The Mafia’s Queen: Entangled With A Psycho - Chapter 143

The music spewed louder and amid the fetid smell of beer and the throng, Navaya’s head began to spin. But she waited, just like she was told. Becca was coming to pick her up. She stared around the club, trying to scout out her bestie. Then she fixed her gaze at the entrance, eyes drooping. She stifled a yawn.

Becca promised to—

Her thoughts were snapped in half by the sight of a silhouette, barely visible to her insobriety in the dim lights of the club. Tall, broad shoulders— coming from the entrance. Utterly male.

Definitely not Becca.

She should look away, there was no point looking but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. To look away. Her eyes remained glued to the man as he ambled forward, every step commanding power, regal as a stallion. His face was a blur but what truly drew Navaya was the fluidity of his motion. His clothes— a white turtleneck sweater and faded jeans— were not something you would see every day at a club but she wasn’t judging. After all, it looked nice on him, it fits his muscular frame well. Same muscular frame advancing forth, eyes locked on her. Approaching her.

Navaya’s eyes widened as she stood up, defense mode automatically activated when he came closer and she clenched her bag tight with one hand when she saw the man reaching for her, her other hand rising to land a slap on the stranger for trying to touch her without permission but she froze when his face came into view, her sight clearing gradually as she gained a little relief from the effects of the booze.

” Johnny?” She tilted her head to one side, eyes narrowing in scrutiny to confirm if it was indeed him or if it was just the alcohol taunting her. It was probably the latter. Navaya’s head reeled with vertigo at the thought, almost losing balance. Her risen hand met the man’s face in a light caress. He lowered his head for her a little and she held him gently by the jaw, shifting his face from side to side as she inspected him, verifying her hypothesis.

” Oh,” She muttered softly.

” Are you now convinced it’s me?” Johnny asked, fighting the smile treading onto his lips when she nodded.

” I’m convinced now.” She answered. The sheer sensation that came with having her hand on him, touching him— feeling him— sent bliss zipping through Johnny. Her eyes stayed on the side of his face, mere centimeters away from his lips before, slowly, lifting her gaze to meet his.

Johnny’s stares tore quivers through her, eyes calm as the tranquil ocean, enthralling as the song of sirens. Beautiful. He was beautiful. And she was still touching his face.

She broke free from the hex, the glamor of his blue orbs, the inevitable abyss she would have been damned to if she kept indulging in this. In this shenanigans. Navaya retracted her hand from his face, forcing it to her side, and took a step away from him but somehow, she still felt the tingles of his facial hair against her palms seconds after.

She chose to ignore it. The alcohol, it just had to be it.

” Why are you here?” She stared at every aspect of his face but his eyes as she asked. Like she would turn to salt if she did otherwise. It was back to her treating him like a pestilence.

Johnny’s heart lurched into his stomach at her actions, his lips never parting to utter a word of complaint.

Give her time, she will come around. The words he kept telling himself over and over again and he heeded to them.

She will warm up to you again. She will love you again. Just give her some time.

” I’m here to take you home.” He said and Navaya blinked at him repeatedly, registering his words.

Take her home? What about Becca?

” But…” Her voice slurred once more as she trailed off, looking behind him to see if Becca accompanied him. When she didn’t catch a glimpse of her, she returned her attention to Johnny, forehead creased.

” Becca asked me to do so.”

The confusion on Navaya’s face and the way she kept checking behind him was more than enough to hint him at what she was thinking.

A brief skepticism glinted her eyes before plunging herself back on her seat, looking away.

” Then it’s fine. You don’t have to take me home. ” She rested her hands next to two empty bottles on the table in front of her. ” I’m not your responsibility.”

Although Navaya wasn’t looking his way anymore, she still couldn’t bring herself to focus on anyone else in the club but him. While she was supposedly ignoring him, all her attention was on him. Always, even when she didn’t want it to be.

