I nodded and curtly said, “Shh, watch the movie.”
Yawning, Brenna dropped the remote and shifted her body, curling closer. I held my breath, wondering if she even knew what she was doing.
“You’re not getting off that easy, Capestrana…” she murmured, her eyes half-closed.
My back was starting to cramp from the position I was in, so I moved over the slightest bit, and let my head fall onto the pillow, almost above Brenna’s.
Brenna seemed to notice and she moved as well – but not away from me as I had expected – but toward me.
Her head nestled onto my shoulder.
I almost said something, but then bit my tongue. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouse, Angelino, I heard Mama Ange say in my mind. We’d always laugh that she said it wrong, but right now, it seemed like the most appropriate thing for this bizarre situation.
In fact, as Brenna snuggled even closer, I felt that overwhelming protectiveness course through me again.
With every last inch of me, every breath – I would fight for this girl.
At the same time, I also felt lightning sparking up and down my skin and tingling through my body. My heart was skipping in my chest.
A sudden buzzing jerked me back to reality as the phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out as stealthily as I could without disturbing Brenna, and squinted at it.
As I read the words flashing on the screen, a block of ice seemed to encase my heart and stop it cold.
It was from Colt.
Essi sono per voi. Bada a te! Bada a te, fratellino.
They’re coming for you.
Watch out…Watch out, little brother.
Chapter Seven
Brenna
A warm summer breeze caressed my cheek. Opening my eyes, I looked up, only to be dazzled by bright sunlight, dancing through the evergreens all around me.
I was finally back – in this haven among old friends. I took a deep, happy breath and the familiar woodsy scent of pines, of childhood, of magic… Filled my little nose.
Along with the distinct scent of an old-fashioned, blossomy perfume.
I gasped.
Mommy’s perfume.
Turning, my heart starting to pound, I saw her. She’s there, oh, she’s right there.
I began to run towards her. She was sitting on the old wooden swing, the one that hung from the only maple tree in this little playground among the pines.
A ray of sunlight cascaded upon her face, which was lifted to the sky. Her eyes were closed and she gently rocked back and forth.
Then, tilting her head towards my footsteps, she opened her eyes, and smiled at me.
“There you are, Brenna. Chasing butterflies and pixies again, little princess?”
In another moment, I was in her arms – safe in that soft embrace. I gazed up at her in awe. She was so beautiful, with her short dark hair and blue-green eyes.
I was always so happy when Mommy would tap my nose and say we had the same eyes.
Then her hands were gentle on my back, pushing me on the swing, and I squealed with joy as I soared through the green-gold light. I sniffed at the air, smelling her perfume, the trees, and the summer wildflowers.
Mommy always said I was practically part-fox when it came to my nose.
Above us, the sky was blue, full of fluffy clouds like little sheep, and butterflies fluttered from flower to flower, twirling through the air.
And even though I was soaring high up into the sky, my feet practically brushing those clouds, I was safe because Mommy was right there with me.
She was always with me.
“I love you, baby,” I heard her whisper. “My lovely Brenna, so lovely inside and out.”
“I love you, too, Mommy,” I called, as I flew back up into that bright sky.
For a moment, everything was perfect. My black hair, just like Mommy’s, fell into my face and I laughed. Mommy was laughing too – her beautiful laugh, which tinkled like little bells. I always thought the pixies must poke their heads out from the flowers, just to hear her laugh.
I felt Mommy push me again. Her laugh was fading away...
Silence fell.
The blue sky shattered all around me and the little white clouds fled. Darkness and heavy black smoke roared up and I watched in terror as the sun was swallowed.
And something was pulling me down, down, down…
I tumbled off the swing, hitting the ground hard.
Hands shaking, breath gone, I pushed myself out of the dirt and stared around.
Mommy was gone.
The scent of her perfume, the pines, the summer flowers – gone. All gone.
Rain slashed down from the sky and I shivered.
A shriek fought its way out of my throat, but I choked on it. I was too afraid to make a sound. The trees weren’t the friendly pines anymore – they were tall and spindly – with each branch curving down to the bare earth like talons.
I didn’t want to be snatched away, so I whispered softly for her, but the cruel wind stole my words.
Now I could smell only dirt, rain, and bitter metal.
One of those tall trees had moved, it was reaching for me… It had me in its grasp…
A cold claw circled around my upper arm, pinching my skin, and I tried to fight it off, tried to find Mommy…
Now I shrieked. I shrieked for her over and over again – I tried to stay with her.
But my little fingers were scrabbling over a hard, stony surface…
A grave.
It had a name on it that didn’t make sense – Lila Fiore.
No! No, Mommy couldn’t be gone, she couldn’t be down there in the darkness and dirt. She’d be alone.
And Mommy said we would always be together, so we would never have to be alone.
I wanted to stay with her, the hand on my arm with the cruel talons was pulling me away from the little gravestone. Mommy had promised me monsters weren’t real…
Mommy was wrong.
Mommy was wrong about everything.
I was alone. And there were monsters everywhere. I was crying now.
The tree became a woman. A woman with talons for hands. She glared down at me and sneered, “Knock it off, brat, or I’ll send you back and they’ll put you in a home where they’ll slap those fairytales right out of your pretty little head.”
