Braden: A Dark Mafia Romance by Adora York Read Free Book Online

when I walked up to Mary’s grave.  Talking with her was always enough to clear my mind, but the fog Angela had blown into my head wasn’t so easily dissipated.  I sat down beside Stefano and motioned for the driver to take us home.  Stefano reached into his jacket and took a sip from his flask.  He offered it to me and I took with a nod of appreciation.  Stefano was one of the few people in the world I trusted, but I just couldn’t share my confusion with him.  There was no way he would be able to understand.  He had lost his sister, but I had lost everything—possibly even my soul.  We passed his flask back and forth in silence until it was gone.  It was barely enough to take the edge off of my conflict.
    “Who would have thought we would still be going to her grave together five years later.”  Stefano said absently as we reached the end of the long road leading away from the graveyard.
    “Does it bother you?”  I asked, looking over at him.
    “No.”  He said with a shake of his head.  “I’m glad she had someone to love her as much as you did.”
    “Do you ever think about walking away from all of this?”  I tapped the driver’s shoulder and pointed towards a liquor store ahead.  He nodded in confirmation.
    “Sometimes, but then I realize I like having more money than I can spend and an endless supply of pussy.”  He cracked a smile as the car pulled into the parking lot.
    “Yeah…”  I nodded.  “There is that…”
    We drank from our bottle with the conversation getting a little lighter once we had an adequate amount of booze in us.  I still couldn’t get Angela off my mind.  I felt trapped between my love for a memory and my strange feelings for a woman I barely knew.  How could one sexual encounter make me feel so confused?  Once we got back to the house, I retired to my room and looked at the wall.  I had created a montage of the Madison family, each with a target drawn over their face.  I pulled the picture of Angela off the wall and stared at it, thinking back to our encounter.  By all accounts, she was nothing more than a useless member of society, important only to her family—and maybe her best friend who was still locked up in one of our cells.  She was so beautiful, so naive, and so confusing.  I sighed and pinned her portrait back to the wall, reaching into my pocket and pulled out my switchblade.  I flicked the blade out and jammed it through her face.
    “I’m not through with you yet, Angela Madison.”  I said angrily as I stared at the image of her face lodged beneath my blade.
     
    Chapter 7:  Angela
     
    I woke up in my bed and sat up with a pounding in my ears.  My shoulder ached and my back was sore.  I rolled out of bed and removed my nightgown, staring at my bruises in the mirror.  The mysterious Braden had left his mark on me.  Without the physical evidence, I might have thought the whole thing was a strange dream, but there was no denying what I saw.  Braden had been real and I fucked him.  Nothing could change that.  I was fairly certain I would never see him again.  I didn’t even know his last name.  I ran a bath and sank into the suds, letting the warm water ease some of the suffering in my muscles.  After laying there for a while, I washed myself and got dressed in my normal attire, a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt.  I walked out of my room and looked into Danielle’s room.  She was already studying like her life depended on it.  I rolled my eyes and walked downstairs to the living room where my mother was attempting to work out in front of the television.
    “We have a gym, mom.”  I said, motioning towards the basement door.
    “The gym doesn’t have enough room for Tae-Bo.”  She threw a leg up in an awkward kick.  “How’s your head?”
    “Ask me again after I have a cup of coffee.”  I walked towards the kitchen.
    “What’s wrong with your head?”  My father asked, stepping out of the kitchen sipping a