Going further, she was met with Elio standing over the oven with his back to her. He was only wearing black sweatpants and sneakers while the white t-shirt was tucked slightly into the pants, hanging from his hips. His muscled back was bare. She couldn’t see his chest. Part of her wished she could. The other very small part said she should get ahold of herself.
She let out a shaky sigh, which made the man turn around. He looked exhausted and slightly out of breath. Savannah instantly thought that he must have got a workout done. His eyes rested upon her figure, concern once again flickering in his expression. However, pretty quickly he tried to cover it up, grunting.
"Morning," he said, going back to cooking. Savannah smelled eggs and bacon and smiled as it was one of her favorite things to eat. Simple dishes were what she aimed at so that even her terrible cooking skills couldn't mess it up. Sometimes she still managed, though.
She glanced at the clock above the TV set, realizing that it was already eight in the morning and she should be home. With everything, she had left Kate without a single word, watching over Aiden. How bad of a sister could she be to leave her brother like that?
Guilt flourished into her stomach. Although that might just as well have been hunger. She got up. "I need to go back to Aiden," she announced.
"Easy, you need to eat something first. Your stomach’s grumbling was so annoying that I barely slept," he joked but Savannah didn't have time for his antics. She rolled her eyes, spun on her heel about to go back to the bedroom to grab her bag.
Elio stopped her by grabbing her elbow and stepped up, his chest touching her back, leaving a trail of sparks flowing up and down her spine. A whimper escaped her lips as she realized that it was a feeling of excitement rather than fear.
There was nothing left of those negative emotions she’d had towards Elio. It angered her. She felt so out of control when it came to both her body and mind. She should remember Hunter and back away from the Enforcer, but everything in her was clearly working on completely shutting down any regret after her boss's death.
It was either her and the other employees or him.
People said that saving one should be as much of an achievement as saving more. But it wasn't. When there was a choice, no one should have any doubts about which one was better. The sacrifice had to be made and whether it was right or wrong, it was her decision. What she believed what right.
And even if she’d believed that Hunter deserved to outlive any of them, she would still choose the same. Because Aiden was who she would always put first. Someone who would tip the scale for her.
The man leaned down, burying his nose in her hair. They stayed like this for a while. That was perhaps the closest she’d been with anyone. And to make the matters worse, Elio was also the one who she had shared a kiss with. Everything was against her, betraying who she was and what she stood for. She only had herself to blame for letting him get close enough that she barely remembered why she couldn't give in to her desires.
If there was something that could turn it back around and change the course of their lives, it'd be Elio disappearing again. Nothing changed in that aspect. She still was raising her brother which was a huge responsibility and as she could see the Enforcer wasn't up for that job. Not that she trusted anyone other than Kate and Frank with Aiden.
Right now, she felt like she was failing him.
Big time.
Elio finally whirled her around. He grabbed Savannah's chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting her head up. Her long dark curls fell down her shoulders. Even without being combed, it looked styled.
Looking at him with those big, wonderful blue eyes, she seemed so innocent and vulnerable. It almost put Elio out of his comfort zone when dealing with girls. He had never cared about their feelings. For fuck's sake, he barely let them touch him unless it was to suck his cock, and here he was second-guessing each of his moves because of a waitress.
He couldn't be like this. It was a small step towards lacking as an Enforcer. One person couldn't fucking cause his mask of indifference to slip.
"Are you alright, baby girl?"
She snorted.
Perhaps it was a stupid question. However, he didn't necessarily mean yesterday's events. It seemed like something else was on the girl's mind.
"Talk to me, Savannah," he encouraged her.
He tightened his grip but only as a reassurance of his intentions. Which were for the first time completely genuine. He wanted to help.
Reluctantly, she said, "I'm scared, okay?"
Elio's eyes narrowed.
"You said that nothing is going to change but it's a lie, Elio. Everything will. And I barely got a hang of my life just for it to do a one-eighty. The diner is under the Famiglia's protection but your boss can decide to change its purpose and I'll be out of work because of my decision. What's worse, I should be grieving and here I am thinking that it's not Hunter's death that is important, but me being left without money," she let it all out.
And when Elio thought he couldn't admire her more, she proved him wrong. She felt all those conflicting emotions, thinking that it was the only one way she truly should react to everything. Yet she blamed herself for having a different approach. Caring about keeping a roof over he brother's head,
