I don’t even fight when he comes swinging at me, taking the punch on my jaw as my head snaps back. Hell, I embrace the fucking pain. I need it to chase off the chill of broken dreams and promises.
Keegan’s arms wrap around me, likely to hold me back, but I stand still, unable to move past the pain pushing against every inch of me. Hell, the punch wasn’t anything compared to the words he flung at me. Jude manages to grab Antonio before he comes at me again, and I turn and look the other way as he’s hustled away. I…I can’t. I can’t watch him being torn away, even though he ripped himself away from the bonds we had together.
There’s an unholy noise in the hallway that echoes, and it takes Keegan putting his hand over my mouth to realize it’s coming from me. The keening cry of heartbreak. Because that’s what I am—heartbroken.
Shattered. Crushed. Bereft. And fucking betrayed…
The one man I trusted is who destroyed me, but the man I thought was wrong is the one who saved my life. Ironic. What the hell…What. The. Hell?
Blackness rushes through me and I fall into it happily, with the hope that maybe this was all a nightmare…all something warped by demons that play in the middle of our dreams, changing them to the unimaginable. Because if not…If not, I’ve lost more than I had left to give.
“He’ll be fine, and so will Allesandro.” Doc’s voice is rough, and the final piece of the puzzle snaps together as unconsciousness takes me—fucking drugged.
Antonio tries to rip himself from my grasp once we’re out of the medical suite. Using my height and weight to my advantage, I shove him into the nearest wall, my hand at his throat.
“Get the fuck off me,” he snarls.
“No, I don’t think I will. Not after that little stunt in there.”
He tries to wiggle in my hold, but I squeeze his throat, forcing him to submit to me. There’s a part of my brain that says I shouldn’t be doing this, that I need to remember what I was taught years ago, but the twisted, sadistic side that thrives in this life of ours punches the other side in the face.
I think, because I don’t make waves, and prefer to let my silence do the speaking for me, that people forget Tennant, Leandro, and I are all cut from the same cloth. Those twoembrace the chaos that swirls inside, while I learned at an early age to lock it down, as being different in my family was a taboo.
Now though, staring down at my volatile Boy, the pain and anger in his eyes is enticing, and I have to drag back in every bit of control I have, in order to get a handle on this situation before he does something stupid—stupider than hurting his best friend in the most devastating of ways.
“You’re going upstairs with me,” I tell him carefully. “And you’re going to tell me what the fuck is going on with you.”
He trashes. “Fucking Marcus…”
“No.” I tighten my grip a little. “I’m not asking about him. I’m talking about you.”
He swallows, and his place in our relationship seems to override his anger for a moment as he relaxes a fraction. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Now, upstairs.”
I release his throat but grab his hand instead, not trusting him. Dragging him to our bedroom, I release him and let him pace, while he's muttering things I can’t quite make out under his breath. Ignoring him, I lean against the dresser and pull out my phone.
JUDE
Don’t come in the room until I ask you to. This is between Antonio and I.
NICOLO
Of course, Sir. Is there anything we can do?
NARIO
Is he okay?
JUDE
He’s fine, Angelo Mio. Or…he will be once I’m finished with him. If you’d like to help, prep an ice pack…he’ll need it.
They give their affirmative, and I shove my phone into my pants pocket. Looking at Antonio, I let him pace back and forth in front of me for a few more minutes. Finally, when I’ve had enough of him stomping around the room hard enough to make the floor vibrate, I wave my hand to get his attention.
He stops mid-stride and looks at me, the anger visibly clear as day on his face, from his dark eyes, to the pinched corners of his lush mouth.
“Strip and kneel for me,” I sign and voice, desperately wishing I didn’t have to do the latter.
