Faked A Dark Mafia Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,47
into a knot, shoved a baseball cap over my head, and slid on my backpack. I bowed my head, strolling to the subway as rush-hour traffic breezed along.
A man in a suit slipped from a car. He stepped onto the sidewalk and froze, his frame blocking the way.
I walked around him until a strong, jacketed arm circled my waist. My body recognized Vinn’s touch before a deep growl erupted from his chest. He dragged me, fingers biting into my flesh.
Flames blasted from Vinn, overwhelming the summer day’s heat. Veins popped from his forehead, his demeanor so threatening that passersby scattered.
“Fuck’s sake, Liana. You better have broken it off with him.” His terrible voice shot fire down my spine.
I gaped at him. “Who?”
Vinn clenched his teeth so hard that a muscle jumped in his jaw. “The man you met behind my fucking back.”
Wow.
“I wasn’t—”
“Get in the damned car.”
Stunned, I allowed him to pull me inside the parked Lexus. I sank into the backseat as Vinn slammed the partition.
“How did you find me?”
“You are not good at covering your tracks.” His tone rolled with cold contempt. “Plus, the bartender called me. I have eyes everywhere, especially when it concerns my fiancée.”
Great.
He seized my backpack and ripped out my phone. He thumbed through my texts, and when he found nothing, he swiped to Recent Calls.
Oh shit.
“A five-minute conversation right before you left the house,” Vinn taunted. “This is the guy.”
Fire shot up my throat.
“Who is he, some frat boy? He still in there?” He tapped the window, mouth curling. “I’ll drag you in there and make you point him out.”
“You don’t want me to do that.”
“Now I’m really curious.”
His thumb hovered over the screen.
“Vinn, don’t.”
“Afraid of what I’ll do? You should be.”
I’m scared for you. “Do not press that button.”
He stabbed the number.
I lunged for the cell, but Vinn lifted it out of reach. The call connected, and Killian’s purr filled the car.
“Ready to dump Costa? Or are you offering me a blowie?”
A bleak silence settled between us.
“Liana, you there?”
I cringed, hands on my ears, staring at the floor as though looking for a hole to swallow me.
“Need me to come back—?”
Vinn ended the call, cutting off Killian’s drawl.
Then I finally summoned the courage to lift my head.
Vinn stared at the phone like it was a diseased organ. His lips whitened. He slipped my cell into his pants, slamming his fist into the partition.
The car lurched forward.
Oh my God.
My pulse raced. “Vinn, it’s not what you think.”
“Shut up, Liana.”
I white-knuckled the armrest.
Vinn clenched his jaw the whole way home, no doubt imagining ridiculous scenarios with Killian. Once we reached his building, Vinn yanked me out of the car, guiding me by the wrist like an errant child. We left the elevator, and he shoved me inside the apartment.
“You think Anthony’s been on a fifteen-month vacation?” he screamed as he slammed the door. “They’ll do the same with you. They’ll auction you, sell you into slavery, and force you to fuck disgusting men. Is that what you want? Tell me. I’ll tie you up and show you what you’re in for.”
A dark thrill rippled through me.
“Vinn, calm down. You don’t even know why I was there.”
“Because I refused brunch with you,” he snarled.
“My God, Vinn. As if I’d be that petty.”
Words failed me as he flung my cell on the marble. The screen smashed. He stomped on the case until it resembled a hunk of shattered glass. Then he fished out the SIM card and crushed that, too.
“Hey!”
He stabbed the air with a finger. “From now on, I vet everyone in your life. I can’t trust you. You’re a liability.”
“I was just trying to help you!”
“Give me a break. You went behind my back and met with Killian.” He kicked aside the trashed phone and headed for his walk-in closet. He palmed a false wall, yanking a gun from the hiding space.
A sliver of panic darted through my heart.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
He packed a box of shells in his jacket, suiting up like he was invading Poland.
“Don’t do this.” I clutched his shirt, my eyes hot. “Don’t risk your life over a stupid misunderstanding.”
“That piece of shit knows exactly what he’s doing.”
He shoved a knife into his ankle strap and stormed at the door.
I stared at Vinn’s retreating back, my body consumed with fire. It was all I could do not to fall apart. I caught up to him and seized his arm.
“Vinn, stay.”
“He’s taking you from me.”
The force of his words