Johnny stared at her, long and hard before shrugging his shoulders, turned around, leaving. Long legs granted him wider strides as he trotted away. Navaya snapped her gaze his way, eyes bulging when she saw him walking off without a care in the world. He was abandoning her. How could he? Wasn’t he here to take her home?

Though Navaya didn’t wish to go along with Johnny at first, him walking away now was a reaction she definitely hadn’t anticipated from him.

She jutted up and followed him without thinking. In fear of him leaving her alone there. Driving herself home was certainly out of the question. With how drunk she was, she could barely walk on her heels, talk more of control a steering wheel. There were so many awful things that could happen and getting arrested for drunk driving was the least of them.

Navaya quickened her pace to catch up with Johnny, careful not to trip and fall flat on her face. The sound of heels and Navaya’s exacerbated breaths, stretched a smile on Johnny’s lips. Her grumbling made his heart skip. And because he was now in such a good mood, he decided to reward her by slowing down a bit. Not too much though but just enough to make her think that she had succeeded in matching his speed. A free win. A little victory.

He was willing to give her many more.

Navaya’s chest was heaving by the time they got to where his car was parked and she glared at him as he opened the door to the passenger’s seat for her.

” Did you really have to park that far from the club?” Her breath came out in small pants.

Johnny didn’t respond, getting into the car and Navaya did so as well, snarling at him.

The ride was silent, peaceful, contrary to all the conversations they have been having lately. Conversations that always end up being arguments. The only problem here was that Navaya disliked it when he was this quiet. She stole glances, each time she did, he looked aloof. Like he wasn’t the least concerned about her or the fact that she was sitting next to him. A ghost. Her eyes twitched at his actions.

When he was silent, he ignored her. And when he ignores her, she gets disturbed. It’s what makes her tick.

The car stopped, dragging Navaya out of her chaotic thoughts. She turned to him in confusion and he cocked his head outside.

” Your house. We are here.” He said and she blinked, glancing at her house through the window.

” Oh,” Navaya muttered. She didn’t know why but she wished the ride lasted longer. Being ignored or not, Navaya couldn’t deny that the time she just spent with Johnny was a lot better than staying home alone. But it didn’t matter anymore, she was home now. Alone.

Her lips formed a pout as she opened the car door to step out, dropping one foot on the ground, followed by the other, and shut the door behind her. She took one step further, then another. Her head swirled with dizziness as she took the third step but lost her footing while taking the fourth, her heel broke, and fell on the ground, ankle sprained.

She let out a yelp.

” Navaya!” Johnny darted out of the car to where she fell, squatting next to her. ” Are you okay?”

His eyes scanned her legs to her ankle, where she was staring at. He felt the injured area and she gritted as pain lanced through her despite how gentle his touch was.

She swatted his hand away. ” It hurts, don’t touch it.” She grimaced.

He looked around then at her pain-streaked face in worry.

” Let me help you inside. Can you stand?” He asked and Navaya looked at her aching ankle then at him and back, nodding.

She let him place her arm over his shoulder and she hissed when he tried to help her up, the pain unbearable. Her jaw tightened as she let herself fall back to the ground.

Sitting with the pain was way more tolerable than standing with it.

” Perhaps I should just take you to the hospital.”

Navaya shot him a skeptical look. ” You want me to go to the hospital at this hour? Over a twisted ankle?” She would have laughed if pain wasn’t lacerating her senses. ” Just please help me inside.”

She paused when she recalled all the stairs she had to climb to get up to her bedroom, the excruciating suffering she would experience doing it now. The horror.

Navaya’s face that was once a blend of pain, fear, and despair, mellowed a bit.

” Or on second thought, you could just leave me out here. I have always dreamed of sleeping underneath the stars.” She added. Her words, a result of fear of the pain she would incur if she walked up to her room.

” You can’t be serious.” Johnny stared at her in disbelief but concern was still very conspicuous on his face. Concern that Navaya strived to overlook by avoiding his eyes.. In the end, she could only try.