Page 18 of Vows of Blood

Vito winds between my ankles, meowing pointedly at his empty food bowl.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you."

I pour the last of the kibble into his dish and make a mental note to buy more, adding it to the list of things I can’t afford.

On the counter, my nursing textbooks sit in a neat stack, mocking me. I’m falling behind, working more than studying lately to keep up with my bills, and somehow failing spectacularly at both.

Well, with Bellini’s likely closed for the foreseeable future, I’ll have lots of time to catch up, if not anything to eat.

I stare at the framed photo on the narrow console table, my parent’s smiling faces staring right back, the picture taken on my first day of college.

They were so proud.

None of us knew how horribly wrong it was all about to go.

Before my thoughts can drag me any deeper, I continue to my bedroom, stepping out of my shoes as I go. Nothing will make me feel better tonight except sleep and a hot shower to get the dried blood off my skin.

I shrug off Luca's jacket and toss it onto the mattress, closing my eyes as the memory of Luca’s fingers sliding along the collar, thumbs skimming across my skin, has my pulse soaring again.

Suddenly, I’m transported back, and I’m standing under an awning outside my dorm, the handsome man who was a stranger just twenty minutes ago, now draping his coat over my bare shoulders, staring down at me with those warm, brown eyes.

“Wait here.”

Dressed only in a white T-shirt and jeans, he sprints back to his pick-up truck, immediately soaked by the torrential rain, and hauls my bike from the bed. His T-shirt is practically see-through, plastered to an impressive set of abs, as he carries it back to me, a flat tire making it impossible to ride.

With a shake of his floppy brown hair, he sets it down in front of me before his gaze drops to my skinned knees.

“Shit. Are you hurt?” Scanning me from head to toe, he seems genuinely worried, but I laugh his concern off.

“Nothing but my pride.” Face planting off my bike in front of, who I now know to be the hottest man on campus, has scarred me for life. There’s no recovering from this.

“Thank you so much. Here.” I move to slide off his coat, but he shakes his head, pulling the lapels together to keep it closed.

“Keep it. You can give it back to me tomorrow.”

Confused, I smile at him, one eyebrow raised. “Tomorrow?”

He gives me a broad grin, one side of his full mouth lifting up with boyish charm as he backs away, not seeming to care that he’s getting soaked all over again by the pouring rain. “When I bring you to get your bike fixed.”

“Goddamn it, Sienna,” I mutter, yanking my fingers back like they’ve been burned just as Vito appears in the doorway, eyeing the garment with interest. "Don't even think about it."

He meows, affronted, and makes a beeline for the bed.

I scoop him up before he can get his claws on expensive fabric and deposit him in the hallway, closing the door on his indignant yowling.

When my temperamental shower sputters to life, I'm grateful the hot water heater is working tonight. Small miracles.

After turning on the taps in the bath for after, I step under the spray and scrub my arms, watching, oddly detached, as the water runs pink at my feet, Kate's blood, swirling down the drain.

The pop, pop of gunshots fills my ears, and I squeeze my eyes shut, not ready for the flashbacks that flood my mind. But as bad as the shooting was, it’s only when I recall the horror on Luca’s face when he saw me, and his attempt to have me removed from the party, that I let the tears fall.

Even if they reopen the restaurant next week, I can’t go back there.

Bellini’s was the only thing keeping me afloat. Now, it belongs to him.

6

LUCA