Page 104 of One Filthy Kiss

A mouse perhaps. Or a rat?

I shouldn’t be frightened of a rodent, under the circumstances. But it’s my body reacting on instinct, prioritizing the very real prospect of a mouse scuttling around inside the carton with me over the very surreal probability of Amber’s father finding us when so many people are trying to protect us.

Amber’s voice breaks the silence. “My legs hurt.”

My heart reaches out to her. I wish I could wrap my arms around my precious little sister, hold her close, and offer the comfort she needs right now. But I remind myself that I’m doing this for her.

“Can you lie down, Amber? Curl up tightly like a hedgehog.”

She has always been fascinated by the tiny prickly creatures. The preschool she attended before she reached school age made a hedgehog house one time. The children helped set it up in the garden, and they checked it each morning to see if a hedgehog had made a home inside. I remember her disappointment each day when she came home with no hedgehog news.

“I’ll try.”

“Amber, no more talking now, no matter what you hear.”

More shuffling. Then the basement sinks into silence once more, and all I can hear is the beating of my heart, and my breathing which is growing raggedy in the confinedspace.

I focus on good thoughts. Happy thoughts.

My brain automatically settles on Gio, and my body stops trembling, warmth seeping through my veins. I never expected to meet a man like Gio in my lifetime. I don’t care about the penthouse apartment, the private jet, and the rooftop pool. Strip Giovanni Sabatelli of his designer suits and extravagant lifestyle, and he would still be the kind, gentle, ridiculously sexy, and obsessively protective man I fell in love with.

Nothing would change the way I feel when he looks at me as if I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.Mio fiore. My pulse races with the simple memory of his voice.

Is this what people mean when they talk about soulmates? I always thought it meant two people becoming as one when they’ve spent a lifetime in each other’s company, like penguins who are loyal to their mate for life. But when I’m with Gio, it feels more like we are two halves of one whole.

Two halves of one soul.

I’ve never thought of it this way before, and now it makes perfect sense. Like magnets drawn to one another from across the ocean, we were destined to meet, one way or another.

A sound penetrates my reverie, and I freeze.

My heart chooses this moment to start preparing for its next marathon, and I stare at the darkness surrounding me inside my cramped hiding space, afraid to move. Pins and needles start stabbing at my left foot, and I hold my breath while I wriggle my toes.

Why now?

Why?

All I can hear is the gushing in my ears, but my Spidey senses are telling me that something is going on above our heads. I reflexively raise my eyes to the carton lid like that might help bring the thrift store into focus.

I’m waiting for the first weapon to be fired, primed for the gunshot that will make me jump and kickstart the adrenaline rush.

When it doesn’t come, I slide my foot out from under me and rub away the pins and needles. If he was here, we would know about it.

That’s when I hear a sound that sends a shiver down my spine.

I want to warn Amber that now is the time I need her to be the best sleeping lion that she can be, but I don’t dare even whisper. Someone is in the basement with us. No footsteps. No door opening and shutting. No gunfire eliminating the owner of the thrift store before he comes for us.

Just the stealthy feral movements of a predator raising goosebumps on my skin.

I’m disoriented by the darkness. I can’t track his movements, but I know that it’s him. Anyone else would switch on the lights and call out our names, let us know that they mean us no harm.

But that isn’t how a predator, or a sociopath works. They enjoy the thrill of the chase. The scent of fear. The power it gives them when they prey on the weak.

I wish I had a gun. I’ve never held one before, never wanted to; they represent everything that is wrong with humanity. Fear. Cowardice. Hatred. Greed. But if I had one in my hand right now, I know that I could end this while I have the element of surprise on my side.

I would keep shooting until I hit him. The thought is horrific but satisfying. I would do it for Amber even if it meant that I spent the rest of my life in prison. Gio would take care of her. He would do that for me.

But it’s a futile thought. Instead, I must sit here and wait for him to go ahead and do whatever he came here to do.