She pulled me into the backseat of a car, but I was fighting her, trying to get back to the graveyard, to Mommy... I couldn’t leave her alone there.
I didn’t want to be alone.
Suddenly my head snapped back. The talons were gone, but a grip like cement was fisted in my long hair.
Eyes watering, I tried to pull away, but the pressure increased and fire raced through my skull.
I had never experienced this much pain…
As my head was twisted to the side, I saw the face of a demon, snarling and screaming at me. It was blood-red, with hellish eyes and long teeth.
A scream ripped from my throat staring into that face.
It moved back, its eyes in the shadows, but I could still see its mouth… Blood bubbled out at one corner. Without meaning to, I started whimpering, begging for it to let me go.
I had to get back to Mommy.
The demon laughed.
“Where the fuck you gonna go, huh, Virgin Mary? Ain’t no three wise men in this part of town, no little mangers for a worthless piece of shit like you... Let me tell you, Brenna Fiore. You’re trespassin’ on my hospitality – tryin’ to make another fuckin’ break for it! That’s the third time. Bitch, three times ain’t the charm with Emilio Ruffino. I’ll take your damn virginity myself, you pull this kinda shit again…”
The demon let me go and I fell backwards onto the floor. Now its entire face was in the shadows. I watched as a match flared, then a red cigarette ring glowed.
Smoke puffed out and I choked on it. I’d always hated that rancid smell.
“Fuckin stupid bitch. You’re becomin’ a real pain in my ass. When you
gonna learn, huh? This is my kingdom and you’re just a dumb girl with a nice body. You should count your blessings I even give two shits about you – I took you in, after all. I’m helping you use your beautiful face. And this is the thanks I get, huh? Besides…”
The cigarette ring moved closer and closer to my face and smoke blew into my eyes.
I began to cough, tears leaking from my eyes and gasping for air.
“No one gives a fuck about you. You ain’t got nobody.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for my mother to save me, praying for a miracle – maybe God was too busy for the likes of me, but the Madonna might help a girl out…
But all I could hear was that laughter and wheezing above me.
“Where the fuck you gonna go, huh? Tell me that. Where you gonna go, Brenna?”
I could see the swing under the tree, see my mother waiting there.
I wanted the sunshine and butterflies, I wanted to believe in fairytales again.
A boot connected with my side and I curled over, gasping and screaming in pain, and begged for the darkness to pull me away.
Just let me go back, let me go, please, oh God, please.
The cigarettes, darkness, and pain were all around me. I could smell blood now, too, and something dark, moldy, and disgusting – the stench of that demon’s charred heart.
I was gasping and choking, my hands flailing, searching for my mother, for light and sunshine again.
Then it was gone.
The pain, darkness, and terrible stench of that room were gone.
I breathed easier. Gold and green flickered behind my eyelids again.
I almost could smell the pines, and something else...
Warm arms were circling around me, holding me close. All of my sorrow, pain, and heartache dissolved in that embrace.
I was safe again, finally safe.
Breathing in deeply, I relaxed and nestled closer to this warmth. A solid, dependable body was pressed under my cheek, rising and falling in a soothing rhythm.
An all-encompassing longing filled me and I moved even closer. Somewhere in the haze of my mind, I had grasped that this was a man. And I never wanted him to let me go.
Maybe it was a guardian angel holding me. I pressed my face into the chest of the man holding me and tightened my grip on the soft material of his shirt.
I silently begged him – please don’t let me go, please, please, I can’t be alone again.
The scent of him made my heart pound, a clean mix of peppermints and soap.
His voice sent a blast of heat through me, warming the icy block wedged against my heart.
Axe…
Axe
Brenna was breaking my heart.
It was a painful, choking kind of agony. Like an icepick or dull knife cracking my chest open. And this after I’d spent the last few months wondering if I even had a heart.
Before I’d met her, I was pretty sure I didn’t, not anymore.
But maybe that was why it felt so raw, why all I wanted to do was curl around her and protect her from whatever was hurting her.
Here I was, with a trembling girl wrapped around me tighter than a starfish on the clam, and my chest aching like I’d been laid out by an eighteen-wheeler.
Not even fifteen minutes earlier, Brenna had been fast asleep, her back towards me, quiet and curled under the covers like a kitten.
I’d gone ahead and turned off the TV, brushed my teeth, pulled on fresh boxers and a t-shirt, hit the light and crawled in. At first I’d laid on top of the covers, playing human Popsicle, hoping my shivering wouldn’t wake her up. Eventually, though, I gave up and slipped quietly under the blankets.
But as I reached for the pillow to reinforce our “wall”, Brenna had rolled over.
I froze, holding my breath – ready for her to screech and claw my eyes out.
She was still asleep, though. Soft noises broke from her lips and her eyelids were flickering. She was just dreaming.
I breathed again.
Because this was a cheap-ass motel, the thin curtain didn’t keep out the landing’s spotlight, it just turned everything in our room a dim, hazy kind of orange-gold. So, I could more or less see the muscle spasms in her face and the hard clench of her jaw. Then she let out a pained moan and I jolted back up, looking over at her, checking to see if she’d hurt herself or something. This was more than just a dream. Brenna was caught in some kinda tortured hell.
