CHAPTER TWENTY

BELLA

One Week Later…

Life without Nico has been odd, to say the least. I imagined I’d go back to my life and things would be normal, but I don’t know what normal is anymore. I’m kind of lost. I sit watching tv while I sip my coffee, when my world is rocked to its core. A special report breaks through the episode of some stupid sitcom I’ve been watching.

“We’ve just learned that Nico Bonetti, better known as Reaper, has been killed in his home. Nico was the son of the late Lorenzo Bonetti, former head of the Bonetti Family, and is survived by his brothers, his sister, and his mother, Lucia Bonetti. He died from stab wounds a week ago. No further details are available at this time, but we will keep you updated on any developments.”

I killed him.

All the air escapes from my lungs, as the coffee cup shakes in my hand uncontrollably before slipping to the floor. This is what I wanted, right? To be free of him forever? To never hear his voice again. Never feel his fingers digging into my skin. Never see that look of desperate need in his eyes. Falling to my knees, I cry out for him, as my world comes crashing down. A strangled sob gets trapped in my throat, and the world goes black.