Page 61 of Twisted Fate

“I want Bianchi,” Leo snarls.

“You think I don’t?” Damian snarls right back.

“Then we are in agreement,” Leo says, his dark gaze flicking to me. “Let’s get some answers.”

“You will not fucking touch her,” Damian says. “You hear me?”

“Who’s going to stop me?”

“I am.”

With that, Damian physically drags Leo out of the cabin as I watch with shock.

It takes me a moment to gather myself, to drag on panties and bra and the pink dress I wore yesterday, to decide if I should stay put or follow. In the end, I follow, reaching the aft deck just as, with a roar, Damian wrestles Leo down.

22

Damian

Family first. Always.

That loyalty is branded on my soul, steeped in my bones and tissues. I was born to this code, raised to honor it, and I know no other way.

But as I slapped open the door to the stateroom and found Leo with his hand around Alina’s throat, there was only one thing that mattered. Protecting her. Keeping her safe. Even if I had to stand against my brother to do it.

I’d wanted to comfort Alina, to sweep her in my arms and cradle her against me and swear no one would ever hurt her again. I’d wanted to pound my brother senseless for daring to put his hands on her.

Instead, I’d tried reason. I’d offered words and logic scraped from my tangled, twisted thoughts. Thoughts of breaking his fingers one at a time for touching her.

Leo wasn’t interested in words or logic.

Problem is, Leo isn’t just my brother. He is the head of our family, our organization. In all my life, I never imagined a moment where I would stand against him.

But that moment is now. Here.

For Alina.

My rage and righteous fury lend me the advantage as I drag my brother to the aft deck. I don’t actually plan to take him there, I just move, wanting him as far from Alina as he can be. Short of pushing him into the ocean, this is it.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Leo snarls. “She’s no one. Nothing.”

She is everything.

We wrestle as we haven’t in years, chests heaving, muscles straining.

I go down on one knee, surging forward, head up, back straight, hips close to Leo’s leg as I lock my arms behind his knee. Pushing forward with my back leg, I drive myself back onto my feet, hauling Leo’s leg up as I move. I keep moving forward, forcing Leo back, forcing him off balance until he goes down. With a roar, I fall on him, my fists thudding against his flesh.

23

Alina

I watch in horror as the brothers pummel each other, a flurry of fists, grunts, and curses. Leo lands an elbow strike to Damian’s temple. I gasp, certain the bone will break under the force of the blow. Damian responds with a straight punch to Leo’s throat.

They’re going to kill each other. Because of me.

Frantic, I look around for help and find Luca standing against the railing with his arms crossed over his massive chest, his expression unreadable as he watches the two men fight.

“Do something!” I yell, grabbing his forearm and tugging.

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