CHAPTER XXXVII

R age.

I was drowning in boiling, scalding rage that felt like lava flowing through my veins, ready to erupt like a volcano. A rage I had never experienced until I walked into that room. The image needed to be bleached from my mind to obliterate that moment as if it had never existed.

My hands tightened around her frail body; I wanted to Hulk out and rip the fucker’s skin off in shreds. The urge to kill had never felt this strong—to kill each one of those fuckers.

The memory of how I found her would be burned into my mind for as long as I lived. Every detail spun around relentlessly like a broken record, and I couldn’t shut the damn thing off. It replayed while I stared at her pale face and the bruises marring her beautiful skin while she lay limply in my arms like a fragile angel who lost her wings.

Winter was working tonight, and the thought of seeing her had been the only thing on my mind all day. She was becoming a distraction that I couldn’t indulge in, especially with the Puppet Master at large. I needed to eliminate the fucker so I could go back to finding new ways to make my girl come.

I turned the corner toward Mya’s office, my mind racing with thoughts of wanting to strip Winter naked and pleasure her with my tongue, when a hard shoulder collided with mine.

“What’s the point of a bodyguard if they can’t do their job right to protect her?” a man’s voice said, forcing me to stop moving.

I glanced back in slow motion to confront the voice’s owner. It was some fucking prep boy with bleach blond hair I’d never seen before. He sure as hell wasn’t a VIP member.

Who the hell was this guy? A new server? And what was he doing wandering around my halls?

“You lost, motherfucker?” In my peripheral vision, I saw Miguel, Luca and Matteo slowly walking toward me, ready to intervene.

Ken wannabe glanced over my shoulder briefly, then turned his gaze back to me, his expression unreadable. “You really should go check on your girl,” he said. He started to walk away with a quick two-finger salute.

Without hesitation, the guys sprang into action, following my lead as I ran down the hall while Miguel restrained the fucker.

I shut my eyes, trying to erase the image of those two sick fuckers touching her body and violating her. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I walked into the room of horror.

The look on Winter’s face.

She was lying on the bed, comatose, with a blank stare as tears fell from her eyes as if she was blocking something out. I forced myself to hold back from ripping out the fucker’s throat. The last thing I wanted to do was scare the shit out of my Angel.

Now, I raised my head, taking a deep breath to control my emotions. We finally pulled into the driveway, and Enzo stepped out and opened the back door. Gently, I wrapped Winter in the sheet covering her body and lifted her in my arms. Her face was cradled against my chest. I wondered if she could hear the hammering of my heart.

I was so fucking angry, but there was another feeling I didn’t recognize that was stronger than anger. Betrayal. Sadness. Grief. Could you experience grief when someone wasn’t dead?

I carried Winter to my room and laid her down on my bed, then gripped my hair in frustration and tried to get my shit together before I broke everything in this house. I watched Winter take slow and even breaths and took in the swelling and bruising on her left cheek, the cut lip, matted hair, and dry tear tracks on her face.

I gazed up and down her body, the sheet hiding the number of bruises they left on her perfect skin. I shuddered, clenching my eyes shut. Footsteps stomped down the hall, and I pulled my gun out from underneath the desk, ready to shoot a motherfucker. Instead, I came face to face with a heartbroken Matteo and a disheveled Lo.

“What do you need?” Matteo asked, his eyes never leaving where Winter laid.

“I need to chop those fuckers’ dicks off is what I fucking need,” I snapped, setting the gun back underneath the desk.

I crouched by Winter’s side and brushed her hair from her face. Bile forced its way up my throat when I looked at her beautiful face covered in dry blood and bruises.

“I need to clean her wounds. Can you get me bandages, ointment, and alcohol?” I asked.

“The doctor can do that, Nico,” Lo said.

“I know. But I want to do it.”

Lo silently walked away to retrieve the items I asked for.

“Did they…did…they rape her?” Luca quietly asked when he stepped into the room.

“No.” I cringed at the thought.

A few minutes later, Lo returned with the items I asked for and a basin filled with warm water. Winter stirred in bed and let out a painful moan.

Heeled shoes clicked down the marble floors, and I looked up to see Mya and Mom framed in the doorway, each of them glancing around until their eyes landed on Winter. Demon snuck into the room with them, leaped onto the bed, and snuggled beside my angel, emitting a soft, sad whimper as if he could sense her pain.

Mom’s gaze met mine, her eyes filled with an understanding that needed no words. She knew how hard I was taking this and that I was trying not to lose my shit and how far I would go to avenge my girl.

“Nico, Jacobi is here. Let him take care of her,” Mom said.

“I’ll take care of her,” Jacobi said as he stepped closer.

I nodded, but the knot in my stomach tightened.

