Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (16 page)

When
the shadows started to creep around the corners of the cabin, she
glanced at the clock on the wall. Three hours. He only had one load
and shouldn’t have taken so long. Had he fooled her in to
believing everything would be fine here between them so he could take
off? She hadn’t heard the SUV leave though.

She
peeked out the bedroom window. The light shown bright against the
white-colored ground, but Mik wasn’t moving around inside of
the laundry room. The SUV remained parked in the driveway. Had he run
off through the woods? She slipped her feet into her sneakers, and
grabbed the gun just in case she needed to protect herself. Not only
did the firearm make her feel safer but it might come in handy if she
had to go searching for him.

She
turned the knob. A gust of wind flung the door out of her hand,
crashing into the wall with a bang. Startled, she jumped back and
pulled the door shut behind her. Yanking her hood up to shield her
face, she stepped out onto the porch. The dense snow had already made
a thin coating across the ground. She looked out at the white flakes
in disgust. The glow of the rising moon stayed hidden behind dark
clouds. She shoved her trembling hand in her pocket as she fought the
temptation to flee back to the safety of the cabin. Glancing over to
the woods surrounding the cabin, the trees were barely visible in the
vast darkness. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to go in there for
any reason. She listened for any sound coming from the far edge of
the property. Nothing but the wind softly blowing through the trees.

“
Mik?”
she croaked with the hope that he’d hear her and break the
eeriness swarming around her. When he didn’t answer, she moved
forward.

Hopefully
there’ll be enough light to see once I round the house to the
laundry room.
The cold air bit at her exposed hand. She could put it in the pocket
of her sweatshirt, but fear forced her to hold the gun out in front
of her, ready to shoot at anything rushing out of the dark at her.
She’d have to deal with freezing fingers.

The
ground was slippery as she scurried over the snow. She just wanted to
find him and then get back in the cabin before the snow got any
worse. She tilted her face down to avoid the smack of the wind and
snowflakes against her skin as she made her way around the side of
the cabin.
Please
be in there
.

She
let a breath of relief when the laundry room light shown bright
against the night sky. Either he was in there or he’d forgotten
to turn the light off. She thanked her lucky stars that the light
illuminated a path to the front door. She trudged through the deeper
snow to the door and tried the knob. It didn’t budge.

“
Mik?”
She tried opening it again. This time the door moved a centimeter but
something blocked the wood from moving any farther. With one hand
holding the gun against the weathered-wood and the other grasping the
knob, she gave the door a strong kick.

The
door flew open, sending Mik to his feet and the book he’d been
reading skittering across the floor. “Jesus Christ, Gabi!”

She
swung her gaze to the pile of clothes folded on the top of the dryer,
moved to the book on the floor, and then back up at him. Her eyes
narrowed into tiny slits as she glared at him. “I thought you
were doing laundry.”

“
I
did.” He pointed to the folded clothes on the on the dryer.
“What’s wrong?”

“
You
were gone so long. I thought you had taken off.” She gently
shook the gun to prove her point. “So I came out to find you.”

“
Why
are you carrying that thing around with you again?” He went
over to the dryer and slipped his pants over his shorts. After
putting his shoes back on, he turned toward her again.

“
I
didn’t know you had decided to lounge out here alone.”
Without her. Had he planned on being in here all evening, leaving her
in the cabin alone? The thought stung her heart. “You might’ve
left me behind.”

His
laugh was rich but made her cringe with irritation. “You’d
actually go out there?” Through the open door, he pointed in
the direction of the woods. “In the dark?”

The
very mention of the word dark made her stomach roll. She let out a
feeble “Yes.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she
glanced back at the door and hoped he wanted to escort her back to
the well-lit cabin.

“
You’d
really go out to look for me?” He grabbed the book off the
floor and tucked in under his arm with the rest of the clothes from
the dryer.

Relieved
he wanted to go back with her, she mumbled, “Of course.”
She walked out in the snow.

“
I
wouldn’t want to go out there either.”

She
tried to ignore the comment as she stepped back out into the night.
Going back turned out to be even harder for her than going to the
laundry room because she was no longer walking toward the light.
Darkness loomed everywhere in front of her. She made it halfway
across before stopping to look out at the forest. Expecting his
footsteps pressing against the snow but only greeted by silence, she
glanced back to check for Mik. Nothing but deep shadows followed her.
“Mik?” her voice echoed in the night air and then called
his name a second time.

****

“
I’m
coming,” he said as he walked out in the snow. She was several
feet away from him. The distance provided him a bit of relief. He had
been the one to suggest they start on a friendship even though the
idea seemed out of reach. Hell, he wanted so much more, but he also
had to sit her down in the cabin to find out her reasoning for this
escapade. He’d jumped the gun a bit with the vacation and
friendship suggestion. He needed to know why she had to get them out
of Vegas. Depending on the severity of the reason for them being
here, he might even have to throw her over his shoulder to force her
to go home no matter what they’d agreed on.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

Her
arms dropped down to her sides and she pulled her shoulders back as
her face relaxed, forcing her face to relax, she asked, “Why
wouldn’t I be? This is our vacation, right?”

