Sinful Addiction

XIV

ELENA CASSANO

I found Alessio brooding about Emiko in the balcony and convinced him to join me on the dance floor. Mamma informed me that my uncle left a few minutes before I came out and I missed the opportunity to meet him.

I covered my shock with a polite smile, praying that I would never have to come face to face with that monster ever again.

I locked fingers with Alberto—one of Alessio's friends—and smiled tightly as he held me closer to his body. His palm rested just above my ass, twirling his finger around the ends of my black hair.

Papà held Mamma close to his chest as he danced around with her, a fake smile on Mamma's face that I often saw in public. She didn't like to be held by my papà because it was strange for them to be close in embrace.

Alessio was dancing with one of the girls Papà invited tonight. The daughter of one of papà's partners. Mika.

Dark hair that fell in silky curls to the back of her back. Smattering of freckles across her rosy nose. Dimpled cheeks. Deep-set, dark eyes that met mine as Alberto twirled me around.

Mika Costello was known as the angel of the Cosa Nostra. She didn't talk much, but I heard rumors about how she was well-behaved. The perfect wallflower. Caring, quiet, and sweet.

A woman that would be perfect for Alessio. If he was interested in getting married. Papà forced the idea of marriage down his throat because he wanted to retire and pass the title of Capo to Alessio.

Even though I was his daughter, I wouldn't be in the war for the title. Women weren't allowed to become Capo's in the Cosa Nostra.

Such bullshit.

My eyes scanned the crowd till it landed on the Russian. Everything blue. He stood in the half shadows, his face hard, his icy gaze on mine. Filling up the space in the room, and completely crashing my world on its axis.

To my surprise, an arm was curled around his. A woman.

Dark red locks that stopped just below her shoulder. Short. Green eyes lurked around the room. She stood tall, her shoulders brushing his and her red mouth lowered as she whispered a suggestive sentence into his ear.

Something dark flashed in his eyes as they locked on Alberto, an intense look that caused the fine hair on my nape to stand to attention.

His jaw clenched painfully, and he shrugged his arm out of the woman's hold before disappearing into the crowd.

What the hell?

I had so many questions that all radiated from a single thought in my head. Who the hell was that?

Vetrov was a man who captured and devoured the attention of women everywhere. He was a hard man, yet he could be amusing at times. He was a killer, a thief, and a liar, and oddly it made them respect him.

He didn't date. He didn't fuck and hadn't from what I heard from the rumors in town. He didn't like to be touched by others because he disliked it too much, yet he allowed her to touch him.

It didn't make sense, and thinking it only made my head hurt.

I sighed to myself shaking the thought away. It only left a bitter taste in my mouth no matter how much I tried to forget the image of him and the woman together. They looked as real as Alessio and Mika who were dancing together.