Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 53

Chapter Fifty–Three

Genevieve threw back yet another shot of tequila and slammed it down on the bar. “And then he asked me out. And I said yes,” Gen said with a shrug. “That

brings us to the present.”

The loud music in the club rattled the bottles of liquor behind the bar. Everywhere she looked she saw men and women entangled in intimate positions. She couldn’t see Leo but she knew he could see her. She was just glad he wasn’t in hearing distance as she told her sister the story between her and Matteo. She waited for the barrage of curse words that Jada must have stored during the story.

Jada looked thoughtfully at her sister while chewing on the straw in her third Long Island Iced Tea. “Wow, that’s…”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Gen said with a sigh before signaling the bartender to bring her another shot.

“He really said he loved you?” Jada asked, her eyes shimmering and her mouth parted in astonishment, signaling that the liquor was doing its job in taming

her wilder, younger sister.

“It was in the heat of the moment. He was just jealous,” Gen said, brushing it off.

“Do you love him?”

Yes. The thought startled her. She shook her head. “No, of course not, we just met,” she said, her voice belying the fact that she was screaming internally at the sudden realization. Did she love Matteo? Was it possible that in just a few weeks she felt more for him than she had ever felt for another man? Had she been kidding herself in keeping him at arm’s length?

“And the two of you have only had sex the one night?” Jada asked, interrupting her train of thought. Gen nodded, unable to speak now that the truth of her feelings had made itself known. “I can’t believe it.”

“Why? I’m sure he’s had girlfriends before,” Gen said, the underhanded question implied.

Jada scoffed and gave her a look that meant she knew exactly what game she was playing. “Not that I know of. I’ve seen him go to a few events with girls but they never leave together.”

*Hm.” A blush crept over her cheeks. Was it true what he said about never taking a woman home? Another feeling presented itself that took her by surprise: jealousy. Not of the women who had been on his arm but the woman sitting beside her now. Her sister had known Matteo for at least two years. Did she know him better?

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jada emphasized. “He’s dangerous and this life…” She let out a weighted sigh. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”

“Which brings us to our next topic of conversation…” Gen began, narrowing her eyes at her sister. “What mafia boss did you fall for?”

Jada spit out a mouthful of her drink and turned to face Genevieve with a surprised expression. “What?!”

“Come on, I may not have gone to Yale like you but I can read people. Since the night I first went home with him you’ve been saying, “They’re all monsters‘

or ‘They’re all the same.“” Gen thanked the bartender as he placed a shot down for her. “So… spill.”

“Please don’t,” the bartender asked as he cleaned Jada’s spewed drink.

“Sorry,” Jada whispered, her alabaster skin reddening. “Anyway, I was thinking after this we should get some food in our stomachs and…”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Gen said. “Spill.”

1:09 am

Chapter Fifty–Three

Jada sighed and gulped down the remainder of het drink. “Fine, but there’s only so much I can tell you. See…” Jada put one hand to her stomach and

another over her mouth.

Gen sat back, startled “You alright?” Jada made a lurching motion as if she were about to throw up. Gen placed her hand on Jada’s back. “Jada… Can I get

you somethingTM”

Jada took a moment before she released the hold over her mouth and held her other hand up to signal she was okay. “Yeah, no, I’m fine. I just don’t… feel

right.”

“No duh, you drank about twelve ounces of four different liquors,” Gen said.

“No, it’s not that. It’s… I don’t know, I feel weird.”

A second later she slapped a hand to her mouth and hopped down from the stool. “Gotta go… to the bathroom,” Jada said with a groan as she ran from the

bar.

“Okay, let me grab our purses and I’ll meet you!” Gen screamed over the loud music.

Gen stepped down from her stool and began collecting their phones, jackets and purses. She turned for the bathroom when she was slammed in the side by a large body. She tried to shriek when a slippery, wet hand covered her mouth. She struggled, looking desperately around for help when she heard a familiar

voice.

*Shh, you’re in danger, follow me,” Leo grunted. He removed his hand from her mouth. He pushed her head down and started guiding her toward the exit.

“Where’s jada?” he hissed between his teeth.

“Bathroom. She’s not feeling well,” Gen panted, the panic in her bloodstream causing everything around her to seem more heightened. The pulsing music vibrated her bones. The flashing lights made her dizzy. The rough hand keeping her head down pained the muscles in her neck. How many tequila shots had she drank? Surely not enough to make her feet stumble as they were now.

“Fuck,” Leo growled, turning them so they were now headed toward the bathrooms.

throom human

“What’s going on?” Gen asked. His body was pressed closely to hers as if he were a human straight jacket. As he moved, she could see his head on a constant swivel. The sticky liquid that was on his hand was also coating his shirt and soaking into her dress. “Did someone pour a drink on you?”

The music faded as they entered a back hallway. Leo let her head up but propelled her forward toward the bathroom. He walked past the line of women waiting to enter and shoved the door open.

“Get out!” he barked at the women gaping at him from the sinks. The women didn’t argue. They collected their makeup and rushed for the door. “Jada!”

“Oh my God!” Gen screamed. The bright fluorescent lighting of the bathroom illuminated the liquid coating her bodyguard: blood. “You’ve been shot!”

Leo turned to face her, his forehead coated in sweat and his face as white as a freshly bleached sheet. He held a hand against his chest but it did nothing to stop the blood from pouring over his fingers. He swayed and put a hand to the wall.

“I am going to need you to stay calm, Genevieve,” he said, using her name for the first time.

“Calm?! You’ve been shot!”

“Lock the door,” he commanded before he turned toward the stalls and started kicking them in one by one.

It was all too much: the liquor burning through her veins, the shock of seeing someone she cared for bleeding out, the realization that whoever it was might mean to hurt her… or Jada. Gen swiveled and locked the door.

1:09 am D

Chapter Fifty–Three

M

“What’s happening?” a nearly unconscious Jada asked as Leo carried her out of the stall.

“You’ve been drugged. Based on Genevieve’s pupils, you both have,” Leo grunted.

“Oh my God, Leo, don’t pick her up! You’re hemorrhaging!” Gen yelled, rushing over to help fada sit against the wall and completely ignoring his last

statement. If she’d been drugged, her adrenaline was doing a hell of a job to keep her standing.

Leo leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. Gen moved from Jada to Leo. She grabbed a first–aid kit from her purse, pulled out some bandages and proceeded to shove them into the gaping holes, holes not hole, in his chest. He was breathing heavily but his eyes remained wide as if he was determined to stay awake until help arrived.

“Your phone,” he said, reaching uselessly for her purse.

“I got it, I got it,” Gen said, pulling it out and handing it to him.

He shook his head. “I’ve activated my distress signal. He’s coming. But I’m going to need you to call him. I lost my phone,” he said, wincing at every other word he spoke.

“Who? The police?”

Leo chuckled and then blood trickled out from his mouth. Gen’s eyes widened at the sight. “No… Accardi. Call him, quickly. I’m about to…” His eyes drooped. Gen shook his arm. Leo’s eyes opened wide. “I’m about to pass out, Genevieve.”

Just then a banging came at the door. She screamed, despite herself. Her hands shook as she tried to unlock her phone. The banging grew louder.

“It’s locked from the inside,” a muffled voice announced from the other side of the door.

“Maybe it’s him,” she whispered.

Leo shook his head. “The door would be opened by now if it was,” he reasoned.

Gen wasn’t sure what he meant, but she didn’t dare waste time in finding out. Her fingers continued to shake as she went to the last number she’d texted.

Matteo: Have a fun night with your sister. Be safe and keep Leo with you.

A sob ripped from her mouth as she hit the call button and waited.

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