Page 167 of My Sweetest Temptation

"Do you think he’s making it up?" My uncle’s relentless questioning only pissed me off.

When I didn’t respond, my uncle sighed and sat forward, tossing the ice pack to the side. "Nico, you know the world we live in. And in this world, nothing is a coincidence. It's either true or not. There's no in-between."

"What are you saying, Pops?" Luca asked him.

Uncle Alessandro looked at him with a solemn expression. "What did you learn about Winter when you looked into her?"

Luca let out a heavy breath before responding. "Her parents died when she was young and she was raised in foster care until she turned eighteen. Then she worked on and off at odd jobs. She moved here from California about six months ago. No kids. No boyfriends. No criminal records. She's clean."

"Did you check out the foster care or the homes she stayed in?" Uncle asked.

"Enough!" I barked at my uncle. "She's not the mole." I clenched my teeth, ready to tear into him.

"Look, nephew." He rested his hands on my shoulders. “Winter is a wonderful girl, but think about this as if it were any other person. Could it be possible that she could have something to do with your shipment being compromised?" He searched my face, and I turned away, unable to see his reasoning. "Didn't this shit all start when she showed up?"

"You can't be serious," Lo said. "Nico, listen to me. There’s no way Winter is the mole."

"Then why did the Puppet Master call her Gigi?" Matteo asked, not in an accusatory tone but more curious. “And why did he say he sent her?”

"To throw us off? To distract Nico from his real purpose?" Lo countered, throwing his hands in the air.

When no one responded, Lo added, "Just think about it before you do anything you're going to regret."

He knew the extent I would go to when someone betrayed me. It didn’t matter who you were. Betrayal was betrayal. Look at Selena and my father, for instance. But my uncle was right. Something about this seemed off, and I would get to the bottom of it.

"Enzo, keep a close eye on Winter," I told him. He gave me a disappointed look, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. "Never let her out of your sight, no matter what."

He nodded.

"Luca, monitor her phone calls and track her every movement, even if she goes to the bathroom," I directed him.

He nodded but did not look happy about it.

"I hope I'm wrong, Nico," my uncle said with a sad smile.

So did I.

Nico had been acting really strange and I’d been racking my brain to figure out why. He hadn’t shared a bed with me since the night of the shootout. Something must have shifted after he left me in his bed that night.

The guys had been off, too. They were cold and distant, and the thought made my skin crawl. It made me wonder if something toxic was in the water and if everyone had been drinking from the same cup.

I finally asked Enzo to drive me home today. I couldn’t bear the suffocating silence at Nico’s house anymore. He was hardly ever there, anyway.

When we pulled up to my apartment, Enzo quietly walked behind me. Fumbling with the lock before stepping inside, Enzo followed me, locking the door securely behind him.

“I’m just going to take a shower and pack some more things,” I told him, and he gave me a nod.

I pulled out an old duffle bag from my bedroom closet and started sorting through clothes, tossing them inside the bag. Just as I zipped it up, I heard an unexpected knock at the front door.

I tiptoed down the hall and peeked around the corner to see Enzo, tense and alert, aiming his gun at the door. He cautiously swung it open, and I heard muffled voices, then my name being mentioned.

My feet propelled me into the room, and my eyes landed on Dan, Liam’s father. His lips curved into a tentative smile. “Hi, Winter.”

“Hi, Dan,” I replied. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I actually came to see you because I have something for you.” He held out a package. “This is from your mother.”

My heart stuttered at the mention of her. “M-my mother? You knew my mother?”

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