Dangerous Beauty: Part Two: A Mafia Princess by Michelle Hardin Read Free Book Online Page A

beautiful garden. The garden where they’d spent their first day together, where he’d first kissed her, where he’d asked her to be his wife.
    Tears filled Carter’s eyes, and she ran as fast as her tired body would allow to her Nathan. Nathan! His name was Nathan!
    “Oh, my God,” she cried. “Nathan!” she screamed his name, running to him as fast as she could.
    Nathan sped up, too, and when they finally reached each other, he picked her up in his arms. Carter wrapped her legs around his waist as they hugged each other close. She held on to him with every bit of strength she had.
How could she have forgotten this feeling? How could she have forgotten him?
    “Oh, thank God. You scared me to death, baby. I’m so sorry I fell asleep. I’m so—”
    Carter pressed her lips to his, silencing his apology.
    Once their lips parted, she held his face in her hands. “I told you I’d come back to you, Bubby,” she whispered against his lips. “I love you so much,” Carter said just before she captured his lips in another passionate kiss. It felt like she hadn’t kissed him in a lifetime, and she poured every ounce of her love for him into that kiss.
    “
мое красивое Роуз,
I’ve missed you so much,” Nathan said. “I love you so much, baby.”

3
The Morning After
    Carter smoothed the wrinkles from her pink spaghetti strap shirt, straightened up her matching pink sweatpants, and picked up her brush to brush out her freshly pressed hair. Her hair had been a tangled mess when she took it out of the braid, but now it was restored back to the state she preferred it. She ran her hands down her body noticing she’d lost a little weight. She silently promised herself she’d put that weight back on by devoting extra time to eating full bags of Doritos.
    She used her fingers and the brush to bring her hair up into a tight ponytail. She’d nearly finished when her finger slid across the long row of stitches in the back of her head. She had never felt the extent of her injury until now, and it pissed her off. If Kent, Patrick, and Mitchell weren’t already dead, she would kill their asses all over again.
    Carter closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
    Then it happened again.
    It had been happening ever since Nathan had carried her to their room yesterday. Every time Carter closed her eyes, Gianni’s death would play over and over in her head like a movie. It wouldn’t stop. She’d been awake for nearly twenty hours, but it still wouldn’t stop.
    After Carter’s temporary insanity yesterday, Nathan had brought her back upstairs. She’d been too exhausted to move, so after the doctor came to the house to see her, she had just stayed upstairs for the rest of the day. Mostly to avoid everything she still had to deal with downstairs. She had told Nathan that she needed time to collect herself after what she’d experienced–and time was exactly what she got. Nathan excused their absence for the rest of the day, telling everyone that they would join them the following day. Carter was grateful for their compliance. She needed the time to recharge.
    The evening had consisted of a call to let Jenna know she was okay and then oh-so-sweet silence with the love of her life. Nathan had made sure they had everything they needed in the room so neither of them had to leave it. They had taken a relaxing, hot bath in their huge tub, and Nathan had gently washed her hair, avoiding the stitches. He’d applied her conditioner and then revealed a skill she hadn’t known he had— a skill his mother had taught him, hoping he’d have a little girl one day. He braided her hair in one, long braid. She was glad because that way she wouldn’t have to deal with it till morning. After that, Carter had eaten a small meal. She hadn’t really been that hungry yesterday. She’d been too emotionally drained. But she enjoyed the light meal he provided for her. They had eaten, then had lain in their bed together, holding each