Trapped in his End Game (Series)

Already teary eyed, I turn my head into his and his lips fall against mine. He takes my head in his hands as his soft lips kiss mine. I don’t feel anything as he kisses me, except a burning betrayal of Vince. It’s wrong. I love him. Carmine’s a nice man. He’s an attractive, sweet guy, but I just don’t have feelings for him.

But that’s not the point.

Pretend he’s Vince.

Without seeing his face, it’s easy. My hands travel up and down his body, up his hard, lean muscles, around his flat chest, searching for a bump somewhere. A wireless microphone.

God, I miss Vince. I give up on the search and bury my fingers in his short hair, deepening our kiss as he plays with the shoulder straps of my dress. I break away from him and kiss his bristly jawline, imaging Vince’s face, his lips parted in bliss. I plant kisses under his jaw, right under his ear. Low laughter shakes through his chest.

“You’re a vixen.”

Carmine’s voice snaps me out of it and I pull back, his arms still around me. He regards me like an art connoisseur analyzing a sculpture. His actions are perfectly measured and controlled, unlike Vince. His blue eyes burn brighter and his finger moves along my bottom lip, teasing as he leans in closer.

A loud, banging sound at the front door makes me spring away from him.

“Open the fucking door!”

Both of us recognize that voice.

“Oh, no.” I give Carmine a terrified look. “Vince.”

Carmine gently moves me from his lap and stands up, looking unworried but determined. His hair is a little disheveled as he makes a beeline for the door.

Oh, fuck. This is going to get ugly.

He unlocks the door and opens it, moving his body in front of the crack. “What?”

“I know she’s here. Open the fucking door.”

Vincent’s deep voice fills the living room. My heart soars at the sound of his voice, reminding me how much I can’t stand to be away from him.Content © NôvelDrama.Org.

“I don’t take orders from you, Cesare.”

He takes a deep breath. I can hear him reining in his anger. “I heard what happened. I just want to see if she’s all right.”

“She’s fine.” The smirk appears in his voice. “More than fine.”

The door creaks as he opens it wider, so that the sliver of Vince can see me sitting on Carmine’s couch. Vincent’s dark eyes zero in on me, and then he bursts inside, shoving aside Carmine like a bear swatting a cub. I have to fight the joy I feel when I see him, because it’s bad for him to be here.

Vince stands on the other side of the coffee table. His face is lined with fatigue, and his hair grew a little longer. He looks me over and takes in my appearance, my frazzled hair and the strap of my dress pushed down my shoulder. Then he looks at Carmine, who shrugs with a shit-eating grin.

“What the fuck is this?” he bellows to Carmine, who looks supremely unconcerned. He gazes back at me, his eyes full of poison.

“It’s really none of your fucking business.” Carmine says in an icy voice as he walks in between me and Vincent.

The betrayal on Vince’s face is like a knife through my heart. “You’re with this piece of shit now?”

“Careful, asshole.” Carmine finally shoves Vince’s chest.

He looks so wounded that he doesn’t even try to fight back. His eyes never leave my face as desperate hope keeps him from lashing out.

I swallow hard under his tortured stare. “Vince, we broke up. It’s none of your-”

Pain momentarily fills his face. I’ve hurt him. Again. I hate myself.

“You fucking bitch!” He takes a step towards me, but Carmine grabs the back of his jacket and yanks him back.

“Easy.”

“Vince!” I can’t believe he’d call me that, but of course he would. He thinks that Carmine and I are-

“You lied to me,” he says in a deadly voice as Carmine holds him back. “I let you go so you could have a normal life with a normal guy. The second you’re free, you run into the arms of another guy who’s connected? What the fuck, Adriana!”

“Vince-” My eyes well with tears.

It’s not true! I love you, I love you!

“It just happened. I didn’t plan-”

“Fuck you!” His red face crumples with pain and rage. “You ripped my fucking heart out!”

Carmine shoves Vince’s chest hard as he backs out of the room. “All right, that’s enough.”

The disgust contorting his face makes me think that he’ll unleash his wrath on Carmine, and I’m right. He whirls around faster than Carmine can react, and he plows his fist into Carmine’s jaw. I stand up, screaming.

Carmine explodes upward, recovering so quickly that it catches Vince by surprise. He hammers him in his stomach. Once. Twice. Vince lets out guttural groans and brings down his elbow, stabbing Carmine’s back viciously.

“STOP! Both of you!”

Carmine drops to the floor and I rush over to him before Vince can kick him. He stares at me for a moment with so much venomous hatred that I’m sure he’ll hit me, but he lowers his fists. I wrap my arms around Carmine’s head and Vince turns away from us, disgusted. He walks right out of the door, and I get one last look of his face twisted in pain.

I did this to him.

The door slams shut and I turn my attention back to Carmine, even though I want nothing more than to chase after Vince. “Are you okay?”

I stroke his brown hair. His face is red, but at least he’s not bleeding. He grabs my arm and kisses it, giving me a painful grimace. “I’ll be fine.”

He stands up effortlessly, as if he gets into fights all the time. He locks the door, breathing a sigh. “See you later, asshole,” he mutters.

When the sound of Vince’s car peels away, Carmine joins me and places a tentative hand on my back.

“You okay?”

I shake my head. “It’s been a long day.”

“Is that true?” he asks. “What he said about why you broke up?”

My shoulders shake. “Carmine, I had to tell him something to get him off my back. I tried telling him the truth, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. Now I’ve made things worse.”

I feel sick when he leans in and plants a kiss on my head.

“Don’t feel bad about it. He’s just a puffed-up, angry jerk because he lost a great girl. His feelings are not your problem anymore.”

I’m trying to do the right thing and spare Vincent. So why does the right thing make me feel like shit? I would be just as hurt if I was in his position.

So make it worthwhile. Remember why you’re here.

Even if it makes you feel dead inside.