Page 46 of High Stakes

“No, leave it. I just got you back out of the basement. Please don’t provoke Leone,” he warns me. Shaking my head, I head straight for the bathroom and turn the shower on while quickly nudging the door shut with my foot.

Leone’s voice drifts through the bathroom door, his heavy Italian accent laced with a dangerous silkiness makes me tremble. I ignore him, undressing quickly, I toss my clothes to the side, and step under the spray of hot water, hoping it will wash away the images of Sienna being handled like she was some object. The water is scalding, but it does little to ease the tension in my muscles or to fade the rising anxiety I feel for my friend. Sienna looked so vulnerable, so broken. I can’t get the image of her limp body in Rocco’s arms out of my mind. The memory of her wide eyes full of fear and confusion.

As the door behind me eases open with a low, ominous groan, I sense him before I see him. Leone’s aura invades the room, a palpable force of power and danger which steals mybreath away. His silence is lethal, a predator in the quiet tracking its kill. I pivot slowly on my heel, my gaze drawn to his figure as he steps into the bathroom.

“You finished throwing your fit?” His voice slices through the heavy silence, laced with an icy chill. As he speaks, his hands move to unbutton his shirt, revealing a canvas of inked skin beneath.

His muscles ripple under the harsh bathroom light as he discards the garment carelessly to one side. A smattering of hair trails down from his navel, disappearing into his waistband, which he unhooks with ease.

His body is chiseled perfection - every muscle honed and hardened. Dark eyes burn with raw intensity as they meet mine. Without breaking eye contact, Leone steps forward, opening the door, and stepping into the shower. I lose all thought now that I am faced with him so close and naked.

“Now she falls silent,” he states to no one as he turns the other showerhead on.

Beside me, Leone’s presence is a palpable heat, his body brushing against mine occasionally as we move around the confined space.

“Milo told me what happened with Sienna,” I start, breaking the silence. “Why didn’t you do something?”

Leone doesn’t turn to face me immediately. His hand pauses on the wall, steadying himself under the hot spray. “It’s not our place to interfere in family matters.”

“So you’re going to let her father remarry her?”

He turns, his eyes dark and unreadable. “And what would you have me do, Fallon? Challenge her father, risk a war for a girl who means nothing to me?” I bite the inside of my cheek.

“I get you’re angry, but there isn’t much I can do. She demanded we give her back to her father, and we agreed; sheonly changed her tune when she learned her father found her someone else to marry.” Leone adds.

Leone’s touch is hesitant, a ghost of pressure on my tense shoulder. His fingers are firm, though, betraying his confidence as they settle more securely against me.

I pivot, the water sluicing down my back as I turn to face him. His hands still clasp my shoulders. “I want to see Sienna.” My voice is barely audible above the drumming of the shower, a quiver betraying the urgency I feel.

Leone’s gaze meets mine, his eyes like two shards of obsidian that have seen too much darkness. “Not unless I say so,” he begins, each word measured and deliberate. “And not until I trust you. I don’t trust you not to run off with her.”

“I won’t run. I’ve told you this.” My voice is firmer than I expected, a thin veneer over the churning mess of my emotions. Before Leone can reply, the bathroom door opens again.

Milo steps in. He doesn’t hesitate as he peels off his clothes, one piece after another, revealing the etched lines of his tattoos. His dark eyes flick to mine, glinting with a predatory smile that makes my stomach drop.

“You two look cozy,” he teases, stepping into the shower. The space suddenly feels smaller, and the air is charged with electric tension.

I’m sandwiched between them, Milo’s firm chest pressing to my back as he steps under the water on my side, forcing me closer to Leone as he steals the water.

“Do you mind, water hog?” I snap, turning to face him. He only offers me a smile as he wipes his wet hair from his eyes. “Not at all,” he chuckles, stepping closer. I take an involuntary step backward as his gaze roams over me, only to come up against the wall, which is Leone’s body.

“What’s wrong?” Milo’s low voice cuts through the noise of the water. It’s almost gentle, but there’s a sharpness to it as if hebelieves I am rejecting him. My eyes roam over him—over the hard angles of his abs and the curve of muscle along his arms—and something inside me stirs despite my anger over Sienna.

“I’m bleeding,” I utter quickly, a desperate attempt to remind them, to remind myself, I am not just a thing to be used at their whim.

Leone’s snort resonates in the steam-filled space, a low sound that sends shivers down my spine despite the heat of the shower. “You think that bothers us?” There’s a dark amusement in his tone.

I swallow hard, my throat feeling parched despite the moisture in the air. “It should,” I manage to croak out, my fingers instinctively curling into Leone’s solid chest as I press myself further into him in a futile attempt to escape Milo’s intimidating proximity.

Milo’s expression doesn’t change. His gaze merely wanders down my drenched body before returning to meet mine, his brown eyes unreadable. “Does it bother you?” he asks, his voice low and dangerous.

I’m not sure how to answer that. A part of me is repulsed - by this situation. But another part of me, a part I wish I could ignore, isn’t uninterested.

“Of course it does,” I lie.

A chuckle rumbles from behind me. Leone’s chest vibrates against my back as he moves closer, his warm breath tickling the nape of my neck. “Liar,” he purrs while his lips find the sensitive skin of my shoulder.

Milo’s eyes drink in every reaction, a cruel satisfaction flickering within their depths. He steps closer until our bodies are almost touching, his hand reaching out to brush aside a wet lock of hair from my face.

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