7. Emilio

Chapter 7

Emilio

His Isa

E milio thrummed his fingers against his pants in agitation. Seated back in his SUV, he wanted nothing more than to rip his Isa from Maddox’s grip.

But he couldn’t. He promised her that she was free to have these men in her life.

“Where are we going?” Oliver asked from beside him.

No, Emilio didn’t get to hold his Isa. Instead he was leg to leg with the bane of his existence.

One of his first and most trusted allies.

The man that helped him to exact his revenge.

“To Emilio’s house,” Isa murmured out as she melted further into Maddox’s arms. Emilio watched her in a haze.

It didn’t look particularly comfortable to Emilio, but contrary to his thoughts, it was only a few minutes of uncomfortable silence later that Isa was fast asleep.

He didn’t blame her, once the adrenaline wears off, all that settles in its dust is a bone deep exhaustion.

Isa let out a mewling snore.

Emilio bent forward to stroke her face, ignoring Maddox entirely .

“Why are you wearing wedding bands?” Maddox grumbled softly; reaching up to brush Emilio’s hand away but Emilio was already settling back in his seat.

Emilio’s dick was hardened uncomfortably in his pants. He wanted nothing more than to wake her up on his fingers again, but first, he needed to set ground rules. Establish his newfound unwanted acquaintance with the other men in this car.

“Look.” He rubbed his temple and angled as far away from Oliver as he could, surveying both the men.

He was used to being the youngest, of others looking down on him for it, but that wasn’t going to happen here. If either of these men fucked up, or hurt his Isa? He would kill them with his own bare hands.

He didn’t care about the history he and Oliver shared. It wouldn’t matter.

“I think before we get into that there’s something else you both need to be aware of.” He lifted his lips as if to smile, before baring his teeth at them. “You two and Yara all ought to look into vetting your security teams better. I’m Emilio, but you also know me by the names of Milo or perhaps even Emil.”

They both opened their mouths in shock; Oliver’s face whitening, Maddox’s hold on Isa noticeably tightening.

“There is something else you need to get straight. Isa and I have history. She is, and always has been, mine. ”

“This is what you were doing when I asked you to watch after her? Keep her safe from that asshole of a step-father? You were getting closer? Crawling your disgusting vines into her orbit? She is too good for you. You’re a fucking killer,” Oliver’s hushed whisper did nothing to dispel the obvious vitriol he spat at Emilio .

“Aren’t we all?” Emilio relaxed his shoulders, his head leaning back as he finally ripped his attention from Isa.

Everything Emilio touched turned into destruction. Bloody. Chaos.

That was why he told Isa he couldn’t be with her. Why he promised her a summer.

One summer.

But then she said those fucking words.

“She loves me.” Emilio didn’t bother to look at the men when he said it. Those words had shifted the course of his life, they had upended all of his previous plans, dissipated his need for revenge.

He knew Oliver and Maddox wouldn’t take it well, wouldn’t believe him. They would have to continue this conversation when Isa was awake to tell her side.

“Bullshit,” Oliver barked out. It was a harsh noise. Nails against a chalkboard.

Except, maybe it was just Oliver’s voice. It irritated Emilio. Because Emilio knew Oliver wasn’t a good man. Oliver hid behind his suits, his false smile, his pretty boy features. But Emilio knew the truth.

Had witnessed his depravity firsthand.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not, it’s the truth.” He finally looked to the men, his hands going to his knees, he tipped his head forward as if to share a secret. “And let’s get one thing straight here. You may not have known it was me, but I have been helping you ‘handle’ Isa’s issues for years. Or have you already forgotten? The ex-boyfriends? The cameras? The tracking? All of it. I am Milo, remember? I know your dirty fucking secrets, and maybe you told her part of it. But does she know the lengths you two went to? The men that you had removed from her life? That you set up each and every one of her relationships for failure? Sure, I was happy to help, but you two were the ones calling the shots. Are you going to tell her about Harry ?”