One by one, we walked out of the room, but not before I took one more glance at Winter. Her eyes were open and looking right at me. When did she wake up? A lone tear fell down her cheek.

“Nico,” Mom said. I froze in place, wanting to turn back time so this never would have happened.

“Nico. We’ve got this.”

* * *

“Where did you take them?” I snapped at Luca, striding past the guys. I yanked open the fridge and grabbed a beer. Popping the cap off with a bottle opener, I downed half the bottle in one go, but the bitterness did nothing to wash away the shit day.

Luca’s voice was flat, void of emotion. “The old mill.”

The old mill factory hadn’t been used in over twenty years, and it had been left like a rotting corpse, the city never bothering to rebuild it.

I glanced down at the blood on my hands—Winter’s blood. “Who was the preppy fucker?” I asked.

Lo spoke up, his voice quiet. “They’re not talking.”

“The piece of crap wouldn’t say a word,” Luca added, his eyes fixed on his laptop screen. “I’m checking the cameras now.”

My eyes flicked to Matteo, looking like he was about to rip someone in two.

We shared the same rage.

Lo’s eyes went wide. “Oh, shit. The guy... he was with Preston at the charity event. I remember seeing them together.”

I set my beer on the counter and stepped toward the table. “What the fuck did you just say, Lo?”

“Fuck, he’s right,” Luca said. He swiveled the laptop in my direction and pressed the play button. “Watch this right here.” He pointed to the screen, and that was when I saw him .

Preston. Pencil-dick motherfucker.

There he was, the other fucker walking alongside Preston, their heads close together. My fingers curled into fists as I watched them, my jaw clenched. “Fast forward,” I grit out.

Luca nodded, typing rapidly. “Cazzo,” he muttered.

My heart stopped as I saw the fear in their eyes. “What?”

Luca hesitated. “You don’t want to see this, Nico. I’m serious.”

I snatched the laptop from him, my hands shaking, and hit play. The screen came to life, and my breath caught in my throat. It was her. My girl. And that piece of shit was all over her, invading her space. My hands curled around the laptop, my knuckles turning white as I watched, helpless, as he slapped her. Her head snapped back and she fell, crumpling to the ground.

With a roar of rage, I hurled the laptop against the wall, the screen shattering. “FUCK!” The word tore from my throat as I slid down the counter, my legs unable to hold me.

I’d butcher men without remorse and paint their blood on the walls as if it was some fucking piece of art. But this...this was different. My soul laid bare, utterly consumed by rage and anguish.

My men stayed with me and watched their mafia king break apart, waiting for the explosion. My wrath would awaken the demon inside me, summon hell, and unleash my demons to wreak havoc on Earth to avenge my Angel.

“How did they get to her?” My voice was hoarse, the words muffled as I spoke into my hands.

No one responded.

My head snapped up. “Where the hell were you, Enzo? Explain to me how this happened.”

Enzo opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

“Where. The. Fuck. Were. You?” I repeated.

Enzo stood, stoic, but I could see the weight of remorse consuming him like a raging fire, burning everything in its path.

“How the fuck did they get to her? Goddammit, Enzo, answer me!” I charged him. “My girl was almost...” I couldn’t even finish the sentence because the pain was taking over, and it was tearing me apart.

“Nico, breathe,” Matteo warned, but I was beyond reason.

“Answer me, you fucker!” I lunged for Enzo. Matteo intervened, holding me back. “Why wasn’t she protected? How did this happen? Huh?” I panted, my chest heaving.

Enzo’s fists clenched, and he looked at each of us, his eyes filled with self-loathing. “I know, boss. This is on me.”

“Why didn’t you ask someone else to stand guard? How did those fuckers take her without anyone knowing? If I hadn’t gotten there seconds later, those assholes would’ve fucking raped her!” I yelled.

Enzo stepped forward, his face twisted with guilt. “You don’t think I know that?” he shouted back. “She was my responsibility. I should’ve been there. I failed you both!” He hit his chest.

“Damn right, you should’ve!” I roared, pointing at him.

“Both of you, shut the fuck up!” Matteo snarled, pushing me backward. “This isn’t helping. You going at each other is going to solve jack shit. It’s not all his fault, Nico.”

I struggled against Matteo’s hold, my eyes never leaving Enzo. “You should’ve?—“

“No,” Matteo cut me off. “Enzo is not the enemy, Nico. We need to work together. Placing blame on any one of us isn’t helping Winter.”

My nostrils flared, and for a moment, I thought about landing my fist in Matteo’s face. But then the anger drained from my body, leaving only pain behind.

Matteo continued, his voice laced with steel. “This isn’t just on Enzo. It happened in your club, Nico. Under our watch. We all failed Winter, and the only way to make this right is to kill those motherfuckers.”