Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Two weeks later

I have no idea why I'm here. Except for the fact that I need an escape from reality right now. Because the reality is… I just buried my father. A father my brother killed. A father I'm not mourning one fucking bit.

Santo, though. He's fucking hurting, and that's what's hurting me. Shelli was everything to him. Then to lose her… to find out our father killed her. I can't imagine what's going on in his head. And I can't do a single fucking thing to fix it.

Gio killed the old man, then burned our fucking house down. Now, we're all staying in his penthouse in the city. It's cramped. Five men in one penthouse. The place is huge, but it's not the kind of space we're used to having. At the same time, everyone is mourning the loss of Shelli. She was like a sister to us.

We're also trying to figure out the best way to help Santo. Gio doesn't want our brother left alone. Afraid Santo'll try to do something he can't undo. Basically, he's on suicide watch. The rest of us taking turns monitoring him. I can't say I don't blame Gio for that decision. I've never seen Santo so… destroyed.

I guess the old man finally did it. He's been trying to destroy us since the day we were born. And now, it's as if the light that used to burn bright within Santo is switched off, and I'm not sure it'll ever return. My brother was the glass half-full kind of guy. Always positive, always looking for good in people. He's lost… I just hope one of us can find a way to help him navigate a life without Shelli in it.

Which is why I'm here. Sitting outside of Zoe's house, wondering if I should go in or not. I don't know why I'm so drawn to this woman. Ever since the morning I kicked her out of my bed, I wanted to drag her back into it. It's fucked up. I can't get the chick out of my damn head. Doesn't matter what I'm doing lately. Attending funerals, dealing with the shitshow that is life at the moment. All I want is to drown myself in her.

I know the right thing to do is walk away. If I stay around her too fucking long, the curse is going to touch her too. I've already seen what it's done to Santo and Shelli.

None of that seems to change the fact that I'm here. Just one more time. I don't need to see her again after this. I can fuck her out of my head and get on with my life. With this in mind, I step out of my car and walk across the street.

I've been watching her house for hours. I know she's in there. I've seen her through some of the windows. The moment I realised Dom knew her, I started digging. It didn't take long. Dom has connections in the States. More specifically, a connection with the Valentinos. And Zoe's accent screamed New Yorker. After that, I just had to find a Zoe with ties to the Valentinos. And there was only one of those.

Zoe Petrov.

What intrigued me the most was where that trail ended. Prior to a few years ago, Zoe Petrov didn't exist. All I know is that she lived with Mikhail Petrov, the Russian Pakhan. A scary motherfucker. I mean, the guy married into one of the five Italian families of New York, as a Russian , and survived. The real puzzle is how does Zoe fit into those two families? The Valentinos and the Petrovs.

She's neither Italian nor Russian. That much is clear. But here she is, living in a house most twenty-somethings would never be able to afford. At first, I thought she was joking when she mentioned shooting that guy in the bar. Now, I'm not so sure.

Not that it makes much of a difference to me. I don't need to know how she fits into those crime families. It doesn't matter. Because I'm not going to know her all that long. I can't get attached to a woman. It'll only end in disaster for them.

My endeavours are singular in nature. It's what I do. It makes everything easier.

I approach Zoe's front door, reaching out a hand to ring the bell, and wait. I briefly considered letting myself in. It wouldn't be all that hard. I've already seen the layout of this house. I was tempted to hack into the security cameras but figured that'd be crossing the line. Although I know that's what Dom did when he was stalking… I mean courting Lucy. Worked out pretty well for him.

The door swings open and I have to school the surprise on my face. Fuck, she's hotter than I remembered. Zoe's wearing one of those sundresses with the thin straps, white with yellow sunflowers printed on it. What she's not wearing is a bra. I can see her nipples. They're basically begging my mouth to wrap around them.

It's not her dress that surprises me, though. It's the pistol she's holding in her outstretched hand. The pistol she's pointing directly at me. My dick hardens. Why the fuck am I turned on by the image of her threatening me? That's something no amount of shrinks will ever be able to unpack.

