Page 111 of Sweet Deception

"No. Like I said—wait, she got a text." Gio frowns, staring off to the side.

I move to the edge of my seat. This is it. I know it is.

He shakes his head and looks at me. "She frowned down at her phone, but she wasn't angry. I remember asking her if she was okay, and she smiled at me and said yes. But …"

"But what?" Rafael asks as he also leans forward.

Gio's looks down with a scowl. Rafael and I stare at him, afraid to interrupt his thought process. "She kept looking at her phone. I didn't think about it muchbecause it was soon after she said she was having cramps and wanted to go lie down."

Pushing off the chair, I run to the stairs and take them two at a time. I burst into the bedroom and frantically search for her phone.

Chapter forty-eight

Kylie

"What the hell, Luca. I said I wanted to be left alone." Luca scans the room until his eyes land on my chest where I'm clutching the blankets. I'm about to yell at him again when he lunges and yanks my phone out of my other hand. "What are you doing? Give that back." I scramble out of the bed and rush him. He swipes up on the phone, but then raises his arm in the air when I reach him and make a grab for it.

"What's your code?" He demands, wrapping his free arm around my waist and brings me to his chest. I keep trying to jump up and grab it out of his hands without success.

"Are you crazy? Give me my phone back." Wrapping both of my hands around his arm, I lift my feet off the ground to put all my weight into the movement, but he still doesn't budge.

"Uh, do you need help?"

I snap my gaze to the door to find Gio and Rafael with eyes wide as they stare.

"No. I've got it. You guys go home."

Luca's calm voice has me snapping my gaze back to him and growling. How dare he?

In my peripheral vision, I see Gio lift his hands up as they back away. I know I must look like a crazy person to them right now, but I can't get my emotionsunder control. I feel my world crumbling around me. My heart squeezes at the thought of not only losing Luca, but also Gio, Rafael, and even Joseph. They've become my extended family in such a short time and have brought a new light into my life when I needed it the most. How am I going to let that go? How do I give up my brothers and the love of my life?

Sobs burst out of me as I go limp in Luca's arms.

"Angel, baby, please, whatever it is, we'll work through it. Just tell me what's wrong." I hear him set my phone down on the dresser before he wraps his other arm around me and strokes my back. I drop my forehead to his chest and give into the despair consuming me.

Luca leans his face on the top of my head, crooning to me. Instead of pushing him away, I burrow into his chest, wishing I could forgive him. I don't know how I'll ever be strong enough to leave him. When I think about it, I die a little inside.

I can't. I just can't.

"Shhh. It's okay. I swear to you, baby, I'll make everything right again. I just need to know who I have to kill to fix it." He kisses my cheek and I fist his shirt in response. "I promise you, Angel. I will fix whatever has upset you. There's nothing you can say that will ever make me leave you, if that's what you're worried about. Just tell me what's going on and we'll work it out."

All it takes is his implication that I'm the reason for this discord and all the anguish turns into a burning fire that ignites and fills my soul. Every bit of the scared, sad little girl in me turns into a woman scorned and willing to burn the world down around me.

An unholy growl rips out of me. I jerk my head back, catching his chin, but I don't care. "You jerk!" Rearing back, I punch him in the chest. And then do it again and again. "I hate you. I hate what you did. I don't care that it was before you fell for me, I-I-I."

"Whoa. What the hell?" Luca grabs my arms and pushes me back, so that he can stoop to look me in the face. "What are you talking about? You hate that I did what?" His brows scrunch as he searches my face, looking for a clue.

I yank myself out of his arms and dive for my phone. This time, he doesn't stop me. I key in my code, bring up the text. I click on the recording and then extend my hand out to shove the phone in front of his face so that he can hear his own words.

"What about Kylie?"

"What about her?"

"Didn't you have plans with her tonight? We can hold Betty until tomorrow. I'm sure Gio and I can occupy her until then."

"You can have your fun with Betty later. Kylie is just a fuck toy. She's available whenever I want. Besides, I'm already thinking about trading her in."

The sound of a door opening comes through the recording right before the words that cause me to die inside each time I hear them play out.

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