Red

CHAPTER 30.

Sun light slipped past my crack eyelids as I pulled them open, I eased up from the couch, my heart pummeling, eyes blurred with golden sunlight as I looked around in panic. I inhale sharply, tasting Lorenzo's faint scent in the air and then blinked my eyes to clear away the haze of sleep, immediately calming down when I saw that I was still in the library.

The afternoon sunlight from above the glass ceiling of the library poured down on my still clothed body, it was just the gap in my shorts zipper that tells the tale of what happened last night and a warm blush crept up into my neck. He was unbelievable...I sighed while my fingers run through the knotted curls of my hair, the scalp shivers under each tug, a tingling heat spreading through my head.

Unfortunately even though he was unbelievable, Lorenzo was no where to be found. And I shoved the novel from my chest that kept my nipples warm, the book leaves sticking to my skin and I tilted my lips down, my heart clenches into a tightness at the dark truth that burned before me.

And I felt bad.

I couldn't deny, Lorenzo made me feel things that were somewhat close to River. Or maybe surpassed it.

He made me forget the relentless drive for revenge that sometimes left me wondering if I'd ever stop to take care of myself.

I knew I felt this way only because of one dark root and I wasn't even sure if it was even true. Maybe I had used him to forget about River and the guilt was eating me alive. Lorenzo was refreshing, a thrill, a predator that I should be afraid of but couldn't help dancing around his fire. Was it bad that I wanted him to engulf me? His flames had licked outwards, tempting me since I came to Venice. It tested my role as a nanny. I came here for work, not for pleasure. But deep down I love the fact that he's so set on sparing, testing me that it makes my life shimmers and snaps. That it makes me forget about River. And that's what I wanted....a fucking escape out of my head.

But why him? He was my fiancé's killer? That fact alone says a lot about my morality. Yet I couldn't deny how he drew me in his flame, how even the smallest graze of his presence breathed immediate heat.

And despite the heat, I was still hurting. I was no where near close to getting what I wanted. Every time I felt like I was close, life brutally punched me in the gut and reminded me of my reality.

Further from victory, I was...

And I couldn't do anything but watch as Lorenzo and his men carry out their day like it was righteous.

I swallowed down the guilt, a soft wet click that slides down my throat in the quiet library. I quickly zipped up my shorts and left the book on the couch.

I quickly ran up to my room, shower to clear the suffocating saliva, his dominance away and changed into some comfy clothing.

In a white knitted mini dress that stopped above my knees, I slip into some black slides that I wore around the house and went down to the kitchen where I saw Fire, Rafael and Xam earlier.

"Where were you? we have been looking for you from morning, even asked Salt but the fucker was too hard to understand." Fire frowned as they sat around the dining table, card packs out with a ton of money which surprisingly Xam had.

"I was out."

Yeah out with a certain don's tongue deep in your-

I paid the voice no mind and tried to forget the sudden drop of guilt.

It was early in the afternoon and with my stomach empty from not eating any breakfast, I searched through the refrigerator and notice three large cheese pizza on some dish.

I glance over my shoulders at Fire who was slapping a card down in a whine as Rafael smirk and stretch out his hands for the money he was pulling out.

"Don't tell me you guys gave Xam pizza for breakfast!" I pinched my nose as I open the fridge door with my wide hip.

Caught red-headed Rafael and Fire drop their cards, scoot back their chair and sprinted out of the kitchen.

Xam looked up at me with a cheeky grin as she scoop up the hundreds of cash on the table and tried to push them through the hem of her shirt.

I chuckled in amusement and then scoffed as the idiots started bickering in the living room about who was to be blame and what not.

Ignoring them, I caved in and run the pizza into the microwave as I boiled water to make some black tea.

I felt my phone vibrated on the counter as I pour the water into the cup, the tea bag sink into the water and dispense the herbs and without glancing at the caller ID, I answered.

"Red, how are you?"

Nava's voiced slip through and I paused, without adding sugar to the tea, I took a sip and sat around the counter, lowering my voice to not alert the men.

"Took you long enough." He breathed a sigh. "Things are hectic back here. I didn't want to call but Rosa have been killing me, not knowing how her best friend is doing. It's solely out of protection though because I don't want Lorenzo to trace our calls if I make this often."

A genuine smile came to my lips at my best friend. "How is she?"

"She's fine, she wanted this to be a surprise but I don't have anyone to share this with but you, we are expecting a child."

"Shut up! I'm so happy, congratulations." I grinned as he chuckled.

I looked over my shoulder as Xam left the room with her chest puffed out due to the cash.

Shaking my head, I thought back to what he said and asked. "How bad are things Nava?"

"Don't worry about it Red just focus on your investigation."

I breathed a sigh then swallowed down the tea as I said. "Lorenzo is set to leave for New York this weekend so I might come by and show you what I have gathered so far."

"No problem, you know I'm here, I'll be waiting."

After that we chatted a bit more and then he hang up. I finish off my pizza and then went into the living room as Rafael and Fire prop up their legs on the glass table with a movie of some sorts playing in the background.

I snickered as I saw them crying as the Italian actress, kissed her lover and then flew her self off a cliff.

Her lover stood there, yelling her name out.

The grown men cried, both repeating the lines of the character in union, voice trembling, their Italian dialect twisted and merge with the character voice as if they'd watched this scene over a million times. "Resta... resta solo un momento... non svanire così..." (Stay... stay just for a moment... don't fade away like this...)

I stared at them hard, my mind spinning, deep in thought and I scoffed as I thought inwardly. How in God's name did these men end up in Lorenzo's organization?