He pauses for a moment as everything sinks in. He's betrayed by his own people... maybe it's because he had to betray them to some extent thanks to me.

Guilt squeezes my throat. Marco was right. The thought scathingly crosses my mind. He was right from the start. Elio is trying to keep me safe, and he's making a shit ton of enemies for himself... while I've been busy making his life worse than it already is.

Perhaps Elio's right too. I've been too reckless, way too blinded by what I've been taught is right and wrong.

For the first time, I have nothing to say. The worst part is, I hate seeing him this way for some undefined reason. So resigned and dejected... so unlike himself. And it scars me that I care.

By now, I know I won't be making out of this alive. Now Elio's added to that list and it's too jarring for comfort.

He goes on, "Pietro is blatantly considering killing me because he thinks I'm a shitty capo and not good enough for Cosa Nostra. Only because I kept you alive and took your side."

He points at the ceiling and looks at me. "You see that Campbell, the heavens are listening to you. I'm going to be killed by my underboss. Congratulations."

I frown at him. "I don't want you to die." The words tumble out of my mouth before I get the chance to think them through.

It surprises both of us.

Elio laughs, the same icy harsh laughter I hate, while shaking his head.

Uneasily, I gulp as my comment registers in my head. I don't want him to die. I never wanted him to die. In a vain attempt at clearing up my stupid statement, I add, "I don't want anyone to die because of me, even you."

"So generous," he mocks.

I roll my eyes. The last thing I need is for him to know I care like an idiot.

He leans toward me. "If I die, you're next in line. I hope you're aware of that because no one is going to keep you alive."

Holding his dark gaze, begrudgingly I admit, "I know."

He nods. "Good." Elio returns to staring at the wall, crossing his arms. "I sent away those two who were with Franco. You have nothing to be worried about."

I nibble my bottom lip. "Thanks," I mumble, dropping my eyes to the floor. "Where will I be staying from now on?"

"The room you woke up in," he replies, as if it's the most obvious thing ever.

"But your mom-"

"Don't worry about her, I'll talk to her again."

"Whose room is it?" I ask, and Elio instantly freezes. My brows knit together as his demeanor suddenly closes off.

"It's just a room, Cerise," he snaps.

Taken aback by his tone, I gape at him.

Elio sighs and shakes his head, shoving his hand through his hair, ruffling it even more. "I'm sorry, it came out wrong. I don't have the headspace for going on another round of argument with you right now. You know all the things you wanted to know-"

"No, I don't," I sharply cut him off, not allowing him to throw me out of his room just yet. "I want to know why Slava mentioned the room the second she saw me."

He groans and sinks into the spot on the edge of the backrest. "It's my sister's room, happy now?"

I gawk at him. "You have a sister?"

He rubs his face instead of answering me.

I gasp. "But every record I've come across about your family and your dad says he had only one son... wow!" I pause and tilt my head, furrowing my brows. "Have you talked to her? She doesn't mind if I stay in her room? And what'll happen when she comes back? Are you sure she doesn't mind? I mean I can-"

"Cerise," he interrupts me, releasing a slow exhale, clenching and unclenching his jaw before setting his eyes on me.

I fail to discern the emotions swirling in them.

"She's not here."

"Oh, where does she live?" I snort and shake my head. "Don't tell me you wed her off to another powerful mafioso."

He opens and closes his mouth and the small smile on my face instantly vanishes the second I note the raw pain twisting his features. Shit, did I say something wrong?

"She's-" he starts but halts, his gaze sweeps across the room as he inhales sharply and pulls a mask devoid of emotion over his face. He locks his brown eyes with mine and says, "Kira was killed... fifteen years ago."

Shit. "I-I'm so sorry."

Killed? Who killed her, though?

Wait a second, Kira... as in Kira Mariano... KM. Holy shit!

My head automatically whirls around, stealing a glance at the drawer I had seen the revolver inside of.

Sensing Elio's burning scrutiny fixed on the side of my head, I don't dare to turn and face his anger. Maybe I should've left when he wanted me to.

He sighs. "It was hers... Our father gifted it to her on her sixteenth birthday, three weeks before she was killed."

I gasp and cover my mouth. What sort of monster kills a sixteen-year-old girl for power and rivalry?

These gangsters are truly vicious.

I turn back to Elio. "I'm-"

"You don't need to pretend in front of me. I told you to put up an act in front of my men," he huffs.

I purse my lips and snuffle out my irritation. Inching closer to him and as gently as I can, I tell him the truth. "I'm not pretending. No sixteen-year-old deserves to die because a bunch of men have a problem with her father, or want more money and power."

His Adam's apple bobs as he avoids sparing a glance at me. At last, he inhales deeply and meets my gaze. "She was a part of Cosa Nostra."

"She was born into it, it's not like she could've done anything about it at sixteen. She was innocent... I'm sorry you lost her so early on. I don't have siblings, but I'm sure it must've been awful. She didn't deserve to be killed, and none of you deserved to go through that grief."

I note how slowly his hardened features soften, his tense shoulders relaxing.

Out of sheer curiosity, I dare to ask, "Did you guys kill her murderer?"

Elio squints at me, slightly cocking his head to one side. "The man who did it, yes, the man who ordered the guy to do it, no."

I nod, clasping my hands in front of me. "Maybe I can help you with-"

"No."

I frown. "Why not? It's a tough case since it's been years, and finding evidence will be really hard... but if you know who the guy is, maybe I can find a way to make him pay for what he did."

He studies me for a lengthy moment. "You truly don't know who did it, do you?"

