Page 57 of King of War

But then other arms are around me. Papa Medici. Not in comfort, but in threat. “Quiet, you little whore. Let him do what needs to be done, or I will slit your throat right here.”

I shiver, knowing he’s not a man of idle threats. I stay quiet and everything else seems to happen in a blur. Angelo arrives what could be seconds or hours later and finally pulls Enzo free from Tommy’s battered and broken body.

Somebody checks that he’s still alive.

They carry him from the room.

Papa Medici lets me go.

And then Enzo, the man I adore, approaches me. I wait for his apology. His comfort. “I’ll deal with you when I get back.”

“Enzo, it wasn’t—” I try one more time.

My words are cut off by his hand around my throat. “You are a lying, cheating whore, and I won’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth ever again.”

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

ENZO

Istare at her, blinking like a fucking moron. What she said can’t be true. Rafael is unhinged and borderline psychotic, but he’s my kid brother. He would never betray me like that. Not only were he and Rayne close back then, but he and I have each other’s backs. We always have.

Rayne’s hazel eyes are filled with tears. “I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” she says sadly.

Fuck, of all the things she’s told me in the past twenty minutes, that my younger brother might have betrayed me isn’t even the worst of it. That Ethan raped her and filmed her is too painful to contemplate, like someone pouring battery acid into my DNA and letting it burn me up from the inside. But what is more agonizing is what I did. I didn’t even give her the chance to tell me. She was in so much pain, and I called her a cheating whore. I saw the cum stains on the bed and assumed… My kind, sweet, incredible girl, and I fucking abandoned her. I’m overwhelmed with guilt and with nowhere to go, it quickly turns to pure blistering fury. The rage bubbling up is so vicious and insistent that it clouds my vision. I can barely see straight, but she doesn’t need that version of me right now. For once, I’m determined to be the man she needs.

I force air into my lungs, feel it soothing enough of the molten rage that I can speak. I reach for her hand and gently squeeze her fingers in mine. “I believe you, Rayne.”

She gives me a sad smile, and it cracks my goddamn heart wide open. I would have always believed her, wouldn’t I? After I’d calmed down and started thinking straight. But I get why she didn’t think she could tell me, and the fact that she sacrificed her own reputation to protect me only makes me feel more guilty. I had the most incredible woman in the entire world, and not only did I let her go, I let her down—spectacularly.

“Are you ready to go home?” I ask.

She nods, wiping some dust from her jeans. I jump up and hold out my hand to help her, grateful when she takes it. She looks so pale. So vulnerable but strong at the same time. So fucking amazing in every single way. And I can’t help it. I pull her to me, enveloping her in my arms and holding her tight to my chest. She rests her cheek against my jacket, letting me hold her even though I have absolutely no right to. I rest my lips on the top of her head, letting her sweet scent fill my senses. “I’m sorry.”

She snakes her arms around my waist. “I know.”

My apology changes nothing though—she doesn’t have to say that for me to know it’s true.

As soon as we get back to the penthouse, I send a message to Rafael to get his ass here as soon as possible. And then I check on Rayne, who headed straight for the den—the place where she seems most at home here.

“I just wanted to let you know Rafael is on his way and⁠—”

“You’re bringing him here?” I can’t tell if she’s annoyed or scared, maybe both. I take a seat on the coffee table in front of her and resist taking her hands in mine.

She’s exactly the same woman she was a few hours ago, but now she seems so small and fragile. I know it’s my guilty conscience, because she’s neither of those things. Still, I can’t help it. Even looking at her is breaking my heart into fucking millions of pieces. Thinking about the pain and the humiliation she endured, and how I, the man who was supposed to protect her, hurt her even more than that piece of shit did, almost renders me immobile. So, I shove it away to be dealt with later.

“You don’t have to see him, but I have to talk to him.”

I have to talk to her too. There’s so much I need to say to her, so much I need to apologize for, but I don’t even know where to begin. There are no words in the English or Italian language that could even begin to heal some of the pain I’ve caused her, or explain how truly fucking sorry I am. For now, I will focus on the things I can do something about. Kill Ethan. But first…Rafael.

“He won’t admit it, Enzo. What if he…?” Her eyes are filled with fear, which isn’t something I’m used to seeing in her. It brings out my protective instincts—the ones I should have paid attention to six fucking years ago.

“He won’t hurt you. I promise.” I swear to God, nobody will ever hurt her again.

She shakes her head like I misunderstood her. “But what if he hurts you?”

Her concern for me is adorable, if misplaced. Whatever Rafael is, or has done, he would never intentionally hurt me. While I believe her when she said that message came from him, I can’t believe he would betray me like that. Or her for that matter. He loved her like a sister once. “I can take care of myself.” And you. “But I need to speak to him and find out who betrayed us. And I need to figure out what the fuck this has to do with Carmine.”