She
scooped up a handful of snow and formed a ball, then hit him in the
middle of the chest. He stared in shock as the snow crumbled against
him and fell to his feet. Before he could respond, she spun on her
heel and clomped through the snow to the house. He let her hurry
away, granting her the assumption she’d won this playful game,
but he’d get her. And when he did, it was going to be so, so
good.

As
she neared the porch, he called out, “Be careful. The stairs
might be slick.” He knew he’d be there to catch her if
she fell.

Her
laugh rang out to him as she stomped up the stairs, yanked open the
door, and disappeared inside. Before he had a chance to get to the
steps, the bedroom light flicked on, illuminating the porch. He
wanted to believe the light had been turned on for him.

Once
inside he toed off his shoes and restarted the fire. Glancing at the
opened bedroom door, he wondered if she’d meant the inviting
entryway as a way to summon him to join her. Should he go in
?
No,
he wanted to stay away from her. She caused a turbulence in all of
his senses. But yet, he was drawn to her. He glanced at the door
again, stuck in an indecisive moment. Damn. He had to put the clothes
away. “Nice excuse,” he mumbled.

“
What?”
she asked as he walked through the threshold to the bedroom.

“
I
asked if you were hungry.” Not even close to the truth.

She
had curled up on the bed, her dark hair resting against the white
pillow case, looking so comfortable, so unbelievably beautiful. “Not
yet, but I’ll cook in a little while if that’s all right
with you.”

After
setting the clothes on the top of the dresser, he joined her on the
bed while making sure he stayed close to the edge of the bed and far
enough away from her to prevent himself from pulling her into his
arms
.
Just friends for now!

He
needed to bring up the subject of them being here but preferred to
approach it casually. “So tell me about what it was like going
overseas for high school.”

She
twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “Going to school in
Italy had some good points and a little bit of unpleasantness. The
worst was being away from the people I cared about.” She
glanced away from him.

“
Yeah?”
Had she missed him? They hadn’t been friends at that point in
their lives but even so, her absence nearly ripped his heart apart.

She
nodded. “But the experience turned out to be wonderful. I
stayed with distant relatives in the beginning. That provided some
comfort in being so far from home and getting to know them offered a
great distraction. I’d even become close to some of my cousins
which I wouldn’t have had been able to do any other way. While
I was in Italy, I’d formed a group of friends I later traveled
with. For the most part I’m glad my father had forced me to
go.”

“
It
had been a really hard decision for your father to make so I
understand what you mean. You were missed just as much.”
Mikolas had been on top of the list.

The
corners of her mouth turned down in frown. “How do you know?
You were the same age as me so I can’t imagine you were
involved with the Family then.”

He
tore his gaze from hers as heat rushed through his face. “There’s
a lot about the Family you don’t know. Most of it would
surprise you.”

“
So
tell me,” she said, leaning forward, her face lighting up with
interest.

Guilt
turned him away and prevented him from looking at her again. How
could he tell her that he’d shot a guy twice right before he’d
joined her at the table for dinner only a few days ago? He ran his
fingers through his hair, suspecting that if he told her, she’d
view him in a whole new light. No matter how ridiculous the thought
seemed, he would never be like that with her and would rather be the
one dead instead of having her be scared of him. “There is so
much about the Mafia lifestyle you’re better off not knowing.
Trust me, Gabi. If you knew, your life might be put at risk. Is it
worth dying for?” He looked up at her again and let her eyes
lock with his.

She
nudged his leg with her foot. “Then leave out the other the
other stuff and tell me about you. After all, we’re supposed to
be developing a friendship again, right?”

The
contact she’d made with him sent shivers of excitement ripping
through him. He slipped his hand over her foot, giving her a gentle
squeeze. “I do want to be friends with you, but there are
things about me you shouldn’t know about.”

“
What
you do for my father?”

He
slowly nodded, feeling the truth rolling around on the tip of his
tongue, ready to spill out. His throat had gone dry and he tried to
swallow as if the action would prevent him from revealing the
skeleton hanging in his closet.

“
Why
can’t you tell me?”

“
If
you knew what I do for your father, you might change your opinion of
me totally. I can’t have you think badly of me. I can’t
lose what we do have.”

“
If
you can’t share those types of things with me, how do you
expect us to have any sort of relationship?”

“
I
don’t know.”

She
slipped her foot out of his grasp and stood up. “I guess you
need to figure it out, huh? I’m going to start dinner.”
Instead of yelling at him or being angry, she left him sitting there
wondering how the hell this had taken a turn for the worst before
he’d even gotten a chance to find out why she’d brought
them here.

Sighing,
he snatched her pillow, shoved it under his head, and stared up at
the ceiling, trying to clear his head of this entire mess. But the
soft fabric smelled of her perfume, sending the vivid image of her
into his thoughts. He thought about her lying there, staring at him
while his hand was on her foot. His heart swelled in his chest at the
memory and wished he could touch her some more. Could feel the
closeness of her. To love her openly.

He
grabbed his book, opened to the place he’d left off, and tried
to read the sentence. His brain refused to decipher the words.
Closing the book, he said, “Screw this.” Avoiding her
would only score their friendship four steps in the wrong direction.
If they continued playing these child-like games with each other, not
having her would drive him absolutely mad. “Need any help?”