by Bella J
“What?” Raphael’s brows almost touched his hairline. “You see this gun, right?”
Mr. Russo nodded. “I do.”
“You know Marcello’s aunt is bleeding out in that room?”
“I thought it was just a flesh wound?” Challenge painted his every word, and Raphael frowned.
“You think you’re in a position to negotiate here?”
Mr. Russo spread his arms across the back of the couch. “I’m always in a position to negotiate, Raphael. The girl and your shares for twenty percent less than my original offer.”
My legs were shaking uncontrollably as adrenaline started to crash. I swayed then caught my balance against the wall—the movement triggering Raphael to aim the gun at me again.
Mr. Russo didn’t even blink at the fact that Raphael was swinging a weapon around like a fucking toy.
“Fine,” Mr. Russo got up from his seat, “I’m going to count to three, then my deal is off the table. One—”
Raphael glanced from Mr. Russo to me.
“Two—”
I held my breath.
“Th—”
“Deal!” Raphael rubbed the back of his neck. “Deal.”
Mr. Russo smiled victoriously and shook hands with my brother. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Raphael. Your payment—”
“An eternity in hell, motherfucker.”
A gunshot sounded, and Raphael fell to the floor. Blood oozed from his lifeless body and soaked through the carpet fibers.
So much blood. Too much blood. I was surrounded by it. Drowning in it.
Every sound went on mute when I looked up at Saint standing across from me with a gun in hand, and finger on the trigger. My beautiful angel of death. The devil who stole me. And the man who stole my heart.
An indescribable relief flooded over me like water as I watched him rush across the room toward me. The second his arms wrapped around me, the safety of his presence enveloped me…I fell.
22
Mila
Saint carried me out of the hotel, James and his men fighting against the flashing cameras and screaming reporters.
Red and blue lights flickered in the distance, but I didn’t care about anything because I was safely cradled in my husband’s arms. I felt him against me, his warmth penetrating my body and warding off the cold. He clutched me tightly and held me on his lap as we drove through the streets of Rome.
His hand brushed up and down my back, a loving caress. “I told you never to run from me again.”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Words eluded me while I listened to the soothing beat of his heart.
“She lied, Mila.”
I closed my eyes, a single tear rolling down my cheek.
“Anete lied to you. A lie she will pay dearly for.”
“No,” I whispered.
“Her lie almost cost you your life. I almost lost you.”
“But you didn’t.” I nestled my cheek deeper against his chest. “I shouldn’t have believed her in the first place.”
Seconds. Minutes. Hours. I lost all sense of time while he held me in his arms. We didn’t say a word, but our silence spoke volumes. His regret was there in the way he held me. And mine was in the tears I continued to cry against his chest. I was stupid to believe Anete, and foolish to let Raphael con me. I almost paid for my foolishness with my life. With Elena’s life. And maybe even…another life.
I flattened my palm against my belly. “Saint—”
“I know, Mila.”
I looked at him in surprise, and he brushed his hand down my cheek tenderly. “Elena told me.”
“We need to make sure.”
“And we will,” he assured me. “But right now, you need to rest.”
“How did you know where to find me?”
He pulled his lips in a straight line. “My father. Right before Raphael opened the door for him, he sent his bodyguard to tell me where you were.”
I inched back. “Your father risked his life to save me?”
Saint shook his head, and I saw the conflict storming in his eyes. “Everything my father does comes with a price. This will be no different.” He brought my hand up to his lips. “But right now, whatever the price, I will pay it willingly.” He placed my palm against his chest right where his heart was. “I love you, Mila.”
My heart stopped.
“I love you, and nothing has ever scared me as much as my love for you.”
“Saint—”
“And if what Elena says is true,” he flattened his palm over my stomach, “if you are carrying my child inside your belly, I will dedicate my life to you and our unborn baby.”
I settled my hand over his. “And if Elena is wrong?”
He grabbed the back of my neck and forced me closer as he crushed his mouth against mine. Everything faded. Every dark memory evaporated. He took it all through that one powerful, mind-shattering kiss. Warm, familiar lips kissed me as if he’d die if he didn’t. The feel of his velvet tongue searching for mine ignited a desire strong enough to smother my fear. My uncertainty. Every promise, every vow a husband made to his wife resonated from his desperate kiss. There was no doubt anymore. No reason to fight what we had found in one another. All that remained was the comfort of finally knowing that no matter what brought us together or how painful our past was…it no longer mattered. Nothing mattered but us.
Saint broke our kiss and leaned his forehead against mine, while his other hand pressed against my belly. “If Elena is wrong, then nothing will stop me from planting my seed inside you.” He tightened his grip behind my head and forced me to crane my neck. “Because no matter what happens, you will bear my children, segreto. And we will be bonded for eternity.”
SAINT
I had my own personal physician brought to the Empress so he could examine Mila and make sure she wasn’t hurt. He requested privacy while he tended to her, but a deadly glare told him exactly how I felt about his request.
I sat on the chair across from her bed and watched his every move and tried my best to ignore the ache of worry that settled in my gut. This was new territory for me, feeling so protective over someone. It was so intense, I sometimes found myself pondering thoughts of how I’d love to lock her in this room and make sure no one could get near her.
The doctor monitored her pulse, checked her temperature, and asked her a fuckton of questions. But she hardly registered anything around her as she kept staring at the white stick that sat on the bedside table.
“How much longer?” She looked up at the doctor, who secured his stethoscope back around his neck.
He reached for the stick and examined it while Mila and I both seemed to have stopped breathing.
