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Alessandro's words echoed in my mind. Over the last month, I had seen several sides to Alessandro. I'd seen him angry, determined, devoted, caring and sweet, protective, and even carefree when we were in Tuscany laughing, rolling around as he tickled me. I smiled at the memory.
I felt safe and secure wrapped in his arms and I couldn't deny the attraction. Dancing with him had felt as natural as breathing, and when we weren't dealing with any of the mafia drama, I could see myself falling for him too.
I let out a heavy sigh.But that is the problem. The mafia drama. The family he loved.How could I possibly be a part of something like that?
'We do what we have to do to keep the ones we care about safe. To protect the city, to protect our family, and to protect ourselves.'The memories of Alessandro's words echoed in my brain.
Getting to know Alessandro, Teo, Mia, and the others over the last month hadn’t been a completely unpleasant experience. They truly seemed like good people who were trying to fight a bad system from the inside. Who was I to judge them for something that I only had the smallest glimpse into?
I didn’t know enough about their world to dive in headfirst, but why did I have to decide right then? I could ask Matteo for more time to get to know them better. Surely the limit of a month was just for my benefit since I was the one in such a hurry to go home. Maybe another month would allow me to dig deeper into their world and see if they really were different from the mafia men I’d known about from the past and maybe that would give me enough time to sort out my conflicting feelings for Alessandro as well.
The terrace door opened, and quiet footsteps approached. I smiled to myself as I turned. “Alex—” I stopped, startled that it wasn’t him. It was Gino who’d come to find me. “Oh,Ciao, Gino.”
“Ciao, bella...or what is it that Alessandro calls you,micetta,”he said almost mockingly.
“I’m not his kitten.” I rolled my eyes.
Gino’s eyebrow lifted slightly as he took another step toward me. “You could be mine.”
“Yours?” I let out a humorless laugh because a part of me thought he had to be kidding but the look in his eyes told me that he was all too serious.
“I could treat you good,bambola.” He took another step toward me, and I could smell the liquor on his breath.
I retreated a step to put some distance between us but the small of my back struck the railing.
“I should really go find Alessandro.” I tried to side-step him, but his hands shot out on either side of me, resting on the railing, effectively pinning me in.
“He’ll come find you if he’s missing you. My guess is that he’s too busy celebrating to worry about you. You aren’t important to him. He’s just doing his job, trying to convince you to stay.”
“That’s not true.” While I didn’t fully believe what Gino was saying, the words stung all the same.
“Listen to me,bambola.” Gino ran his knuckles down the side of my arm, giving me goosebumps, but not the good kind. I shivered, wanting to run but not sure how.
My heart pounded and my ears roared as he leaned in closer, bringing his mouth close to my ear. “If you’d been with me, it wouldn’t have taken you a month to decide to stay here. I’d have you begging for me to keep you after the first night.”
I pressed my hand against his chest, trying to push him back but he barely budged. “I would never be with someone like you.”
“You hardly know me,bambola.You should at least get to know me as well as you know Alessandro for a fair comparison.” He pressed his body against mine, rolling his hips so that his erection ground against my thigh.
“Get off of me.” I shoved Gino’s chest hard and that time he had to take a step back to keep from losing his balance.
I tried to step away from him, but he moved to pin me again. Before thinking better of it, my hand lashed out, striking him hard across the face with a loud clap.
With Gino shocked, I took the opportunity to run but he grabbed my wrist and tugged me back against the railing which hit my side painfully and I cried out.
“Stupidputtana.”He raised his hand to strike me, and I lifted my arms to block his hand, but it never came. Gino yelled and stumbled back, falling to the ground as Alessandro pulled him away from me.
“Get your hands off of her. You don’ttouchher,” Alessandro roared from above Gino.
He crouched, grabbing Gino by the collar and punched him again and again.
If someone didn’t stop him, I was afraid he was going to cause permanent damage. I rushed over as people began to flood out onto the terrace. I tugged on Alessandro’s shoulder, but it was like I was nothing more than an annoying fly buzzing around him.
“Stop.” There was a sudden, booming voice that made everyone turn to look and even Alessandro froze in place with his fist pulled back to strike.
Teo stood in the doorway, Mia close behind him and he looked pissed.
“What is the meaning of all this? We are supposed to be celebrating.”
