no body no crime

she was a liar

"Jo..." I took pleasure in the way she moaned my name. I wanted to hear it, again and again and again. I wanted to make her feel something. I wanted her to know what I could do to her. I wanted her to want me.

It was ten o'clock when we took another break. Adelina's hand clutched her side, the bandage crimson red. "I need to change it again. I'll be right back."

"Hurry," I mumbled against her lips. She gave me one more deep, passionate kiss, before leaving the bed. The second the door to the bathroom closed, I stood and wrapped a silk robe around my shoulders. I crossed the room to her jacket, thrown across the kitchen table.

I dug through the pockets until I found what I was looking for. A little black notebook, similar to the one I found at the hotel. I flipped through, skimming the words on every few pages. Half were in Italian, and I gave up trying to translate.

D-connections in the industry, hired the truck

D-the driver was one of them

D-they found out and he needed to make amends

It wasn't hard to figure out that "D" meant Dmitri. But the rest of the words were scrambled, short notes I couldn't understand. I came across a page halfway through the book.

It was him.

It was who? I thought to myself. Dmitri? What did he do?

All I had were pieces, but it was enough. Dmitri betrayed her, and now she was betraying him. He lied to me about why he needed Addie back, and she lied to me about the Nighthawks. She lied to me about everything. And now, she was leading me into a fight between her and a crime lord. And I would most likely get caught in the crossfire.

I heard a rustling in the bathroom and quickly replaced the notebook. I jumped back in bed and spread my limbs along the covers, letting the robe open to display my body.

Adelina came to my side, a fresh bandage on her wound. She smiled. "Mio tesoro," she breathed.

I slid to the edge of the bed, drawing her between my legs. I leaned back and pulled her on top of me. Her palms laid flat on the mattress as she hovered above me.

I brought a hand to the inside of her thigh, slowly tracing towards the heat of her center. I wanted her to moan my name, one more time.

She gasped when I touched her, her hips moving with the rhythm of my hand. I pulled her lips to mine.

"One last time, Adelina," I murmured.

>>>>
>>>>

Hand in hand, we approached Stella Nera. One hour remained until midnight, but something told me things wouldn't be going as smoothly as I first hoped.

Before we left, I overheard Adelina talking to someone on the phone in the bathroom. I didn't even know how she got a phone.

"Tonight. Yes. 11:00, be ready. I'll give the signal." She paused, listening to the other person. "I know the risks. But she's already involved. I don't have a choice."

Those words rang in my head as she gave me a gentle smile beneath the streetlight. I don't have a choice.

She told me she wasn't a murderer. But she lied about everything else.

I gave her hand a squeeze before letting go. She took a deep breath, and together, we stepped inside the bar.

Dmitri sat at the same booth, looking as carefree as ever. I recognized many of the same men from my visit here two nights before-there was Tony, shooting daggers my way, looking like he wanted my throat slit.