The last decade had been exhausting. Living between New York and Florida. Keeping tabs on his family and Isa. But it had all been worth it.

He hadn’t managed to conquer the town, but he was already one step closer.

“You wouldn’t , it would implicate you too.” Oliver’s eyes met Emilio’s.

Bright blue, like a robin’s fucking egg. He was the boy next door, an assuming assailant. It pissed off Emilio.

“And? I’m not the one that wrapped myself in a pretty package and called myself a good man. She knows who I am. She searched for me after we were separated, discovered my family’s connections and indiscretions . I told her as much when we were together. Yet she still fell into my arms after I found her on that roof, just like I had all those years ago.”

“The roof?” Maddox finally spoke up again.

Emilio surveyed them both.

They didn’t even know that much?

He bared his teeth, his nostrils flaring. “Does she even trust you two? Or have you forced her to? Isolated her from any other healthy relationship. Do you think maybe without the two of you in her life she might have been happy?” Emilio was applying pressure to their nerves, doing his best to poke and prod at Oliver. He didn’t like this version, he wanted to see the one he had met all those years ago. The one coated in blood.

“And what about you? How long have you been watching from the shadows like a fucking creep? Why didn’t you do something, say something? What were you waiting for?” Oliver’s voice was a knife scratching a plate.

Grima. Emilio had heard that word a lot growing up and it is what he felt now. Disgust .

Emilio heaved a sigh. They were almost to his home now, and he watched as the front gate swung open to allow them in. He always wondered if the gate was for his protection or for the rest of the town’s.

“I promised her 10 years. She had those years to find a healthier, easier, safer life. But instead, she stayed in the lives of a pretty monster”–Emilio turned from Oliver and finally took in Maddox–“and a brute with a chip on his shoulder who has a death count longer than my own.”

Maddox narrowed his eyes. “It appears you did your homework on me. I’m guessing you know all of the bits and pieces of my despicable past. And I understand that you are threatening us. I get it, but I am offering you this. I will trust you for Ellie’s sake, but the moment you hurt her–and I know you will hurt her—you will see exactly why my death count is so high. Did your background check show how many of those were done with my bare hands? Do you know how to kill a man without your gun? Without a weapon? Don’t play with me, boy. ” Maddox’s guttural voice was thick with rage.

Emilio couldn’t help the laugh that burst from him. He had been underestimated for years by men older and scarier than Maddox. At this point, he found it hilarious more than anything else.

Maddox didn’t have a chance to react before Isa shifted against him.

The noise startling her, and all of Emilio’s previous annoyance from the men dissolved. Her eyes fluttered open a bit before she let out a yawn.

The cute soft noise cut through the tension of the car.

“Oh, hi there guys. You’re all staring at me. Is there something on my face?” Said face was turning pink now. It reminded Emilio of when she told him she loved him all those years ago.

His heart beat painfully against his chest. He had missed her so much. The 10 years of being in her orbit, just out of her reach, were tortuous. Watching as she made mistake after mistake. But she needed to work through it on her own. Emilio owed her 10 years away from him and she had it.

But the two leeches she had contracted were not part of his original plan. No matter, he could pivot. While jealousy was crawling across his skin, an even deeper more visceral feeling was penetrating his veins. His body. His soul.

Love .

“Just discussing our future,” Maddox reassured her, his beefy hand reaching up to cup her cheek as he placed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

Isa pushed into his lips, her features softening, a beautifully bright smile encompassing her face.

Emilio expected his jealousy to turn explosive, but he was shocked when something else entirely happened. His dick that he had finally gotten under control, grew to attention again.

Before he had time to truly put thought behind the nuances of what that meant, the car came to a stop.

“I’m calling Yara,” Kazi stated before exiting the vehicle and slamming the door shut.

Emilio didn’t acknowledge him. Yara was a pain, but he couldn’t do anything about her. Isa wouldn’t approve of that.

Emilio wondered if Isa would feel differently if she found out the secret Yara was keeping.

Because it was certainly going to change the course of their lives.