The Mafia Saved Me [SAMPLE BOOK]

Chapter 23 [SAMPLE]

POV Victoria

I don't sleep all night; it's around ten a.m., and getting out of bed is difficult when I know it means I'll leave a particular person behind. So, I don't get up. Instead, I stare at the space ahead and reminisce over the last few days. Only to realize I've never had so much fun or felt so happy in my entire life.

I don't understand how I can feel this much grief from having to leave a place and people I hardly know anything about. But the pain is there, and questioning why it's there won't do anything to alter it.

I'm curled to my side when the door to the room opens. I freeze as heavy footsteps sound from behind me. Leo's strong, musky scent fills my nose, and I pretend to be asleep.

The left side of the bed drops as he takes a seat. The familiar gentle touch of his hand strokes my cheek, bringing little tingles to the skin.

His deep voice fills the silence, and he thinks I'm sleeping.

"Victoria, the first time I saw you, you stole the breath right out of me. The fear you had across your face had my blood rushing and my eyes seeing red." I hear the loud, rhythmic beating of my heart in my ears, and I have to take slow breaths to steady the pulsing.

Why is he telling me this? What about Cleo?

"After I lost you, I was a mess, and when I found you tied to that bed with a man on top of you, something inside me snapped. I didn't understand these feelings, but I do now after spending time with you." His voice has an edge, and my heart tugs as I listen to him. "I want to be selfish and take you with me to Italy. But I can't. You have a life back in California where your family waits for you."

His face lowers, his lips are near my mouth, and my heart races violently inside my chest, and I'm sure it will burst any second.

"Bambina, you have a bright future, and I can't take that away from you. Which is why I'm letting you go. Even if it'll make me miserable." He kisses the corner of my mouth, and the heat from his lips radiates throughout my body, sending sparks.

The bed shuffles and his retreating footsteps slowly fade away.

I want to tell him I don't want to go back home, but I can't do it. It's an absurd idea. It's like he said, my life is in California.

My heart hurts from going back and forth between wanting to be with my family and my savior.

Frustrated, I rise from the bed and run my fingers through my hair. Leo's words race around in my mind like a carousel, and my stomach churns when Cleo comes to mind.

I can't throw myself at a man who's likely already taken, and I won't settle for being the other woman. No matter how much it hurts to turn the other cheek.

A sigh escapes my lips, and I wipe the single tear from my cheek. Stretching the inevitable is no use, and I have to get ready.

The white blouse with a sweetheart neckline lays next to Leo's black T-shirt. The one I wore the first night I woke up in this room.

When I extend my hand to grab the white blouse, my fingers detour, and I find myself in Leo's shirt instead. His scent clings to the fabric, and his cologne comforts me.

When I'm dressed, I slowly make my way downstairs, and my legs shake with every step.

I enter the kitchen, and I'm met with a quiet Sofia pulling apart a chocolate croissant. Francisco sits beside her, not a word uttered between the two.

When she sees me, she gives me a sad smile. I return the gesture with one of my own before pouring myself a cup of coffee, since I have no appetite.

When I sit on a stool, Luca, Kaden, and Angelo enter the room.