Page 95 of Beautiful Enemy

Except, I’m not exactly living in a fairytale.

Matteo is waiting for us at the new house. Same with Aiden and Finn.

I stumble to a halt at the sight of the hitmen. They still scare me with their unpredictability.

“You got her back,” Finn comments, eyeing me over.

“Yes, as you can see,” Dante snaps, standing in front of me. “You don’t need to look at her like she’s a prized cow you want to eat.”

“I do love a good steak.”

His euphemismmakes me blush.

“Aiden, tell your brother to stop.”

Aiden smacks Finn upside the head. “Stop.”

“You didn’t have to hit that hard,” Finn mutters, rubbing the back of his head.

“What are they doing here?” I whisper.

“When the other house got compromised, the plan was to come here. So… here they are.”

I stand closer to Dante. He notices. “Can they leave?”

“Scared of the hitmen, are you?”

I can only nod and move closer to Dante’s side. He slides his arm around me.

“I won’t let them hurt you. Not now. Not anymore.”

The air in the room shifts because of Dante’s words. Finn scowls. “You almost sound like you care for the girl. She’s our prisoner.”

“No, Finn. Shewasmy prisoner.”

“And now? What is she?”

Dante sighs, pulling me in closer. “I’m not quite sure. But you will not hurt her. I’m not going to torture Nadia. I’m done with that.”

“Why?” Aiden asks. “I don’t get it. What happened?”

“She saved my life,” he says simply. “She didn’t have to and yet she did.”

“So, she’s delusional,” Finn comments.

“Maybe. But Nadia is mine now. I will not torture her.”

“What about Erik and the rest of them?” Aiden asks as he pulls out a knife and twiddles it between his fingers. The sight makes me sink further into Dante. “Don’t you still want to torture them?”

“Yes,” Dante says but I notice that he says it much more slowly, almost like he’s starting to reconsider some things. “And keeping Nadia here is doing that. I just don’t want to torture her anymore.”

Finn narrows his eyes. “Why not?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you. Now, I don’t need either of you for the moment. So, you can leave.”

The brothers share a glance before they walk out of the house. Finn glares at me as he goes but otherwise, nothing else happens. The moment they’re gone, I feel like I can breathe again.

Dante doesn’t let me go.

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