Whimpering, she rolled towards me and folded her body into itself. Sparkling tears began to trace down her cheeks... Horror numbed my every last muscle and limb.
Sobs and coughs began racking through her body and I just stared down at her, that icepick driving through my not-so-cold heart.
Again, Brenna’s hands restlessly sought out comfort.
Only this time her hand reached out and closed over mine, her fingers like ice.
I never wanted to break our deal, go back on my promises to her, but with her hand in mine – it was game over.
She needed comfort and I was going to offer it. If she stabbed me again, so be it.
Gently, I let go of her hand and pulled her close to me.
In spite of being under the blankets, Brenna’s body was freezing. I almost yelped when I felt an icy foot land on my calf.
I half-expected Brenna to fight me, even in her sleep, but instead, she nestled closer. I felt her hands knot in my shirt and I sighed into her hair.
Aw, Brenna. Just hold on to me, okay?
Suddenly, she began weeping harder in her sleep and helplessness crashed over me. I felt a little panicked. I couldn’t exactly pull her tighter…
What was I supposed to do? Should I wake her up? Get more blankets? I wasn’t exactly good at this. I could jack cars, knock someone out with one punch, bench three seventy-five on a good day, make scrambled eggs, down a large pizza alone in one sitting…
But help a heartbroken girl find solace?
I was lost.
Tentatively, I thought of the female Capestranas, and what they might have done. I found myself remembering how they’d let their hands softly rub across our heads when we were younger. Back then, that had been the ultimate comfort.
At that moment I realized I’d never really hugged or comforted another woman who wasn’t related to me. Sex was sex. I was always considerate and never left a girl unsatisfied, but there’d never been a real relationship that required me to give emotionally.
Even when my poor baby sisters would get hurt, my brand of comfort usually amounted to, “suck it up, short stuff.”
Hesitantly, my hand quaking out of character uncertainty, I lifted it and stroked Brenna’s soft hair. That seemed okay.
A thought hit me so hard, I swear it was like a psychic bitch slap from my mama bear of a big sis, Trina. Marone! Stop being such a goddamn moron! Just be there for her.
I hunched closer and tucked Brenna’s head under my chin. Her sobs had abated somewhat and I could feel her breathing getting easier.
After that, I only thought of Brenna. It was just me and her, wrapped in warmth – with the world far away.
Time passed in a sweet kind of languor. I may have dozed off here and there, but then I’d snap awake and check on her. Yet Brenna’s breathing remained soft and steady, so I relaxed a little more each time.
It was somewhere between midnight and dawn, when I awoke from another dozing-off. Adjusting my arms, I closed my eyes and let my cheek press into Brenna’s hair.
Inhaling, I thought how she smelled a little bit like vanilla or maybe jasmine.
I wasn’t sure, but God did I love that fucking scent.
So intoxicated on Brenna, I didn’t even notice she’d started shifting around. It was a change in her breathing that alerted me. I looked down and saw bright teal eyes staring up at me. Her lips parted.
Brenna was wide-awake now and she didn’t move.
My entire body locked up as I braced myself to be hit, scratched, or screamed at – waiting for Brenna to
push me away, flail around, or jump out of bed.
But she just kept staring up at me.
Our gazes were locked, neither of us moved or looked away.
I could see her pulse hammering at her throat, feel the quickness of her breath racing across my neck – with my heart and breath sprinting after.
Somewhere, some part of my mind was ordering me to let her go, to roll over, to apologize – but I was too lost in this moment to pay attention.
She let go of my shirt, but before I knew what was happening, her hands smoothed up my chest, traced over my neck and stopped on each side of my face.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation of her fingers on my cheeks, her palms rubbing against my scruff.
“Axe,” she murmured, her voice low and husky.
I suddenly wished I’d told her my real name – I wanted to hear her say it.
Her hands were sliding back around my face, combing through my hair, before she interlaced her fingers behind my neck.
I told myself to keep my eyes shut, but I could feel her breath on my lips, and I had to know. I let them flicker open to find Brenna, barely an inch away.
A few tears slipped from her eyes as she looked at me, and then smiled. A slow, sweet kind of smile.
I moved closer and she did too. Our lips pressed together, slow and soft, and I splayed my hands on her back, crushing her body to mine. She tilted her head and I found myself kissing each corner of her luscious mouth.
Her hands smoothed up over the back of my head and down again, trailing her fingertips over my neck. I slid my hands into her hair, letting my fingers feel the smoothness of each strand.
For a while, we kissed just like that, where it was comfort and sweet and gentle…
Then a low urgency pulsed between us. My cock bucked to life. At first, I tried to pull back, afraid to scare her. She’d already been through enough tonight. But Brenna wouldn’t have it. She held me tight, plastering her breasts to my chest. I couldn’t help but up the ante as well. I cupped the back of her head, tilting her face more, and teasingly nipped at her lower lip.
She gasped and without thinking, I slipped my tongue right in. For a brief moment, I thought she would push me away – but then our kiss deepened even more.
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