Page 28 of Wicked Games of Desire

Alessandro jumps the ring and is out the door in an instant, his brow furrowing angrily. “What are you doing up here?” he demands, looking guilty as fuck but also deadly with his hands wrapped and chest bare, muscles bulging.

Ricky and Maddox follow him out of the room. Their eyes meet mine, and I get momentarily distracted, with them all so close and so half naked. They resemble finely crafted marble statues—each one meticulously sculpted, with perspiration glistening over their bare ink-covered torsos. Except for Alessandro, he’s ink-free. Sexy fuckers, the three of them. But they chill me to the core with their irritated glares.

I back up until I hit the wall behind me. Ricky’s gaze softens something inside me, and I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. Last night I had hoped he would stay after I fell asleep in his arms, but he had slipped away into the night. I woke up to find myself dressed in a T-shirt and panties. The thought made me smile; he strangely likes to take care of me. It would be endearing if he wasn’t a psycho.

Then there’s Maddox, with his striking looks that do nothing to mask the danger lurking beneath the surface. He is a clusterfuck of confusing, cruel and hard, yet he was there to comfort me when Ineeded it. And it was him trying to stick up for me this morning against Alex.

But it’s Alessandro who commands my attention now, his expression growing darker by the second.

“W…what do you need to tell me?” I stutter out innocently, even though the storm brewing inside me threatens to burst forth at any moment. I hate secrets, and these three have done nothing but keep me in the dark for days. It’s time I know what’s really going on here.

Alessandro’s nostrils flare, and Ricky steps forward. “How much did you hear?” he demands, his voice tight with tension.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning and drop the bullshit, Ricky?” I snap, frustration boiling inside me. “You don’t need to protect me. I can handle myself. I spent six months doing it before I stupidly followed you lot back here.” I roll my eyes at my foolishness as much as anything. “What you need to do is be honest with me. I feel like I’m going crazy here. I deserve answers. Why am I here? Who the hell are you all working for? Why am I in danger? If you’re not the ones who want me dead, then who is?” I fire off the questions, each word dripping with rage and confusion. Angry tears prickle at my eyes, and I bite the inside of my mouth to stop them from falling.

Alessandro reaches softly for my face.

My eyes flick to Ricky, silently pleading with him to tell me what the hell is going on. Why did Maddox lose his shit this morning? And why do I get the impression I’m somehow the center of a mafia war I know nothing about?

“I think it’s time you told us exactly what you’ve been up to for the last six months, princess.” Alessandro runs his hand down my arm, lacing his fingers with mine, navigating me away from the home gym.

As we walk away, I hear Ricky mutter a few words to Maddox that sound like “I don’t like this.We didn’t get enough time with her.” Buthis words are hushed, and I’m not sure if that’s correct. Either way, I know they’re talking about me, and I don’t like it. If they want to talk about things that affect me, why keep me in the dark?

Chapter 17

Alessandro sits at thehead of the table, waiting impatiently for me. And by the way he’s glaring at us, I know Maddox has filled him in on the rest of our conversation. He looks like he’s about to blow a gasket. Either that or he knows what Ricky and I got up to last night. That thought bothers me less. Part of me wants him to find out and cause a scene, just so I can prove he doesn’t own me like he thinks. But that feels like the least of my problems now.

He pulls out the chair beside him, and I sit. He’s on the edge of snapping, and I know now’s not the time to push him.

Ricky sits beside me.

“Start talking,” Alessandro demands.

“What do you want to know? Since you worked out where my car was and had my wallet and phone all this time, I’m sure you know just about everything you need to about me.” His glare intensifies, the vein in his neck looking like it’s about to pop. So, I go on. “Did you want to hear about how you three left me with fucking nothing? How I was so petrified you would come back and do to me what you did tothe rest of my family that I had to start from fucking scratch with not a cent to my name. That instead of going back to take my classes in Paris with my friends like I should’ve, I had to stay here and work at a dingy diner because I couldn’t get a legitimate job when I was going under a fake name so you fuckers wouldn’t hunt me down. Is that what you want to hear?”

His hand lands on my arm, and I look up at him, waiting for him to answer me. “How do you know Geovani?” He pushes the words out through clenched teeth.

I sigh, not wanting to get into this shit again but knowing he’s not going to let it go. “He was there that night. When I ran… He was there, and he helped me.”

“How?”

“He told me he was an undercover cop investigating underworld criminals targeting the wealthy side of Ravens Hollow. He said this wasn’t a targeted attack, but one of many.”

“And you just believed him,” he snaps, his angry voice bellowing through the room. I don’t see how any of this is my fault, but he’s certainly acting like I’m the one who’s done the wrong thing here.

Tears prickle at my eyes, but I bite the inside of my cheek to stop them. I won’t cry in front of this asshole.

Ricky takes my hand under the table and laces his fingers with mine in a silent show of support. He doesn’t seem worried about Alessandro seeing him, and that seems odd to me. “We’re trying to understand how Geovani could manipulate you and hide you so well.” Ricky’s voice is calm and more understanding. “He must have known we would be there. Someone tipped him off,” he says to Alessandro more than me.

Tipped them off about what? They keep skating around the truth but not telling me anything. “Maybe because no one cared to fill me inon what the fuck I was coming home from college to. It’s pretty clear my papa wasn’t some luxury car salesperson.” My attention returns to Alessandro.

“Your papa worked for the Moretti family. He owned Havardi Motors, but it was a front for the less legitimate business he was conducting for Enzo.”

Finally, something that makes sense. “And your family is… what? Gazillionaire casino owners? What exactly do you all do for work? I haven’t seen any of you do anything, except Ricky operating on me after your goon shot me. So, what exactly does working for your family mean?”

His glare intensifies to threatening. “I think you’re smart enough to work that one out, princess.”

“Why do you call me that?” I seethe, my temper getting the better of me. I’m so sick of this shit.

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