The doctor looked at me. “The test shows your wife is indeed pregnant.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” I dismissed him with a nod, not taking my eyes off Mila, who sat frozen on the mattress with her knees pressed against her chest.
“I’ll be back next week to do a follow-up.”
“That won’t be necessary, Doctor.” I got up to my feet. “We’ll be in New York by then.”
The doctor nodded then exited the room. It was only when the door shut that Mila straightened from the bed. “New York?”
Words eluded me as I stalked toward her. I ignored the question in her eyes. The uncertainty. Because all I saw was the beauty of the woman who had become the most important person in my life. And now that I knew she was carrying my child, I realized this was everything I never knew I wanted.
“Saint, are we going to New York?”
Mila pressed for an answer, but as I came within inches from her, I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and weaved my fingers through her curls, pulling her closer so I could claim her lips and drown in her taste.
Our mouths fused together as one, and the beautiful ballad of her moans sang to my blood. A siren so easily luring me to my demise.
I wound my other arm around her waist and lifted her on her toes as I pressed h
er body flush against mine. Through the years, I had convinced myself there was no woman in the world who had the power to tame me—no woman strong enough to become my weakness. Yet here she was. The girl was supposed to be nothing but a signature. A pawn. A means to end.
Now…she had become my life.
“I love you, Mila,” I whispered between wet kisses.
“I love you too.”
It took all my self-control to tear my lips from hers and to not rip her clothes off like a savage and fuck her like I could engrave my name on her soul with my cock.
“I’m taking you to New York. It’s not safe here.”
Her radiant eyes studied me questioningly. “Raphael is dead, Saint. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“But my father is still here. I told you. He might have saved your life, but it will come with a price. I won’t chance your safety or that of our unborn child.”
She cupped my cheek with her soft palm, staring up at me as if I was her light in the dark. But it was the other way around. She was the light that tamed my darkness; the sun that conquered the night and all the shadows that lurked within it.
“You are my life now, Mila.” I brushed a thumb down her tempting bottom lip. “Everything I do from now on is for you and our family. Understand?”
Her smile was warm and genuine, beautiful and pure. “I understand.”
“Good. Now,” I stepped back, “you need to rest.”
“I need to ask you something.” She bit the corner of her bottom lip. “Raphael. He said he approached you with an offer, so you could buy his shares. But you refused. Why?”
“Mila, I told you, I can’t discuss business with you.”
“I know that. I don’t need details. I just…I don’t understand why you’d refuse his offer when you’ve been so determined to keep your dad from getting his hands on the shares.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. The fact that her brother was a sick motherfucker who needed money to pay his way into the human trafficking scene wasn’t something she needed to know.
“I had my reasons for not wanting to do business with your brother, Mila.”
She frowned. “Will you ever tell me?”
“That’s highly unlikely. Now, get some rest.”
“Fine.” She huffed. “Any news on Elena?” Her emerald eyes conveyed her worry.
“She’s going to be fine. All you have to worry about is taking care of yourself and my son.”
“Son?”
“Yes.” I smiled and pulled back the bedsheets. “My son.”
She got onto the bed with an amused grin on her face. “And what if it’s a girl?”
I leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. “Then I’m going to have a lot of blood on my hands for many years to come.”
Her laughter filled my chest with warmth, my heart fuller than it had ever been in my life. I was living proof there was nothing love could not touch.
“Now. Rest.”
“Yes, sir.”
I reached for the doorknob. “Remember those two words when I join you in bed later tonight.”
I closed the door behind me and walked straight to my office where James had been waiting for me as I had instructed him to.
James stood from his seat and straightened his suit jacket. “Everything has been arranged for our trip to New York.”
“Excellent.” I poured myself a glass of bourbon from the crystal decanter. “Any word from my father?”
“No. Not a word.”
The amber liquid burned my throat and settled in my stomach. “It’s only a matter of time. I’m sure of it.”
“I’ll make sure to keep an eye on him. If he makes a move, we’ll know.”
“Good.” I turned to face James as an all new threat now loomed over me with its dark claws and shadowed menace. “How long have we known each other, James?”
“Almost all our lives.”
“Then you’ll understand the gravity of the situation when I say this.” I squared my shoulders. “I don’t care how, and I don’t give a fuck what you need to do, but she can never know. Do you understand me? Mila can never. Ever. Know.”
THE END…for now.
To be continued and concluded in…
THE SINS OF SAINT
Other Novels by Bella J
OTHER NOVELS by BELLA J
American Street Kings
Depraved (American Street Kings, Book 1)
Defiant (American Street Kings, Book 2)
Deranged (American Street Kings, Book 3)
Destroyed (American Street Kings, Book 4)
The Twisted Duet
Blood and Lies (Twisted Duet, Book 1)
Blood and Vows (Twisted Duet, Book 2)
The Royal Mafia Series
Mafia Princess (Royal Mafia, Book 1)
Mafia Prince (Royal Mafia, Book 2)
Mafia King (Royal Mafia, Book 3)
Mafia Queen (Royal Mafia, Book 4)
The Shattered Secrets Duet
Regret (Shattered Secrets, Book 1)
Torment (Shattered Secrets, Book 2)
The Resplendence Series
Ruin (Resplendence, Book 1)
Rush (Resplendence, Book 2)
Rage (Resplendence, Book 3)
About the Author
All the way from Cape Town, South Africa, Bella J lives for the days when she's able to retreat to her writer's cave where she can get lost in her little pretend world of romance, love, and insanely hot bad boys.
Bella J is a Hybrid Author with both Self-Published and Traditional Published work. Even though her novels range from drama, to comedy, to suspense, it's the dark, twisted side of romance she loves the most.
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