Page 65 of Dangerous Games

“Stop touching it! You’re getting blood everywhere and making it worse. Let me get you some ice. It’s already starting to swell,” I say, ignoring his question as I go to the freezer because how do I tell him I’m hearing noises without sounding insane?

I wet a paper towel and grab a bag of frozen peas, making a mental note to buy some ice packs in case this happens again, which, given my state lately combined with everything that’s been happening in my life, it’s very possible it will. “Here, hold this.”

Gio takes the bag from me as I gently press the wet paper towel to his forehead, cleaning the aftermath of what I caused. He doesn’t flinch or hiss as I wipe over the cut. His assessing gaze is on me, taking in every movement I make.

“Do you want a band-aid?” I stupidly ask.

“No, I don’t want a fucking band-aid. I want to know why you threw a fucking shoe at me.”

“Well…” I trail off. “You scared me.”

“I called your name when I came in and you didn’t hear me,” Gio says, his tone concerned. “Are you okay?”

I sigh in defeat. “I thought I heard someone knock earlier, and when I answered the door, no one was there. Then I got into my head about how I’m going crazy. You snapped me out of it and scared me. Throwing the shoe was a reflex. I’m sorry I hit you. Your mom is going to hate me.” I wince. It looks really bad. The last thing I want is for his mom to think I beat her son.

Gio snorts. “Ma is going to think I did something to deserve this, so no, she isn’t going to hate you. If anything, she’s going to tell you to hit me harder next time. Now, about the knocking, was anyone in the alley?”

I shake my head. “I poked my head out and looked around, but didn’t see anyone. I didn’t actually go outside and look, though.”

“That’s smart, but I wish you hadn’t opened the door at all.”

“I thought it was you.”

“Cara,” Gio says, his tone lowering. “I have never and will never knock to come into your place. I will let myself in every goddamn time. So next time, don’t open the fucking door. Understand?”

I nod. “Understood.” I look down at the bag of peas in his hand. “You should put that on your head. It really is starting to swell.”

Gio rolls his eyes as he places the bag to his head. “For the record, if you tell any of my brothers about this, I’ll deny it.”

“I would never.” I smile at him before asking, “You don’t think I was hearing things?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Gio, I really think this was a mistake,” I say as I stare up at the mansion in front of me.

We just got to his mom’s house. I don’t know what I was expecting given the fact that Gio is obviously well off, but this? I wasn’t expecting this. His mom’s house looks like it’s the same size as the entire apartment building I grew up in. And this is all for one person. It makes my apartment look like a shoebox.

“The only mistake being made tonight is you thinking you’re not worthy of being here,” Gio says softly as he squeezes my thigh before moving his hand to my face to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “You look beautiful tonight, cara. You have no idea what it means to me that you did all of this for me.”

My cheeks warm from his compliment as I fidget in my seat, uncomfortable with this kind of attention. “Thank you,” I whisper as I work up the balls to look him in the eye. The way he’s staring at me has my breath catching in my throat and my pulse spiking.

A loud tapping sounds on my window, making me jump and let out my second scream for the day. My hand covers my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. “Holy shit.”

“Are you two going to sit out here all night?” a man I’ve seen around the pizzeria before but haven’t formally met asks. His voice sounds muffled through the glass.

“Fuck off,” Gio yells at him, making me sit up straight in my seat and side-eye him. The man laughs loudly as he leaves us, walking up toward the house.

What is going on?

“Fucking Enzo. Ignore him,” Gio tells me. “Are you ready to head inside?”

“Yeah,” I say, exhaling deeply. I’m ready to get this night over with.

“Wait here.” Gio gives my thigh one last squeeze before getting out of the car and rounding the hood to open my door for me.

I place my hand in his outstretched one as he pulls me out of the car. I feel like I’m going to throw up all over the stain-free concrete with every passing step as we make our way to the front door. It’s perfect and looks like it was just poured. Almost too perfect for me to be stepping on. His hand moves to the small of my back, pressing in lightly and directing me forward.

Gio leans down so his mouth is centimeters from my ear. His warm breath grazes my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “It’s going to be okay,” he tells me softly.