My eyebrows squish together. "How would I? I didn't even know you had a sister."

He scrutinizes me for a while longer. "You're right," he mumbles, and his gaze falls away.

"Your mom hates me enough already, and staying in your sister's room just makes it worse. But this time around I can't even blame her for not wanting me anywhere near that room, can't you give me another place?"

He shakes his head and draws his gaze back up to me. His chestnut eyes glint with something I can't identify. "There's no need for that-"

"You're being unfair to her. She has all the right to be mad at me, and you for doing this."

A corner of his mouth twitches upwards and my heart beats faster. Suddenly, it dawns on me, I missed this side of him, his stupid crooked smiles and everything.

Internally I smack myself.

"It's the safest place in the house. You're one wall away from me. No one will dare to harm you."

"Wait, what?"

He smirks at me, losing the ghost of concern and pain lining his face. "Don't worry, my monster-like traits won't rub off on you... unless there's another problem... perhaps being in the room next to mine, knowing you'll be sleeping so close to me-"

"Shut up, you asshole," I cut him off and try to glare at him, but the soft and melodic laughter erupting from him makes it ridiculously hard.

My heart flutters and I hate myself for being so drastically affected, and how relief floods me seeing him returning to his annoying self.

"Arrogant prick," I mutter.

Once he quiets down, a lopsided grin plays on his full lips, and he leans toward me. Staying seated on the backrest, Elio's almost the same height as me. It's easier to hold his gaze.

"I was starting to get worried; it had been too long since the last time you called me an asshole."

I glower at him and his smile widens, but soon his features give way to curiosity and wonder. His gaze grows more intense as he leans closer to me.

With one hand, he reaches out and twirls a stray strand of my hair around his fingers. "I wonder if I'll ever be able to fully understand you."

His low voice seeps into me and my breath hitches; his hot breathing on my lips tingles my skin.

Breathlessly I whisper, "I'm not that hard to understand."

A small smile curls his lips. "Believe me, you are." He hesitantly reaches for my clasp hands and lightly brushes his fingers over their back, electrifying my skin and bringing every cell to life.

Unable to look anywhere but his burning eyes, my body pulls me closer to him. My hands unclasp, and a finger at a time our hands reach for each other, our fingers hesitant at first, tenderly stroke and feel the other one. The slight roughness of his calloused fingertips is an enthralling contrast to his gentle movements.

"I'm glad I let Marco convince me to keep you alive that night..." he softly admits. I blink a few times and tilt my head in confusion.

"He was the one monitoring you. He kept saying you're different, unlike the other Campbells, but I didn't believe him." His hand slides down the strand of hair it was playing with and drifts to my face. His touch is featherlight as he places his fingertips over my cheek.

My heart hammers in my chest. I can't think about anything but his touch; the tingling sensations, the little knots tying and untying in my chest and stomach.

"I'm glad you're different," he murmurs, coming closer to me, intertwining our fingers together. The warmth of his palm hyper-alerts my senses.

I try to steady my breathing, but it's useless. Elio's breathing grows heavier too. The burst of his exhales fan my lips.

"Please don't do anything that'll make me regret my choices, tesornio." The desperation in his tone and the longing in his eyes render me speechless. His gaze drops to my lips, lingering before jumping back to my eyes.

"You'll see you did the right thing when we get out of this alive and unscathed," I breathe out, my voice uncharacteristically unsteady and soft. I lick my bottom lip before biting it.

This is wrong. So damn wrong. Elio and I have to stay as far away from each other as possible. He's already paying a heavy price just for keeping me alive. Not to forget, I'm a prosecutor. Once this ordeal is over, we'll go back to being real enemies.

A corner of his lip tugs upwards. "You can't imagine how badly I want you to be right." He cups my cheek, running the pad of his thumb over my cheekbone. My heart flutters.

"Sei come il peccato," he huskily says. "Il frutto proibito." Elio moves even closer, leaving way less than an inch between us.

My eyes close; the way he's speaking Italian is doing weird things to me. My insides burn and clench. Every cell of my body aches for his touch.

"Dannazione a me per averti voluto." His lips hover over mine, slightly grazing mine as he gruffly speaks, snatching my breath away.

Just as I'm certain he's going to put an end to my miserable state and eliminate the small gap between us, a sharp knock on his door snaps us out of our dazed state.

I abruptly jump back, heat rushing up my cheeks as I fix my stare on the floor. Even though I sense Elio's eyes boring into me, I don't look at him.

He clears his throat, just as the door opens and Marco walks in. "Elio-" He halts and glances between us. His furrowed brows smoothen out and his hazel eyes light up. He opens his mouth, this time looking like an excited kid.

"Non iniziare," Elio growls, but the mischievous smile spilling over Marco's face gives away whatever warning Elio threw at him, he's about to flick it out the window.

"I-I have to go. See you around, bye," I blabber as I scurry out of the room.

Just as I reach the staircase, Marco's guffaws ring in the hallways and I have a feeling it's very much related to the state he found us in.

Sure, it's not like we had gone all the way, but given our circumstances, it's just as bad. Elio and I have to stay as far away from each other as possible.

❈ ☯︎ ❈

They almost kissed! xD Aahhh, who wanted it to happen? 👀 certainly I didn't, lmao XD

I guess a lot of you had forgotten about the revolver, but hey, now the mystery is solved... and comes the second mystery, who killed her? =)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to hit that star button if you did (or if you simply want these two forbidden lovers to kiss xD).

Well, thank you for reading this chapter, the next one will be up tomorrow

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