Page 3 of Crazed

I go into the bathroom and toss cold water on my face. As I stare in the mirror, everything is clear.

There will never be a happily ever after for me. The last few months, I've been fooling myself. No matter how much I want a life with Massimo, it isn't possible. I'm a former Petrov and now an Abruzzo, and there's no escaping them.

Even Massimo can't save me.

1

Massimo Marino

Several Days Later

"Where have you been?"Dante snaps, interrogating me the moment I step into the gym.

Irritation instantly replaces my good mood. Lately, no matter what I do, my brothers are all over my back. I place my water bottle on the table then slide on my weight-lifting gloves. To piss off my brother, I don't look at him. While walking toward the free weights, I answer, "Out."

"Where?" Tristano asks, setting the bar on the rack and rising off the bench.

"None of your business," I bark. I sit on the ground and reach for my toes, leaning into the stretch while attempting to avoid my brothers' steely gazes pinned on me.

The constant questions about where I'm at and who I'm with are getting old. All they want to do is lecture me about seeing Katiya. It's creating a real rift between us, and I'm unsure how to repair it. If they don't cease their accusations, they're going to leave me no choice but to turn violent on them. It's all getting old, and I'm over it. The number of times I held myself back from punching them is too many to count.

Their constant notions about Katiya and insinuations that I don't even know the person I'm seeing are beyond insulting. It's the first time in my life my brothers don't have faith in me. It's as if they think I've lost all my wits. And I'm sick of their demands to end it with her.

Nothing will stop me from being with Katiya—nothing. For the first time in my life, a woman actually gets me. I'm in love, and that's something I never thought would happen to me. It might be a bit messy due to my family's circumstances, but when I'm with Katiya, everything feels good. She fills a void inside me I didn't realize I had. Plus, since the moment I laid eyes on her, I've thought about no one except her.

My heart beats faster as I envision her long blonde hair, eyelashes that stretch for miles over deep-blue eyes, and pouty red lips that I'll gladly allow anywhere on my body.

Every time she speaks, my dick aches. Her Russian accent just does something to me. She has a no-one-messes-with-me aura, but I see the real her. Inside, she's fragile. And the shit the Abruzzos have put her through only deepens my hatred toward them.

I'll take them all down.

That's the one thing my brothers and I still agree upon, no matter my status with Katiya.

Every Abruzzo on Earth needs to die.

Immediately.

I release my toes then bend my arm above my head, pushing on my elbow to stretch my shoulder. Gianni crouches in front of me.

Our eyes lock, and all the rage I'm holding inside me ignites. He's wearing an arrogant scowl. Before I can speak, he states, "I called you all night."

I crack my neck then sniff hard. "And?"

"Since when don't you pick up?" Dante interjects.

I jump off the mat, grab two fifty-pound weights, and do warm-up squats, responding, "If it were important, you would have texted our code."

"So, from now on, if we need to talk to you and you're withher, we'll just use the code," Tristano sarcastically states.

"Watch your mouth. If you can't show my woman basic respect, I'll teach you a lesson," I warn, unhappy with his tone regarding Katiya.

My little brother crosses his arms. His mocking expression turns into a scowl. "Your woman?"

"Jesus, you're an idiot," Gianni mutters.

I drop the weights and shove him against the wall. "What was that?"

He recovers from the shock and pushes back. "How fucking stupid can you be?"

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