I raise my eyebrows. "Do you always answer the door with such hospitality?"

"What are you doing here, Marcel? And how did you find my house?" she asks, not moving that gun an inch.

"I'm here because I wanted to see you. That's usually why people visit other people, babe. You gonna invite me in, or are we going to stand here pretending like you're actually going to shoot me?" At least I'm hoping like hell she's not going to shoot me.

"What makes you so sure that I won't?"

"Because it doesn't make sense to shoot the guy who gave you the best orgasms of your life. The guy who's here to give you another night full of ?em." I smirk at her. Fuck, I want to reach out and drag her against me. My cock is so fucking ready to come out and play.

She smiles and I think she's on board with the idea of letting me in, both into her house and into her body. And then I see her finger pull back, her hand shifts slightly, and the sound of the gunshot blasts through my ears.

I close the distance between us and dislodge the pistol from her hand within seconds. "You just fucking shot at me," I growl, a little dumbfounded that she actually did it.

"I shot near you. Not at you. That was a warning shot. The next one won't be. Get out of my house, Marcel," Zoe grits out between clenched teeth while keeping her eyes on the gun that's now in my hand.

I follow her line of sight before setting the pistol on the ground and kicking it across the floor. Then I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her against me while my lips graze her neck. "You don't really want me to leave, do you, Zoe? You and I both know you want me to stay. You want a repeat of that night just as much as I do."

Zoe's head shakes. "No, I don't." Her hands lean on my chest and she pushes me back. Or tries to anyway. I'm not letting go of her that easily. And then something shifts. I can feel it instantly.

Zoe's entire body freezes. She literally shrinks in on herself. Her legs buckle and her knees give out on her. If I wasn't holding her right now, she'd be on the ground. It's not just her body language that tells me something is glaringly wrong. It's the ear-piercing scream she lets out that has me taking a step back. I wait until I know she's steady on her feet before I release her and drop my arms though. I don't want to, but something tells me I need to.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

Zoe's eyes glaze over. Her face is ashen. She continues to shuffle back until her body hits a wall. She's not looking at me. She's looking past me. Through me.

"Zoe, what's happening?" I keep my tone even. Calm. While maintaining my distance. I don't want her to feel cornered right now.

She's scared. Whatever's happening, she's fucking terrified and I'm praying it's not of me.

"No. No, no, no, not again," she chants over and over as her body sinks to the floor.

"Zoe, I want to help you but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's happening." I crouch down in front of her, slowly moving forward on my knees. I have a feeling I know what she's talking about, but I hope that I'm fucking wrong…

Her eyes focus on me and she frowns. "I can't. I can't do this."

"Do what?" I ask her. "What did I do?"

"You shouldn't be here." Her voice is barely a whisper.

"I am here, though, and I'm not leaving you like this," I tell her. "I want to help you. Tell me what to do."

"I need my phone… Where's my phone?" Her eyes flick around but she doesn't move.

"Where'd you have it last?"

Zoe points to a room behind me. I push up to my feet and walk that way. I find her phone on a coffee table. I swipe it up and rush back to where she's still sitting on the floor in the foyer.

The gun's not far, so I reach out and pick it up before going back to Zoe and handing her both items. She looks at me inquisitively. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Because you're afraid, and I don't fucking like it," I tell her.

Zoe looks down at her phone and then at the gun. I don't know what she's thinking. What has her this fucking scared. I also don't know why I care so much. That last one is the one that bothers me the most. I don't know this girl. Other than the fact I know how good her pussy feels around my cock.

"I usually call Izzy when I feel like this. She helps," Zoe says.

"Okay, call her."

"I don't think I need to." She peers up at me. No matter how small and unthreatening I try to make myself, she's still so fucking tiny.

"Why?" I ask her.

"You're not… You're not going to hurt me."

"No, I'm not. I will never do anything you don't want me to do, Zoe. I'm not that guy." Though I would love to know the name of that guy . The one who hurt her. Because it's evident that someone has.