think you were dead.”

“How did you even get in here?” I ask, annoyed.

“You should really think about changing the code on your front door. Even a toddler can guess it.”

It was the same thing Aurora said. I just grunt and drop into the chair beside Leo, and he passes me a glass full of whiskey.

“Thanks,” I tell him.

“Don’t thank me yet,” Leo says in a low voice. “What the hell, Gio? How did you end up getting whipped for Rory?”

“I’m not whipped for her,” I deny immediately.

Leo snorts sarcastically. “In the whole time that we’ve been friends, I don’t think you’ve let me get in a single hit, but now, not only did I get in a cheap hit, but you were all but willing to stand there and take more like some self-sacrificing asshole. Fortunately for you, I don’t like picking fights with people who aren’t going to fight back.”

I raise the glass in a salute and say mockingly, “Lucky me.”

“Well?” he presses.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.” He rolls his eyes.

At the moment, I hate the fact that Leo knows me so well and can see through my bullshit from even a mile away.

With a sigh, he stands up, throwing his glass back and gulping down the rest of his drink. “I have a feeling you will be in a bad mood for a while, so I’m gonna leave this pity party before it even starts.”

I turn to glare at him. “Fuck right off. And the next time you barge in here, I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

“That is if you’re not too distracted trying to see how far down my sister’s throat your tongue can get.” He makes a face and shudders. “I’m going to try and get that image out of my head.”

“Did you want something?” I snap.

He chuckles. “Yeah, but your head’s too far up your ass for me to have a conversation with you right now.”

He heads toward the door, but just as he gets there, he turns to look at me from over his shoulder.

“I don’t know what’s going on between the both of you, but if you’re just going to mess around and be a dick, you better stay far from her,” he says to me. “You’re my best friend, Gio, so don’t make me choose. I’d really hate to have to kill you.”

“You can try,” I grouch at him.

He just gives me a chilling look and walks out.

A second later, I fling my glass, and it goes flying across the kitchen before shattering into the wall. I stand there, panting for several minutes and feeling like the monster Aurora accused me of being.

With Leo’s arrival, I know the safest place for her is at her brother’s side, and the only way I can keep her there while I concentrate on getting to the bottom of the matter with both Il Sguardo Nero and the Albanians is by doing what I just did.

The fact that she’s been hiding all the death threats she’s been getting makes me believe she’s more focused on this thing between us than her own very pressing issue.

She doesn’t know that I saw the death threats while she was using the bathroom this morning. It’s my duty to protect her, and I’ve been failing at it.

I pick up my phone and dial Carlos.

“Boss,” he answers. “I’ve just driven Miss Vitale home.”

“Good,” I tell him. “You need to get more men on her.”

“We can’t spare more men, boss. There’s been increased security around the docks to guard our products,” he informs me. “I can get about two men, but they’ll have to operate on shifts.”

“Do it then.”

“Done, boss,” he replies.

I hang up, and I’m tempted to send the phone crashing the same way as the glass, but I immediately change my mind.

What if Aurora tries to call me?

Fuck, I really am as whipped as Leo says I am. And anyway, there’s no chance of her calling me. Especially not after I was so mean to her.

I spend the rest of the day calling every associate I know to ask about Il Sguardo Nero and the man with the spider tattoo. It feels like whenever I start getting any leads, I automatically encounter a dead end, and it’s getting frustrating.

Damn, being the hero to save the princess from being hunted and killed by ruthless thugs didn’t sound this complicated in fairytales.

I’m sitting in my car across from Aurora’s studio a week later with my phone held to my ear. It’s become something of a ritual for me, watching her go in to work and then close up at night.

I don’t let her see me because I’m usually in a less conspicuous car and keeping a reasonable distance. I just sleep a bit better at night knowing she’s safe while also satisfying my sick craving to watch over her.

“It’s almost as if this bastard is two steps ahead of me,” I tell Giordano.

“Hmm,” he hums into the phone. “Il Sguardo Nero’s reach is deep. He has men littered everywhere, men whose mission is to keep him hidden.”

“And others whose job is to terrorize defenseless women,” I grouch.

Giordano chuckles. “For someone who has a twenty-four-seven security team, I don’t think she’s all that defenseless.”

“The security team doesn’t stop her from getting death threats on social media,” I say. “And she’s as attached to her social media as she is to her lungs.”

Giordano tsks.

“Some of my contacts in Bologna said they’ll look into it for me,” I tell him. “An anonymous contact there knows about him.”

“That’s good. I’ll be searching from my own side,” he says. “I have a feeling we’re?—”

The rest of his words fade away as I watch Aurora walk out of the studio. She’s in a red two-piece leggings and crop top set with her hair falling over her face in loose waves like a golden halo.

Her face is devoid of makeup, and I can see freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose like stars. She looks sexy…and there’s an unfamiliar man stepping out of the studio with his hands on her shoulder.

“I’ll call you back.” I hang up abruptly and immediately step out of the car before crossing the road and approaching the happy couple.

