CHAPTER XXXIV

I pounded away the thoughts of Winter.

The way her face scrunched when she was upset.

Her amber eyes that sparkled like jewels when she was turned on.

Her soft lips.

The way she smelled.

And how receptive she was to my touch.

It was like she ripped my already dying heart out of my chest with how she made me feel and brought it back to life.

I got a taste of her and wanted more.

I was falling fucking hard.

My fists pounded against the bag repeatedly, and I was pissed off now that I was starting to feel things for her. Confused as fuck, I tried to wrap my head around this shit.

“FUCK!” I roared, knocking the bag off from the ceiling.I stalked over to the bench and unrolled the tape from my bloody knuckles.Right as I went to grab my bottle of water, Lo, Luca, and Matteo burst into the room like they were ready for war.

“What’s going on?” If it was another shipment, I was going to lose my shit.

Lo came charging at me and said, “We got a problem. Enzo needs us. Now .”

“Why? What happened?” I asked.

“There’s a situation that requires a... clean-up,” Matteo said slowly.

“Winter’s been attacked,” Luca said.

My blood ran cold.

“Is she okay?” I asked, but the way the guys were looking at me, they knew it was going to be an early Fourth of July.

“Yeah, just shaken up, but Nico, you have to know that it was Tabi’s ex-boyfriend who was just released from prison,” Matteo explained.

My head snapped in his direction. “What?”

“I’m still looking into Tabi’s ex, and at the security cameras outside her place to see if anyone else was with him or followed him,” Luca added.

“Why the hell was he at Winter’s place?” I asked, confused and pissed off.

“Winter was babysitting Tabi’s son,” Lo answered.

“Also, he kicked down her door and...” Matteo added but paused when he noticed the rage bleeding out of my pores.

“He what ? Finish the fucking sentence,” I growled, my jaw tightening. If he touched her, I’d kill him. I’d give him a slow and torturous death, and then resuscitate him and do it all over again.

Matteo looked at the guys as if he was debating how to answer.

“Just spit it out!”

But he didn’t have to say anything because the answer was written all over his face. Fury pulsed through my veins, vibrating every fiber of my being. The image of Winter in danger, that bastard laying a hand on her... it sent me over the edge. Everything in front of me reddened, and my knuckles turned white as I clenched my hands into fists, ready to unleash hell.

The room fell silent, my anger pressing down on us all. No one dared speak; no one dared move. I was a force of nature, and nothing would stand in my way.

“I’ll be right out,” I told them.

They nodded and walked away, but Matteo stayed behind.

“Do we need to duke it out?” Matteo asked me.

I looked at him and raised my brow. When I felt like I was losing control in the past, Matteo would offer to be my dummy while I pounded all the anger out.

“Why? Because I’m close to losing my shit after learning that Winter was fucking attacked in her own home?”

Rage swept through me like a wildfire at knowing someone put their hands on my angel and that I wasn’t there to protect her. Had she stayed at my place, none of this would’ve happened.

“See? This is what I was talking about. You always react like a fucking barbarian. You need to be calm the fuck down,” he said.

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down.”

“Listen, you hothead motherfucker.” Matteo moved to stand in front of me. “She’s not from our world. You don’t know how she’s going to react if you walk in and shoot the fucker in the head while she watches.”

“The fuck are you on about? You talk like she means something to me.”

Matteo let out a humorless laugh. “Do you hear yourself? You know everything about that girl to the point of obsession. And you haven’t been with anyone else since she marched her fine ass into the club.”

I glared at him at the mention of her perfect ass.

“You care about her.”

No.

“You want her but are afraid to take that next step.”

No.

“You’re afraid to have something good and then losing it.”

“NO! Shut the fuck up!” I roared like a maniac.

This girl was going to be the death of me.

She was in me wherever I went.

I could feel her in my fucking bones.

I couldn’t pull her out of me, no matter how hard I tried.

I paced around the gym with both hands behind my neck, feeling my muscles tense.

“Nico, there’s no shame in feeling something for someone. I can see how good she can be for you, and you could also be good for her.”

I turned to face him, dumbfounded by what he was saying, “How? How the fuck could I be good for her?”

“Because the devil would do anything to protect his angel.”