Page 28 of Twisted Embrace

He jerked my arm, dragging me onto my toes, pressing the full weight of his body against mine. Goddamn him for being so attractive, for tempting a part of me that I wanted to shut down.

“Hate me, Joy. It’s in your best interest but you will not defy me.”

“Fuck you.” I heard heavy footsteps and cringed. He let me go, his body stiffening. I turned my head toward the sound, noticing several men headed in our direction. It seemed their footsteps were in line, reminding me of military formation.

The man walking in front, leading the pack was easily recognizable. D’Artagnan had arrived. No longer was he disguising his identity in casual clothing. He was dressed similarly to Enzo in a dark suit and colorful tie, but his purposeful steps terrified me.

The closer D’Artagnan and his group came, the more his pronounced anger that he wore like a badge of honor became easy to identify.

“Take Ms. Levin to have her blood tested then to the waiting room,” Enzo directed.

“My blood? Why?”

“Because I need it for the DNA test.”

The thought my parents weren’t who I thought they were sent a stake through my heart. “I hate everything about you and your damn family.”

“It won’t be the last time you think that way, Joy. Soon, you’ll learn to loathe me.”

He pulled away, no longer touching me but his piercing eyes bore into mine. He didn’t need to remind me that I was his prisoner. I felt it with every ounce of my being. As one of the huge guards took me away, I glanced over my shoulder one last time. As D’Artagnan shifted his gaze in my direction, I could see extreme hate in his eyes as well as something else.

The man wanted to kill me.

CHAPTER 10

Enzo

The fire in Joy was admirable, but I could no longer tolerate her insolence or her disrespect. If D’Artagnan and his men hadn’t arrived, it was likely I would have taken her to a private area, punishing her for her caustic words. But I’d seen the pain in her eyes, something that no one could create as a defense. I could easily see a lie.

She was devastated.

Testing her blood as well as the Levins would only provide a portion of the truth, but it was a start and necessary. I’d also instructed Anthony to have one of the men obtain samples from Igor’s dead body. The truth would be discovered. Until then, Joy’s future remained up in the air.

Hating me. I wanted to laugh. She had no idea what I was made of or what I could do, but she’d learn soon enough that she didn’t want me as her enemy.

Exhaling, I turned my attention to the man in charge of the empire.

I would never have a close relationship with D’Artagnan no matter the marital connection. I didn’t see him as anything but the man who’d risen to power amidst bloodshed and tragedy. While I’d learned to respect him and he’d done so with me, drinking a beer or carousing with him at family events would never happen.

Even if we were cut from the same cloth of violence.

His face was pinched, his eyes unsettling. As soon as he came within a few inches, he did exactly as I’d expected.

He threw a hard punch to my jaw.

“Goddamn you for allowing this to happen,” he snarled.

While I was his most trusted advisor, the understanding was that I ran my own crew my way, handling aspects of family business he wanted no part of. He also knew I’d never accepted being on the receiving end of his angry tirades. When I answered the savage punch with one of my own, none of our respective soldiers reacted.

They knew we would continuously spar, our physical fights usually bloody.

“You fucking asshole,” he hissed. “You were supposed to protect her.”

“And I told you not to allow her to go without you.”

Blood erupted from his split lip and he rubbed it aimlessly while staring at me. Seconds later, we were at each other’s throats. By the time I had my hands wrapped around his neck, a crowd had gathered, someone in a uniform trying to break us apart.

We both issued two more severe blows, my last one pitching him against the wall. He rubbed his jaw at the same time I did mine, the rage we were both experiencing easily able to turn deadly.

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