Page 113 of My Sweetest Temptation

“No, but he will be when Nico gets a hold of him,” Enzo muttered, tucking the gun in his back pocket.

“Winter?” I heard Tabi’s voice followed by a gasp. “Oh, my god!” She ran into the kitchen and halted at the scene in front of her. “Where’s Tris?” she asked in a panic.

“He’s okay. He’s in my room,” I told her.

“Enzo? What are you—” Tabi began to say but didn’t finish when she saw Tristan’s dad on the floor.

“Oh, shit. Oh, shit. He’s out of jail!” she whisper-yelled breathlessly, running her hands through her hair. “Michael found us.”

“Tabi, you need to chill the fuck out,” Enzo warned her.

“You don’t understand, Enzo,” she said, tears falling down her face. “He’s going to kill me. I need to get out of here. I need to get my son.”

She pivoted on her heel, ready to bolt toward her son. But before she could take a single step, Enzo grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to stop.

“He’s not going to hurt you, do you understand?” Enzo said. “It will be taken care of.”

She looked into his eyes, and they stared at one another as if they were silently communicating. When Tabi’s face softened, she nodded and walked to my room.

Enzo turned to me, and his gaze narrowed at my neck. It was still sore from when Tristan’s father, Michael, gripped it. Enzo’s eyes turned a dark black, and his nostrils flared the more he stared at the bruises that were probably already forming. Enzo grabbed a pair of cuffs out of his pants, and I watched as he dragged Michael out of the apartment.

As soon as they disappeared, I hastily cleaned up the cookie mess left behind. My tears streamed down my cheeks, so I quickly wiped them away and splashed cold water on my face.

A few minutes later, Tabi came to stand in the kitchen and lunged at me, pulling me into a fierce hug. “I am so, so, sorry, Winter,” she whispered through her cries.

“It’s not your fault,” I told her, giving her a squeeze.

“Did he hurt you?” she asked, wiping the wetness from her eyes.

“No, not bad,” I reassured her with a sad smile.

“God,” she exclaimed and placed her hands on her hips, looking to the sink at the mess from making the cookies. “I didn’t know he was released from prison,” she said, turning back to me.

I shook my head. “Tabi, it’s not your fault. It’s not on you.”

“But he attacked you,” Tabi replied, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It should’ve been me.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t say that. I would rather it had been me than you or Tristan,” I whispered.

“You know, he wasn’t always like this,” Tabi explained, her voice cracking. “He grew up in an abusive house and started using drugs when he was thirteen. When we got together, he was clean. But then, when I got pregnant, everything changed. I don’t know what happened, but he became aggressive. It was like a switch flipped.”

I listened intently, my hands still clasped around hers, offering silent support and reassurance.

“I did everything I could to protect him from his father.”

“Did he ever hit him?” Dread polled in my stomach at the thought of anyone hurting Tristan. He was so tiny, so vulnerable.

“No,” she said immediately, her voice firm. “But one day, Tristan walked in on Michael attacking me. I?—”

A chill ran through me. “I’m so sorry, Tabi.”

She turned to me, managing a small, bittersweet smile. “You’re the one who was attacked, and you’re apologizing to me?”

I returned her smile. “But it wasn’t me who was abused for so long,” I reminded her.

She nodded, her expression turning somber as she looked away. “What do you think Enzo did with him?” I could see her swallow hard, fear etched across her features.

I released her hands and leaned back against the counter. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”

---