The dead motherfucker says something that makes her throw her head back and laugh. I increase my strides.

“Hello, princess,” I say silkily when I near them.

Aurora spins around, shock evident on her face, and then, for the first time since I’ve known her, she looks at me with something akin to hatred, and I find I don’t like it.

All I’ve done is miss her since she left my house, and I assumed I’d see some of that same longing reflected on her face. But I assumed wrong.

“Giovanni,” she says coldly. “What are you doing here?”

“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” I say, looking over at the man. He’s the lanky, bad boy, floppy-haired type, and I want to do nothing more than punch some of his teeth loose.

“Hey, man,” he says, holding his hand out. “I’m Eddie.”

“I’m Giovanni Lombardi,” I say without taking his hand. “And Aurora is taken.”

He looks taken aback by my words, looking between the both of us.

“No, I’m not,” she snaps at me. “I’m single and free to be with whoever I want to be. Isn’t that right, Gio?”

“Unless you want a bloodbath on your hands, I suggest you rethink that,” I growl.

“Why are you even here?” Anger bleeds through her words. “Aren’t you supposed to be, I don’t know, anywhere but around the immature girl with her head stuck in the clouds?”

“Actually, I said you’re someone far too young who thinks the whole world is a fairytale in the making,” I correct her.

She looks like she’s about to rip my arm out and beat me with it.

“I’ve missed you,” I tell her.

“You’re a dick,” she snaps.

I shrug. “Doesn’t change the fact that I’ve missed you.”

“Sucks to be you,” she retorts. “I’ve moved on.”

“With him?” I look at him sharply, and whatever he sees in my eyes causes him to take a step backward, his palms raised in surrender.

“I’m gonna, uhm, go. See you later, Rory?” the idiot says with a hopeful look.

She shoots him a look filled with disgust, and I imitate the look. What kind of pussy leaves a woman he’s interested in with a man like me? He’s not nearly good enough for her.

“Sure, Eddie,” she looks away from him and mutters, her eyes returning to shooting daggers at me.

Eddie looks like a kicked dog as he walks away.

I look at her with amusement. “You’ve just broken poor Eddie’s heart.”

“Not that it is any of your business, but I teach his younger sister.”

“So why was he touching you?”

She sighs loudly. “I honestly don’t have the strength for this. You should leave, Gio.”

“Didn’t take you long to get over me,” I say angrily, ignoring her attempts to get rid of me.

She snorts. “Did you expect me to sit around and mope for you?”

I take a threatening step forward, but she remains unfazed.

“You have no right to come here and act like a jealous boyfriend. After all, it was just physical between us.”

I flinch at her words. “So you think little boys like Eddie can ever give you what you want? I’m the only one who knows what your body needs, Aurora. The sooner you accept that, the better it is for everyone.”

She scoffs. “I’m never accepting such a ridiculous notion. But when I’m in the market for another bed partner, I’ll let you know. For now, I think I’m going to take my chances with a real boyfriend. And not the kind I just make up in my wildest imaginations.”

My glare darkens. I don’t like or want to hear that Aurora is capable of giving her heart to someone else. I realize how hypocritical it sounds, but I don’t care.

She turns to walk to her car, but I immediately grab her and pull her to me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I say with finality.

“Don’t touch me!” she screams. “You’re a possessive psycho, and I’m not going to be involved in your push-and-pull games. You can’t go from me not hearing from you this whole time to showing up the very second you see me with another guy. Did you tell Carlos to also alert you if there’s another guy? Are you just going to continue showing up and holding me back from finding any kind of peace?”

“That guy was a jerk, and we both know it.”

“That’s not the point,” she growls at me. “The point is that you hurt me, Gio. Badly. And I don’t know what I was expecting, some kind of apology or something along those lines, but instead, you’re just here, trying to pull me back into your orbit.”

“God, princess,” I sigh and tell her softly. “Don’t you get it? I don’t know how to leave you alone. If I did, I would have.”

“So you didn’t mean those things you said?” she voices hopefully. “You care about me?”

I want to say the words that will put the adoring look back on her face, but I’ve never been all that good at expressing myself, and there’s suddenly a brick in my throat that won’t let the words come out.

“I—”

Any words I’m about to say are interrupted by a sudden loud bang. I don’t think. I just push her to the ground and cover her with my body as the flaming debris from her exploded car flies into the air.

She lets out a whimper at the explosion, peeking around my body to stare wide-eyed at the total ruin that is now her car.

My heart beats rapidly with the realization that if I hadn’t delayed Aurora from driving home, she would have been inside the car, and she would have been charred along with the rest of the car’s metal.

She almost died.

“Gio,” she whimpers in a small, terrified voice.

“I’m here, princess. I’m here,” I say soothingly.

She wraps herself around me, her body shaking with fright.

I have to find these bastards and end them once and for all because if I don’t, I’m going to lose Aurora.

I cannot lose her. I’ll die before I let that happen.