Sinful Kisses by Emily Bowie

CHAPTER 6

“This girl is fucking crazy,” I mutter to myself in disbelief. Gia is known for always keeping her cool. She’s the nice girl who tagged along with Alfonso everywhere he went. She never caused trouble. I might actually like this version of her. If she hadn’t fucked up and stolen my car. It’s the one thing I had left after everything was stripped away from me.

“Gia!” I holler, but I don’t chase after her.

She’ll stop.

Any moment now.

She better not leave me stranded in the middle of the road. I quickly text my brother, Max, and tell him to come get me. My car is half destroyed; it’ll be useless to me now. She owes me a fucking car.

I wave my hands, hoping she’ll come back, but I doubt she will. She’s a Rossi, after all. A spoiled princess who knows nothing of the real world. When I see her again, I plan to strangle her with my bare hands.

My dick stirs, liking the idea of my hands around her neck. But instead of her airway cutting off, I’m thinking about her moans. Fuck no. Women like Gia are good for one thing—to fuck—and I want no part of that. She can’t even keep a pussy like Alfonso faithful. I bet she’s as vanilla as they come in the bedroom. Lights off, bra on, under the covers, missionary position each and every time. My car goes faster and faster, and I realize she’s not fucking coming back.

Bright beams light up the dark road. “Gia!” I yell louder, running after my car, even though I’ll never catch up. A horn cuts into the night, and in slow motion, I watch Gia swerve out of the way. The other car speeds past me while Gia flies into the ditch, my car rolling and landing on its roof.

Pulling my phone out again, I call my brother. “Have the doctor at the farm when we arrive.”

I watch in horror as my car wobbles on its roof. “Gia!” I yell again. She’s too young to die. My heart pounds in my chest like never before. A strong, unrelenting fist slowly squeezes my chest, making it hard to breathe. Running to the car, I fall to my knees, not caring about the rocks poking and scraping my skin through my jeans. I move my head into the side with no door. There’s blood dripping down her forehead, and she’s unconscious. Her limp, unmoving body is suspended upside down, and her motionless body has a searing effect on my heart.

“Gia?” I question, crawling through the door. Her seatbelt is holding her in place. She must have put it on when she ditched me.

Everyone, including her family, is going to think I killed her. I’m a dead man. Who knew being banished to a pig farm would be better than this?

My fingers are steady as I unclasp her. I cradle her body as it falls into my chest. Her slender frame is light. The aroma of gas fills the car and overtakes her sweet scent of cookies. Her young, innocent face tilts toward my chest. I’ve never allowed myself to truly look at her. To take in her beauty and admire her perfect features. I’ve spent my whole life fighting with her, all because our territories border each other. None of that matters now. That childish crush I had on her unburies itself deep within my heart and barrels back into me. Every reason why I have to hate her disappears. I can’t let Gia Rossi die.

The smell of gas is increasingly prominent. My arms hold her tight as I move on my knees to get us out of the car. It’s slow, and I can feel my skin pinch and cut with each movement as I try to move her as little as possible. My knees burn with metal, glass, and rocks cutting deeper into them. I hiss through my teeth, taking a deep breath. Slowly, we make it out of the car.

The smell of gas is pungent in the air, even when I lay her down as far away from the car as I can safely take her. Staring at her on the ground, I try to assess what needs to be done. I hold her wrist and place two fingers over her pulse. She’s cool to the touch, and it takes a second to find her hardly there pulse. My cheek hovers above her pale, heart-shaped lips. The faintest puffs of air warm my skin. The tension that I was holding in my shoulders releases temporarily.

She’s fucking alive.

I wipe down my face with my hands, knowing we still have a long drive back to the farm.

Buzzing in my pocket removes my attention from her. My phone lights up with my brother’s name. “Where are you?” I demand. My shoulders tense all over again.

“Five minutes away.” He pauses. “Our shipment arrived a day early.”

“Did you deal with it?” I ask about the dead body.

“Yeah, I dealt with it.”

“We may have another one if you don’t get here soon.” I end the call, ripping my shirt over my head. I fold it up, putting pressure on the side of her head where the blood is coming from.

Her beautiful face is banged up. “You better live,” I speak to her, not knowing if my voice will be the last one she hears. “We both deserve better than this.” My fingers swipe the hair from her face.

