Page 32 of Winter Love

“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve never hit a woman,” William stutters out.

“Are you kidding me right now? You think we don’t know what you did to Emmanuelle?” I snap at him.

William laughs. “That whore? She’s a liar and a bitch.”

I swing and connect with his cheek, splitting it open as his head snaps back.

“Try again, asshole,” I say through clenched teeth.

“Fuck you. Emmanuelle. Is. A. Whore. I caught her fucking some guy a few months into our relationship.”

I turn and see some weapons on the table. I go over and pick up the brass knuckles, then turn back to William.

“You chickenshits. Hitting me while I’m tied up? Fight me like a real man.”

“Ohhhh. You want to be like a real man? Okay,” Leonardo says as he walks over and cuts the ropes on William’s hands and feet.

“Now stand up and fight me!” I yell at him as he just sits there.

William looks at the brass knuckles. I laugh and take them off, handing it to Rhett. William tries to lunge as me as I turn to my brother. Rhett pulls me to the side and William slams into the wall.

“So you want us to play fair, but you don’t?” Paxton snarls at him.

Before I can react, both of my brothers are on William.

“We don’t do double standards in this family,” Rhett says as he punches William in the solar plexus.

I smile as I watch my brothers, we’ve always had each other’s backs. This is no different. I give them a few more minutes before I step in.

“You’ll never touch another woman ever again,” I say to him as my fist connects with his jaw. He takes a swing at me and catches me in the side. But I can see that he’s losing the will to stand.

After a few more punches, he falls to the ground. Leonardo gets him up and into the chair again.

“You boys might not want to be here for this part,” Antonio says to us. “We need answers and we have a specific way of getting them.”

I nod at Leonardo, then my brothers and I walk out of the room.

“Do you think they’re going to kill him?” Rhett whispers to me.

“I do.”

We make our way to the room where Richard is being held and when we walk in, Rónán has already done his job. Richard isn’t dead, but he’s pretty close to it.

“Did he say why he helped take my Emma?” I ask.

“Nope. And I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think he will. But with the way we found him, we know what he planned,” Celestino answers me.

I can see the rage in their eyes. The revenge they’re getting today is for all of them. Giacomo, Celestino, Francesco, they’re Luciana’s family. If someone had done to Felicity, what Richard did to Luciana? I would be feeling the same way as all of them. As for Rónán? I understand his rage—I feel that same rage for William. But Enea is right, I don’t think I could live with myself if I was the one to end his life. I know it’ll happen, but it won’t be me who does it.

“You assholes. Your MC is a fucking joke. You let your women tell you what to do. What kind of man listens to a woman?” Richard laughs, spitting out blood.

“It’s not my problem you can’t see what women are worth,” Francesco snaps at him.

“Women are worth nothing. Especially your women. Go ahead and kill me. If you think that will make Luciana and Isabella safe, you’re stupider than I thought,” Richard says as he looks at Giacomo.

We all watch Giacomo stand there and stare at Richard.

“Call Elio. We need to get this shitbag and the other one back to Lake Renegade. Tonight,” Giacomo says to Celestino.

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