Bound by Hatred (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles 3)

But he didn’t know that. I just wanted this make-out session to be over, so I could grab my laptop and figure out where to run off to next. Sid would find a new girl quickly. His cute Canadian accent, laid-back nature and dreadlocks were a huge hit among German girls.

He didn’t even bother hiding his annoyance, which in turn really made me want to push him off and tell him it was over. “You’re never in the mood,” Sid grumbled. “Jerk me off at least.”

Anger shot through me at his demand. When I didn’t react, he grabbed my hand and pressed it against the bulge in his pants. Where was the peace-loving idealist now?

With a bang, the door flew open. Before either Sid or I could move, three men stalked in. Matteo was one of them. Oh holy shit.CHAPTER EIGHTGianna

Matteo made up the front, dark hair messy and wet from the rainstorm raging outside, his white shirt plastered to his upper body. In that moment, I almost felt silly for thinking I could ever forget him. He was more man than all the guys I’d met combined. His dark eyes settled on me, then on my hand, which was still pressed against Sid’s crotch. There really was no question what he’d walked in on, and his face twisted with fury.

“What the fuck, dudes?” Sid shouted.

‘Shut up¸ Shut up’ I wanted to scream. I didn’t get the chance. Matteo crossed the room in a few steps, grabbed Sid by the arm and hauled him off me. Sid landed on the floor hard, face twisting with pain, then anger. Matteo towered over me, nostrils flaring, eyes almost black, and a look in them that made me want to hide. I met his gaze straight on. He wanted to scare me. My fear was something I’d never give him.

Sid stumbled to his feet and almost lost his fucking pants. He must have unzipped them at some point to make it ‘easier’ for me. He headed for Matteo. I jumped to my feet, knowing I had to intervene before things got even worse.

“Get out of this apartment or I’ll call the fucking cops,” Sid said.

God, no.

Matteo sent me a look that made me realize just how dangerous this situation was. Not for me, but for someone who should have never gotten dragged into the fucking misery that was mob life.

“He doesn’t mean it,” I blurted.

Sid glared. “The fuck I do.” For the moment, he seemed to have forgotten about his peace-loving ideals.

Matteo hadn’t pulled his weapons yet. I wanted to convince myself that it was a good sign but a glimpse at the two men with him made my heart plummet into my shoes. They were both my father’s men and they had already closed the door and were standing beside it with expressionless faces. A closed door was never a good thing. Nothing I could say would change their minds because they were acting on my father’s orders. They would do what he’d told them. There was only one person who could help me now.

Sid got right into Matteo’s face as if he wanted to punch him. Matteo didn’t even twitch, only stared down at Sid with the scariest look I’d ever seen in anyone’s eyes. Even without knowing who Matteo was, Sid must have sensed just how dangerous the man in front of him was. Sid took a step back, his eyes darting between Matteo and me. I jerked into motion and stepped between Matteo and him. “He doesn’t know anything. Please, just let him leave.”

My father’s men laughed and one of them murmured something that sounded remarkably like ‘slut’. Matteo’s expression darkened even further. My father’s men were watching him expectantly. I’d insulted Matteo by running away, and worse by being with another man. In our world there was only one thing a man in Matteo’s position could do to protect his honor. I’d only ever seen Matteo with some variation of an arrogant smile on his face, but there was no trace of amusement now.

“I should probably go,” Sid said suddenly, backing away. “This got nothing to do with me.”

Coward. The moment the thought crossed my mind, I felt bad. Running was really the only sensible thing for him to do. He couldn’t protect me from Matteo or my father’s men, but that he wasn’t even going to try was something I could and would never understand.

One of my father’s men, Stan or something like that if I remembered him correctly, grabbed Sid by the arms. Sid started struggling like a mad man, but it was obvious he’d never had a fight in his life. Stan laughed, ripped Sid’s arms back sharply, then rammed his knees into Sid’s back. With a cry, Sid fell to his knees, only held upright by Stan’s grip.

“Hey! Stop it,” I shouted, wanting to rush toward them, but Matteo snatched my arm, jerking me to a stop. I whirled on him, on the verge of snarling into his face but stopped myself. He was Sid’s only chance, regardless of how ridiculous that sounded.

“Please,” I said, even though begging left a bitter taste in my mouth. Matteo’s dark eyes didn’t even flicker as he peered down at me. Expecting him to help me after what I’d done was preposterous. “Don’t kill him. Just let him go. He’s not a danger.”

“You want me to spare the fucker who had his fucking hands all over you? You let that sucker have what’s mine and want me to let him walk away? That’s what you want from me?” Matteo asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

I swallowed down a nasty retort. I wasn’t his, would never be. Nothing I had done with Sid was Matteo’s business. Even if I had fucked Sid, that still wouldn’t have been his fucking business. Even if I’d fucked every single guy I’d met that still wouldn’t have been his business. I needed to tell him that I hadn’t slept with Sid. Maybe it would placate him if he knew I hadn’t given everything away. His ego would love that there was still something he could take from me. Pride kept my lips sealed.