Page 23 of Damaged & Deadly

“What did he mean,vengeance for his sister?” Dante asks, his tone practically glacial.

“Not my story to tell, but you know your father… I’m sure you can work it out.”

Dante moves to join us with a fresh glass of amber liquid in hand, slowly sitting down on the seat opposite me. Lifting his leg, he rests his ankle on his knee, watching me over the rim as he takes a sip. I can see the wheels in his head turning.

“You’ve been working with them this entire time.”

Unable to look at him, I fixate on a knot in the hardwood floor at my feet. “I have.”

“What the hell does that even mean, Sawyer?” Enzo growls. He’s still holding his intimidating stance above me, fists clenching at his sides as his molten-hot anger practically burns my skin.

Licking my lips, I lift my gaze to meet theirs. I said I’d lay it all on the table, and that’s exactly what I do. I tell them everything. How I got a job at the club to get close to Dante, the real reason why I stayed after Santos tried to kill me, the plan we had for the wedding day—including my plea with Cain to spare their lives. The whole time, neither of them speaks until my words trail off with nothing else left to say.

Anxiously, I fiddle with my fingers. “I didn’t anticipate any of this.” I sigh. “I didn’t anticipate…” I want to sayyou,but I don’t. “I can’t apologize either because I’m not sorry. I’m not sorry for my intentions. I’m not sorry for how everything has played out. The only thing I feel guilty about is deceiving you both.” Chewing on my lip, I get to my feet. “But now you know everything. I have nothing left to hide.” I meet their angry stares with a determined one of my own. “I’ve given you the keys to ensuring our deaths, but I’m hoping if nothing else, that you’ll see this as an opportunity for yourselves. You’re not the men I thought you were.” I give a helpless shrug. “Maybe this could be your chance to find your own happiness.”

Turning on my heel, I stride out of the room. They both need time to think, time to talk—alone. To work out what they want and whether they’re willing to fight for it. This is our fork in the road, where they are either with me and we move forward as a team, or they go their own way. I can only hope we don’t end up facing off as enemies down the line. I know, if it came to it, that I couldn’t kill either of them, and I’m not sure if I could look at Cain or Oliver the same way if they were responsible for their demise.

My heart feels heavy, and my brain exhausted as I drag myself up the stairs. I hesitate on the landing, peering at the door to my old room before walking past it to Dante’s. His smell blankets me as I step inside and close the door behind me, the cedarwood of his aftershave causing a sharp pain in my chest. I don’t know how to put words to my feelings for Dante. It’s an existential thing. Something that I feel in my bones without knowing why. I didn’t want to marry him. I’m still not sure I want tobemarried to him, though I know I don’t want to be without him. Without either of them.

I wasn’t lying when I told them they weren’t the men I’d first thought them to be. Don’t get me wrong, they are still everything I assumed—ruthless, cold, powerful. But they’re also more. Or, in Dante’s case, capable of more.

Enzo has sacrificed his life and freedom to ensure Dante doesn’t lose himself. He could have left, ran away and started his life anew without the label of a traitor hanging over his head, but he didn’t. He stayed… for Dante. And he’s fought every day to keep him human. To keep the last, vital fragment of his soul intact. I’ve witnessed the struggle in Dante for myself. He doesn’t want to lose himself. It terrifies him, the thought of one day becoming his father. The two of them are treading water, barely keeping their heads above the surface. All it would take is the crash of one enormous wave to drag them under.

I want them to join us; to stand up and fight. Not for me, but for themselves. I know what I’m asking. Our mission is likely a one-way trip to Hell, but it’s better to die fighting for your freedom than to live safely in a gilded cage, right? No one would willingly hand their soul over to the Devil. They would fight tooth and nail to keep his dark claws away. I can only hope the Devil hasn’t already claimed their souls as his.

Pushing off the door, I fall onto the bed on my back, staring up at the ceiling. Eventually, my eyes grow heavy, and I must have fallen asleep as the click of the door closing jolts me awake. Sitting upright, I meet Dante’s penetrating gaze.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask him what their decision is, but I swallow it back. I’m not going to push or pry. This is their decision, and I know it’s not an easy one to make. I’m asking for trust when they’ve just uncovered how deep my deceit runs. I’m asking them to tear down the only life they know, to turn their backs on the only family they have. I want them to take their time, to really think it through before giving me an answer. Because once they decide, there’s no going back. No changing their minds. We either go forward together, or we go our separate ways.

