Maxim’s voice blared into the room, hurried and anxious. “Emily’s with you?”
Giorgio instantly tensed. “Yeah, we’re in the gym.”
“Shit,” Maxim muttered. “Giorgio, get out of there right now. Don’t go near the main hall, take her to the library and stay put.”
Giorgio had his gloves off in a flash, moving with trained urgency. “What’s going on? Are we under attack?” he asked, his voice low and alert.
“No,” Maxim answered quickly. “But we got news from America. Carlo trashed his room and is on his way to the gym. And in the state he’s in, he might hurt Emily.”
Giorgio didn’t wait for another word. He hung up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the door. I’d never seen him like this, frightened. Even when Giuseppe’s men had beaten him bloody, there hadn’t been a flicker of fear in his eyes. Seeing it now made my stomach twist with dread.
We stepped into the hallway and were caught completely off guard. Carlo was already there, storming toward us. Then he spotted us and stopped, as stunned to see us as we were to see him. But his shock didn’t last long. His gaze dropped to our joined hands, his eyes turning into bullets ready to fire.
The veins at his temples bulged. His fists curled so tight I thought his knuckles would break through the skin. He took a step forward, his entire body brimming with fury.
Instinctively, I let go of Giorgio’s hand and stepped back. Carlo’s pace quickened. I didn’t know what Giorgio saw in his eyes, but he turned to me and mouthed one word:
“Run.”
And I did. I took off down the hallway, but my running only seemed to stoke the fire in him. His footsteps thundered behind me, he was sprinting.
Giorgio stepped into his path, arms outstretched in an attempt to stop him. “Boss! Listen—”
But Carlo wasn’t listening. He crashed into Giorgio like a wrecking ball, knocking him to the floor. Then he was on top of him, fists flying. Giorgio didn’t fight back. He didn’t even try. He curled slightly, absorbing every blow. His only crime: trying to protect me.
I skidded to a stop, paralyzed by fear. Maxim and Lorenzo came rushing in, but they didn’t step in, only shouting at Carlo to calm down. By the time that beast of a man decided to control his rage, Giorgio would’ve been dead. And I wasn’t about to let Carlo kill the only friend I had in that mansion. So without thinking, I ran back toward them.
“Carlo, stop!” I hurled myself between them.
But he didn’t hesitate. His arm flew out, slamming me against the wall. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. I collapsed to the floor, gasping, but I wouldn’t let this end in blood. Summoning every shred of strength I had left, I threw myself over Giorgio’s battered body like a shield.
I braced myself for the pain, Carlo’s fists crashing down, his rage turning on me instead of Giorgio. But nothing came. When I finally dared to look up, he was looming over us with clenched fists. His murderous gaze was locked on Giorgio, who groaned weakly beneath me.
Maxim and Lorenzo, those two useless bastards, stood behind him, too loyal to intervene. Carlo’s voice was low, venomous. “You care about him that much? Enough to take the beating for him? You’d rather be broken in his place? So the whole time you two were ‘training,’ you were really betraying me? Laughing behind my back?”
God, his mind was so poisoned right now, there was no reasoning with him. But I had to try. I shook my head and pleaded, “No. No, Carlo, I swear you’re wrong. We didn’t do anything. We didn’t betray you.”
Maxim took a cautious step forward. “Don Carlo... maybe have a drink first. You’ll think clearer once you’ve cooled off.”
“Leave,” Carlo snarled. His voice exploded through the hall, echoing like a thunderclap. “All of you. Get the fuck out!”
Maxim and Lorenzo hesitated, exchanging a quick glance before kneeling to lift Giorgio off the floor. Carlo’s burning gaze followed them until they disappeared, leaving me alone. With him.
I tried to get up, but he shoved my shoulder hard, slamming me back to the floor. Tears streamed down my face as I stared up at the man I barely recognized. This wasn’t anger. This was madness, wild, all-consuming. And I didn’t know how to reach him through it.
He loomed over me like a lion about to devour its prey, raving like a madman. “Tell me the truth. You didn’t want me. You didn’t sleep with me because you lovehim, didn’t you?”
“No! That’s not true!” I screamed, my voice breaking. “I swear to God, you’re wrong!”
But he wasn’t listening. His voice only rose, overpowering mine. “No, I’m not wrong! He even sleeps right across from your room, so he can have you whenever the hell he wants!”
Then, suddenly, everything shifted. He dropped to his knees in front of me, grabbing my face in both hands. Desperate. Possessive.
“But you were mine,” he whispered, harsh and ragged. “These lips... this hair... this body, they weremine. You told me you were mine.”
Through my tears, I reached up and touched his face. “Iamyours. I’m still yours, Carlo. How could you think I’d do something like that to you? I’d never betray you.”
But his eyes were dark and cutting. They stared through me like I wasn’t even real. He let go of my face suddenly and pulled back a little, a bitter, joyless smirk twisting his lips.
