Chapter 15

“Marco, no!” A blood-curdling scream escapes my lips as I wrestle against my captor’s shirt, trying to untangle myself before bolting upright in bed, realizing I was dreaming and not back in my father’s house. My breathing becomes labored as I find it difficult to regain control, with the horrid images still flashing through my mind.

My face is wet with tears as he pulls me into his bare chest. “Hey, it’s okay.” He strokes my hair.

I sob into his sturdy, exposed chest, finally releasing everything after such a long time. He holds me closely, brushing my hair with his fingers in a rhythmic pattern that’s comforting. Slowly my tears dry up, and I peel open my eyes, pulling away from him quickly when I notice the monster tattoo on his forearm.

“Maddox?” I whisper, realizing who’s cradling me. “What are you doing in my room?”

“Heard you scream,” he mutters .

“I was screaming?” I question, glancing back at him, horrified it was him out of the three of them that heard me. I fell asleep beside Ricky, so when I woke up, I thought it was him beside me.

He gives a nod.

I run my hand across my face in an attempt to wake myself up. “What did I say?”

“Nothing. You were just having a bad dream,” he says, but I can tell he’s lying.

“I’m living in a bad dream,” I mutter. And he’s the monster who caused it.

Not that long ago, I was a carefree college student, just waiting for the Christmas break so I could come home and spend some quality time with Marco, a time that will never come now. I was home for one day when they broke in and stole my life from me. Tears slip down my cheeks at the thought. I can’t stop them now that I have opened the floodgates.

The memory of my brother, Marco, is a bittersweet ache that lingers in the corners of my mind, a constant reminder of the love and warmth he brought into my life. Whenever I allow myself to drift back to those cherished moments, emotions surge like a tidal wave.

Marco wasn’t just a brother; he was my rock. After our mother’s passing, he became my steadfast protector, shouldering the weight of responsibility with unwavering grace. Every day, he selflessly devoted himself to filling the void left by her absence, stepping into her shoes with a tenderness and care that belied his years.

Despite the gaping hole in our family left by our mother’s departure, Marco never let me feel alone. Even when our father’s grief became too heavy to bear, and I was sent away to boarding school. His daily phone calls were a lifeline, each word a soothing melody that eased the ache of separation and reminded me that, no matter the distance, I was never truly alone. As I navigate this world without him by my side, I carry his memory in my heart, a cherished treasure to hold on to in the darkest of nights. He would have done anything for me, and I will for him.

“Get out of my room, Maddox, so I can go back to sleep.”

Maddox’s eyes meet mine. They’re softer this time of the night, losing the hard edge he has around the other guys. “Only when I know you’re okay.”

I peer back at him, my eyes glassy with confusion. “What do you care if I’m okay or not? I have literal bruises on my neck from you manhandling me tonight. I think we can both agree that I’m just a pain in your ass, one that you would eliminate if it wasn’t for who I am to Alex.”

His thick fingers come to my neck, and he runs a thumb over the bruising, inspecting his handiwork. And for some fucked-up reason, I don’t pull away. I let him slide his flesh over mine, and it sends a shiver down my arms. His touch is too light and careful for him. He looks me over like I’m an injured little bird he wants to care for. But that’s not him; he’s a monster who wants to destroy me, not help me. “You don’t know what you mean to me, temptress… What I would do for you.” His voice comes out as barely a whisper, but I hear his words loud and clear. I just don’t understand them.

I study his thoughtful expression, wondering what he’s going on about. “But you know everything about me. Don’t you, big guy.” I raise a knowing brow, my expression holding a bitchy edge now.

His eyes meet mine, and they’re haunted, and something in his expression sends gut-wrenching pain to my chest. “You. Don’t remember me?” he utters.

My brow knits together, a fresh wave of anger coming over me. “I remember you. You’re the one who was holding a gun when you and Ricky broke into my father’s house. Your face still haunts me from that night.”

His eyes meet mine, and something shifts between us, something I don’t understand. “That wasn’t the first time we met.”

