Page 80 of Masked Hearts

I let the reality of the situation hang in the air as I scan the room, noticing just how much it has emptied aside from us and Augustus, who is speaking to another group of men across the room. I feel on edge as if something is wrong, beyond the conversation we’re having.

“When is the auction?” Ambrose asks, drawing me back to reality.

“A few days before the CFP dinner,” I say, meeting his gaze as a sudden nagging feeling settles in my gut.

“And you’re worried he’s going to rip off someone who might be attending.” He raises a brow, reading my mind.

“To put it simply, yes. Kylian said something about making sure they never come back if they did figure it out, but I obviously don’t trust a word out of that fucker’s mouth.”

“We’ll handle it, should the situation arise.” Ambrose takes another sip. “I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to bring that sort of drama to the dinner.”

“I guess we’ll see.” I throw back the rest of my drink as Adriano walks into the room. His eyes meet mine and they seem alarmed.

I raise a brow and he motions me over with his head.

“Excuse me,” I say to Ambrose and Mattia before heading towards him.

“Don’t freak out,” he starts, and immediately my heart starts thumping. There’s a million things he could say right now that would make me freak out. For some reason, my mind immediately goes to Theá, and I’m even more on edge. “Enzo just showed up, and he’s been trying to speak to Theá.”

I don’t wait for any further elaboration before I head down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time until I’m standing in the main dining room and bar.

I spot him leaning against the bar as he speaks to her. I can’t tell much from her body language at this angle, but I can tell everything from his. He looks like Ambrose in his prime playboy era. His eyes glance up and meet mine before a smirk pulls at his lips.

I am going to kill him.

The girls are all surrounding them seemingly unaware of his presence, and I’m even more thankful I sent Adriano down here now.

Someone grabs my arm, spinning me around as I’m about to head towards them. I come face to face with Mattia, whose eyes are pleading.

“Fra, please don’t make a scene. This isn’t the place,” he says.

I open and close my mouth numerous times. Jealousy and loyalty swirl around within me, creating a miserable taste of confusion.

I weigh Mattia’s feelings about his brother and my newly discovered feelings for Theá, then land somewhere in the middle.

I pull out of his grasp and storm over, contemplating just how much trouble it would cause if I beat the shit out of him right here. He sees me coming first and the faux surprise on his face is comical. I don’t know what he’s playing at, especially with using Theá as bait, but he’s lucky I love Mattia as much as I do—because that’s the only thing keeping me from smashing a bottle over his head.

“Let’s go.” I grab Theá’s wrist and pull her after me as I start walking towards the back of the restaurant.

“Hey! Just because I’m nearly your height in heels doesn’t take away from the fact that I might fall if I go too fast.” She jogs to keep up with me.

I stop dead in my tracks in the middle of the restaurant. She crashes into my side and looks at me with brows furrowed. “Do you need me to carry you?” The sudden softness in my tone even catches me by surprise.

“N-no…”

“Then stop complaining,” I say, continuing to pull her after me towards a back door. It opens into the emergency stairs for the entire building. Rage is bubbling through me, but there’s a different kind of heat that I can’t seem to figure out.

“What are we doing?” she asks. The apprehension in her tone doesn’t match the spark in her eyes as she looks at me.

I pin her to the wall. “You need to stay away from Enzo.”

Her face morphs in front of me as it switches from a look of shock to one that seems almost comical before she bursts out laughing. “What?”

“I know you heard me, Theá.”

“Oh, I heard you, but what I also heard was some jealousy sprinkled in there as well.”

“I’m not jealous. He’s caught up in some shit with your dad and he’ll do anything to ruin my brothers and me.”

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