It’s the shade I wore at the gala.
I find my hands are trembling as I feel for the phone in my pocket, but when I take it out, I remember it’s out of charge. And I remember Abel’s warning to stay inside the house.
But I make my way to the door anyway and punch in the code. Pulling it open, I grab my car keys from the table beside the door before going outside. I fumble with the lock, my hands are shaking, but I get the door open and slip into the driver’s seat. I put the lipstick down and start the car, my door still open as I let it run and feel for the charger cable that’s disappeared somewhere under the passenger seat. It’s still plugged into the power outlet, so I find it and tug it out, then plug the phone in and wait. And while I wait, I look at that lipstick again. It’s used but hardly. And my mind is running with an idea, but it makes no sense. None.
A few minutes later, the phone switches on, and I dial Abel’s number. It rings and rings, then goes to voicemail, so I disconnect and try again. I catch my reflection in the rearview mirror. The light is on since the door is still open. I should probably close it, but Abel answers then.
“I told you not to call me again.”
“Whose lipstick is in the house?”
“What?”
“The lipstick. Whose is it?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asks but only after a pause I might have missed if I wasn’t paying attention.
“Abel, the lipstick. It’s the same brand and shade I wore to the gala. The same shade the woman who pretended to be me wore when she tried to kill my husband.” God. To say the words is still unreal. Someone tried to murder Santiago. And what I’m holding in my hand…no. No. It can’t be.
“Ivy. Where are you?”
“Was it you?” I ask, my voice small.
“Where. Are. You?”
“Tell me, Abel. Tell me you didn’t do this to him. To me. Please.”
There’s silence then, just before I hear the sound of a car. A glance in the rearview mirror tells me it’s two cars, actually. One parking along the street, one directly at the end of the driveway. My brain is slow to process what’s happening until I see the men climb out, two from each vehicle. One flips his cigarette onto the lawn.
These are the friends Abel sent. They’re not Santiago’s men. He wouldn’t send these particular men. I know it.
They're early.
I drop the phone, the lipstick slipping from my hand when I try to grab the door handle, almost managing to pull it closed as I put the car in reverse and slam my foot on the gas, instinct taking over now. Adrenaline as one of the men jumps out of the way while another yanks my door open, and I ram my car into the one parked at the end of the drive, my forehead slamming into the steering wheel with the impact.
One of them yanks me out roughly. I open my mouth to scream, but someone slaps his hand over it, and I just see one of them slip into the driver’s seat of my car as I’m lifted off the ground, my kicking, my struggles meaning nothing. I’m carried into one of the waiting vehicles, the stench of cigarette smoke overpowering as my hands are dragged behind my back and bound just as I manage to bite the hand still closed over my mouth and scream the instant I can. But almost in that same instant, I’m struck so hard, my head whirls to the side, the impact of the man’s knuckles against my temple making my brain rattle and my ears ring.
The driver is in the car a moment later, and we’re moving as the man beside me slaps tape across my mouth, and I turn my head just enough to see the two cars behind ours, mine and the other sedan, the one with the huge dent I put in the side. But it’s the last thing I see before the man beside me slides a sack over my head and forces me down onto my knees, holding me there with a foot at the back of my neck, my forehead pressed to the floor vibrating beneath me as we speed off into the night and I think about that lipstick. About Abel’s silence.
I think about Santiago almost dying. Santiago out there looking for me. And I know I’ve made a terrible mistake.
One that won’t cost only me but possibly the baby inside me.
Thank you
Thank you for reading Reparation of Sin. We hope you enjoyed this continuation of Santiago and Ivy’s story.
Their story concludes in Resurrection of the Heart.
One-click Resurrection of the Heart.
Also by A. Zavarelli
Boston Underworld Series
CROW: Boston Underworld #1
REAPER: Boston Underworld #2
GHOST: Boston Underworld #3
SAINT: Boston Underworld #4
THIEF: Boston Underworld #5
CONOR: Boston Underworld #6
Sin City Salvation Series
Confess
Convict
Bleeding Hearts Series
Echo: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume One
Stutter: A Bleeding Hearts Novel Volume Two
Twisted Ever After Series
BEAST: Twisted Ever After #1
Standalones
Tap Left
Hate Crush
For a complete list of books and audios, visit http://www.azavarelli.com/books
Also by Natasha Knight
To Have and To Hold Duet
With This Ring
I Thee Take
The Society Trilogy
Requiem of the Soul
Reparation of Sin
Resurrection of the Heart
Dark Legacy Trilogy
Taken (Dark Legacy, Book 1)
Torn (Dark Legacy, Book 2)
Twisted (Dark Legacy, Book 3)
Unholy Union Duet
Unholy Union
Unholy Intent
Collateral Damage Duet
Collateral: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance
Damage: an Arranged Marriage Mafia Romance
Ties that Bind Duet
Mine
His
MacLeod Brothers
Devil’s Bargain
Benedetti Mafia World
Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance
Dominic: a Dark Mafia Romance
Sergio: a Dark Mafia Romance
The Benedetti Brothers Box Set (Contains Salvatore, Dominic and Sergio)
Killian: a Dark Mafia Romance
Giovanni: a Dark Mafia Romance
The Amado Brothers
Dishonorable
Disgraced
Unhinged
Standalone Dark Romance
Descent
Deviant
Beautiful Liar
Retribution
Theirs To Take
Captive, Mine
Alpha
Given to the Savage
Taken by the Beast
Claimed by the Beast
Captive’s Desire
Protective Custody
Amy’s Strict Doctor
Taming Emma
Taming Megan
Taming Naia
Reclaiming Sophie
The Firefighter’s Girl
Dangerous Defiance
Her Rogue Knight
Taught To Kneel
Tamed: the Roark Brothers Trilogy
About A. Zavarelli
A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of dark and contemporary romance.
When she’s not putting her characters through hell, she can usually be found watching bizarre and twisted documentaries in the name of research.
She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.
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About Natasha Knight
Natasha Knight is the USA Today Bestselling author of Romantic Suspense and Dark Romance Novels. She has sold over half a million books and is translated into six languages. She currently lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two daughters and when she’s not writing, she’s walking in the woods listening to a b
ook, sitting in a corner reading or off exploring the world as often as she can get away.
Write Natasha here: [email protected]
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www.natasha-knight.com
[email protected]
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