My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Gianna

The Ducati growled one last time before Raphael killed the engine, the sound echoing off the walls of his garage.

I sat there for a second, my heart hammering against my ribs. The peaceful bubble we’d been in for the last few hours didn’t just pop, it shattered. I fumbled with the helmet strap, my fingers trembling so much could barely get the click to release. When I finally yanked the helmet off, I took a deep breath.

“Gianna.”

I froze, my hand still holding the helmet. I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. That low, stern tone belonged to Salvatore, my mother’s husband.

I slowly turned, my boots scraping against the floor. They were all there. Standing in a semi-circle.

Salvatore stood in the middle. To his right was Vincenzo, and next to him was Adriano, the Underboss, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes scanning me before moving to his brother behind me.

And then there was my mother.

“Gianna! Oh, my God, Gianna!”

She didn’t just walk toward me, she stumbled. I noticed a weird hitch in her step, her right foot dragging just a little on the floor. Her hands were shaking, not just from the panic, but a fine, tremor that made her look sick.

She reached me and practically tackled me, her fingers digging into my shoulders with surprising, desperate strength.

“Look at you! You’re here!” she shrieked, her voice hitting a pitch that made my ears ring. She started hovering over me, her hands fluttering over my face, my arms, my hair, “Where does it hurt? Did he touch you? Did that animal hurt my baby?”

“Mom, I’m fine,” I whispered, trying to pull back, but she was hysterical.

He stepped forward, and casually adjusted his shirt, the one with the grease stains I’d left on it, and looked my mother in the eye.

“She was with me for the last few hours, Hazel,” Raphael said, cutting through my mother’s high-pitched sobs, I took her to a safe house first to make sure no one was following us. She’s fine now. Nothing bad happened to her. The guy who jumped her was a coward. He ran and he was smart enough to stay out of the library’s surveillance blind spots. There’s no clear view of his face.”

Adriano tilted his head, his eyes flicking between me and Raphael. He looked like he didn’t believe a single word, but he didn’t say anything. He just watched.

I looked at Raphael. He was already looking at his phone. He had lied to the three most dangerous men in Chicago for me, and he hadn’t even blinked.

“Go, Gianna,” Salvatore ordered, “Go to your room. We will discuss your punishment for this lapse in judgment tomorrow.”