So even though I wanted to take her that very first time, I didn’t. I returned to Italy as my father requested, but not before making a vow to her I intend to keep. She’ll forever be my topolina, and we will meet again.
When I think back on it, my blood boils, but I push it away. It doesn’t matter anymore because I’m here. That’s the benefit of having connections all over the world. After I returned to Italy, I lost track of her for a while, but money goes a long way in getting what you want.
And for Siân, I’d pay any fucking price
When my guy found her, I smiled for the first time in my life. She’d moved and changed her name. Back then, she went by another moniker, something plain that blended in with the rest of the females in her town. But today, she’s taken back her namesake, Siân, only now, she’s chosen Danforth as her surname.
Siân and her friend draw closer, giving me a better view of her face. She’s as fucking gorgeous as she was all that time ago. Not that I expected anything different. She’s always been beautiful. I’m not the only one to notice it. My hands form into fists when a group of guys turns to watch her ass. Unlike her friend, who seems to enjoy the attention, Siân wraps her arms around herself and directs her focus into her phone.
A grin forms on my lips. “That’s my girl,” I mutter to myself.
It’s clear to me from the slouch of her shoulders and the somber expression that she’d rather be anywhere but here. The two couldn’t be any more different. Siân is more reserved and quiet. When I knew her last, she stayed to herself. Never in a million years would she be caught dead in a place like this.
But I guess when you start over and try to erase the life you’ve run from, you change everything about yourself. Except people like us, people born into a world of chaos, we eventually learn that it’ll follow us everywhere. It’s ingrained in our DNA, and the sooner one accepts that fate is inevitable, one will unlock their potential.
She disappears into the bar after her friend, and the doors muffle out the loud music when they close. There’s a large window in the front, but soon, a line wraps around the building, blocking my view. I’ve gone too long without seeing her, and I’ll be damned if I go a minute longer.
I exit the car, letting the door slam shut after securing my gun in my waistband under my shirt. I pull on my leather jacket as an extra precaution. The need to use my weapon will probably never arise tonight, but I don’t go anywhere without it.
Crossing the street, I walk to the front of the line, ignoring all the pissed-off rants from those waiting to enter the bar. The bouncer doesn’t hesitate to accept the hundred-dollar bill I hold out and moves aside to let me in. Immediately, I’m met with the stench of cigarettes and alcohol. It’s loud on the other side of the threshold, the music drowning out the voices of everyone around me. A thick cloud of smoke sticks to the ceiling that’s caked with tar from years of tobacco buildup. Cheap, backless stools line a single bar on the left side of the room just off the entryway. Old picture frames adorn the dark-colored walls along with beer posters and other dated marketing material.
It’s a full house. The bar is jam-packed with swaying bodies as people dance, converse, and indulge in their drinks of choice. It’s not a place I would have ever imagined Siân in. She’s not the partying type, and in the past, she’s stayed to herself.
I scan the room in search of her, finding her a moment later at the bar. She’s ineffectively trying to wave over the bartender, her frustration growing with each passing second.
I trail my gaze down her frame, letting it linger on the curve of her ass. Life has definitely treated her well. Siân turns, and I catch a glimpse of her face. Just like back in the car, my dick stirs at the sight of her. Green eyes point in my direction, but it’s more as if she’s looking through me. Then she pouts and puts her attention back on the bar.
My spine tingles in anticipation, and my feet move toward her all on their own. And just like that, destiny has spoken, and for the very first time, my topolina will know my name, and by the end of this, she’ll be screaming it.
2
SIN
The smell of smoke, sweat, and liquor permeates the air, filling my nostrils and swirling deep in my lungs with each breath I take. Kyla stands beside me in the packed bar. It’s the last place I’d prefer to be tonight, but Kyla insisted.