Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Metal strikes metal like a giant monster smashing an anvil.
Squealing tires.
Crashing glass.
Something hits me in the solar plexus and I can’t breathe.
The knowledge that this is it. I’m going to die.
I’m going to die, and I haven’t even lived yet.
I hit my head and the world goes dark.
When I open my eyes, brilliant white clouds float above me. I’m disoriented and confused. There’s grass and something wet beneath me. The ringing in my ears blocks out all other sounds. My heart races and I’m breathing rapidly, but I feel as if I’m floating above my body, like I’m numb and detached from the present.
No.
No.
I don’t want to die. Not now. Not when there’s a whole life ahead of me.
Did I die?
I blink. I blink again. The ringing in my ears begins to dissipate and I’m aware of a throbbing pain in my shoulder.
The first thought I have is a blissful surge. I’m not dead.
The second thought wipes out any joy the first brought. Mario.
I push myself up to a sitting position, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. Far, far ahead of me there’s a guardrail bent as if a sci-fi movie monster came and twisted it. Smoke rises into the blueness of the sky, and sirens wail far, far in the distance.
I look around me, my vision blurred, trying to find Mario. My heart races in my chest when I see the twisted metal that was his car. I stand, shocked that I can still walk, but my legs don’t hurt, and I can walk just fine. I propel myself forward, through the smoke. The car could explode at any second, but I don’t care, Mario’s in that rubble and I’ll find him if it kills me.
“Mario!” My voice is hoarse. I try again. “Mario!”
I almost give up hope when I see him. Under a pile of mangled rubble, it looks as if the entire roof of the car’s pressed onto his chest.
No.
“Mario!” The sound of sirens comes closer. The ringing in my ears starts again and I hear nothing but the beating of my heart.
“Mario!” I scream his name, hoping for a sign of life. I’ve seen my father and my brother die. Not my cousin. Not my best friend.
No.
I fall to my knees and reach for his wrist. The faintest beat pulses against my fingers.
He’s alive.
A pop and flare of flames tells me the car’s leaking gas. We have minutes, if not seconds. I reach for him, but he’s trapped beneath the weight of the twisted metal. I quickly assess the situation.
I know what I have to do. I get to my feet and grab the solid parts of the hot metal. I’ve lifted for years; I know I can do this. I throw everything I have into it, fueled by adrenaline, and with a rage-fueled scream, lift the twisted metal and shove the car off him..
Mario groans. I lift him, toss him over my shoulder, and leap to safety as a second pop is followed by a bang! Heat flares against my back as I fall onto the grass with him and role as the car explodes into fire behind us.
CHAPTER NINE
Eden
I’m serving up a platter of my best homemade sugar cookies when there’s a commotion. Sergio’s younger brother Timeo stands behind me on the phone, gesturing to Gino. Gino grabs his phone.
“Where are they?” Gino barks. He nods and snaps his fingers at a younger man in a suit by the door as he and Timeo hustle toward the door to the club. I exchange glances with the kitchen staff, but no one else seems to know what’s happening either.
This is none of my business, I need to focus on work. I don’t want to involve myself in something that doesn’t have anything to do with me.
I’ve barely started picking up the mixing bowl and baking sheets when someone walks past the door to the kitchen, crying. I catch a glimpse of Marialena’s gorgeous hair as she sweeps past, intent on running outside to the parking lot.
Oh, no.
No.
Something is wrong.
“Marialena!” She pauses in the hall, turning to me with a tearstained face. “What happened?”
“Mario and Sergio were in an accident,” she says in a choked voice.
Ice pulses in my veins and I cover my mouth with my hand.
“Are they okay?” I finally manage to whisper, but I know the answer before she gives it to me. One shake of her head, and she leaves.
I slide my apron off and head to the hallway. The door to the parking lot behind the building’s wide open… and so’s the doorway that leads to the club.
The club, which I’ve been strictly forbidden from entering. The club, where I’ll find everyone who has any answers. Where people will know if Sergio is okay.
If he’s alright, he’s not going to be happy that I’ve entered his club, but if he isn’t… he’ll never know, I realize with a tightening in my throat that’s foreign to me.