Page 104 of Tempting My Mafia Monster

I stood motionless, watching her brown ringlets bounce over Giovanni’s arm with each hurried stride he took.

“Moriarty, let’s go. Now,” Alessio commanded, opening the pool house door. Somehow, I made it inside. I barely heard what Alessio was saying as he led me through the house. I blinked at him when he stood in front of me, arms folded, an uncomfortable look on his face.

“Soraya’s been struggling since she came back,” he said carefully. “She hasn’t opened up about what happened to her in Ireland. You may not remember her, but she definitely remembers you.”

I exhaled, hiding my trembling hands behind my back.

His eyes narrowed. “Is there something we should know? Did anything happen between you two?”

“I don’t remember what happened.”

“That doesn’t fill me with confidence.” He pursed his lips and stared at me, waiting for me to crack. He wasn’t convinced I’d lost my memory. He didn’t trust me. I’d expected this. There was nothing I could do about it, but I’d expected it.

What I hadn’t expected was how my body would react to seeing a woman I didn’t remember.

He huffed and headed for the door. “We will come for you in the morning. Men will be outside all night, and we have surveillance throughout the estate. Try anything, and you’ll be shot on sight.”

He gave me a last look, then slammed the front door shut behind him, locking me inside. I moved through the house, not taking in a single detail until I found a bedroom. After kicking off my trainers, I fell back on the soft mattress and pressed my hand over my heart, willing it to calm the fuck down.

I didn’t sleep. Her face haunted me all night. I stared at the ceiling, unable to switch my mind off until sunlight crawled across it through the window.

By the time someone knocked on the door, there was only one thing I was sure of. Coming here was a mistake.

Untrue

“Buongiorno,” Liliana said, handing me a steaming mug as I pulled myself up in bed, squinting against the bright light. The pounding in my temples and queasiness told me that those three bottles of wine we demolished last night were not the best idea we’d ever had. “I brought you coffee. I tried to find the biggest mug I could.”

“Grazie,” I grumbled, taking the first sip. She perched on the edge of my bed, her light brown hair perfectly styled in a high ponytail and her face fresh as a fucking daisy. “Are you even hungover?”

“A little.” She smiled, but tension lingered beneath. She licked her lips and inhaled. “Do you remember what happened last night, when my papi came back and found us outside?”

A fractured memory slammed into me, and I closed my eyes, pressing my hand to my forehead. I thought one soldier was Maddox. I even grabbed him. I bet they all thought I had lost my goddamn mind. Cristo, maybe I had if I was seeing ghosts instead of real people.

“Vaguely. How angry is Gio? Did I make a complete idiot of myself? God, never let me drink again. My mind can’t be trusted not to think every dark-haired, tattooed man is my dead lover.”

She stared at me, then reached for my hand. She looked as though she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Raya. You didn’t imagine it. It was him. Maddox is alive. And he’s here.”

For a split second, I wanted to punch her for making such a cruel joke. But then I remembered Liliana didn’t have a cruel bone in her body, and she wouldn’t lie. Not about this.

“W-what?”

“He survived. Maddox is here. Alessio heard from his underground contacts that a new fighter had appeared in Verona. A man who called himself Monster. Irish. That’s why Alessio turned up out of the blue last night and took Giovanni to watch the man’s next fight to make sure it really was the same person. Don’t worry, I haven’t told them anything. I wasn’t sure what you wanted them to know, but they brought him back here after he—”

I dropped the mug, spilling boiling coffee over my bedding. I shot out of bed. I couldn’t breathe. Not until I knew for sure. Not until I saw him with my own eyes. I sprinted for the door, not caring that I was still in last night’s clothes and that my hair was a knotted bird’s nest.

“Raya, wait!” Lili shouted, running after me. She grabbed my arm and spun me around. My chest heaved as I tried to draw in air, my eyes wildly scanning her face. “Papi and Alessio want to talk to you before they let you see him.”

“Lili, I need to see him!” I threw my hands into my hair. My body was rocking. “Where is he—”

“Raya,” Gio’s voice travelled up the stairs towards us before he came into view. I spun around. He took one look at me and clearly thought I belonged in a crazy asylum. “We need to talk.”

I stormed towards him. “Is it true?” My voice wobbled with emotion. I swallowed hard, knowing I needed answers, not to fall apart. “Is Maddox alive?”

His eyes narrowed. “You knew his real name?”

Cazzo. I wasn’t thinking carefully about any of this. I just needed to see him. “Please. Gio. Is he still here?”

“Si,” Gio said, and I slammed my hand over my mouth.