TOXIC (Dark Mafia Romance)

Chapter 13

"PAPA, don't go! Papa, please!

Fire raged around.

Gunshots exploded.

Romero's body jerked in the air as blood splattered.

Screaming.

It's all your fault! It's all your fault!

Ashley Ortega's sneering face.

Amelia.

Crying baby Amelia.

Ate...

I woke up gasping.

Sweat slickened my temples, my back, my palms. My heart drummed so fast I couldn't breathe. A sob broke out of me.

"God...."

I hugged myself as I tried to fight back my cries.

But something vibrated in my hand, and I forced myself to look at it. Ito 'yong phone na ibinigay sa akin ni Danica. I'd been typing a message to her to explain everything, but I just couldn't get the right words out.

And I just felt so drained I found myself drifting off in the bed. It was so stupid of me to let the phone out in the open like this when Alessio or his men could have walked in on me holding the phone.

Mariin kong pinahid ang mga palad sa mga pisngi para tuyuin ang mga luha. Malalim akong humugot ng hininga at pilit kinalma ang sarili.

I wanted to ignore the call until it stopped, but I knew I had to answer Danica.

Kahit na hindi pa tuluyang kalmado, pinilit ko ang sariling pindutin ang answer icon. Idinikit ko ang phone sa tainga.

"Danica."

"Hey, Toni." Danica's voice sounded as strained as my own voice. "Are you okay? Bigla ka na lang nawala sa gala kagabi."

Was I okay? Ibinaluktot ko ang mga binti at niyakap ko ang mga tuhod. Would I ever be okay?

"I'm okay." Pilit kong pinatatag ang boses. "Nasa Korea ka na?"

"Yes, kaninang madaling araw pa. That big guy, your bodyguard, and the one you sent with me, they're not ordinary people, are they?"

Nasapo ko ang noo habang patuloy kong pinapakalma ang paghinga. Everything still throbbed and hurt. "They're here to help me." Iyon lang ang pwede kong sabihin.

"That Frank, I secretly took a picture of him, and I searched his image on Google, and I saw pictures of him with that Alessio De Luca. That Alessio De Luca, is he protecting you?"

Protect me. That was laughable, wasn't it? I swallowed the knot of emotions clogging my throat because it just felt so tight it was hard to speak. "Yes, I-I can't talk much about it, but he's here to help me."

"Okay." Parang nakahinga nang maluwag ang kausap. "Anyway, I looked him up a bit, too. Mukhang totoo 'yong mga sinabi nina Leandro sa gala. He's part of an Italian mob in LA, and he started legitimizing most of their businesses years ago. And the thing with Marilyn, too? Mukhang totoo rin iyon."

God, I didn't want to think about this. But I kept my mouth shut as I tried to breathe right.

Nagpatuloy ang kaibigan. "But Leandro said last night when we were alone, that it might be a business contract more than anything. Mukhang ginawang kundisyon ni Don Almeda na kailangan magpakasal muna si Alessio De Luca bago ibigay ni Don Almeda 'yong stocks niya kay Alessio."