Page 38 of When She Unravels
No, I won’t engage with it. I saved a girl. It took me a long time, but I eventually did the right thing. Doesn’t that count for something?
You murdered dozens first.
The voice in my head becomes Lazaro’s.Some days, you were so calm while you did it, I thought maybe you’d finally grown to like it like I did.
I lean against a pillar and exhale a long breath. I need to get his voice out of my head.
I’ll find you. And when I do, you’ll pay for your betrayal.
My husband might still be alive. He could be hunting for me this very second. When he finds me…I’m unlikely to survive. And what about Lorna? Did I condemn her to a painful death?
My breathing becomes labored. It’s too hot in here, too loud, too packed. I need to get out of here.Now.
My feet carry me to the emergency exit, and I push past the door. The small back area is dimly lit and completely empty. I suck in the humid air with the enthusiasm of someone who’s drowning and repeatedly pluck my shirt away from my skin.
How long can I function like this, with the past dragging me down? I need a therapist, but that’s out of the question. My secrets are coming with me to my grave, which means I just have to suck it up. It’s still better than being back in New York. At least I can promise myself I’ll never hurt another person again.
I’m taking deep breaths to calm myself when the emergency door is flung open.
When I see who it is, I shrink into myself. “Please, De Rossi. Not now.”
My boss stalks over to where I’m leaning against a wall, his face made all the more brutally handsome by his deep frown. He stops a few feet away and adjusts his cufflinks. “I want to make sure nothing was lost in translation. You are not to go onto that yacht.”
“That woman didn’t even get a chance to get the full invitation out of her mouth,” I say.
“I know Tobias and Esmeralda. When they see something they like, they don’t give up that easily.”
“And why should you care if I go?”
His eyes narrow. “You are not going to that party.”
Fury bursts inside of me. “Oh my God, I don’t give a crap about the stupid party!”
My shout stuns him. I take the rare opportunity of his mouth being shut to lay it all out. “What is your problem with me? In the beginning, you were testing me. I get it. But I passed the test. You hired me yourself! What else do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?”
His nostrils flare as he takes a step toward me. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. Leave you alone. Which is why I’m telling you not to go to the same event I’ll be going to tonight.”
Something in my chest tightens. “Don’t want me seeing you having sex? Afraid I’ll be unimpressed?”
“That is not what I’m afraid of.”
I scowl at him. “Then what is it?”
Frustration contorts his expression. “Goddamn it, Ale. Why can’t you just do as I say?”
I push off the wall. “You said the party wasn’t ‘for the likes of’ me. What does that even mean?”
He’s staring down at me, his chest rising and falling with rapid breaths. “It means you drive me fucking crazy.”
“By doing what?”
“By merely existing.”
“I don’t understand you.”
“Maybe you’ll understand this.” He presses me against the wall and crashes his lips to mine.
It’s like someone pressed the delete key. Everything around me clears, and my awareness zeroes in on the sensation of his kiss. The rough stubble of his chin. The softness of his mouth as he darts out his tongue to lick my bottom lip. His hands are on me—one in my hair, the other on my waist—and they’re fiery brands. When he tugs me closer, my hard nipples brush against his powerful chest.
