“Does Cole know?” I whispered.
“Let’s talk somewhere else,” he said, a note of desperation in his voice. “Please. Fuck, man.”
I nodded tightly and followed him out of his bedroom.
The moment we were in the hall, I broke.
“Are you-Are youfuckingher, Enzo?”
“It’s not like that,” he said, shaking his head.
“You were naked in bed with her! What the fuck was it if it wasn’t that? Does Cole know? Do the guys?”
“E, please. Just don’t tell, OK?”
I blinked at him like I didn’t even know who he was.
“I promised her I wouldn’t tell. I needed her last night?—”
I scoffed. “Nice. So for one night you both let go and fucked one another. How convenient. Do you have any idea how much I’ve needed her over the years? Huh?”
He blinked at me and stepped aside. “Go, man. Go to her if you want her.”
I gave him a sour look. “I’m not a fucking cheater, dick. I’m notyou.”
His face fell.
“You know how badly Cole reacted when you and him fucked around that night. He considered it cheating because you both weren’t with her.This is so fucked. I can’t keep it from him. I have to tell him. I’m sorry?—”
He shoved me against the wall, his forearm at my throat.
“E, don’t. Please,” he choked out. “I’ll tell him. I will. Just give me time to do it, OK? Please, brother. I’m begging you.”
“He’s having babies with her. They have a daughter,” I said, shoving him back. “You’ll fuck up everything! It’s why I don’t do anything!”
“You don’t do anything because you’re fucking terrified,” he snapped back at me, his dark eyes flashing. “You’ve spent your entire life scared, E! She’s right there. Make the fucking move and stop using excuses for everything!”
“You know what?” I snarled, my turn to shove him against the wall. I twisted my fingers in his suit jacket, ready to slamhim until he pulled his head out of his ass. “Fuck you, Enzo. I have gone through hell because of all this fucking shit! All you do is fuck everything up! You’re no fucking don, you’re a fuck-up! Forcing the marriage choice on Rosalie and putting Fox into the state of mind where he was ready to fucking kill himself! And then he fucking did! We lost him because of you! Now all that’s left is this fucking shell of a man who hates his life. All of it led to this goddamn nightmare none of us can wake from! Maybe Church was right. You are fucking weak. You proved it when you crawled into bed with her last night. I have blindly followed you for years, but I can’t do this shit anymore. I’m tired. I want out. I want to get the fuck away from you and all the bad fucking decisions! I’m done with this shit.”
“Mister Ethan?” Ellis’s tiny voice called out.
I released Enzo, both of us breathing hard, and looked at Ellis standing in her pink My Little Pony pajamas, clutching her bear.
“Hey, darlin’,” I said gently.
“Why are you being mean to Mister Enzo?”
“Oh. Uh. I wasn’t. We were just talking aggressively,” I mumbled. I’d never lost it in front of a child before. Not even Laz had seen me like this.
“Aggressively.” She repeated the word. “Is that when you’re mad?”
I kneeled in front of her, Enzo not moving an inch. I knew I’d touched a nerve, but fuck, I was tired of all this shit.
“Sometimes. It can mean different things. It depends on the situation.”
“Is this a mad situation?” She blinked at me with her big blue eyes.
I let out a soft laugh. She was a smart little shit. Just like her parents.
