Page 66 of A New Days Don

I hastily pull myself into the car, but before I can shut the door, he grabs it again, “Leave me alone.”

My own voice is laced with ice-cold fear, trembling and higher pitched. I curse at myself for not being able to hold it together, but then Massimo gets down on his knees, keeping his hands to himself as I requested. His mint and leather scent is tainted with the iron rich smell of the blood coating him. I bite back the whimper working its way up my throat.

He looks up at me with wary, anxious eyes, “Please, Mila, let me explain.”

“Explain what? That you’re a murderer? That you and your friends—” I gasp as I see the four of them all standing by the gaping barn door. My stomach rolls. My attention is only brought to Massimo when I see him reach for me.

I pull my hand back from where it had been gripping my car’s seat, shifting it away from his. Hurt flashes across his face before he bows his head with acceptance.

“They won’t hurt you,” he murmurs.

“Please,” the whimper falls out without my permission, and Massimo’s gaze meets mine. Pain etches into his features. The same ones that had earlier looked like death itself. “Let me go, please.”

Begging makes me sick.

I’m thrown back into that alleyway, and it takes everything in me to stay in the present and not let myself spiral. I will spiral when I’m home, but not now.

“I’m sorry,” Massimo whispers, “You are safe, sweetheart. I would never hurt you, and anyone else that dared to try would find themselves with a worse fate.”

He makes himself smaller, trying to make me feel safe in his presence, but his words remind me of what he did to that man. I just witnessed a brutal murder. I should be arresting him or calling for backup, but as I look down at Massimo, I don’t see the same man who was in the warehouse.

“You'd better run. Leave this city and leave me alone. Forget my number and stay away. If I see you again, you will be arrested.” I snarl through the panic, and Massimo’s brown eyes become glossy. He pauses, but slowly, his head nods before he stands up, backing away into the shadows. His gaze never strays from me as I slam my door shut. My phone vibrates beside me.

Why do I feel like my chest is ripping in two?

Despite being safe from Massimo, the backs of my eyes burn with tears.

Through blurry vision, I look down at my phone.

I read the messages over and over again. My heart is racing in my chest at the ominous way the unknown number ended this stream of psychological warfare. When I look up, I see Massimo standing in the doorway of the barn. Not moving. Just watching. Carefully. Calculating.

How did this unknown number know what Massimo was?

I can barely comprehend what I witnessed. Yet this number seemed to know the exact details of when, where, and what Massimo would be doing.

Chapter 27

Massimo

The look on Mila’s face when she saw me haunts my every waking minute. In my sleep, I relive everything that went down with Fabio, ending with me trying everything I can think of to get her to stay. Fuck.

I should have said something sooner. I should have found a way to break the news about the mafia to her. She would understand… Maybe.

Her dot glows over the precinct, and my jaw clenches tight. It takes everything in me to stay put in this wretched office haunted by memories of my father and Fabio and not go after her to beg for her forgiveness.

The blue glowing dot reminds me of her eyes and the shimmering shock that quickly shredded into abhorrence. Despite watching her lose trust in me with each passing second, she stared into my ruined heart and soul without fear. My chest swelled with pride when she kept her panic at bay in a situation that should have had her losing her footing on reality.

I have never felt the kind of desperation and loss that is losing Mila’s trust and having her look at me as if she couldn’t recognize who I was. The moment she demanded I stay away from her, I knew I would do anything for her. If she asked me to kill, maim, and destroy this world, I would. I will stop at nothing to make her see that she is safe with me.

A seed of doubt taints my desperation for her, its roots piercing my soul and leaving me more insecure than ever. I don’t know if she will ever see the lengths I am about to go to in order to ensure she is safe. Whether she wants it or not, I am her shadow and will follow her to the ends of the world.

“You going to stew and glare at the wall all day? Not a good look for you, boss.” Ren muses as he waltzes into my office.

“Fuck off,” I mutter, turning back to my monitor to watch as Mila’s dot moves down the road from the department.

Ren peers over my shoulder, making a noise of understanding, “People outside the mafia have a tough time understanding what it is we do.”

I shoot him a glare, and he raises his hands, “I don’t need relationship advice from you.”