Page 35 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

Monique was safe. So were her friends.

There was no longer a reason for Orazio to restrain himself when it came to Trevor Fucking Wilks. After his phone call with Leo, Raz stormed outside and pulled Trevor from his vehicle.

Now, his knuckles ached slightly as they connected with Trevor’s jaw. The blow sent the man reeling back. Rage clouded Raz’s vision. Each punch was a raw expression of his fury as he thought of Monique, bruised and broken because of this bastard.

“Did you really think you could hurt her and get away with it?” Orazio snarled, his voice low and dangerous.

Trevor spat blood onto the floor. “We... had.... a deal.”

"Meka and Toya are safe. A deal is no longer needed,” Orazio growled, grabbing Trevor by the collar and slamming him into the wall. His fist collided with Trevor’s face repeatedly, the satisfying crunch of bone fueling his anger.

Orazio’s eyes blazed with intensity as he continued his assault, the dull ache in his hands barely registering in his consciousness. Trevor’s cries turned to grunts of pain, then weak gasps as Orazio’s relentless blows left him bloody and broken.

As Trevor slumped against the wall, his once arrogant smirk replaced with a swollen, bloody mess, Orazio knew he had tostop before he killed him. A quick death wasn’t in the cards for this bitch.

Even so, Raz couldn’t stop himself from punching him again and again. Orazio beat Trevor until the man was black and blue. He beat Trevor until the man could no longer beg for his life, and neither could he whimper.

All he could do was stand there, silent, bloody, and battered, as tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. Orazio would’ve continued beating him if the med team hadn’t told him they were ready to move Monique to the hospital.

Only then did he let Trevor go. Releasing Trevor, he let the bastard drop to the floor. But he wasn’t done with him. Trevor was heading to the basement, and that was where he would spend the rest of his life until Orazio killed him.

It took herculean strength for Raz to walk away from Trevor without killing him. Raz left the transport of Trevor to Rome and the guards and chose to ride in the ambulance with Monique.

As Orazio climbed into the ambulance, his eyes never strayed from Monique’s unconscious form. The adrenaline that had fueled him during his confrontation with Trevor began to wane, leaving behind the aftershocks of worry and guilt.

“Everything will be alright,” one of the medics reassured him, though Orazio barely registered their words. All he could focus on was Monique, her bruised face a stark reminder of the danger she faced as long as she remained in his world.

“Take care of her,” he ordered, trying to keep the tremor from his voice.

The medic nodded, carefully adjusting the I.V line running into Monique’s arm. Orazio wanted to touch Monique, needed that physical contact, that connection even more than he needed his next breath.

But his hands were dirty, knuckles swollen and stained with Trevor’s blood. So, he held back, not wanting to stain her withthe blood of her ex. The ambulance jolted into motion, carrying them away from the abandoned facility, away from the place where Trevor had planned to turn Monique over to Raz’s father.

That thought caused another surge of anger to flow over him. Her life had meant nothing to his father, to his don. Even after talking to Raz and learning that Raz wanted her, loved her, his father had still hired Trevor to take her.

His father had done some low things in the past, all in the name of protecting the Cattaneo family. However, in Raz’s eyes, this was his lowest act. And to Raz, this was unforgivable.

As they sped down the road, Orazio watched Monique’s chest rise and fall, counting each breath she took. Her eyes were still closed. The med team assured him that she was only sleeping.

As he sat next to her, staring at her on the stretcher, Orazio felt like beating Trevor’s ass all over again for the pain he’d caused Monique. However, it wasn’t only Trevor that should pay for this. So, should Raz’s father and uncle.

Raz reached for Monique’s hand, then paused. His gaze dropped to his own hand. How could he keep forgetting that he was dirty? He couldn’t touch her with these hands. Not yet. Orazio jostled when they hit a bump.

Raz inched closer to Monique to make sure she was still okay. Again, the medic assured him that she was fine. Still, Raz was on edge. He wouldn’t be able to rest until she opened her mouth and said three words to him: I love you.

No, those words could come second. The first words he yearned to hear were,I forgive you.I forgive you for what your father did. I forgive you for what Trevor and my father did. I forgive you for what Leo did.

I forgive you for taking so long to locate me. I forgive you for forgetting about my friends. I forgive you for being a Cattaneo.There were so many things he needed her forgivenessfor. Until he was able to get that forgiveness, he’d feel like he was losing his mind.

What made things worse was that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help her. He could torture Trevor forever, but that wouldn’t help Monique, nor would it take away her pain. It wouldn’t make her forget the things she’d suffered at Trevor and her father’s hands.Speaking of her father.... Raz pulled out his phone and called Leo.

“What’s up, boss?”

“Where’s Monique’s father?”

“Shit! I forgot to tell you. He, uh... I found his body in the warehouse.”

“His body?”

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