I rack my brain, trying to picture him in my life earlier, but I come up with nothing. The first time I remember seeing this man was that awful night.

When I don’t answer him, he stands, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.

But I’m not done with this conversation. I might not remember him, but he sure as shit knows everything about me, and I want to know why. “Are you the one who found my car? If you are, I want my phone back.”

He lets out a low, dark chuckle. “You can have your phone back if you tell me why you came here to find us. What did you think you were doing trespassing on Moretti property?”

I adjust my position in bed, rising to my knees and meeting his gaze. I have nothing to hide. “Don’t pretend you’re not the monster I know you are. I know what you did, Maddox. You’re lucky I don’t have any of my weapons.”

Without warning, he grabs my wrists, and I jump out of my skin. “You know nothing. Nothing.”

My heart races frantically. He’s scary as fuck when he’s like this, but I can’t let him know that. As our eyes meet, I tilt my head defiantly, sensing a dark and unsettling force growing inside me. He can’t sit here and pretend now. “I know what I saw with my own two eyes. You’re the reason I have nothing left to live for. You! I don’t sleep properly because of you and your fucking brothers who crept into my family’s home in the middle of the night and took the only people I care about away from me. ”

He matches my intensity, staring me down with his nostrils flaring. “You only think you know what you saw.” He drops my arms, forcing me to fly back onto my bed, then takes off out of my room. Stalking back seconds later, he throws down my wallet and phone. I fucking knew it was him who had them.

I snap them up greedily, tapping my phone screen, only to realize it’s not quite how I left it. It’s charged up but has no service. “It’s no fucking good to me without the SIM card,” I snap angrily, the small slither of hope I just had vanishing.

He shrugs like the uncaring asshole he is. “I held my end of the deal.” His lips turn up smugly.

In a fit of rage, I throw my phone across the room. “Asshole,” I cry before wrapping my covers protectively around me so I can block him out.

“How do you know Geovani D’Amico?” he asks, making my skin prickle. Who the hell is he talking about?

When I don’t move, he moves closer, forcing me to look up at him.

“Answer me. I heard you call out Ian when you saw him tonight. How the fuck do you know the son of the most notorious mafia family in Ravens Hollow?”

My spine straightens, images of the last six months flashing through my mind like a slide show. He told me he was a detective investigating a string of burglaries in my neighborhood. He told me… I thought… I only ever saw him in the gym. No one ever called him Geovani. But when I think about it, I never saw him around another person. It was always late, and we were there alone.

Nausea rolls in my stomach, and I stand abruptly, making a run for the bathroom. Throwing the toilet seat up, I empty the contents of my stomach, tears of confusion blurring my eyes. He was there the night my family were killed. He said… he said he was undercover; he could help me. But if he is who Maddox says, it was all lies. That whole six months was a big fucking lie.

“Are you okay?” Maddox asks from the doorway in a tone that makes me believe he actually cares.

I glare at him over my shoulder. “What do you think.” With shaky legs, I get to my feet. “Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on,” I yell, anger radiating through my tired body.

“How do you know him, temptress?” His voice is softer this time, more caring.

“I don’t think I know him. The guy I knew introduced himself as Ian, an undercover cop who could help me get revenge on the people who killed my family… He was my trainer.” My stomach rolls again when I think of our last night together. He was more than my trainer, but I’m not admitting that to Maddox after what he just told me. I go to the vanity and splash cold water over my face, trying to erase the memories. Trying to get a grasp on this reality.

I feel Maddox right behind me, but I don’t want to look at him. I can’t. His hand comes to my shoulder, and our eyes meet in the mirror. “Did he touch you?”

I stare back at him, not sure what to say. My bottom lip trembles with the fear of what this all means.

He takes a step back, running a hand through his bleached mohawk. “I’m going to fucking kill him myself.” He storms from the bathroom.

I jump when I hear shattering glass and what could be drywall exploding as Maddox takes off on a furious rampage through the house. I fucked the son of the most notorious mafia family in Ravens Hollow. Geovani D’Amico. Oh my fucking God.