Page 74 of Ruthless Guardian

“Cazzo,” he grinds out.

As one hand clutches my elbow his free one slides down to his hip where his gun is hidden. Like the perfect hunter, his muscles are coiled, prepared to strike. My gaze bounces between Raf and the approaching strangers, a chill surging up my spine. I’ve seen my guard in a variety of dangerous circumstances, but I’ve never seen him like this. That tension surges from his body, leeching into my own until a tight knot twists in my gut. Serena is oblivious to the entire drama, chattering away about her pretty flower until her gaze lifts and locks on the first of the two men.

“Oh,Dio,” she murmurs, before fanning herself. “And this is exactly why I have no plans of ever returning to Manhattan again.”

The first man, with eyes as dark as midnight, pauses, his piercing gaze raking up and down Serena, taking in every inch of her scandalous, curve-hugging, ruby-red mini. The man is hot as hell with a decidedly dangerous edge. Maybe it’s the tattoos peeking out from beneath his collar or that predatorial stare.

“Keep moving,” Raf growls through clenched teeth as he attempts to steer me around the rising swell of black suits.

“Please don’t tell me you’re leaving already,signorina.” The second guy, who looks strikingly similar to the first, only instead of the dark eyes and hair, he is blessed with deep emerald irises and tendrils of light chestnut that fall across his brow. “The party is only just beginning.”

“That’s exactly what I was saying?—”

I grab Serena’s hand and squeeze so tight I cut off the rest of her sentence. My cousin might be a little flighty at times, but she knows me well enough to pick up on my not-so-subtle hints.

A wall of men now blocks the pathway to the car, the two attractive ones who are clearly in charge taking turns ogling Serena, then glaring at Raf, or rather at his hand squeezing the shit out of my arm.

“Raffa,” the taller one hisses, “all this time in Roma and not even a call?”

Serena spins at my guard, finally freed from the stare down with the gorgeous stranger. “You know these two?”

“Not anymore,” he grits out.

The dark-haired guy steps closer, and Raf positions himself in front of me, a flesh and blood wall. “Come on now,fratellino, that’s no way to talk about your brothers.”

My jaw unhinges, and Raf’s grip on my arm turns punishing. I let out an embarrassing squeal before biting my tongue to keep the string of curses from erupting next.

“Brothers?” A sharp, slightly unhinged laugh bubbles out from the hard line of Raf’s lips.

In that moment, it occurs to me despite spending nearly twenty-four hours a day with my bodyguard for months now, I know nothing about him. He has brothers? Here in Rome? How could he not tell me?

“That’s funny,” he hisses, a violent edge to his tone. “Both of you made your choice long ago.” He ticks his head at the green-eyed one. “Besides, Giuseppe told me you knew I was here weeks ago, Antonio.”

Antonio, the taller one with the piercing coal-black eyes, sears the brother to his right with a glare before returning that hard gaze back onto Raf.

“Oh, so Giuseppe didn’t tell you we ran into each other? Or that I called him prior to my arrival?” A devious grin softens the hard line of Raf’s jaw. “What’s wrong, Antonio? Are you losing control over your men? It’s a fucking shame when you can’t even trust your own damned blood, isn’t it?”

Antonio erases the space between them, fury carving into his jaw. “Vaffanculo,Raffa.”

“You first, Toni.” Despite my bodyguard being the younger brother, he’s the biggest of all three. And right now, looming over his siblings with his chest puffed out like a fucking peacock and the murderous rage set into his features, he looks damned terrifying.

And it makes me stand a little taller.

“Clearly, there’s some family history going on here that we’re not aware of.” Serena steps between the brothers, her sparkly clutch in hand, and runs a perfectly manicured fingernail across Antonio’s shoulder. “Let’s not allow it to ruin anyone’s night.”Two of the guards surge forward, but Toni lifts a dismissive hand, and his men freeze midstride. What only I know is that Serena’s designer purse hides a loaded Glock 42.

“My apologies, ladies, my brother and I have been extremely rude.” A practiced smile slides across Antonio’s face as he takes a step back and adjusts the pristine white collar of his shirt. “Seeing our long-lost brother caught me a bit off guard.” His dark gaze zips to Raf before settling on Serena once again. “My name is Antonio Ferrara, and this is my younger brother, Giuseppe.” He signals toward the hilltop nightclub. “And this is our fine establishment.”

Raffaele mutters a curse, dragging his fingers through the tangle of dark locks.

Antonio extends a hand, twin pools of darkness scrutinizing every inch of me. “And you must be my brother’s new client.”

“Don’t touch her,” Raf growls, the savage sound vibrating his entire torso. He drags me in closer so that I can feel every twitch of his muscle and the rapid staccato of his heart.

“Always so protective,fratellino… and that temper. I hope it hasn’t gotten you into more trouble.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m handling my business just fine.”

“Clearly.” Again, that hard gaze rakes over me, searching for what I’m not certain, but he sure as shit isn’t going to find it in my cleavage. I glare right back, crossing my arms to cover the plunging neckline of my top. Raf likes to treat me like a fragile little thing, but I’m more than capable of handling myself.

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