Chapter 50: Adrenaline

Fabio’s POV

Adrenaline shot up through every single vessel in my entire body as I ran, searching all over the entire garage with a complete lack of direction or restraint. Do not ask me what I was doing, because I had no rational explanation for any of it. If anything, I was mad. I was going mad as several distinct images plunged directly into my mind, testing every existing emotion that I possessed. Anger, fright, and confusion collided all at once, but most of all, I felt completely breathless, with a deep, sour sensation settling directly inside my chest.

After a whole ten minutes of searching every corner, there was still no sign of either of them. Marco and Alessia. They had clearly gone inside, but where on earth were they? Someone had better get me a clear answer before I completely set something ablaze,or even someone, because right now, all I could feel was raw heat spreading continuously all over my skin. I was going to kill someone if this went on for another second.

I hastily grabbed my phone from my pocket and tried calling the contact saved as "Bad Decision," and just when I thought the call was going to go completely unanswered, the connection finally went through. I paused right in place and remained totally silent, listening for hell knows what to come through the speaker. And if I by the slightest I heard even a whimper, all hell would break lose. But the other side of the line was completely silent. I subconsciously let out a slow sigh of relief I did not realize I was holding.

"Where are you?" I asked in almost a whisper, straining to catch a sound.

The other side remained silent, but I could hear his low, steady breathing on the line.

"I have something to tell you," I added, trying my absolute best to hide the real reason behind my desperation. ℯ

Then I finally heard his voice. "I’m listening, tell me."

I gulped, biting down hard on my tongue to stop myself from speaking too soon. But when another vivid image of him being dragged away by my absolute devil of a sister flashed inside my head, I once again lost every bit of my mind. Fuck the word control and whoever came up with it!

"Where the hell are you!" I realized my voice was spiraling completely out of control only after the words had already spoken themselves out loud.

The man went silent again, as if he knew precisely how torturous this whole exchange felt for me. I am a hundred percent sure he did.

I waited, holding onto the very last thread of my patience, but that thread snapped the exact second I heard the heavy roar of an engine coming to life through the phone. My heart began thrumming wildly against my chest, and I immediately began dashing back out toward the exit.

"Are you leaving already?" I asked as I broke into a full sprint.

He still did not reply to me. Through the receiver, I heard the tires grip the ground as the car began moving forward.

"Say something, goddammit!" I shouted, the words tearing right out of my throat. I really despised how I sounded at that moment. I loathed how I felt more. Disturbed, discomfort, with the thought he was about to leave with Alessia.

"No," he finally spoke up. "I’m about to race some dude."

I stopped dead in my tracks, my brows furrowing deep as I turned my head to look straight over toward the road. Indeed, there were two late-model Porsches lined up side by side directly on the track. My head cleared for a split second, and I finally put two and two together.

This, I was being rage-baited. I was being plotted against.

"I’ll fucking kill you!" I whispered directly into the microphone, and then I hung up the call.

I did not move a single inch as I watched the race begin. Somehow, the rage burning inside me had dissipated completely from that single phone call, replaced by something far more dangerous. A feeling I clearly did not know how to even name nor explain.

Marco. I swear to God I hated that name with everything in me. I shut my eyes tight as I dwelled on how seamlessly he had teamed up with my sister just to drive me into absolute insanity. Where? How? And when on earth did Marco begin altering my mind like this? When did he take complete control over everything I felt?

I let a dry chuckle escape my lips, followed immediately by a long, heavy sigh. All in all, I had to show him who Sicily actually belonged to. He might have gotten the upper hand on me back in Milan, but now, right here, this was my city, my domain. I would literally die before I let him play these twisted games with me again.

In about ten minutes, the race came to an end, and even here on my ground, the man managed to claim victory. He was instantly surrounded by the noisy crowd, everyone cheering him on for the win. All he offered them was that familiar side smirk, that exact smirk that never failed to push me straight to the edge of fury. Marco was the devil in disguise, I swear. A simple, careless gesture from him could make me question my entire existence.

As he made his way through the thick crowd, he finally spotted me standing at the far back. I stayed completely still, forcing him to approach me on my terms. He did not take his eyes off me for a single second, still continuing to smirk surely and deliberately to rile me up. I was going to wipe that look straight off his face, and I was going to enjoy every single second of doing it.

But then, another person who clearly possessed a death wish stepped right into Marco’s path, standing directly in front of him. They were only about two steps away from where I stood, so I could clearly hear every word being spoken between them.

Christ save me before I seriously took a life.