Cosa Nostra: A Steamy Mafia Romance (Kids of The District Book 3) by Nicci Harris (digital ebook reader txt) 📗

"Why?" he barks, and I immediately recoil.

Growling low at himself, he takes a step backwards as though he's wrestling with something internally. He breathes angrily as he eyes me up and down. Max is often unreadable. For the most part, he doesn't reveal. He's closed off. But not tonight. Tonight he's radiating emotion. Pain. Desperation. Anger. . . Need. He needs me right now for whatever reason and I should-

When Max fists his hands, wincing ever so slightly, my attention shifts to his clenched fingers, the bruising on them visible even in the gathering night. The bruising from punching someone. I lift my hand and touch the remnants of the bruise under my eye.

He looks at me, brows weaving with confusion. With anguish. "I'm sorry, little one. I just need to know why you're still here? Why didn't you get Carter to take you home?" he asks roughly.

I breathe slowly, craning my neck to catch the intensity in his eyes. I want to say, 'But I am home'. The words seem to burn my throat because maybe. . . I'm not. "You know things aren't right with me. Something huge happened to me -"

He bares his teeth, leaning down to press his cheek to mine. "What happened to you is making me murderous, little one. I assure you, I haven't forgotten."

I shake my head. "I just need to process it, Max."

He grabs the top of my arms and squeezes lightly - a warning. Controlling. "You made me want this, Cassidy." His voice deepens. "Now you think you can just take it away?"

My shoulders move as I take shallow breaths in and out.

Erik's body cages me. "I want to take something from him."

I squeeze my eyes shut, holding them like that as I fight the onslaught of Erik's memory. "I'm not taking anything away from you, Max," I say, my voice choked. "I promise. I love you-"

My eyes fly open while his narrow at the sound of my sister's voice. "Get your hands off her, Max!"

And Max's resolve shatters.

Detonates.

I don't think Flick understands that our thing is our thing and people can't get in the middle of it without being torn apart. Max tightens his grip on me as if she were physically prying me from his hold.

Bending his head to the side, his eyes burn, piles of embers being stoked by her presence. His body unmoving, he hisses, "Walk back inside, Felicity, or they'll never find your body."

Oh my God!

Something inside me snaps.

I shove at his wall-like body, barely making an impression in his chest, completely ineffective in shifting him. He turns his head to frown down at me.

My heart beats frantically. "Go inside, Flick," I say, swallowing hard, feigning anger but feeling weak. . .weak. Like I want to shrink into him where I am safe and hide from him all at once. It hurts. It stirs my insides. Wanting to clutch at my stomach as nausea rolls through me, I curl a little in on myself. "Don't" –I shake my head slowly– "ever threaten my sister, Max."

He fastens his eyes shut, muttering under his breath. "Fuck."

He's not Erik.

I force myself to press my shaky palm to his cheek. Force myself to remember who he is to me. "Menace," I whisper, the word breaking. Trying to steady my voice in the face of his anger, I call over to my sister again. "Flick, go inside. I'm fine."

Peering past him, I watch as she moves inside the house unhappily.

He opens his eyes, seeking out mine. "Don't take this away from me," he says, his voice tightly coiled.

God, my emotions run riot inside me - a little fear, a little discomfort, and a bucket-load of confusion. "It's just one night," I say, but I know things won't just go back to normal tomorrow. I also know he needs to hear that they may.

He's not Erik.

My trembling fingers move up to caress the swelling on his cheek and under his eye. "What happened to your beautiful face?"

"Boxing."

I lift onto my tippy toes and press my lips to his bruised cheek. "With the hulk?"

He lets out a sound that toes the line between a scoff and a chuckle. "Say, this is what I want." His feverish lips meet mine in a chaste and yet, helplessly needy kiss. Need takes control. His lips become punishing against mine. Demanding something I can't give him tonight.

I recoil.

Stilling, his mouth freezes on mine.

He leans back to gaze at my face, eyes moving around each aspect of my expression. His mien turns dark, distorting into one of pure fury. "You're hearing him, aren't you?" He growls.

He pushes off the car and moves around to the driver's side, every piece of him radiating with rage.

My world tilts a little at his sudden absence. "Don't leave things like this." I rush after him, but when he turns around to meet me, I stumble backwards, my feet taking me away from him. Away from his dark, bruised face. Narrowed eyes.

"Fuck!" he roars. He tears himself away again, ready to just leave, to take away the thing that has my pulse shuddering through my veins. Him. He's scaring me. And it's killing him.

It's breaking me.

How could I let this happen to us?

"Max!" I beg, the heat of tears tightening my throat. "Not like this." My heart leaps out to be with him, but my feet stay rooted to the ground.

Opening the door, he puts one foot up on the step. "Little one, if I don't walk away from you right now, you'll end up over my shoulder. And after that, I don't know what I'll do."

I cover my face, tears bursting from my eyes. I cry for Max. For me. I move away from the car while he climbs inside, knowing I can't push him away and pull him back and mess with his head anymore. The lights flick on, illuminating me in the dark. Through the windscreen, he stares at me