His gaze holds mine, unreadable as ever, as he steps toward the bed. When he’s close enough, he reaches out to grab my ankle, and with a sharp tug, he pulls me down the mattress until my ass is perched on the edge. I can feel the heat of his close proximity. His touch is rough and dominant as he circles his hand around my jaw and tugs my chin up to meet his predatory gaze. It’s all there in his eyes, the answers to my unasked questions, but I can’t interpret them. Then, his thumb brushes along my lower lip. The moment is surprisingly reverent, despite his forceful touch, and my heart lurches at the thought that this could be goodbye. Unexpected tears well in my eyes, and I let him see it all. I’ve nothing left to hide.

He bends until he’s hovering over me, our faces so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath as it dances along my lips, teasing me. I can’t figure out if this is goodbye or the start of something, but either way, I can’t deny the pull I feel. The desperate hunger to have his lips on mine, his body pressing me into the mattress, his hard cock making me see stars.

He hovers there until I’m delirious with need. My chest heaves and all I can think of is him. Kissing him. Having him inside me. I can’t claim to really know anything about this man, but my body craves his like a drug. I don’t need to know anything about him toknowhim. My soul recognizes his. Whatever this is between us exists on a whole other plane. One I can’t see with my eyes, yet it feels more real than the soft sheets beneath my palms. I feel like fate delivered me into his hands. Fate put me in the alley that day. She wanted us to meet, wanted him to spare my life, and she ensured our paths crossed again in the club years later when we were both old enough to acknowledge the significance of this. Ofus.

I tilt my head back so my lips brush over his in a barely-there touch. Static crackles in the air and the chains on his restraint snap with that brief bit of contact. He surges forward, claiming my lips as his hand slides into my hair, holding me to him. His tongue clashes with mine while our souls dance. They twist and tangle, becoming one with every sweep of his tongue. I drag him to me, needing him closer so I don’t know where I end and he begins. I’m breathless and completely lost in the taste of him when the bang of the bedroom door slamming closed makes me jump.

Pulling apart, I look around Dante’s broad frame to find Enzo glaring at me. His chest heaves, his face drawn tight with angry lines. His glower—or more the scorching heat of lust I see in his depths—incinerates me.

“What do you want?” Dante barks, angry with the intrusion.

Enzo all but ignores him as he continues to glare at me, and I can’t decide if he wants to kill me or fuck me. “You know goddamn well what I want.” Another heaving breath. “The one thing I’ve wanted for years now.”

I swallow around a lump in my throat as my eyes widen, my lips parting on a quiet gasp as he steps toward us. With a hard shove, he pushes Dante out of the way, and he goes stumbling, but I don’t see anything more as Enzo fists the hair at the nape of my neck and uses the firm hold to drag me to my feet. He holds me there as his body crowds mine, our chests brushing.

“I’m done keeping my distance.” His voice is softer, his words for me.

“So don’t.” I’ve been waiting for this day, the day Enzo stakes his claim. Ever since the incident at Paradiso, I knew it was coming. He’s said as much. I know he’s been holding himself back, wanting Dante to be on board with the three of us, but today’s events—and finding out I have two other boyfriends—have destroyed any restraint he’s had.

His eyes bore into mine, a raging storm of anger, hurt, lust, and love swelling within them. “I want to kill you.”

“No you don’t.”

He’s angry. Understandably so. He thought he only had to contend with Dante—an adversary he could handle. However, finding out about Cain and Oliver has fucked with whatever ideas he had regarding the three of us.

His grip on my hair tightens to the point of pain, causing my back to arch so I’m practically rubbing against him. The coarse material of my jeans grinds against him as his hard length presses into my stomach and desire flares in my eyes. He sees it, and in a split second, his decision is made. Pushing back his anger for now, he falls headfirst into lust. His other arm bands around my waist as his lips slam down on mine. I can taste every one of his feelings as he bites my lip and sucks on my tongue, his kiss savage and brutal.

It’s only when I hear the deep rumble of a pissed-off Dante that I come up for air. I turn my head until my eyes collide with his. The move exposes the column of my neck, and Enzo doesn’t hesitate to take the opportunity as he leaves open-mouth kisses on my skin.

---