I type out a text with one hand, asking for a cleaning crew. No matter if she lives or dies, no one can find this. I will erase all evidence of Gia being here. At least for now.

Sitting in the dark of night, I continue to talk to Gia, hoping it will help keep her alive. Her body is staying cold to the touch, but I’m afraid to move her more than necessary. Headlights cut through the night, and I see my brother pull up. He jogs over.

“Keep pressure on this,” I order, and his hand covers mine before I move. Crawling back into the car, I find her phone in the back.

Her family has been calling and sending her messages. I type one out to her sister, Luna.

I need a break. I can’t handle my life right now. I need time by myself. Know that I am safe and will return when the time is right.

Dropping her phone to the ground, I stomp on it before throwing it back in the car. “We need that burned.”

Max nods as I go to pick Gia up. He keeps his hand on her head. She better not have a spinal injury, or she’s fucked. I don’t want to have to feed her to the pigs.

On the ride back to the farm, I can feel each bump, and the seconds stretch on forever. The doctor is waiting for us, having set up a room that eerily looks like a hospital. We place her on the stretcher, and he hooks a bunch of things up to her. I pace back and forth the whole time.

I dread the moment I have to call Coy. He’s going to kick my ass. I’m not sure if it will be for saving her or for not throwing her into the pig pit. Either way, my muscles strain with the anxiety of the unknown.

It’s not until the sun rises that the doctor focuses his attention on me.

“Will she survive?” I ask, worry building inside me.

“If she survives the next twenty-four hours, she should. In all honestly, she needs a hospital. I can only do so much.”

“That’s out of the question.”

“Give her twenty-four hours. From my experience, it depends on how much swelling is in her brain. But I have no machines to help me determine the severity of her condition. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on her.”

He walks out of the room, leaving me with Gia. I sit beside her, not wanting to make that phone call.

I wake up to my head being pushed into a soft cushion before the sting of the hit has me jumping to my feet. Gia is still unconscious while an angry Coy is standing in front of me. I must have fallen asleep.

“Outside now,” he barks.

I want to defy Coy, stay beside Gia. One more look at him and I know I have to choose the right time to go against him. That moment is not now.

“Why is Gia fucking Rossi on her deathbed in my fucking house?” he yells at me once we step outside. Max pokes his head out, and I nod him away. “I should throw both of you to the fucking pigs!”

“You’re thinking of this entirely the wrong way.” I keep my bored, uninterested expression as I think on my feet. I hate everything that Gia represents with a passion. But she doesn’t deserve to die.

His eyes go wide, venom radiating from him. He steps in, raising his fist to hit me.

“Hear me out.” I stand tall against him.

He steps into his punch. I could stop it, but I’ll let him get one good hit in. My head whooshes backward, his knuckles cutting into my skin.

“Nicoli Rossi will do anything to keep his daughters safe. They are his weakness,” I continue, swiping at the blood on my teeth with my tongue.

“He will kill every last one of us if she dies or is harmed in any way.”

“Not if she falls in love.”

“I’m not interested in a girl more than ten years younger than me.” He scoffs.

“Not you.” I hold my tongue from calling him a fucking idiot. “Me.”

Coy laughs in my face. “How hard did I fucking hit you? Nicoli will never allow one of his daughters to marry a Mancini. He will never accept a truce of that nature.”

“That’s where your vision is too small. We conquer, refusing to accept second best. Gia is the key to the gates. With her by my side, we can take over. After all, a Rossi will still be there as a figurehead and as my wife.”

“The risk is astronomical.”

“The payout is worth it.”

Coy stands silent, thinking over my plan. He’s trying to think of a way to use me. This plan will strengthen me and cause me to be a bigger competitor to him. In the end, I’m disposable to him. The true power struggle will end once I’m dead.

“You’re fucking crazy. You’re too young to know any better.”

“It’s a thought, Coy. Let’s wait and see if the girl even lives. This argument could be pointless.”

“Let me know if you feed the pigs,” he replies, referring to if she dies and I need to get rid of her body.

“Want to know beforehand?”

“I want no part of this until she’s awake.”

“Yes, sir.”

Coy walks toward his car, getting in and spinning dust from his wheels in my direction.

If Gia doesn’t live, I’m a dead man. Coy is too much of a pussy to keep me alive. He’s too afraid of the Rossis. When I take over and reign, I’ll never fear them. Fear makes a leader weak. It makes them soft.