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Sitting on the porch of the cabin, I watched Frankie pluck at her garden. Denying my offer of help, she pulled out weeds in fistfuls, chucking them behind her body.
She’d been keeping her distance, I noticed. Not because I startled her, or that she regretted our kiss.
We just couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves whenever we stood a foot within each other. Neither of us had discipline.
It was better this way really. Rather than taking my sweet time looking for my guy, I should be hurrying up so I could get out of her hair.
Leaving her life sounded like the most awful thing to do. I wanted nothing to do with it. Maybe I could postpone my hunt for a little longer, take my sweet time and enjoy my situation while I still could.
Whether I found the guy or not, I had a feeling in my gut that our time together would be ending one way or another.
While Antonio might not have found me yet, I knew he would find me eventually. Since there wasn’t a body to be found, he’d only assume that I made a run for it. He knew how much I devoted myself to our family. Maybe my punishment wouldn’t be death once I was found.
If I got my hands on Jimmy’s impersonator, then hopefully my punishment would be less. I could only hope.
Frankie wasn’t aware of my worries, I made sure not to show it on my face. I didn’t need her getting stressed too. Not more than she already was.
When Frankie lifted up from her garden and looked back at me, she wore a smile. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she swiped dirt right across her skin.
I had to be one lucky sonofabitch. How could I linger on my terrible future when I had a beam of sunlight looking in my direction?
Knowing I shouldn’t, I hopped off the porch and approached her garden. All too naturally, I brushed my hand against her shoulder. Nothing more but a simple graze.
“We’ve got too many tomatoes ready to go. I think we might have to eat vegetable soup again. Hope that’s alright,” she warned, squinting up at me.
“Two days in a row?” I clicked my tongue, “I suppose starving doesn’t sound terrible.”
She bumped her glove against my sweater, snorting with an eye roll. “Yeah, that’s how I thought you’d react. Guess it’s a good thing I’m not actually asking.” Then she tilted her chin up, giving me a challenging stare.
Normally, I’d be the type to put up a fight. Against Frankie, I already knew I didn’t stand a chance.
The smile on my lips grew all too naturally. “I love the way you put your foot down,” I murmured as I fought the urge to pull her close. I didn’t care that she was dirty.
My words left her cheeks going rosy. My will to hold back disappeared when she stood and took a step forward. Just like every time we got too close together, we didn’t stand a chance to keep our hands to ourselves. A kiss only satisfied my hunger slightly.
Every second I had the woman pressed against my body, the more I wished I could stay like this forever with Frankie.
All the way in the back of my mind, I secretly hoped that I could successfully run away from the mafia life. Grow old with Frankie at my side and be happy and careless. Oh, if only. With the thought souring my mood, I pulled away from her with a weakened smile. Nicking her chin with my thumb, I sighed softly.
“Let’s get the ingredients collected then. I’m starving.”
Frankie let out a satisfied sigh, her own smile remaining. Giving a slow nod, she pulled away.
Despite her offer of doing everything by herself, I helped her toss some of the vegetables growing into a basket. I’d cook alongside her and hope I’d be able to enjoy the rest of the night without letting the inevitable ruin my mood.
Frankie
I noticed Marco’s odd behavior sooner than later. The way he constantly made glances out of a window, or stared off into space like his thoughts were troubling him.
I might’ve been in love, but I wasn’t stupid. The guy was stressed out. We were taking too long finding the guy. Sooner or later, I knew some member of the mafia would arrive at my door and Marco would be revealed to the world. Personally, I think I dreaded the thought even more.
After getting used to having someone at my side, someone to share this lonely life with, I didn’t want Marco to leave.
At first, I purposely tried not to help his search. I thought he’d want to leave as soon as he had his findings. Being the greedy woman I was, I sucked at assisting him. Hardly a defense, I didn’t think he wanted to continue his hunt either.
Six weeks into his hunt and I finally threw myself into searching alongside him. We destroyed my basement, going through every single box. We swept through twice, just in case I missed something.
“This is stupid,” I huffed out, kicking the nearest box. Cursing when my foot throbbed, Marco let out a long sigh.
